Akhand Jyoti Magzine Mar Apr 2019 by Akhand Jyoti Swadhyay

VOLUME: 17

ISSUE:2

March-April 2019

The Secret of

Success & Long Life If your general impression is that “the world is liable to fall off and break into two,” that “fate has it in for you,” that you were “born to hard luck”, that you “never had a chance and never will have one,” and that “you will not live long anyway,” then, of course, you will lose courage and without the will to spur you onto effort, you will not succeed either in your business or in prolonging your life. That pessimistic state of mind retards your digestion and has a bad effect upon your liver. Such despondent people are usually unhealthy and therefore unhappy, feeling that “there is nothing to live for’, they usually age more rapidly than optimistic people. The remedy lies in both physical and mental activity, for the same law applies to the mental organization as to the rest of your body, so that if you would keep young mentally you must exercise your brains. The list of old men, thinkers, writers, statesmen and orators, who have achieved their greatest successes in advanced years, is too long to recite, but the secret of their success in every case was, that they kept busy. - Sanford Bennett One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself. - Leonardo da Vinci 3

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

CONTENTS 1.

Amrit Chintan The Secret of Success and Long Life ........................................................................

From Chief Editor’s Desk Let’s Gift the Society Rich Legacy of Noble Personalities .......................................

Deﬁnitive Route to All-round Success ......................................................................

Control of Speech and Utilization of its Power .........................................................

Science and Spirituality Sensory and Mental Levels of Consciousness ...........................................................

Golden Rules for a Healthy and Disease-free Life ....................................................

The S³®khya School of Indian Philosophy ...............................................................

The Secret of Overcoming Loneliness ..................................................................... 25

Yug Gita – 17 Sthitaprajóa Always Remains Calm and Composed.................................................

10.

Peace Pilgrim’s Wisdom – 17 Living the Spiritual Life – 1 ......................................................................................

11.

Break the Hypnotic Mold of Incompetency ..............................................................

12.

Odyssey of the Enlightened - 66 Future Calling - 2.......................................................................................................

13.

Youth Column Do You Properly Use Your Mind Power?..................................................................

14.

Give Noble Sa®sk³ras, not Wealth, to the Children .................................................

15.

Amrit Vani What Makes Gayatri S³dhan³ Miraculous? .............................................................. 44

16.

Simple Techniques of Pr³öay³ma to Stay Healthy -2 ...............................................

17.

Amazing Facts of Polar Regions ...............................................................................

18.

Shantikunj News ................................... (Inner Cover Pages & Back Cover Page) You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity. - Thomas Wolfe

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

From Chief Editor’s Desk

Let’s Gift the Society Rich Legacy of Noble Personalities

he present scenario is indicating towards a signiﬁcant social transformation. If we watch the events happening in different folds of the society, as an impartial observer, we can easily feel the truth that the world is fast changing. The means of transport have drastically changed before our own eyes. It is hardly ﬁfty years when we used to go from one village to another by bullock cart or a horse cart. Today such distances are crossed in minutes.

In fact, going from one village to another is not at all a journey. The distance between distant countries has been made very short by the airplanes. Then this revolution has not been confined to reducing distances. The advances in the means of communication and easy accessibility of tools of information technology, have brought about so much change in the society that no one could imagine it two or three decades ago. Whether it is the discovery of internet or the mobile phone with a touch screen – they are drastically influencing the individual lifestyle as well as the social order. There can be no doubt that due to these changes the human life has become easier and more comfortable. Such discoveries and related changes should be considered auspicious, positive and essential for the human beings. However the worry is what will be the impact of the human psyche that is also changing with this transformation. What kind of legacy will we be leaving behind in the society? Will the lifestyle of the coming generation, its viewpoint regarding life and its understanding of the aim of life remain safe or get deformed? – Many awakened people have the curiosity to know the answer to this question; and this kind of worry is but natural, because in the blind race of getting sensual pleasures, material progress, prosperity and comfort, I wonder whether we are going on sacrificing the basic human values. Param Pujya Gurudev used to say that, in common language, we use two types of words – one is heritage (material and economic inheritance) and second is legacy (immaterial and cultural inheritance). He would then say that a significant question is whether we are leaving behind us a material property or a legacy for our children – the next generation. Land, house, money, jewelry, etc. come under the category of property; and, good personality, virtues, simplicity, noble goal of life, etc. are indicative of one’s legacy. A person’s legacy can be judged by his way of living, his vibrant personality, his manner of speaking, his conduct, and his good moral impressions. Noble personalities leave rich legacy. Unfortunately, today everyone seems to be engaged in amassing wealth and property and leave it to the children, but no one is seen to struggle or endeavor to leave a rich inspiring legacy to the next generation. The result is clear – today whereas the society has become rich and prosperous in many fields, it has also become poor in many other aspects. The thoughts of selfishness, greed for power, pelf and prosperity have

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 5

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penetrated the masses to an extent that it may be called as the poverty of humane values. God knows what will be the outcome of this, but what is happening before our own eyes can be called horrible and shocking. There is unabated rise in diseases, mental disorders and stress. Terrorism is at its peak. Under such circumstances, if someone feels that he will remain unaffected by it, then this is nothing more than his stupidity. If the fire is spread in the entire village, how can one save his roof from catching the flames? If the whole atmosphere is filled with smoke, how can one breathe smoothly? When the power is cut to the entire city, how can one have light in one’s home? This is nothing more than an illusion that collecting external resources, degrees and accolades, reaching a high post, making a big home, earning a respectful position can remove inner darkness. It can be removed only by inner light. A person considered rich from the point of view of having higher education, earning plenty of money or possessing a big home may not necessarily be rich in virtuous traits like honesty, empathy, selflessness, humility, patience, self-control, etc. Today, when the inner-selves of people appear to be hollow, then only the efforts of self-upliftment can fill this vacuum. Param Pujya Gurudev and Vandaniya Mataji conceived the idea of incarnation of a new human being. If that human being is rich from the point of view of nobility of character; then only the dream of dawn of golden era would be possible. Thus it is the making of noble and spiritually powerful personalities that can achieve the prime aim of the descent of Pujya Gurudev and Vandaniya Mataji on Earth. For this purpose, we should all get engaged in the s³dhan³ of self-refinement – making of our personalities rich in virtues. The aim of s³dhan³ is doing less but becoming more. It is important how much japa we have done, but it is more significant what kind of a person we have become. Our personalities should be magnetic, illumined and worth following so that others start emulating us. In the present circumstances, when even the so called great personalities seem to be running in the blind race for power, pelf and prosperity, our Gayatri Parijans would develop the courage to leave behind them a rich legacy of noble personalities. There would be no fortune bigger than this. Let us utilize upcoming Caitra Navr³tri (from April 6 to 14, 2019) for making ourselves spiritually powerful through specific austerities (tapa), mantra japa and other methods. The austerities may include, depending on one’s strength and capacity, taking s³tvika food (without spices, salt, sugar, etc); observing fast, maun vrat (silence) and brahmacarya (celibacy); etc. When this power of tapa enters the s³dhaka, it refines his personality accordingly. The energy thus gained can be retained by self-control and utilized in the desired direction. If our thoughts are noble, we will use this energy in the right direction and in due course will harvest its benefits. With prayer-filled wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Harmonious New Samvatsar, 2076,

(Pranav Pandya) Nobility of spirit has more to do with simplicity than ostentation, wisdom rather than wealth, commitment rather than ambition. - Riccardo Muti AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Deﬁnitive Route to All-round Success

he desire to attain success in life comes to us naturally. What is the true measure of success however, needs careful consideration. After all, what use is the success that later weighs upon us with feelings like hollowness and futility? If success does not lead to contentment and peace of mind, can it really be called success? When people who have reached the highest pinnacles of success are found gripped with vices like drug abuse, smoking, and alcoholism, or found suffering from depression or ending up committing heinous acts like suicide, then such a success becomes nothing but a big question mark.

self-conﬁdence. In such hollowness, how can the ﬂowers of peace and contentment are expected to bloom? It is essential that the inspiration for whatever we do in life comes from within. If a goal has been set by listening to others or by blindly following others, then the goal must be reconsidered seriously. Such a goal may give bread and butter, and may make us look successful in other’s eyes, but will never provide us inner satisfaction. Only a goal that is born from the womb of originality can ensure satisfaction and happiness. All the great people who have contributed something worthwhile to the world have followed their inner voice. While treading on their chosen path, they have had to face opposition of the narrow mindedness of their own family members, friends and well wishers many a time. But despite stiff opposition, when they kept moving on the path resolutely, in the end everyone accepted the merit of their decision and even began to tread on the same path.

Are we really exerting ourselves to attain success at the cost of inner peace, contentment and happiness? Success attained at this price deﬁnitely cannot be termed as a holistic success. Along with intellectual progress, success can only be relevant if it is attained along with progress in emotional, moral and spiritual domains as well. Here are a few sutras which can be adopted to walk on the path to an all-round, holistic success:

To realize and achieve the goal of life, it is essential to give deﬁnite priority to tasks that lead to the goal while carrying out the regular daily activities.

1. Realizing our originality There is no shortcut to a holistic, long-term success. It has its own well-deﬁned steady route, and it has to be attained by paying the right price. Nothing can be attained for free. If ever anything is attained for free it has no value in the longterm, because neither will it lead to a feeling of fulﬁlment, nor to any increase in self-esteem or

2. Priorities must be clearly deﬁned daily The clearer the priorities, the more effective the life will be. A big reason for failures and creation

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable conﬁdence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. - Norman Vincent Peale 7

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emotional disturbances perturb a person then this ﬂow can get obstructed.

of stress in life is the lack of clarity in assignment of priorities. This leads to a lot of wastage of precious time; and disorder; and lack of proper planning becomes a part of life. It is a fact that if the goal of life is clear, daily priorities will be very clear too. With this clarity, all the energies of our body, mind and spirit get focused and all the tasks get accomplished efﬁciently.

4. Attain emotional equipoise Individualistic success that isolates one from friends, colleagues and the society can never be fulﬁlling. Success feels enriched with worthiness only when it leads to not just personal progress but to the welfare of the society as well. For a successful life, a balance in all practical aspects of life is essential. Along with external success and recognition of talent in the social circles, nourishment of inner emotional being is required, because this is what leads to deep and thorough satisfaction in life.

If the goal is not clear then it becomes difﬁcult to decide what is important and what is not. Time gets wasted in unimportant activities and when the assessment time nears, a realization of all the important tasks that could not be completed sets in. The pressure of pending tasks then signiﬁcantly enhances stress. Stability and peace of mind get lost in this state and life gets embroiled in an emergency like situation. When tasks are prioritized well, such situations of emergency never arise and a strong basis gets created for enhancing creativity in a person.

For this it is important that we look beyond our personal interests and also think about the welfare of those who depend on us and of the society in general. When we meet others, we should not just keep speaking but must listen to others as well. Being a good listener is a very good quality while interacting with others. Such an empathetic conduct acts like a soothing balm for the distressed - unhappy minds and also leads to own emotional upliftment. It is important to keep track of how useful are we proving to others. If we develop sensitivity and honesty towards ourselves as well as others, we progress emotionally, and our creditability and authenticity increases manifold in our public lives. This is an important basis of a holistic successful life.

3. Creativity must become an integral part of life When activities and daily routine get properly harmonized, it becomes possible to undertake creative activities which otherwise would not find a place in the stresses and hustles of daily life. Balance and stability of mind is the most fundamental need and such a state of mind is created when life gets organized. An organized life leads to creation of a conductive workplace as well; and when inner state of mind and outer actions of a person are balanced, stream of creativity automatically springs forth from within. And when creativity finds expression in accordance to a person’s liking, ability and talent, it fills his entire life with a gentle flow of melody and deep satisfaction. However, if the practical side of life is not balanced and

5. Pay attention to spiritual aspects as well Emotional progress initially gets conﬁned to thinking and caring for our own self or for whom we are attached to. To expand its domains further and to make ourselves emotionally richer it is necessary to move beyond selﬁshness and egoism

Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’ - Brian Tracy AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

day, and efforts should be made daily to sharpen discretionary wisdom. Whole day should be spent with awareness and then in the night, the habit of writing a diary should be developed to introspect and analyse what transpired during the day. A resolve should be made to correct the mistakes committed and to do something new the next day. Testing ourselves daily, and putting in best efforts to overcome the challenges of life, helps us to keep treading up the stairs of excellence in life.

and enter into spiritual domains. This is like diving into the deepest depths of our inner-selves or flying in the highest skies of life. This spiritual journey sprouts by spending a few moments in contemplation and introspection daily, and blooms with sincere study of self and spending time with great spiritual beings. Selfless service of society, regular prayers and meditation make the spiritual experience richer, and balance and stability at a deeper level is attained in life. By connecting with supreme consciousness a person attains sufficient strength to take on all adversities in the external world with equanimity. A deep inner vision gets developed towards life. When decisions are made using this vision, they turn out to be perfect and without any flaws.

7. Follow the inner voice Following the inner voice is the most important. This voice originates from inner core of the heart. It is truly a Godly voice. It is so gentle that it can be easily suppressed, but it also is so clear that it cannot be ignored. When it is not heard it grows weak, but when listened to and followed it becomes stronger and louder. It leads to increase in sensitivity towards the world and sharpens the power of discretion. Honesty within and outer support of the divine help us progress on the path to holistic all-round success and help us reach the highest goal of attaining excellence in life.

6. Introspect daily For balance and stability in life, it is essential to introspect daily and measure our actions against the criteria listed above. Awareness about our thoughts, conduct, emotions and resolves should be maintained throughout the

“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; Who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth’s beauty or failed to express it; Who has left the world better than he found it, Who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; Whose life was an inspiration; Whose memory a benediction.” - Bessie Anderson Stanley Integrity is the essence of everything successful. - R. Buckminster Fuller 9

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Control of Speech & Utilization of its Power

lmighty has bestowed man with the ability of speech so that he may express his thoughts in spoken words. Expressing through writing came much later. But expressing through voice can be considered as the ﬁrst ever method in which a person expresses himself in life. This also is the most used and simplest method of communicating what’s transpiring in one’s mind – be it emotions or happiness or worries or pain or anything else. Even children learn to speak ﬁrst before learning to write or read because one cannot survive without expressing oneself. It will not be an exaggeration to say that spoken word is the basis for human expression.

thoughts and speech as a means for conserving our energies. Using our ability to talk is an inevitable part of our daily lives which is why we tend to forget how important it is. We end up speaking whatever comes to our mind and speaking without considerable thought has become the order of the day. Truth is that more amount of energy gets expended when we talk than when we do physical work. So, it’s important that we give serious thought to how we use this important energy. Speech is directly related to our mental energies which is why eight hours of physical work is equivalent to one hour of mental work. Keeping all these facts in mind, observing silence is considered as an efﬁcient means of protecting our mental energies. Lord Shri Krishna in Srimadbhagwad Gita extols the signiﬁcance of practicing silence and places it in the league of mental penance.

While speech plays a vital role in our existence and expression, it also happens to be the primary cause for the loss of our mental energies. Speech also is the medium through which we express our ego, lust, anger, hatred, desires and ambitions. All our suppressed emotions and passions get expressed through our voice in the form of words. This is why, controlling and utilizing our speech is a very important means for conserving our energies.

Mana¡pras³da¡ saumyatwa® maunam³tmavinigraha¡| Bh³vasa®ïuddhirityetat tapo m³nasamucyate|| (ïloka 16, chapter 17) Meaning: Serenity of mind, warm-heartedness, silence, mental restraint and purity of thoughts are considered as mental austerity.

If we practice merely controlling our thoughts and ignore our speech, whatever mental energies we intended to conserve will now ﬁnd their way out in the form of words. Hence we should certainly consider restraint in both

Once mind is brought under control, even big tasks get accomplished easily. When Maharshi

Sometimes not speaking says more than all the words in the world. - Colleen Hoover AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Vedavyasa was composing Mahabharata and dictating it, the task of putting it in writing was taken up by Lord Ganesha. But while doing this great task, Ganesha observed Mauna or silence so that no disturbance could deﬂect his focus away from what he was doing. These principles can also be applied in daily life. If a task requires utmost focus and attention, then one can try to use the technique of Mauna for guaranteed success. This is why maintaining silence is considered to be an integral aspect for conservation of mental energies.

Those who talk less and conserve their energy end up being good listeners and comprehend the other person better. This opens the doors to knowing and learning something new. Those who are interested in talking rather than listening lose many such opportunities of learning from others. Also, those who speak more often tend to get excited and get into animated discussions that further lead to loss of vital energies. Such continuous depletion of vital energy in due course leads to mental weakness that makes a person restless and intolerant. This can also be perceived as a permanent damage to and downfall of one’s personality.

Talkativeness not only depletes energy but also can create bitterness in relationships. Those who are in the habit of gossiping, complaining, criticizing and spreading hatred will often be seen having strained relationships. When people are in the habit of talking without thinking, they fail to even grasp the effect of their words on the other person. This is why in addition to talking less or even remaining silent, it might be worthwhile to speak politely and only when required. This ensures that one will conserve spiritual energy and also maintain cordial relationships in material world.

The intention of writing these facts is to bring the attention of s³dhakas in the direction of conserving vital energies by practicing restraint in speech. By maintaining Mauna (silence), speaking less, speaking politely and speaking only when necessary help in enhancing mental energies, developing love in relationships, resolving issues in a holistic manner; and also attain both material and spiritual success owing to the increased focus obtained by improved mental vigor. Therefore consider judicious use of your speech as a form of spiritual s³dhan³ and reap beneﬁts in your life.

“We cannot control the way people interpret our ideas or thoughts, but we can control the words and tones we choose to convey them. Peace is built on understanding, and wars are built on misunderstandings. Never underestimate the power of a single word, and never recklessly throw around words. One wrong word, or misinterpreted word, can change the meaning of an entire sentence and start a war. And one right word, or one kind word, can grant you the heavens and open doors.” - Suzy Kassem Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. - Roy Bennett 11

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Science and Spirituality

Sensory and Mental Levels of Consciousness ll living beings in this world are diverse functional expressions of the omnipresent, eternal ConsciousnessForce (CF) manifested in a form (physical body). It is because of this life-force in functional state that a biological cell is different from the physical matter or chemical substance. Faculties of CF are most evolved in human beings as compared with other creatures. It is only in the humans that it exists beyond the sensory experiences. We will highlight these distinct levels of consciousness in scientiﬁc light and discuss the importance of understanding and making best use of this precious source towards holistic well-being and further evolution.

that make possible the perceptions of ‘signals’ of the sense-organs and the locomotion activities respectively. The sensory nerves are linked with the sense-organs. Whatever we smell, see, hear, eat, or experience by touch is perceived with the help of the instant signal processing between the sensory nerves and the brain. The motor nerves and their control unit in the brain conduct the activities of movement, walking, chewing, bathing, reading, etc. This ‘physical’ understanding of the nervous system, together with the general anatomy and associated physiological functions of the brain have been known to the scientiﬁc community since the advent of neurological research in the past century.

Sensory Level of Consciousness – Manifested in Physical Body: Functions and perception of sensory-level of consciousness is processed via the brain and its sensory network of the nervous system. As most of us know, our brain has a network of billions of neurons (nerve-cells), which because of the marvelous source of continuous energy and guidance of CF, is superior to any functional super-most computer or ‘intelligent’ machine that could ever be invented.

With progress of research in neurosciences, many secrets of the brain have been unfolded, including the secretion of hormones and other neuro-chemicals and their effects on physiological, biochemical functions and emotional and other psychological experiences. However, controlling these functions by external means is still a challenge for modern Medical Sciences and Technology. Much more remains to be researched on the astonishing functions and power of the human brain [1-2]. The negligibly tiny structure (spherical diameter smaller than thousandth part of an inch, and weight lesser than a billionth fraction of an ounce), yet the immense capabilities of the neurons seem to set living illustration of the following Vedic quote on the omnipresent

The nerves - ‘biological channels’ (of information processing) of inter-connected neurons are spread in the entire human body and constitute the Nervous System. These are broadly categorized as of two types – the sensory nerves and the motor nerves;

Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical terms, for consciousness is absolutely fundamental. - Erwin Schrödinger AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

The amount of activation potentials and the rate of corresponding bio-electrical currents in the memory regions inside the brain affect the intensity and durability of the memory recorded at any instant of time.

Consciousness Force – Añorañºy³n Mahato Mahºy³n (Meaning: subtler than the subtlest and greater than the greatest). Indeed, these basic units of brain-functions and their gigantic, self-regulating network, appear as evidential expression of the limitless potentials of CF. Then what to say about its manifestation in the mind?

Creative manifestation of the powers of mind also materializes at the physical level with the help of bio-electrical functions of the brain. Like those of a machine or a physical organ, the components and functional units of the brain also need some energy all the time. Continuous supply of oxygen through blood circulation provides the necessary fuel to this living machinery. In the young age this ‘device’ (brain) is new and makes efﬁcient distribution and consumption of energy available to it. The corresponding energy supplying subsystems are also fresh and naturally energized at that stage. Therefore, the physiological and bioelectrical functions of brain are efﬁciently carried out in normal children and youths. This is why they usually possess sharper memory than the older ones. Their natural grasping ability too is quite high in the initial phases of life.

Mental Level of Consciousness: More evolved and marvelous functions and faculties of CF in the humans are those at the ‘extrovert consciousness’ (expressed in behavior and deeds) or mental (intellectual and emotional) level. Prominent among these are - memory, intelligence, thoughts, and emotions [1-4]. All these behavioral and mental faculties of CF are naturally activated up to a certain level in almost all mentally healthy people. Most often these are ‘taken for granted’, and, like the physical body and its marvelous sensory and motor functions, one hardly pays attention to carefully use, nurture and reﬁne these precious gifts of life. It is with an objective to remind the readers of the vital importance and enormous scope of this treasure of potentials we will outline all these in the following sections. Discussion on the gradually more sublime, powerful, and majestic faculties of CF will continue in some successive articles under the column “Scientiﬁc Spirituality”.

Yoga exercises of pr³ñay³m (deep breathing in a controlled manner) help harmonize oxygen supply to the brain; dhy³na-dh³rañ³ (meditation) help concentrate bioelectrical energy available to the brain and thereby generate a controlled excitation, which accelerates the inter-neuronal activities. Adept practice of these elementary s³dhan³s of spiritual reﬁnement on regular basis results in sharpening and empowering the memory along with enhanced mental concentration.

Memory: Neuroscientists consider the memory functions as dependant on the flow of bioelectrical currents through the information transmitting channels the nerves. As blood circulates through the arteries, similarly, some ions/ionized biochemicals also flow through specific connections of the nerves.

Intelligence: Intelligence is a reﬁned faculty of consciousness. Most often it is identiﬁed as “intellect”.

One does not become enlightened by imagining ﬁgures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. - C.G. Jung 13

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practiced sincerely and regularly, would help us sharpen and augment these precious faculties on our own[3]. But more important is to wisely use these resources of CF via positive, constructive, and righteous thoughts.

Intellect is broadly deﬁned as an advanced ability of mental perception, cognition, pattern recognition, learning new skills, reasoning, hypothesizing, postulating, conceptualization, imagination, planning, and decision-making along with the active potential of envisaging and generating constructive ideas. Coherence of these abilities and their creative expression and/or translation into action, is essential for complete manifestation of intelligence.

Thoughts: Human body is a wonderful system that functions on many kinds of energies under the auto-regulation of its super (bio)-computer - the brain. But most prominent, intense and radiant of the powers a human being is endowed with is the thought-power of its mind (sublime functional core via CF in which the ‘intelligence’ and creativity of the brain/mind is manifested).

Our education system and professional proﬁles also lay emphasis on intellectual talents and skills. Indeed, modern civilization and the wonders of scientiﬁc and technological developments we see today are living examples of the power of intellect. Cultural and creative streams of art, social sciences, and literature, represent soft (linked with emotions and imaginations) domains of intellect. Mathematics, physical and natural sciences, law, etc, correspond to rather hard (sans emotions) aspects like philosophical theory, rigor, logical reasoning. Subjects like business-management, planning, politics, diplomacy, administration, etc, predominantly thrive on intelligence related with vision, awareness, fast and practical decisionmaking, communication skill, etc.

Ascent of human civilization is in fact the ascent of human thoughts. It is said that what becomes of one depends upon what he thinks. Indeed, our thoughts express our ideas and intrinsic desires and translate them into deeds. But what transforms the nature of our thoughts and what is the source of thought-power? Most of us define and experience thoughts as the language of the conscious mind and regard thoughtpower as the impact of thoughts on intellectual perceptions and activities. Its inherent root in the inner self is therefore difficult to be accessed. We shall discuss these issues at greater details in the next article. Here, it would be sufficient to note that every vibration, every perception and expression of the mind (the conscious mind, the intellect, as well as the inner mind) is a thought. This is how emotion is regarded as a higher order thought and willpower as a sublime expression of the thoughtpower. Willpower could also be generated by intense control and focusing of elevated thoughtpower. Once awakened, the willpower or force

Most of us are fascinated by the wonders of bright intellect. Also, to varied degrees and with diverse reasons, many of us aspire to be intellectually sharp. But do we really make adept use of our memory and intelligence? Do we sincerely attempt to ‘glaze’ our memory and intellect? Well, we don’t have to go to any specialized training school or grooming centre for it. (That way, such schools, if any, can only provide some guideline and lend only partial support). There are many effective methods and yoga-exercises that, if

The language of light can only be decoded by the heart.- Suzy Kassem AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

and hence the secretion of hormones itself largely depends upon the internal emotions [1-2, 4].

of intrinsic inspiration can help in activating the otherwise dormant layers of mind and thus induce intellectual and emotional evolution.

Emotional intelligence: Psychiatrist Dr. William Glasser’s theory of the human control system states that behavior is composed of four simultaneous components: deeds, ideas, emotions, and physiological states. He asserts that we choose the idea and deed; but the associated emotions and physiological states cannot be chosen independently. He also further asserts that internal choices (conscious or unconscious) cause emotions instead of external stimuli. These assertions accord with more detailed and sagacious explanations given by Vedmurti Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya [1-4].

Emotions: It is difficult to define “emotion” in words. What we often experience as primary emotions are - anger, fear, sadness, joy, disgust, surprise, curiosity, acceptance, love, etc. Emotion as a subject of scientific research has multiple dimensions: behavioral (psychological), physiological, subjective, and cognitive. Many psychologists adopt what is popularly known as the ABC model, which defines emotions in terms of three fundamental attributes: A. physiological arousal, B. behavioral expression (e.g. facial expressions), and C. conscious experience, i.e., the subjective feeling of an emotion. All three attributes are necessary for a full fledged emotional event, though the intensity of each may vary greatly.

As per the comprehensive definitions given by the ancient Indian sages (the Rishis) emotion (bh³van³) is a spontaneous expression of an intrinsic impression, innate perception or a feeling (anubh¿ti) or a psychological reaction or response. In simple terms emotions (bh³van³) not only constitute the subtle language of the mind, they are also the reflections of the sensitivity of our inner self. As the latter is influenced by the sansk³ras - impressions of the past, and the earlier lives carved/assimilated in the citta (unconscious mind), the science of emotions is explained and experimented by the Indian sages in the domain of spirituality.

Emotions and Hormones: Emotions are thought to be related to activity in brain areas that direct our attention, motivate our behavior, and determine the signiﬁcance of what is going on around us. For a long time, hormones secreted through the endocrine glands were regarded as the ‘chemicals of emotions’ and some researchers claimed that emotions are generated and controlled through hormones; e.g. release of adrenalin results in feeling of fear etc. Further research indicated that though there is a strong correlation between certain hormones and neurotransmitters and natural feelings of fear, anxiety, joy and depression, the latter cannot be caused or generated at will by ‘infusing’ those hormones. In fact, the scenario is other way round. Functioning of the endocrine and nervous system

The subconscious and unconscious roots of emotions, intuition, clairvoyance, precognition, sublime intelligence, etc, and deep emotions and spirituality, are realized with spiritual ascent. These are subject matter of deeper science of consciousness. In the present article, we have

Sooner or later on this journey, every traveler faces the same question: Are you a human intending to be a god, or a god pretending to be human? - Eric Micha’el Leventhal 15

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focused only on those aspects of consciousness functions that are associated with intelligence and emotions that most of us experience within and around us in ordinary life.

Acharya Samagra Vangamaya” Vol. 18 Akhand Jyoti Sansthan, Mathura, (1995). 2.

Most amazing, and hard to decipher are the functions and experiences of CF at the subconscious, unconscious, and extrasensory levels - intrinsic tendencies, deeper desires, and sublime (e.g. mystical, spiritual) and supernatural expressions of intelligence, thoughts and emotions fall in this evolved category of existence and manifestation of CF. We shall delve upon these aspects more deeply in successive articles.

Human Brain – Astonishing Boon of the Omnipotent. [English Version based on Chapters 1& 2 of [1] above]. Shri Vedamata Gayatri Trust, Shantikunj, Haridwar. (2rd ed. 2016)

Practical Ways to Sharpen the Intellect and Memory. [English Version based on Chapter 3 of [1] above]. Shri Vedamata Gayatri Trust, Shantikunj, Haridwar. (1st ed., 2015; 3rd Print, 2017)

References:

Adhy³tmika Manovigy³na – set of about 20 books authored by Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya. Publ. Yug Nirman Yojna, Mathura. (1st ed. 1985)

Chamtak³rº ViïeÌat³on Se Bhar³ M³navi MastiÌka. “Pandit Shriram Sharma

Cosmic Dance Modern physics has shown us that movement and rhythm are essential properties of matter; that all matter, whether here on Earth or in outer space is involved in a continual cosmic dance. The Eastern mystics have a dynamic view of universe similar to that of modern physics, and consequently it is not surprising that they, too, have used the image of the dance to convey their intuition of nature. A beautiful example of such an image of rhythm and dance is given by Alexandra David-Neel in her ‘Tibetan Journey’, where she describes how she met a Lama who referred to himself as a ‘master of sound’ and gave the following account of his view of matter: All things ….. are aggregations of atoms that dance and by their movements produce sounds. When the rhythm of the dance changes, the sound it produces also changes…. Each atom perpetually sings its song, and the sound, at every moment, creates dense and subtle forms. The metaphor of cosmic dance has found its most profound and beautiful expression in Hinduism in the image of dancing God Shiva. …Shiva’s dance symbolizes …eternal life-death rhythm which goes on in endless cycles. -Fritjof Capra (From: The Tao of Physics) The loudest preacher in the world is your conscience, the cleverest is wisdom, the rowdiest is passion, the surest is truth, the purest is love, and the highest is God. - Matshona Dhliwayo AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Golden Rules for a Healthy and Disease-free Life

he key to a happy, balanced and successful life is a healthy body. Whether it is material progress and prosperity or spiritual development, everything remains at bay in the absence of physical fitness. All the four PuruÌ³rthas (primary endeavors) of Dharma, Artha, K³ma and Mokïa are possible only when one is healthy. Our scriptures have mentioned that - ‘Ïarºra m³dhyama khalu dharma s³dhanam’. It means that the body is the medium to fulfill all the human obligations. Therefore, it is our primary duty to look after it. It is possible to build a firm foundation of a healthy life by following certain universal and well known principles.

Self-control It is the basis of physical fitness. The chief cause of every type of ailment and disease is lack of self-control. It leads to the dissipation of energy and diminishes the immunity of the body, due to which even minor factors begin to cause diseases. The types of indulgence ruining the health of most people are related to eating, living style and sense organs. Therefore, the first rule to stay fit is to observe restraint in eating, which is widely being violated these days. It has now become a trend of our lifestyle to eat anything at any time. Driven by taste, we do overeating even when the stomach gets full. One hardly cares to analyze the necessity of the body, quality of food or whether it is beneficial for the body or not.

Most of the physical diseases and disorders which have distressed the human life are the consequences of disorderly lifestyle. This fact gets substantiated by the increasing instances of diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart stroke and obesity. None of them were even known to our villages and suburbs a few decades ago. But today, they have almost become an integral part of our public life. Even today if a person can take out time from his busy life to observe certain rules and follow a disciplined routine and some tried-and-tested principles, then one can stay protected from these diseases and disorders, which are a burden on the life of many people. The following are some of these golden rules:

The quantity of food depends on the type of work one does. It is natural that there would be a difference in the diet of a person who performs twelve hours of intense physical labour in the ﬁeld and the one who does twelve hours of sedentary work on a chair. In fact, the scriptures have instructed the spiritual seekers to eat only half of their capacity. Whatever may be the case, food should be eaten in only that quantity which does not impede our ability to work or makes us lazy. One should eat only when he feels intensely hungry. Eating without hunger is just like putting wood into an extinguished ﬁreplace, which only gives rise to smoke.

When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy. - Chinese proverb 17

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Food should be chewed properly, so that the intestines need not do the work of teeth. The food eaten hurriedly proves to be very heavy for the stomach. Half of the energy of the stomach gets used up in digesting such food. Our meal should be easy to digest, as far as possible seasonal, pure and vegetarian. It may be changed according to the tendency of the person, his region, time, circumstances and work pattern. It is more important to monitor the quantity of food especially during the period when one is doing s³dhan³. Half of the stomach should be ﬁlled with food, one fourth with water, while one fourth should be left for circulation of air.

increases obesity in the body, which increases the risk of threatening diseases like diabetes, heart stroke, etc. The requirement of physical activity may be fulfilled by exercising daily and performing certain Asanas (physical postures). Morning walk is extremely beneficial in this context. Deep breathing in the pure morning breeze rejuvenates the mind and body and makes them active. Light exercises and simple yogic postures can also be included in this routine; taking out only 30 to 45 minutes for this daily routine are sufficient. If the distance of your office or workplace is not far away from your home, then you can walk down to it rather than covering this distance by a vehicle. This would fulfil the requirement of exercise. If the distance is a bit longer, a bicycle could be used. All these are the general beneficial principles to maintain and retain health. Today, we are lost in the rat race of life to such an extent that we are ignoring even these simple things, which in due course would make the body a reservoir of diseases; and then, we will immensely pay for that small negligence. This routine can also be clubbed with a daily session of Pranayama, which can be performed under proper guidance to benefit our body and the mind.

Food should be eaten only when the mind is calm and composed. Toxic elements are secreted from the body during the state of tension and stress, which distort the digestive system and also have an adverse effect on the general health. On the other hand, in the state of happiness the digestive system works with complete efficiency. Along with proper diet, another prerequisite for fitness is restraint of sense organs. Enjoying the senses within the bounds of moral limits is beneficial for health. Birds and animals act under the influence of their natural instincts and lead a healthy and disease-free life. On the other hand, man ignores the nature and gets into overindulgence through which he ruins his own health. Restraint of sense organs tightens the chief medium of energy dissipation which increases the vitality and becomes the basis of a healthy life.

A relaxing and deep sleep is a tonic for both the body and the mind. Along with proper food and exercise, rest is also equally important. The most important part is the sleep, which acts as a tonic. A deep sleep freshens up the mind and body and compensates for the intensive activity during the day. A daily sleep of six to eight hours is sufﬁcient. Sleeping very less or more than required both are harmful. The matter of emergency is different, but in the daily routine

Requirement of physical activity Doing physical activity is also as important as observing restraint; lack of activity leads to accumulation of calories present in food. This

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. – Buddha AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

and soothing, is extremely beneﬁcial for our health. Its life-giving air and serenity infuses a new vigour into the life. Therefore, one should ﬁnd opportunities to go on touring and travelling towards the forests, farms, mountains and lakes. If such a surrounding is available nearby, then it is a blessing. It should be considered as God’s gift given to you for a healthy life.

one should sleep for such a period of time so that he feels fresh afterwards. Various researches have found that incomplete sleep for three consecutive days may decrease the immune power by 60%. Therefore, adequate sleep and relaxation is a must. A short nap could be taken for a few moments after lunch, which will help in relaxation. Simple living and high thinking Peaceful and happy life is also a hidden secret for a healthy life. No matter how much a tensed and worried person eats, he would seldom be healthy. On the contrary, a happy person would stay healthy and strong even by eating dry bread. Here, one should keep in mind the percept ‘Simple living and high thinking’. A contented and peaceful life is no less than a boon. On the other hand, a dissatisﬁed life full of desires and aspirations is devoid of relaxation and sleep and remains unhealthy even amidst various resources.

Spiritual strength is a ﬁrm basis of a healthy life Performing a minimum spiritual pursuit daily with the aim of spiritual development proves to be an elixir for our overall health. Few moments spent in introspection and worshipping God infuses a new ray of hope and vitality into our life. It nourishes our life at the deepest level. The faith in divinity which we get from this process upholds our courage and zeal even in the most difﬁcult circumstances, which, in turn, becomes the basis of a healthy life. On the contrary, the life which is devoid of faith gets entrapped into hopelessness and tension which gradually drains the life energy.

Well-organized and balanced routine Over half of the tension and anxiety is caused by haphazard and unorganised daily routine. While, well managed routine makes life rhythmic and is an effective remedy for keeping the mind free from tension. This is so because tension gives rise to numerous diseases while stress-free life keeps a person healthy. The company of nature proves extremely useful in this task.

By following these simple rules, a person can easily lay the foundation of a healthy and disease-free life. Then there would neither be the need of any doctor nor of wasting one’s time and money in these pursuits. Therefore, it is essential for everyone to keep trying to incorporate these principles into his life to the extent possible so that this body, which is the abode of God, could be adorned by the jewel of health.

Association with nature is extremely beneﬁcial The lap of Mother Nature, which is pure, tranquil

Healing is impossible in loneliness; it is the opposite of loneliness. Conviviality is healing. To be healed we must come with all the other creatures to the feast of Creation. - Wendell Berry Good health and good sense are two of life’s greatest blessings. - Publilius Syrus 19

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

The S³®khya School of Indian Philosophy

he word S³®khya (= Sa® + Khya), according to Sanskrit etymology and interpretation means ﬁrst-ever thorough counting or analysis of the elements (of Nature). It also means thorough study (of Nature and Life).

ages. Many scholars of the later ages have cited his analysis; notable among these works are Kumaril Bhatt’s treatises titled “Shlokvartik”, “Bhojvratti”, “Medhatithibashya”. Erudite scholars like Varshaganya, Jaigishavya, Vodhu, Deval, etc have also been respected Acharyas of Sa®khya. Vigyan Bhikshu was a highly revered scholar in the 16th Century. The “Samkhyasutra” and its commentary “Samkhya Pravachan Bhasya” are both regarded as his key contributions. He was an independent thinker; therefore his interpretations and explanations are based on, and also discuss the views of philosophers of other schools, mainly the Vedanta philosophers. Ishwar Krishna was another sagacious Acharya; his work on Sa®khya dates back to 200 BC. He wrote a comprehensive treatise “Samkhya Karika” which presents Sa®khya philosophy based on tantra. His explanations are also compiled as “Kanakasaptati”, “Suvarnasaptati”.

Sa®khy³® Prakurvarte Caiva Prak•ati® Ca Pracakïate | Tatv³ni Ca Caturvinïattena S³®khya® Prakºrttitam || Meaning: It deals with counting (sa®khy³) of the elements of Nature with thorough study and analysis. At present there are very few scholars who have deep knowledge of all aspects of this ﬁrst (premier) darïana of Indian schools of Philosophy. Maharshi (great rishi) Kapil is regarded as the founder of this darïana. This Vedic sage (rishi) is revered as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He had realized and presented the S³®khya philosophy (darïana) in the form of some sutras1 (formulae, which were later on scripted as couplets in Sanskrit prose and verse). As referred in the Puranas and other ancient Indian texts on philosophy, later on his direct disciple rishi Asuri had propagated the knowledge encoded in these sutras. Asuri’s ﬁrst disciple Panchshikh wrote a “Sutra Grantha” and “Shasti Tantra”. Muni Vindhyavas was a very popular Acharya of Sa®khya Darshana in the later

Several scholars, who do not agree with the philosophy of S³®khya, criticize it as an advocate of atheism. They argue that Nature alone has been the focus of this school of thought and it does not make any mention of the supreme creator (God) who has created Nature (and the entire universe). In fact their argument appears prejudiced as S³®khya Darshana, in the original views of Rishi Kapil regards the entire existence (of matter and life) as consisting of 25 elements,

My philosophy is: Life is hard, but God is good. Try not to confuse the two. - Anne F. Beiler AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

and experience of Prak•ati from which 16 prominent tools/mediums (of perceptions and experience of Nature) and manifestations arise. As these exist in diverse forms and functional states, these are collectively termed in the ancient scriptures of S³®khya darïana as the 16 Vik•atis. The 8 prak•atis are - (i) the M¿la Prak•ati (the self-existent shadow of Pur¿Ìa or the foundation for reflection of Pur¿Ìa, and consequent manifestation of Nature and cosmic creation); (ii) Mah³tatva (buddhi – source of cognitive and other functions of consciousness); (iii) Aha®k³ra (sense of selfbeing; sense of experience); (iv) Ïabda (eternal element of sound; sense of hearing); (v) Sparïa (sense of touch); (vi) R¿pa (sense of vision); (vii) Rasa (sense of taste), (viii) Gandha (sense of smell). The last five are the five kinds of perceptions that are experienced because of buddhi and aha®k³ra.

of which, 24 elements are classiﬁed as those of Nature (Prak•ati) – material manifestation of Nature; one single element is referred as the consciousness element. Although this element is not explicitly referred as the supreme power (God), the deeper analysis of the Sa®khya treatises would show that the qualities of this element (referred as Pur¿Ìa) imply it as God. Although Pur¿Ìa (which implies the supreme expression of Consciousness-Power, i.e., God) is not referred as the up³d³na k³raña2 but has been recognized as nimitta k³raña3 (the principal facilitator or doer) of the creation and manifestation of Nature (S•aÌÚi). For example in a sutra of the third chapter it says - “Ak³ryatveapi Tadyoga¡ Par³vaïy³ta” - (S.D. 3.55). Further, “Sa Hi Sarvavit Sarvakart³” - (S.D. 3.56), meaning that-Pur¿Ìa is the source, abode (foundational support) and controller of everything that exists in Nature. The next shloka more explicitly underlines the supremacy of God as - Ed•aïeïvara Siddhi¡ Siddh³.

The 16 vik•atis are identified in S³®khya darïana as - Panch Mahabhutas (five basic elements - Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth); Panch Gyanedriyan (five faculties of perceptions and cognition - nose, eyes, tongue, skin and ears); Panch Karmendriyan - ( five organs of action Mouth, Hands, Legs, genitals and rectum). The 16th and most prominent vik•ati is the mind.

Core Concepts of Sa®khya Philosophy: As mentioned above this darïana mainly recognizes life and Nature as the perpetual play of Pur¿Ìa and Prak•ati. It regards that Pur¿Ìa is the (supreme creative and controlling) power of consciousness force which is not made up of any (of the 24) element of Prak•ati; neither any (material) substance of Prak•ati consists of the Pur¿Ìa. Sa®khya darïana deﬁnes Prak•ati as that from which various things can be produced that keep changing.

Thus the 8 prak•atis and 16 vik•atis, total 24 elements plus the Pur¿Ìa element, this way total 25 elements are deﬁned as the foundational ‘elements’ of Nature and Life in the S³®khya darïana. The ﬁve basic elements, the sense organs (of perception and action), and the mind, these elements do not give rise to any new element; they are simply the tools or medium of various functions of a living being in Nature.

This darïana describes 8 major types and foundational supports of existence, expression

One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. - Eleanor Roosevelt 21

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Therefore these are termed as vik•ati and not as prak•ati. The functions of the sense-organs are experienced through the sublime elements – the ﬁve tanm³tr³s (shabda, etc).

or experience has to have to some cause. In S³®khya, this fundamental cause is the Pur¿Ìa - the 25th element. For example look at the following shloka.

If one meditates deeply, one can experience the role of these tanm³tr³s at the subtle levels. Further concentration on these makes it clear that the root of these cognitive senses (tanm³tr³s) lies in the sense of being (aha®v•atti). Contemplation over the root of how aha®k³ra (or aha®v•atti) makes existence of tanm³tr³s possible, would show that it is due to the sense of cognition (buddhi) that makes all these experiences (including the sense of self or sense of being) possible. Above this mah³tatva (grand element), there is nothing that can be easily realized. Therefore, that super or most sublime and original ‘element’ of Prak•ati is referred as the “M¿la Prak•ati” which is self-existent (an³di - origin-less; e.g. the latest scientiﬁc theory of self-existent energy ﬁelds in Bosons).

Sangh³tpar³rthatv³t Triguñ³di Viparyay³t AdhiïÚh³n³t | Pur¿Ìoasti Bhokt•abh³v³t Kaivaly³rtha® Prav•atteïcha || - (S. Ka. 17) Meaning: Because of its capacity to adopt the triguña, but being different from the triguña, and because of considering the self as a bhokt³4, but desiring to be free from all such perceptions, experiences and attachments (pertaining to the triguña and materialistic elements of Nature), there is a clear evidence of separate existence of Pur¿Ìa (the consciousness ‘element’). Multiplicity of Pur¿Ìa: Having proved the existence of pur¿Ìa, the natural question arises as how does it exist, and in what form? In this respect S³®khya philosophy differs from the non-duality theory of Vedanta philosophy. Vedanta regards the Consciousness Force (and hence the soul) as unique, omnipresent and eternal. S³®khya regards the souls as multiple. More explicitly, it regards that every soul is a distinct pur¿Ìa. It regards every soul (and hence every being) as an independent unit. In order to prove this point the scripture “Samkhya Karika” argues -

The M¿la Prak•ati expresses itself and functions via its three intrinsic tendencies or functional properties (triguña) namely - sat, raj and tam. It is only the different combinations of the triguña expressed in the 24 elements of Nature that result in the ever dynamic, ever expanding, evernew diversities in Nature. Different expressions of these accepted or accommodated by the consciousness element (the Pur¿Ìa) correspond to different shades of life.

Jananamarañakarañ³n³® Pratiniyam³dayugapat Prav•atteïcha | Pur¿Ìbahutva® Siddha® Traiguñyaviparyay³chchaiva || - (S. Ka. 18)

As per the principles of philosophy, whatever we experience (or perceive) is only is an outcome of some cause. Every effect or outcome has to have some cause. Similarly every perceptions

The philosophy of life is this: Life is not a struggle, not a tension... Life is bliss. It is eternal wisdom, eternal existence. – Author unknown AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

major kinds of pram³ñas – Pratyakïa Pram³ña, Anum³na, Âptavachana (pre existent mystic knowledge realized through spiritual acumen of the Vedic sages). That which is manifested, or is perceivable through the senses, comes under the category of Pratyakïa Pram³ña (direct evidence). That which is not obvious, but can be inferred without ambiguity by logical intellectual arguments is considered as proved by Anum³na. The extrasensory experiences that cannot be proved by Pratyakïa Pram³ña or Anum³na, are accepted only if approved by some quote in the Vedas or Upanishads, or original text derived from them.

Meaning: There is difference in the events of birth and death, and course of life of different individuals (regarded as souls here), and it appears like a universal principle that different souls don’t do exactly the same functions, nor are their experiences (of anything) are exactly the same. Therefore, all the souls are different from each other. Because the self-existent Pur¿Ìa (God) is not affected by the triguña, whereas all the souls (beings) remain influenced by the triguña (in fact, their lives are mostly nothing but the expressions of different combinations of the triguña), therefore the individual souls are different from God. Manifestation of Nature (Creation of the Universe): According to S³®khya, when the triguña of M¿la P•akrati rest in equilibrium there is no creation. Only the Pur¿Ìa and M¿la P•akrati exist. When the evolutionary impulse (of Pur¿Ìa) activates the M¿la P•akrati, this equilibrium is disturbed. First the most powerful guña namely the Sat gives rise to the Mah³tatva (Buddhi-tatva). Combination of Raj in the latter originates Aha®k³ra. Influence of Tam upon Aha®k³ra results in creation of the five tanm³tr³s. Gradual rise of Tam in the tanm³tr³s creates the 5 basic elements. The basic elements, their combinations, and different levels of triguña in these combinations give rise to the many, stochastically varying, forms and events that collectively constitute cosmic creation (JaÃa SraÌti).

“The complete use of pure reason brings us finally from physical to metaphysical knowledge. But the concepts of metaphysical knowledge do not in themselves fully satisfy the demand of our integral being. They are indeed entirely satisfactory to the pure reason itself, because they are the very stuff of its own existence. But our nature sees things through two eyes always, for it views them doubly as idea and as fact and therefore every concept is incomplete for us and to a part of our nature almost unreal until it becomes an experience.” - Sri Aurobindo

Pram³ñas in S³®khya darïana: The analytical discussions in S³®khya philosophy, the proofs and counter-proofs given in its treatises proceed with the support of three

The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas. – Eric Hoffer 23

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The Concept of Salvation in S³®khya darïana: Every school of Indian philosophy aims at the goal of salvation of all beings from suffering and agony and attainment of ultimate bliss through the light of absolute knowledge. S³®khya darïana also guides towards this goal. In fact (e.g. in the following shloka), it deﬁnes the ultimate endeavor as - complete emancipation from all sufferings, and desires. Trividh Du¡kh³ty³nta Niv•attiratyanta Pur¿Ì³rtha¡| – (S. D. 1.1)

Notes: 1. Sutras: ‘Formulae’ or ‘aphorisms’ uttered in Vedic style, which were later on scripted as couplets (shlokas) in Sanskrit.

Although all other efforts of wellbeing, including the worldly attainments, are also recognized as worthy endeavors if exerted righteously, the ultimate endeavor is only that of Jó³nanamukti - salvation from ignorance and agony through ultimate knowledge. (S. D. 3.23) | S³®khya darïana describes ﬁve essential supports for s³dhan³s (devout spiritual endeavors) towards salvation. These are namely, Uha - mystic knowledge attained in previous birth; (Guru’s) Shabda - mantra and mystic guidance given by an adept spiritual master; Adhyayan - continuous, thorough study of the Vedic texts; Suhratpr³pti - enlightening company of some saints or spiritually elevated persons; D³na (benevolence, charity). Unﬂinching s³dhan³ gradually leads to uprooting of all kinds of sufferings and sorrows - the daivika, daihika, and bhautika du¡khas5 and attainment of unalloyed happiness with peace.

Up³d³na K³raña: The origin, the source of birth; the root-cause, sans which, existence of the speciﬁc result (in this case, the existence of Nature) would not be possible. [e.g. Gold is the up³d³na k³raña of goldjewelry.]

Nimitta K³raña: Principal facilitator or doer. [e.g. A goldsmith is the nimitta k³raña of goldjewelry.]

Bhokt³: One who relishes the joys/beneﬁts/ favors, and suffers the pains/agonies/ adversities.

Du¡kha: The three types - Daivika (mental level pains or sorrows, e.g., tension, suspicion, anxiety, despair, insult, etc); Daihika (pertaining to the body, e.g. due to illness, injury, allergy, etc), and Bhautika (due to natural calamities, war, social anarchy, riots etc.)

Reference: 1. Vedmurti Taponishtha Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya and Mata Bhagavati Devi Sharma (author and editors): Sankhya evam Yoga Darshana (2nd Ed). Yug Nirman Yojana Vistar Trust, Mathura. 2011.

“One man may read the Bhagavata by the light of a lamp, and another may commit a forgery by that very light; but the lamp is unaffected. The sun sheds its light on the wicked as well as on the virtuous.” - Sri Ramakrishna Philosophy should be an energy; it should ﬁnd its aim and its effect in the amelioration of mankind. – Victor Hugo AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

The Secret of Overcoming Loneliness

f a person feels lonely in the midst of a sea of people, then it is an indeed unfortunate situation. Loneliness is felt when one separates oneself from others, break relationships with others, not considering anyone one’s own or when one doesn’t establish contact with anyone. In the present time, loneliness amid people has become a serious problem. This is similar to a situation where one is in front of an ocean but without a drop of water to drink. Unfortunately, this is the reality of life in this modern age.

Man is by nature a social animal. Physicians say that people who suffer from loneliness should not find solution in expensive treatments and medication. Instead, they should meet other people, socialize in the real world, share their worries and happiness and feel part of the society. When they are able to express their emotions thus, the heaviness in their hearts is lifted and they feel light and enthusiastic inside. The words ‘alone’ and ‘lonely’ though might sound similar, are totally different in their meaning. Loneliness means that a person wishes to have people around him but are not present. It is a lack, a feeling that something is missing, a pain, a depression, a need, an absence. Aloneness means a person is complete in himself, he doesn’t need anybody; and he is happy to be that way. It is a presence, fullness, aliveness, joy of being, overflowing love. There is a beautiful description of this in Shiva Sutras – one who is seated stably in the company of oneself can happily take a plunge in the lake of bliss present within his heart. Each of us has this lake within ourselves, whose water is sufficient to quench our thirst. But we search for this lake in others and remain unhappy. This is similar to the musk deer which searches for the source of the fragrance outside unaware that it is emanating from its own navel.

40% of city population is suffering from loneliness. Psychologists say that the damage caused by loneliness is same as that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes / day. Dr. Vivek Murthy published the results of a survey in an American medical journal which states that loneliness is not only experienced by elderly people but youth also to a large extent. The web of social media that is omnipresent is in fact like an illusionary world. It creates a sense of relationships and friendships. The user indulges himself into this illusionary world while knowing very well that these friends are not true. He just tries to handle his loneliness through his involvement. But the worst part is that instead of belongingness, there is a high chance that he may get cheated and become lonelier.

People are unhappy because they do not realize the spiritual treasure that is present within

Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone. - Paul Tillich 25

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themselves. So they spend their entire life searching for their happiness and joy everywhere else. In reality, they need not go anywhere. As long as they do not ﬁnd their fountain of joy within themselves, neither can they be happy nor can they satisfy those around them. When we ﬁnd our happiness within, then anyone who comes in contact with us also experiences the same joy and contentment.

so that he is not aware of the inherent divinity within. He has begun to assume that he is nothing more than this physical body made of ﬂesh and bones. He knows about emotions and thoughts. But there is something beyond all these and there lies his true identity – he outright rejects this idea because it is not apparent to him. We see only a fraction of the iceberg above water. Majority of it is submerged within. Similarly, the physical portion of life that is apparent is only a small fraction of our existence. Subtle aspect of our existence is many times more than the physical and we are unaware of it.

The lake of bliss that we have been talking of is, of course, not present physically but in subtle realms. We cannot perceive it with our physical eyes but it can only be felt through our mental vision. It is not easy to reach that lake because one has to cross a river, i.e. citta, in order to reach the bliss. This citta is formed as a result of one’s own previous actions.

Man does not live just one life. He lives one life after another. When the body dies, the soul takes another body and is born again. But he has no recollection of his past life. However, all his actions from the past lives are meticulously recorded in his citta. Thus, man’s present life is based on actions of his past lives and his future is laid on the foundation of present and past.

The learned people say that the road to heaven passes through hell. This is precisely why most people cannot enter the door to their inner consciousness since it involves crossing the barriers that they have created owing to their past actions. This is what is depicted as the river of citta that one needs to cross. Only the courageous, fearless, those of strong resolve and undaunted by difﬁcult s³dhan³s can proceed on this path.

Whatever good or bad man experiences in life is felt within the mind. This is how heaven or hell is created in his mind. Good deeds will bestow happiness like in heaven and bad deeds will give rise to grief and suffering like in hell. If man is suffering from loneliness today, it is because he has forgotten the tradition of ‘caring and sharing’. The one who cares experiences inner joy and the receiver is also happy because he feels nurtured. Thus the only technique that will work for removing loneliness is to live a life of love and togetherness; share one’s joys and resources with the needy and feel happiness in life.

From times immemorial, the sages and rishis of our country have done extensive research and study to understand the subtle realms of consciousness and have discovered new knowledge, divine mantras and attainments. They experienced the illumination of the soul and reached the lake of bliss about which we have been discussing. Today, man is moving away from his own self. He is distancing himself from his identity so much

Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self. - May Sarton AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Yug Gita – 17

Sthitaprajóa Always Remains Calm and Composed

n the previous issue, while explaining the essence of seventieth ïloka it was indicated that the ocean possesses steady nature. Fiery, fast ﬂowing rivers incessantly go on pouring their waters in it; even then the ocean, with its great depth, does not become unsteady. In the same way, sthitaprajóa (a person of steady wisdom) remains poised - that is, he does not get disturbed by the impulses of sensual pleasures. By using the words ‘na k³mak³mº’ Lord Krishna says that only sthitaprajóa can achieve peace and not a person desirous of sensual pleasures. This issue takes up this discussion further and explains the essence of last two ïlokas of this chapter.

Lord is trying to convey here that sthitaprajóa remains sober and steady all the time. The ocean, despite being filled continuously from all the sides by the river waters remains within it boundaries. In the same way, sthitaprajóa even though surrounded by many desires and impulses of sensual pleasures does not get affected by them, but remains calm. One who runs after the sensual pleasures cannot attain peace. He will always remain disturbed. The word k³ma has been used here by Lord Krishna to highlight the virtues of sthitaprajóa. The meaning of ‘K³m³ ya® praviïanti’ is – using objects of pleasure, enjoying sensual pleasures. A similar meaning word k³ma has been used by the seer in KaÚhopaniïad, where he says - ‘ye ye k³m³ durlabh³ martyaloke’ (meaning – O Nachiketa! Whatever objects of pleasure and howsoever difficult they are to achieve, I Yama give you all that.’). Thus there are three meanings of k³ma – one is sex, second - desires of the mind and third - use of external objects of pleasure. Pujya Gurudev gave another interpretation - k³ma is the trait of finding inner joy, which when elevated to higher levels, becomes a spiritual

power. This subject has been discussed by him in great detail in his book titled ‘Âdhy³tmika K³mavijó³na’ (in Hindi). Considering external objects as the basis of k³man³ (desire) is that by taking resort to them (using them), desire to acquire more arises in the mind; that is, these objects are the cause for desires. Accumulated impressions and the actions of previous several births generate the desires for attaining the objects of senses and hence they also become the cause of the desires of mind. Mind gets easily affected by the external sense objects. But when the latter enter the mind of a sthitaprajóa, they are unable to inﬂuence him. This is the majesty of sthitaprajóa. He relinquishes all his desires for relishing the objects of senses from the heart; and hence, he becomes fearless. Even if he is made to stand in the midst of illusive world of sensual desires, he would remain unperturbed. Here Veda Vyasa - the poet of the Gita, through the medium of Lord Krishna, sung the paeans of praise of a person of steadfast wisdom.

The worth of every conviction consists precisely in the steadfastness with which it is held. - Jane Addams 27

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Sthitaprajóa also does not relish the taste or ﬂavor of food. Once Swami Vivekananda, after eating inedible food, went to Ramakrishna Paramhansa and said – ‘You prohibit us from eating onion-garlic, but today I have eaten so much inedible food.’ Then Thakur said – ‘You are beyond all this. By sharing all this, don’t give wrong example to your colleagues. They will emulate you without understanding the fact that you are sthitaprajóa of high order, where such foods cannot affect you.’

a blanket from his room, wrapped it around him and then tried to meditate. But somehow or the other mosquitoes would enter inside the blanket and he would get disturbed. Despite incessant attack of mosquitoes, Swamiji was in trance for full eight hours and Girish Babu kept busy in getting the mosquitoes ﬂee. When Swamiji got up from his meditation, he saw Girish Babu sitting near him. He asked him – ‘GC (short form of Girish Chandra)! What are you doing here?’ GC replied – ‘I was trying to meditate but couldn’t do so due to the attack of mosquitoes. How come you were able to meditate?’ Swamiji said – ‘Meditation is done with the soul. The mosquitoes were biting on the body, so there was no pain to the soul. Please go deeper beneath the surface of the body and then meditate, you will ﬁnd the difference.’ When such a state is achieved, the ocean of soul remains unmoved. In this state, whatever be the severity of sufferings – howsoever powerful the attack of sensual pleasures, the mind remains steady. The Japa (chanting of mantras) in such a state makes the s³dhaka achieve divine bliss. With this example, it is now easier to understand the comparison of sthitaprajóa with the calm ocean.

There is one such example in the life of Pujya Gurudev. He was on a tour. The host lady, while serving a glass of milk to him inadvertently mixed salt in place of sugar in the milk. He drank the milk as such without any expression of letting her know that the milk has salt in it. When he saw such an expression on the faces of other fellow parijans, he immediately pointed with his eyes not to grumble and drink the milk as such. Later, when she came to know about the truth, she wept for what she had done. But Pujya Gurudev consoled her and did not let her feel that it was her mistake. Such foods get easily absorbed by a sthitaprajóa like Pujya Gurudev. Girish Babu and Narendranath (Swami Vivekananda) were sitting near Ramakrishna Paramhansa. They were debating on ‘where to look for sthitaprajóa and how he appears?’ Thakur asked Girish Babu to stay with him and Narendranath to go to Panchvati and meditate there. Swamiji went there and immediately got absorbed in the meditation despite a thick cover of mosquitoes biting from all sides. Thakur then asked Girish Babu to meditate near Narendra. He too was attacked by the mosquitoes. When he could not focus for some time he fetched

In this context, Vinobaji has written in ‘Sthitaprajóa Darïana’ that the mind and soul of sthitaprajóa remain steadfast. On one side, it may be impossible for him to do extremely pure actions; and on the other, he may get involved in prohibited actions as well. On one side, all good or bad deeds are being abandoned; and on the other, all the deeds are also welcome. In both the states, the mind of sthitaprajóa remains peaceful. His inner being always remains steady. With the help of awakened

To a resolute mind, wishing to do is the ﬁrst step toward doing. But if we do not wish to do a thing it becomes impossible. - Robert Southey AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

from life. Life becomes blissful. Considering the mental state of Arjuna, Lord considered it essential to highlight this point. This formula is most important for the people seeking selfrealization.

wisdom, feeling the truth or falsehood in material objects, he remains steady all the time. Whatever he does, he remains unattached to it and hence it is pardonable. In fact, he develops himself in such a way that he sees good / auspicious in everything. That is why he remains peaceful all the time. This is the only way to keep oneself happy.

In the above ïloka, word ‘carati’ has been used, which means that such a person plays, roams, enjoys. There are no sorrows in his life. After relinquishing the desires for material objects and the desire to live long, what remains is pure inner bliss. Therefore he behaves like an innocent child. In ‘Gita Rahasya’, Tilak has interpreted ‘carati’ as utilization of the power of controlled senses for the social good. Param Pujya Gurudev says – this word means ‘living a joyful life like divine beings’. In short, the essence all the interpretations is that when all the desires vanish, what remains is peace.

The next ïloka is – Vih³ya k³m³nya¡ sarv³n pum³®ïcarati ni¡sp•ha¡| Nirmamo niraha®k³ra¡ sa ï³nti® adhigacchati || (71/2) Meaning: That person attains peace, who, abandoning all desires for sense gratiﬁcation, lives free from attachment, false ego and sense of proprietorship.

The last ïloka of the chapter on ‘Sa®khya Yoga’ explains the beneﬁts of being sthitaprajóa -

In this concluding discussion in the context of sthitaprajóa some very important points are being mentioned; in fact, some of them are being repeated. Yogiraj Shri Krishna started the discussion on the virtues of sthitaprajóa with the abandoning the desires for material objects and, he concludes also with the same thing. The one, who can abandon the three: attachment, ego and cravings for sense gratiﬁcation, will certainly attain peace. Here, it is important to understand the use of word ‘ni¡sp•ha¡’ after ‘Vih³ya k³m³nya¡’. One can abandon all the desires but the desire to live long remains. This desire pierces the mind till death. But the one who has abandoned this desire also, becomes ‘Jºvanmukta Paramhansa’ (the enlightened). When this desire is relinquished, there remains no fear of death. He never gets bored

EÌ³ br³hmº sthiti¡ p³rtha nain³® pr³pya vimuhyati| Sthitw³sy³mantak³le ”pi brahmanirv³öamcchati|| (72/2) Meaning: O Partha! Having attained this Brahmic state (realization of ultimate truth), one is never again deluded. Being established therein, even at the end of life one attains to oneness with Brahma (the ultimate consciousness). The state of consciousness in which the SiddhapuruÌas live has been called Brahmi Sthiti. This is the incarnation of Superconsciousness in human consciousness. It is a kind of reﬁned view on life. This state is

Doubts and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mind transcend. - Helen Keller 29

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Eternal and steady. After attaining this state, a person never returns to the material world. This becomes a normal state for him. He doesn’t carry the load of knowledge; he remains light all the time even during emergencies. ‘Brahmanirvaöa’ means – get dissolved in Brahma, become one with him. It is an extreme case of material detachment. Removing the curtain of body, the person embraces the inﬁnite. In our Vedic culture, ‘Brahmanirvaöa’ is indicative of allpervasiveness. Instead of saying ‘one is dead’, our culture says ‘one has become all-pervasive’

or ‘one has become inﬁnite’. Param Pujya Gurudev after going into the subtle-causal realms has become all-pervasive, inﬁnite. We feel his presence even now. If one has to understand the philosophy of sthitaprajóa in a comprehensive manner, then one should study the philosophy of the life of Param Pujya Gurudev. We will discuss this subject some other time. For now, we are ending this second chapter on ‘Samkhya Yoga’. In the next issue, we will start the third chapter titled ‘Karma Yoga’ (The Yoga of Action).

[Note: This is the translation of Hindi version of ‘Yug Gita’ (Part 1) by Dr. Pranav Pandya, published by Sri Vedmata Gayatri Trust, Shantikunj, Haridwar (2003)]

Blessings in a Curse Whenever I became egotistical, I fell down. This is my experience. My master said, “Try your best, but whenever you feed your ego, whenever you try to do anything selfish, you will not succeed. This is my curse on you.” I looked at him in surprise. What was he saying? Then he continued, “This is my blessing to you, that whenever you want to become selfless, loving, and without ego, you will find a great force behind you, and you will never fail to achieve some good.” A selfish man always thinks and talks about himself. His selfishness makes him self-centered and miserable. The shortest cut to self-enlightenment is to cut through the ego; surrender before the Highest One. Satsanga—company of the sages—and constant awareness of the center within help one in going beyond the mire of delusion. The ego is also purified by cultivating selflessness. Unpurified ego is an evil which obstructs one’s own progress. But the purified ego is a means in discriminating real self from not-self—real self from mere-self. No one can expand his consciousness if he remains egotistical. Those who build boundaries around themselves because of their ego problems invariably create suffering for themselves, but those who try to be constantly aware of their unity with others can remain happy and fearless, enjoying every moment of life. Those who are selfless, humble, and loving are the true benefactors of humanity. - Swami Rama Perhaps there is no more important component of character than steadfast resolution. - Theodore Roosevelt AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Peace Pilgrim’s Wisdom – 17

Living the Spiritual Life – 1

n the beginning, I undertook my walking not only to contact people; I undertook it as a prayer discipline to keep me concentrated on my prayer for peace. I hadn’t learned yet to pray without ceasing. I also undertook a fortyfive day period of prayer and fasting as a prayer discipline. After the first few years the prayer discipline was completely unnecessary, because I had learned to pray without ceasing. I made the contact so thoroughly that into my prayer consciousness I put any condition or person in the world I am concerned about and the rest takes place automatically. Occasionally some condition is brought back into my conscious mind because I need to really concentrate on it. If some person is in dire difficulty, and that person returns to my mind for thought, I sometimes use the prayer of visualization, which has always been very natural for me, but I understand not so for everybody. I reach out - my divine nature reaches out - to contact their divine nature. Then I have the feeling of lifting them, lifting them, lifting them, and I have the feeling of bringing God’s light to them. I try to envision them bathed in God’s light, and finally I do see them standing and reaching out their arms bathed in golden light. At that point I leave them in God’s hands.

me. I always have the feeling of being thankful for these beautiful people who walk the earth with me. So I would say part of my prayer is a feeling of thankfulness, and of course a feeling of genuine love for all of God’s children and all of God’s creation. Prayer is a concentration of positive thoughts. That’s a little bit about prayer. Ways of Prayer You can visualize God’s light each day and send it to someone who needs help. Your divine nature must reach out and touch the divine nature of another. Within you is the light of the world, it must be shared with the world. Visualize a golden light within you and spread it out; ﬁrst to those about you - your circle of friends and relatives - and then gradually to the world. Keep on visualizing God’s golden light surrounding our earth. And if you have a problem, take the matter to God in prayer, and visualize it in God’s hands. Then leave it, knowing it is in the best possible hands, and turn your attention to other things. That’s not the only prayer you can pray, but I have discovered that for some who were in very great trouble, this prayer of visualization was helpful to them. I’ve heard of results later, so I do a little of this.

In all people I meet - though some may be governed by the self-centered nature and may not know their potential at all - I see that divine spark, and that’s what I concentrate on. All people look beautiful to me; they look like shining lights to

There is also a constant prayer of thankfulness - I am constantly thankful. The world is so

At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it. - Thich Nhat Hanh 31

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this time of night.” I said to him, “Well, you see, I walk completely without fear. Therefore I’m not attracting things which are not good. It says, That which I feared came upon me. But I fear nothing and expect only good.” He took me in anyhow, and I found myself in a cell. The floor was littered with old newspapers and cigarette butts and every old thing. The accommodations consisted of a single mattress on the floor and four ragged blankets. There were two women attempting to sleep together on that single mattress. They told me there had been eight women in that cell the night before with those accommodations. There was a rather nice feeling among the prisoners in general. They said to me, “You’ll need to have two blankets because you’ll be sleeping on the floor.” So I took a newspaper and cleared a place on the floor, then put one blanket down and the other blanket over me and slept comfortably enough. It wasn’t the first time I had slept on a cement floor, nor the last. If you’re relaxed you can sleep anywhere. When I woke up in the morning I saw this man staring through the bars. I said to him, “What time does court convene?” He said, “I don’t know.” I said, “Well, aren’t you a policeman?” “No,” he said, “I just like to look at the girls.” It was one of the town sports. Anyone could come in right off the street and see what they had there today: “Let’s go look at the girls!”

beautiful, I am thankful. I have endless energy, I am thankful. I am plugged into the source of Universal Supply, I am thankful. I am plugged into the source of Universal Truth, I am thankful. I have this constant feeling of thankfulness, which is a prayer. When you’re learning, it’s true it may be valuable to take special times, even to use special forms... I can see that. Several times people have written to me and said, “Peace, will you pray with me at four o’clock in the afternoon or nine o’clock in the evening, which is such and such a time, daylight saving time?” I write and tell them, “You don’t have to ﬁgure all that out for me - plug in at any time and you will be praying with me, and I will be praying with you, because I pray without ceasing.” Praying without ceasing is not ritualized, nor are there even words. It is a constant state of awareness of oneness with God; it is a sincere seeking for a good thing; and it is a concentration on the thing sought, with faith that it is obtainable. All right prayer has good effect, but if you give your whole life to the prayer you multiply its power ...No one really knows the full power of prayer. Of course, there is a relationship between prayer and action. Receptive prayer results in an inner receiving, which motivates to right action.

One of the women was middle aged and was being held for being drunk and disorderly. It was her seventh offense, she told me, so it wasn’t so hard on her. But the other was an eighteen year old girl. She felt her entire life was ruined because of this experience. I said, “It’s my second time and I certainly don’t think my life is ruined!” I got her all cheered up and we talked about what she’d do when she got out. She

Let me tell you a story about an answer to prayer. I was picked up late one night by a young policeman as I was walking along a lonely highway. I believe he was thinking in terms of protective custody. He said to me, “Why, nobody in this town would walk out along this highway at

You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. - Swami Vivekananda AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

was to get out that day or the next day. Then they changed the guards. I never saw a matron. The new guard saw me and said, “What are you doing in there? I saw your picture in the newspaper. I heard you over the air.” Then they just let me go. But before I left I got a broom from the man who cleaned up around there and gave it to the girls so they could clean up their cell. I also got them a comb; their hair was all matted. They had been there about a week without a comb. What I really wanted to tell you is that the eighteen year old girl was a deeply religious person. She had been desperately praying for help. I believe that I was picked up off the highway that night and set behind prison bars in answer to her prayers.

Now the young folks talk to me today about things like breathing exercises and meditation techniques, which in some cultures are definitely religious practices. But I say, look what I got from my time alone with God: From the beauty around me, my inspiration; from the silent receptiveness, my meditation; and from my walking, not only my exercise but my breathing. Four things at once! I believe in making very good use of my time. And you can’t be too pushy when you’re doing four things at once. I always think of the bud of a flower. If you give it proper conditions it will open into a beautiful flower, but if you’re impatient and try to tear the petals open you permanently injure the flower for the earth life. The flower can be equated with the earthly human life. Give the spiritual growing-up the proper growing conditions and it will open into a thing of beauty.

The most important part of prayer is what we feel, not what we say. We spend a great deal of time telling God what we think should be done, and not enough time waiting in the stillness for God to tell us what to do.

When you feel the need of a spiritual lift, try getting to bed early and get up early to have a quiet time at dawn. Then carry the serene “in tune” feeling that comes to you into your day, no matter what you may be doing. For those of you who are seeking the spiritual life, I recommend these four daily practices: Spend time alone each day in receptive silence. When angry, or afﬂicted with any negative emotion, take time to be alone with God. (Do not talk with people who are angry; they are irrational and cannot be reasoned with. If you or they are angry, it is best to leave and pray.) Visualize God’s light each day and send it to someone who needs help. Exercise the body; it is the temple of the soul.

Now, beside God’s laws, which are the same for all of us, there is also God’s guidance and that is unique for every human soul. If you don’t know what God’s guidance for your life is, you might try seeking in receptive silence. I used to walk receptive and silent amidst the beauties of nature. Wonderful insights would come to me which I then put into practice in my life. You might prefer listening to beautiful, uplifting music, reading a few beautiful words and pondering on them. To me, the beauties of nature were always the most inspiring, and so actually that was my time alone with God. It didn’t last more than an hour; if that, got so much from it.

[Reproduced with glad consent of the publishers – Friends of Peace Pilgrim] Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts. - Benjamin Disraeli 33

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Break the Hypnotic Mold of Incompetency

ncompetency has no relation with the reality. It is a state of mind. When someone thinks that he is incompetent in doing a certain work, it is merely his imagination. The fact is that this ‘incompetency’ complex is built into our minds over a long period of time coming from our childhood. In childhood, we were often admonished by some people –“You cannot do this work. You are incapable of doing this. You are not ﬁt to do it etc. etc.” These kind of gratuitous verdicts are routinely imposed by some people on the others, and the latter even accept such opinions. This leads to the formation of an inferiority complex. People start thinking that they are really inferior and less deserving; they cannot achieve success or any do good in life.

follow the commands of ‘superiors’, and would never think otherwise. The standard psychological method to make a slave is to din into the targeted people’s minds –“You are just incapable; you should not ever wish for more than what has been given to you”. When a person keeps hearing such words and, in turn, keeps repeating them in his own mind, his subconscious gradually accepts these false words as true, and the person becomes hypnotized. For example, when a product is advertised on television, it is presented with such catchphrases and alluring visuals as to goad people to see it again and again, and go over it in their minds repeatedly. This product with its surrounding hyperbole then makes an imprint in people’s subconscious, and when the person goes to the market he becomes receptive to buying it.

Such thoughts gradually rigidify into a mental block and prevent people from striving for the better. When a person becomes convinced of his incompetency, he closes his avenues to progress. The simple thought that he too can do something better or beyond his perceived limitation never enters his mind.

Such advertisements target the mind, fascinate it and ﬁnally goad it into buying. Thus hypnosis is a simple process of prolonged repetition in the mind. Constant hammering creates a speciﬁc niche in the mind. This effectively acts as an invisible wall beyond which mind is unable to go.

In remote past, many societies and social groups used the power of hypnosis to destroy the talent, uniqueness and liberty of the people. The vested interests were wary of the talented and the highly competent, or those who loved freedom. Instead they wanted mental slaves or obedient servitors who would meekly

George Gurdjieff, the mystic, philosopher and spiritual teacher, has recounted his childhood memories. He was born in one of the most

Luck is always the last refuge of laziness and incompetence. - James Cash Penney AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

primitive areas of the world. This part is still in that very stage. People there are very skilled hunters. Their life is nomadic and hence they do not build home or ﬁxed habitations.

Gradually the children become convinced that if they violated the circle they would be visited by some harm. They would grow up in age with this mental barrier, so much so that if occasionally they did try to cross the line they would feel as if an invisible wall was physically blocking their way. Until the person who had drawn the circle came and obliterated the line, the children would remain conﬁned to the circle.

Gurdjieff was brought up by one such nomadic tribe. He could remember that these tribes used to practice hypnotism over children. Since they could not take children to hunting expeditions they would leave the latter in a protected place under a tree. But to ensure that the children would not wander away, they used the power of hypnosis. When the child was still very small, they would make him sit under a tree, draw a circle with a stick and told him that he could not cross the circle. This constant dinning into the ears convinced the child that he could not really go across the line. This is similar to the thought process whereby people start believing in religious superstitions.

Thus hearing phrases like “you are incompetent’ since early childhood casts a hypnotic effect, and has nothing to do with reality. No person is fully incompetent. The idea of one’s own incompetence is a falsity imposed by others. It tends to enslave the mind. We have to merely free ourselves from this mental block and reﬁne our capabilities. This effort would certainly cut away the cobweb of false impressions, free us to see the reality as it actually is, and lead us onto a new path.

The following dialogue between Lord Buddha and his disciple is very inspiring for the selfless social volunteers. Lord Buddha asked one of his disciples – “You are going for spreading the noble thoughts of Dharma. If people do not listen to you, what will you do? The disciple replied – “I will be grateful to them that they did not hurl abuses at me.” Then Buddha asked what he would do if they indeed turned abusive to him. The disciple replied that he would continue to be grateful that he is not getting beaten up. Lord Buddha wanted to test his disciple further and asked what he would do if he was beaten. The disciple replied that he would still be grateful that they had not killed him. Buddha then asked what he would do if they killed him. The disciple replied that he still would not have a reason to be ungrateful because if he were killed, then he would be liberated from the grievances of this life. It is this level of sincerity that captures the true essence of selfless efforts for uplifting the society. Never attribute to malevolence what is merely due to incompetence. - Arthur C. Clarke 35

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Odyssey of the Enlightened - 66

Future Calling– 2

dissatisfaction in the police, too. The employees of Bombay dock yard went on strike. Gandhiji held World War responsible for this turmoil. Normally after the war, for sometime there are always chances of moral degradation and disorder. Apart from this, conspiracies were being plotted to intensify tensions between Hindus and Muslims. In March 1946, a team of three cabinet ministers of the British Government came to India. In about four months, this team interacted with about ﬁve hundred leaders of India.

he difﬁcult road to Independence After the end of Second World War in May 1945, for about one year, the country witnessed several upheavals. In Britain, a new government was formed by the Labour Party. That government made up its mind to remove British Rule from India. Shimla Conference was abruptly dissolved due to the intransigence of the Muslim League leader, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Out of the total number of members in the governing council, he was insisting on getting more than half of them for the Muslim League.

The purpose of these meetings was to prepare the ground for independence of India and also to decide about the form of government for transfer of power. According to the plan that the Cabinet Mission submitted in May 1946, India was to be given a federal rule. The federal government that was to be formed by combining the princely states and the representatives of the provinces was to be given the responsibility of foreign affairs, security, home affairs and transport. Rest of the departments was to be looked after by the state governments.

The way the political events of the country had unfolded over the next two – three years, it became clear that the partition of India was almost inevitable. The failure of Shimla Conference put the seal on it. The communal harmony was getting willfully disrupted. The post-war conditions, British politics and the wrangles for participation in the governing body had ﬁlled the public with uncontrollable anger and dissatisfaction. The stage was reached where even small pretexts were enough for creating violent riots. In the beginning of the year 1946, a Muslim ofﬁcer of Azad Hind Fauz was court-martialed. He was sentenced by an army court. The Muslims of Calcutta (now Kolkata) took out a procession against this decision. Soon the procession became violent and started looting the shops, burning trams and even killing some innocent people.

Communal tension started building up Although all the political parties and the princely states accepted the formula of the Cabinet Mission, the thinking of Muslim League was different. They wanted a separate independent state for Muslim majority areas, implying a partition of the country. Though they had accepted the plan of the Cabinet Mission in May 1946 but within ten weeks they withdrew their support. The League

Some incidents of revolt in the army and security network too came to light. There was

When I discover who I am, I’ll be free. - Ralph Ellison AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

declared a ‘Direct Action’ movement for creation of Pakistan. With this declaration, a conﬂagration of hate, tension and violence erupted all over India. In order to perform his duty in this riot torn atmosphere, Shriram called a meeting of scholars, pandits, and social workers of Mathura. He himself went to invite these people to the meeting. Exactly twelve days after the declaration of ‘direct action’, seven religious leaders of Mathura attended a meeting at the residence of Shriram in Ghiya Mandi. Among them three were Hindus, two Muslims, one Christian and one Sikh. Among the Hindus, one person was from Arya Smaj.

He also made the members aware of his decision of publication, in future, of the literature inspiring communal harmony. He also requested for the cooperation of visiting scholars in this direction. The third important decision that was taken in the meeting was that all concerned should ensure that there were no riots. If, by chance, something happened, all attempts should be made to save the innocent people irrespective of their religion; this would increase the willpower of the victims of riots. During ‘Direct Action’ movement of Muslim League there were demonstrations in Mathura also. Bloody violence erupted in Bengal, Bihar and Punjab. Its news spread like wildﬁre all over

Salim Mohammad, the Imam of the mosque of Chhatta Bazar, was requested to preside over the meeting. He looked at Maulana Farukhi. After a little deliberation, almost every one was looking at Dwarka Babu of Arya Samaj to take the lead. The following guidelines were framed in the meeting to maintain communal harmony in Mathura: “Howsoever inﬂammatory talks political leaders give, the people of our communities should resolve to maintain peace and harmony. After Puja, Prayers or Namaz, some selected portions of the respective religious texts should be read. These portions should be such that they teach peace, harmony and brotherhood. In our ofﬁces, homes, or workplaces, we should employ at least one person who is from a different community. For example, a Hindu religious leader should keep one Muslim with him and a Muslim leader should give employment to one Hindu.”

A procession in honor of someone was passing by in heaven. Someone asked in whose honor was the procession being taken out. Reply came – in the honor of a tiger. The inquisitive person asked again – What did this tiger do to earn the dignity of being in heaven? The reply was – It was a stormy night with strong winds and rain. This tiger was returning to his cave. By smell that came from inside the cave he knew that a goat scared by the storm had taken shelter inside the cave. The tiger thought that if the goat would see him it would get scared. So he sat outside the cave. He got drenched in rain and took sufferings upon himself so that the goat did not suffer. The good karma that he earned in saving the goat’s life got him this heaven. Truly, benevolence bestowed upon others never goes waste.

“Abdul is already with you from the beginning. So you need not do anything especially for this purpose.” – said Dwarka Babu. Shriram said – “I have resolved to publish the messages of different religions in my magazine.”

Don’t be satisﬁed with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth. - Rumi 37

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

the country; and due to this, tension was building up in other cities which were earlier peaceful. Under this movement, there were demonstrations and public meetings in Mathura also. Within one year, there were about ﬁfteen instances in which both the communities violently clashed with each other. The freedom ﬁghters of Mathura district made a ‘Shantisena’ (peace-keeping force). Its volunteers used to take out Prabhat Pheris (morning processions). They would sing prayers that used to be sung in the Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi. The credit of chanting the melody of ‘Raghupati raghav rajaram’ in Mathura goes to these volunteers. Shriram too would participate in these prabhat pheris. He also inspired the readers of Akhand Jyoti to participate in these peace marches.

In those days of tension–ﬁlled atmosphere, some religious places of Mathura also became the victims of violence. Though it was the duty of police to maintain law and order and protect them but the police force was not enough. The neighboring cities of Mathura, namely Agra and Bharatpur, were also burning. Shantisenas were formed there also for maintaining harmony. Shriram was asked to visit these places. On some occasions, he did so, but mostly he remained in Mathura as he was more needed there. The plot of some trouble–makers to attack some religious places in Chauk and Keshavdev (wards) was leaked. In order to prevent the planned attacks, Shriram along with his friends and volunteers went to Keshavdev ward. However, police didn’t allow them to do so. So the volunteers decided to individually visit the families of minority community. In those turbulent times of deep distrust, it was but natural to disbelieve the people of the other community by the residents. In those areas, the news was spread that Hindus were coming there. But in the next wave, it became clear that they were volunteers of Shantisena and that among them Shriram and his companions were also present. This information removed the worry of the Muslim residents of Katara. The rioters tried their best but they could not do much harm. Some people were arrested. The feeling of insecurity and tension was still prevailing. So Shriram made it a routine to visit those areas daily for nearly one and half months. He would meet the people and inquire about their apprehensions. He would normally be accompanied by some other volunteers and leaders of Congress. The aim of keeping in touch with them was to lift up their morale.

After the final decisions of partition of India and grant of independence to two partitioned states – India (Bharat) and Pakistan - the minorities in the two nation-states started becoming victims of communal violence. Violence flared up in West Punjab, Sindh and East Bengal. In those states, the non-Muslim minorities started fleeing from their ancestral homelands. Hindus were fleeing away from West Punjab and Sindh and East Bengal (now Bangla Desh) and Muslims from West Bengal. The rioters made fleeing people their targets. The news of riots reached other parts of the country and families of minority community there started packing up. In Mathura, some Muslim families sold their properties overnight and decided to go to Pakistan. Some of them had planned to go just because it was an Islamic country and hence they would get better opportunities there. When Shriram heard this news, he along with his religious team contacted these families and tried to persuade them to stay back. Out of the twenty families, fourteen changed their decision.

Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. - Steve Jobs AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

vacated two rooms in his house and took them with him next day. There was not much luggage with them that required any vehicle. They just made a bundle of necessary items and accompanied him. Mataji welcomed them; their food was cooked in her kitchen. They stayed there for two weeks. After normalcy was restored in that region, they went back on their own.

The festivities mixed with challenges India got independence on 15th August, 1947. This was celebrated as a festival in Mathura too. Shriram performed a special Yagya at his residence and hoisted the Tricolor Flag on the main entrance. After that he also participated in the program held at the collectorate. Later on, he went to Katara Keshavdev. He was accompanied by Shyamlal - his close friend and a social worker of that region. Families residing in Katara, too, appeared happy in a subdued way. Their minds were ﬁlled with worry and doubt. Shriram told these people – “If you people fear too much, you can come to my house. People of your community are working in my press. You can live there for whatever duration you wish, don’t get frightened.”

Due to the riots, there was a serious concern about employment / work in the minority community. People simply stopped giving work to them. Wherever they worked, people looked at them suspiciously. In some places, their services were terminated. Some such families came to Shriram to solve their problems. Shriram met the employers and tried to convince them. Obviously their doubt was not unfounded. It was not due to the nature or conduct of the workers, but on account of mutual communal mistrust.

On this assurance two families indeed got ready. Shriram told them to wait till evening. Then he

God himself takes care of his true devotees Once Swami Vivekananda was travelling in a 2nd class compartment of a train, a follower had bought the ticket for him, Swamiji had no money. It was a very hot Indian day. There was a business man in the next seat, he was eating variety of sweets and drinking cool juices, he looked at Swamiji and said “Only if you had worked hard like me you could have been enjoying too.” as if spirituality is a lazy man’s business. Swamiji had not eaten anything in last two days; he did not say anything in reply to the business man. Coincidentally both got off at the same station; a sweet-seller was waiting outside the train with variety of sweets, drinks and a chair to sit on. As soon as his saw Swamiji he requested him to receive his hospitality. “Why are you giving me all this?” asked Swami Vivekananda. “In the afternoon sleep I had a dream, Lord Rama appeared in the dream and told me to give all these to you.” said the sweet-seller. Swamiji ate all that with tear in his eyes appreciating how divine love manifests for those who are genuine in their quest. Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. - Mahatma Gandhi 39

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Youth Column

Do You Properly Use Your Mind Power?

xceptional talent is normally regarded by everyone as the Creator’s gift. After all, not everyone is capable of writing books, composing poems, creating paintings or marvelous sculptures. Only one amongst thousands becomes a high quality writer, and only one among thousands becomes a great scientist. What is the main reason behind the evolution of talent in great achievers? When this is assessed, the only conclusion that comes out is – these people showed enormous courage in deploying their mental powers in the direction that lead to the chosen goal. A judicious deployment of mental powers is, in fact, the fundamental basis for unveiling and nurturing of latent talent.

all his mental energies to become an erudite scholar of Sanskrit. This resolve did make him a highly accomplished scholar of Sanskrit. This transformation happened only because he properly channelized his mental powers, and reaped its beneﬁts. Most of us forget this fundamental principle and end up wasting our lives. If we put in efforts and recognize the importance of the mental powers hidden within us, we can transform our ordinary capabilities into exceptional talents. Whoever has achieved great heights, has earned the same by a proper utilization of his strengths. If scientists do not spend hours of efforts in conducting intense research in their laboratories, will they be able to attain any signiﬁcant breakthroughs?

Varadaraj, a very famous exponent of Sanskrit language was not so bright when he was a young boy. Varad is another name for ox. Since he was dull and unintelligent, his friends used to tease him by the name Varadaraj (the king of oxen). Once he grew sick of everyone’s ridicule and ran away from his home. On the way, when he sat down to take rest in a temple, he saw a grasshopper with two legs missing. The grasshopper was trying to climb a wall. Despite climbing and failing several times it did not accept defeat and kept trying. Finally, with tremendous effort it did manage to climb to the top of the wall. Varadaraj learnt a lesson from the grasshopper and took a resolve then and there that he would put in best efforts and focus

Every person who has attained excellence in any ﬁeld has done so by focusing his energies and steadily developing expertise. On the other hand, there are people who try all their lives but never achieve much. The main reason behind this failure is in their wasteful strewing of mental powers. If there is no clearly deﬁned goal, mind gets disorganized, and his desires stray off in meaningless pursuits. It is possible to attain success only by concentrating all the mental powers while focusing on a single chosen goal. Our personality is built by the same process as well. Without a goal, even self-control has no utility because the energy conserved through selfcontrol also eventually gets wasted.

Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will ﬁnd the ways to do it. - David J. Schwartz AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Within each and every person are embedded enormous possibilities of development and enhancement of mental powers but without a clear goal in mind and without developing focus towards that goal, all these possibilities get wasted. It is harmful to not use these powers and it is also harmful to misuse them for a wrong goal. Spiritual aspirants who conserve their energies through self-control need to put in a lot of effort to stop the ﬂow of their energies in undesirable directions and to guide them in the right direction. Otherwise self-control remains imperfect and no great outcome becomes possible in spiritual domain as well.

they get astray, and destroy or misdirect all our energies. Lord Krishna has said so in the Gita: dhy³yato vishay³npunsah sangasteshupaj³yate| sang³tsanj³yate k³mah k³m³tkrodhobhij³yate|| krodh³dbhavati sammohh sammoh³tsmritivibhramah| smritibhransh³d buddhin³sho buddhin³sh³tpraöashyati|| - Gita (62-63/2) Meaning: A person who only thinks about sensual pleasures, gets attracted and attached to them. This attachment creates desires, which goad him to take actions to fulﬁll them. When desires do not get satiated, anger develops. Anger leads to utter state of confusion of mind, which then leads to loss of memory. This loss of memory leads to destruction of intelligence and when intelligence fails, it leads to the person’s destruction.

Very often our mental energies get wasted in greed, attachment and fulfilling sensual desires. It is necessary to fulfill needs of life and also discharge responsibilities but to spend all our energies in basic worldly needs is not right. People who are continuously thinking and working to fulfill their lofty desires cannot achieve anything significant in life. When mental energies are focused on a higher goal and actions are taken, special talents begin to uncover.

This indeed is the route to total decadence of life. When we deploy our mental resources in meaningless pursuits, we deny ourselves the opportunity to achieve anything worthwhile in life. Only by conservation, strengthening and proper deployment of mental energies is it possible to awaken our hidden talents. This year, let our efforts be directed to attain this very goal.

Every plan that we work upon is ﬁrst born in our mind as a thought. If these thoughts are not worthy or not focused towards a higher goal,

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. - Steve Jobs The mind is just like a muscle - the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand. - Idowu Koyenikan 41

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Give Noble Sa®sk³ras, not Wealth, to the Children

ll parents think of their children as a part of their own beings. They nurse them, care for them and teach them the ways of the world. But when these very children grow up and embark on their own paths of life, they tend to forget their parents, neglect them and sometimes even break contact with the parents. It is an irony of our society that the children do not give back even 1% of the love and affection which they had themselves received from their parents, but are ever ready to claim right over the parent’s property and wealth. Is this stark reality of today a result of the changing times, or is it an effect of the growing bad sa®sk³ras (inherent tendencies) in the families.

Another such instance is of 2018 and happened in Ranchi. The skeleton of a person’s aged mother was found in her house under mysterious circumstances. That lady had been living there all alone for the last 22 years. When foul smell started coming out, the neighbors informed the police. These are only two among the many such instances which highlight how little the young generation of today cares for its elders. Earlier, in joint families, the elders were looked after, sought after and respected. But in the modern nuclear families, they have become useless adjuncts - left alone and neglected. Ironically, this is the age of communication revolution. There are so many media to remain in touch with others - voice calling, video calling, online chat, WhatsApp, Facebook and what not. One is so immersed in the small circle of only select persons with whom an interest is served that he has no time for his own elders.

Every person in old age wants to live with his children. But modern society has become so insensitive that it discards such aged persons like used clothes and does not bother to even know their whereabouts. We often come across many such heart rending stories. One such event is of 2017. In the Oshiwara locality of Mumbai, a 63 year old woman died in her posh ﬂat and no one even knew of her death for four full months! It is when her son, who lived in America, returned to Mumbai and went to his ﬂat that he found his mother’s skeleton lying inside. This event shook everybody. What type of society are we living in today that we remain completely unaware of even our close neighborhood?

How strange it is that in the time of all pervading smart phones, people do not live like a uniﬁed family, but like lonesome scattered individuals. Occasionally, they condescend to observe relations over phone only. When there was only one phone in the house, members kept in touch with others over that single phone. But now when almost everyone has a phone, they hardly ﬁnd time to talk to other family members.

It is too difﬁcult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living. - Jean-Jacques Rousseau AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

turned him into a pauper and beggar. Singhania is now 81, and for anyone at this age to be forced to knock at the doors of a court heralds a very disturbing future.

In this age of instant communication, when new devices are coming in the market daily, we are getting lonely and isolated, and are forgetting the very meaning of a family. The purpose of communication is to connect people and the whole world, but in reality, this bond and contact has broken in respect of our own family members.

There is perhaps a fault in the sa®sk³ras which we are inculcating in our young generation; there is some value shortcoming in the love and affection in the family which is making the young generation so callous towards the elderly and distant from other members of the family. That is why Yugrishi Param Pujya Gurudev said - “Give sa®sk³ras, not wealth to your next generation”. Wealth is ﬂeeting but sa®sk³ras remain embedded in the mind and play their positive role for the whole life.

We will have to understand afresh our sa®sk³ras, to connect with our own and look after the elderly, because a society or family whose members live like isolated islands cannot remain healthy and nourished for long. Already we are seeing the ugly results of such walled living. If we do not take notice of such abnormalities and rectify them, the future will produce even more horrifying spectacles.

Lack of good sa®sk³ras or distortion in them is the root cause of the decline of family as an institution today as seen in the frequent feuds, inﬁghtings and break-ups among the family members. When the elders of the family - the guardians, who looked after the family, kept it together and tended to its every need are now being grossly neglected and discarded, the result cannot be otherwise.

Today, there are only a few such incidents of the aged ones dying and rotting alone in their houses, but this scenario could become common in the coming days. What is happening with our elders today can happen with us too, because the young generation of today which never tires of bragging about its so-called achievements and remains immersed in the superﬁcial and purely personal enjoyments of life forgets that it too will grow in age and will be the elderly generation of tomorrow.

We will have to understand this phenomenon and look afresh at our -Ìi tradition. The value of the family, of the warmth of relations, and of the sight of the elders moving their affectionate palms over children’s heads is just incalculable. Only this way will we be able to progress in the real sense; only then will we be able to keep intact the institution of family and remain assured of a loving future. We are responsible for whatever is happening with our elders today, and we will be responsible for whatever happens with us tomorrow.

There is another recent event which raises a question mark over the nurturing methods of children. Vijaypat Singhania, a billionaire of one time, is now in dire straits and dependent on others for every penny. Singhania who once transferred the Rs. 10 billion worth Raymond Company to his son has appealed to the Bombay High court that his son has virtually

If you are not noble in your thoughts and actions, no title awarded by any king or queen can make you so. - E.A. Bucchianeri 43

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Amrit Vani

What Makes Gayatri S³dhan³ Miraculous? Translation of excerpts of some discourses given by Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya Let us begin with collective chant of the Gayatri Mantra: “Om Bh¿r Bhuva¡ Swa¡, Tatsaviturvareñya® Bhargo Devasya Dhºmahi, Dhiyo Yona¡ Pracoday³t ||”

of Mount Everest on the Himalayas. He didn’t think twice, didn’t look back, didn’t care for the hardships on the way, once he determined and started his journey. He took Tenzing Norgay, a local Sherpa as a guide with him. Finally his unflinching endeavor succeeded and one day he (and Norgay) hoisted the flag of victory on the Everest peak. He even tried boating along the reverse of the natural direction of the flow of the Ganges - starting from the Ganga Sagar in the Bay of Bengal towards Gangotri on Himalayas. Though this effort had to be discontinued midway due to non-availability of proper boat, his adventure remains an ideal of courage for the future generations.

isters and Brothers, The japa-s³dhan³1,2 of Gayatri Mantra should begin with remembrance of its viniyoga. Every Vedic mantra has a viniyoga that introduces us to the origin of the mantra, its objective, and structural characteristic. For example, the viniyoga of the Gayatri Mantra is “G³yatrº Chanda¡ Savit³ Devat³ Viïw³mitra RiÌi¡ Jape Viniyoga¡”. This means - the unique mantra can also be chanted or sung like a chhanda (verse); Savit³3 is the divine focus of this mantra’s s³dhan³2; and Vishwamitra is the rishi (Vedic sage) who ﬁrst realized and spiritually investigated this mantra. So, in terms of today’s language, rishi Vishwamitra discovered the Gayatri Mantra and pioneered doing a ‘doctorate’ on the super science of this mantra. You know, such great epochal ﬁndings require lifelong arduous endeavors. Great achievements and inventions require rigorous motivation, unyielding efforts, and immense courage with adventurous enthusiasm. Awakening and ascent of humankind is marked by such historic ventures.

Similar kind of ﬁrm determination and vigorous zeal is essential to proceed along the ever challenging path to spirituality. This is like traversing the gigantic current of life against the normal ﬂow (full of worldly comforts and attractions). For doing this, one has to renounce all pleasures and attachments of worldly comforts and passions, and on the contrary, adopt strict disciplines, and willingly observe self-restraint for noble aims. I also attempted this and started my Gayatri S³dhan³ following the path of Vedic sages. For this ‘research’, I

For example, Edmund Hilary had an inner urge to achieve the highest point in the world - Summit

Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold. - Leo Tolstoy AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

initiation of Gayatri S³dhan³ begins when one becomes a Brahmin in true sense of the word which means, irrespective of caste or creed, one lives a life devoted to the service of the needy and consumes minimum of Nature’s resources and worldly means for self (and the family). One also needs to follow the enlightened path of selfpuriﬁcation, self-discipline, self-improvement, and self-less service, for Gayatri S³dhan³.

thoroughly studied the Vedic texts, traversed the arduous heights of the Himalayas and endeavored vigorous tapa4 to be able to meet the Great rishis in their sublime forms in the Himalayas. I did not accept the miraculous power of Gayatri S³dhan³ sans experimenting on myself and experiencing the truth. I made my body and mind as the laboratory for this research and did many kinds of difficult spiritual experiments to test the amazing powers of this Great mantra. I started higher-level Gayatri S³dhan³ (of 24 Mahapuraïcarnas of Gayatri) since the age of 15 and continued it for 24 years. In the long period of s³dhan³ I not only did Gayatri Up³san³ and mantra japa for 4 hrs every day (in Brahma Muhurta – about 4 hrs before sunrise), but also fulfilled my duties towards the family, towards welfare of the society and peaceful freedom movement of India. As part of the tapa, I used to eat only Barley roti and Butter milk of cow. I did not eat sugar; did not eat salt; no fruits, no milk, tea or any drink (other than plain water); nothing else [1]. This kind of strict restraint is essential for perfect control over the mind-body system to follow other ascetic disciplines of devout s³dhan³. How many of you who come to me for being blessed by the boons of Gayatri Mantra are ready to adopt this kind of self-purification and self-discipline?

In my life, the ritual of Gayatri dºkï³ was performed by Pandit Madanmohan Malviya, who introduced me to the Gayatri Mantra and the method of doing Gayatri Up³san³ every day. This was like introducing me to the outer layer - introducing to the limitless power of Gayatri, only in words. My s³dhan³ got the pr³ña (life & light), and inspired the divine force of a Gayatri s³dhaka in my inner self only at the age of 15 when one day during my up³san³, my divine guru from the Himalayas appeared before me in his subtle body and made me realize the purpose of the present life through a live-view and experience of my past lives [1]. It was like inducing life-force in a fetus. When a hen lays an egg, the egg remains lifeless (sans any activity) for a long time. It is only after the appropriate span of time that its temperature rises and the chicken comes out of it by breaking its thick shell. It is at this time that the chicken is born - its life-force, the energy of its liveliness is activated completely. Similar is the case of a spiritual seeker. In the initial days of s³dhan³ there is no spiritual-realization, no recognizable outcome; it is only after adept s³dhan³ for necessary duration that one feels the divine force within, which elevates him/her towards more rigorous (devout) s³dhan³. The ritual of worship

It was only after completion of my dedicated research experiments, and conﬁrmation of the miracles of Gayatri S³dhan³ that I started guiding the spiritual seekers towards it. As such, in the Hindu system, dºkï³ (initiation) of Gayatri Mantra is usually conferred upon a Brahmin with the ritual of thread-ceremony. But this is only like a superﬁcial customary activity. The real

The ﬁres of reﬁnement come with a cost, but also with a promise. - Robin Bertram 45

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

in up³san³ is only like an outer body of the egg; it’s only the warmth of the life-force of dedicated s³dhan³ that induces pr³ña5 in it.

also become possible one day with sincere efforts/ practice. Restraining the mind and focusing it in a desired activity would then be easily achieved by the force of your inner will and devotion.

The rituals of p¿j³ (worship), as part of up³san³, in which you may offer flowers and oblation etc, to the deity in the form of an idol, picture or some physical symbol and chant or sing some prayers (or mantra), are only like initial steps to attract and condition your mind. It’s only after initiation of s³dhan³ with unflinching selfdetermination and inner will that your up³san³ (devotional practice) gets life. Unfortunately, what we find around is that most ‘devotees’ get carried away by the rituals and don’t conduct the experiment of s³dhan³.

Step-wise Progress: Although up³san³ is like an outer layer, it is an essential step towards higher-level s³dhan³. For example, you need to learn script (syllables) of a language before learning to read or write it. Most often you are taught the syllables of a language in the pre-school level with the help of associating some familiar objects, pictures with them. Later on only the syllables remain and the pictures disappear. Similarly you need to learn the digits and the basic arithmetic operation of addition, subtraction etc, before starting to learn higher mathematics. What would you say about someone who wants to do Graduation in Algebra or Geometry without learning the basics of Mathematics; or, of someone who wants to do a Ph.D. in literature without learning any Language at an elementary level?

For example many of you think that mere chanting of the Gayatri Mantra, as part of your up³san³, for several thousand times will result in your spiritual ascent or will shower divine boons upon you. Don’t you know that to activate the power of this great mantra through chanting, you ﬁrst need to purify and empower your own tongue and voice?

So the point is that - in normal course, progress always takes place gradually. The same holds for spiritual development. As I told you, my ﬁrst guru Malviyaji had initiated me into doing the japa of Gayatri Mantra by teaching the basic rituals, discipline and method of japa of this mantra. He began with teaching me its pronunciation and its word- meaning. That was necessary to initiate my Gayatri up³san³ and gradually its s³dhan³. So the up³san³-rituals are important. But this is not all. Many of you get stuck at this ﬁrst level itself. For you, how to hold the rosary, how to chant the mantra, how many times to chant the mantra, etc, is more important than the real s³dhan³. That is why in spite of doing so called

Time and again, I would like to emphasize that most crucial part of any mantra-japa is puriﬁcation and disciplining of the tongue. Selfinspired restraint over the greed of the tongue, and discipline over its act of speaking is of utmost importance for success of any s³dhan³. It is also the most essential and core step of any kind of tapa. In fact, you cannot control the agility of your mind, and you can never achieve desired mental concentration for mantra-japa (meditative chanting of a mantra) unless you control your tongue. If you succeed in disciplining your tongue, controlling other sensory passions would

What a man’s mind can create, man’s character should control. - Thomas Edison AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

anuÌÚh³ns of several thousand or even lakhs (e.g. 1,25,000) times chanting of the Gayatri Mantra, you see no signiﬁcant results. This is what I say, that you get stuck only in the outer layer or just the physical activities. You neglect the fact that the “core”, the “depth”, or what I call as “pr³ña” (of the spiritual power of the mantra) needs to be realized.

practice and master in this triple-fold endeavor of Gayatri Up³san³. Everyone can’t accomplish it. Progressing along this path is not easy: only sincere seekers of spirituality, only the true devotees can follow these adeptly. There also are three important facets of the s³dhan³ of Gayatri. These three currents of pr³ña of Gayatri Mantra (tripad³) are Ïraddh³, NiÌÚh³, Prajó³. These are like the holy conﬂuence (sangam) at Prayagraj of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. It is said that after bathing in this sangam - “k³ka hohió pika, bakahuó mar³l³” (meaning: a crow becomes cuckoo; and a crane turns into a swan). This implies complete transformation into a more evolved status. So what are these three currents of Gayatri’s pr³ña, inculcation of which amounts to evolution of s³dhaka’s consciousness, divine transmutation of the s³dhaka’s inner self?

Realization of pr³ña or real substance (core or life force) of Gayatri Mantra was instilled within me by my divine mentor from the Himalayas. I realized the importance of Gayatri which is also called tripad³ (word-meaning: having three legs) because of the three major components of the Gayatri Mantra. These three components, in terms of methods, are Japa, Tapa, and Dhy³na [2]. I have already explained each of these at length on several occasions. Your Gayatri S³dhan³ cannot initiate unless you sincerely

(To be continued in the next issue) Notes: 1. Japa-s³dhan³: Practice of japa (rhythmic mental chanting with emotional engrossment in the focus of the mantra) as a s³dhan³. 2. S³dhan³: Self-determined ascetic endeavor of self-discipline, self-analysis, self-reﬁnement and spiritual enlightenment. 3. Savit³: Transcendent body of the Sun-God; source of sublime & manifested energies, & light. 4. Tapa: Observance of austerity, penance, and arduous self-restraint for self-puriﬁcation. 5. Pr³ña: Vital Spiritual Energy. References (Important for Detailed Reading): 1. 2.

Pandya P. & Jyotirmaya: Chetana Ki Shikhar Yatra Vols. 1-3. [English Version of V.1: Odyssey of the Enlightened Vol. 1] Sri Vedmata Gayatri Trust, Shantikunj, Haridwar. (2014). Acharya Pt. Shriram Sharma: Japa, Tapa aur Dhy³na. Yug Nirman Yojna, Mathura. (10th Print) 2017. [English Version: Japa, Tapa, Dhyana - Triple Fold Path of Sadhana. Sri Vedmata Gayatri Trust, Shantikunj, Haridwar. (2nd ed., 2015)] In the end, it is the person you become, not the things you achieve, that is most important. - Les Brown 47

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Simple Techniques of Pr³öay³ma to Stay Healthy - 2

e know that there are several forms of energy / power; e.g. electrical energy, magnetic energy, gravitational energy, wind energy, physical energy, etc. There is one more aspect of energy that is more subtle and more powerful. This is called Pr³öa energy. Every living being possesses this life-sustaining energy; however, it is not sufficient. The cosmos is filled with huge amounts of this energy. The Pr³öa element in a human being (soul) is called Âtm³gni (fire of soul) and that present in the cosmos is called Brahm³gni (fire of Supreme Soul). In order to augment Âtm³gni it is essential to connect it to Brahm³gni through the process of S³dhan³. This process is called Pr³öay³ma. In the previous issue, we had discussed a simple method of ‘Pr³ö³karÌaöa Pr³öay³ma’. Now we take up another, more advanced, form of Pr³öay³ma. S¿ryavedhana Pr³öay³ma: There is a seed of storehouse of energy within each human being. It is called ‘Kundalinº Mah³ïakti’ (serpentine power or vital force). It is located in the ‘M¿l³dh³ra Cakra’ (at the base of the spinal cord). Normally it remains dormant, and hence one cannot utilize its power. However, if it is awakened, it can provide immense power. S¿ryavedhana Pr³öay³ma can help in the awakening of this power. You may practice S¿ryavedhana Pr³öay³ma as follows-

In a peaceful lonely area be seated with balanced poise. Face the East, sit crosslegged, sit in the easy lotus posture, spine erect and eyes half-shut; place hands on both knees. This is called the Pr³öa Mudr³.

Bend the left hand and keep it slanting. In its palm, place the elbow of the right hand. Raise the right hand. Place the thumb on the right nostril and place the middle and ring ﬁnger on the left nostril.

Close the left nostril with the help of the middle and ring ﬁngers. Inhale slowly but deeply.

Meditate on the fact that the Sun’s vital energy on mixing with air enters the body via the Pingal³ subtle nerve situated in the right nostril. Its heat is radiating our inner bodily organs.

Let the inhaled air remain for some time inside. Shut both the nostrils and meditate on the fact that via the concentrated Pr³öa (vital energy) of Sun is getting focused on M¿l³dh³ra Cakra. The Kundalinº having remained latent for a long time in M¿l³dh³ra is now being activated by this concentrated Pr³öa of Sun. Hence it is becoming radiant and its aura is continuously expanding.

When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace. - Author Unknown AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

that radiant Pr³öa mixed with inhaled air is rendering the M¿l³dh³ra Cakra permanently radiant. The radiance keeps augmenting and like tongues of ﬂames is marching upwards. Because of this light the SuÌumn³ subtle nerve is getting nourished ceaselessly.

Now shut the right nostril with the thumb. Open the left nostril. Slowly exhale air from the left nostril. Now meditate on the fact that the dirt that induces inactivation in the Cakras is being exited totally. Now since this dirt is mixed with the exhaled air it is no longer radiant as it was when vital force was inhaled. It is hence becoming yellow in color and via the IÃ³ subtle nerve it is being exited from the left nostril’s exhaled air. Now close both the nostrils. Render the lungs empty i.e. devoid of air. Meditate that the external vital force remains outside only. Since it does not pressurize the internal vital force it is very light in weight. The Pr³öa of the M¿l³dh³ra Cakra is appearing like the Sun. Like a ball of light it rises upwards akin to the flames of fire. Its flames travel from M¿l³dh³ra to the throat and higher. In the inner subtle SuÌumn³ nerve this ball of fire (vital force) is making the internal body radiant.

With the thumb close the right nostril and inhale air from the left nostril. Think that via the IÃ³ subtle nerve Pr³öa shining brilliantly like the Sun and mixed in air is entering the body. This light is entering the M¿l³dh³ra Cakra at the base of spinal cord. It is getting focused there. Due to the focus of this radiant light this Cakra is becoming more radiant and the Kundalinº power is getting awakened.

Now shut both the nostrils. Stop the air from ﬂowing out of the body. Meditate

10.

Close the left nostril and from the right nostril slowly exhale air. Meditate that the dirt of M¿l³dh³ra Cakra like smoke mixed with radiant breath is rendering the latter opaque and yellow. This yellow Pr³öa air is being evicted outside via the Pingal³ subtle nerve. Now since the inner dirt has been removed the heart feels light and radiant.

11.

Now again shut both the nostrils and as given in point number (6) render the lungs empty i.e. devoid of any air. Feel the ball of light of SuÌumn³ subtle nerve going upward from M¿l³dh³ra Cakra to the throat. Experience that the divine brilliant light illuminates all the inner bodily parts.

This is one Loma-Viloma S¿ryavedhana Pr³öay³ma. Pr³öa pulled within via inhalation of air is awakening the Kundalinº. It pierces its lethargy and dark gloominess. From there via the SuÌumn³ path this radiance travels to the stomach, chest and throat. Hence this Pr³öay³ma is called S¿ryavedhana. Loma means straight and Viloma means upside down - once inhaling from right and exhaling from left and then inhaling from left, exhaling from right. Because of this cycle of straight/upside down it is called Loma-Viloma S¿ryavedhana Pr³öay³ma.

A healthy mind has an easy breath. - Author Unknown 49

AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019

Amazing Facts of Polar Regions

ver since the discovery of North Pole by Robert E. Peary, Matthew Henson, and four Eskimo companions in 1909, it has been a place of international interest due to the vast underground oil reserves in the Arctic Circle. North Pole is situated in the Arctic Circle and the South Pole is in Antarctic Circle. There are actually two North Poles on Earth. They are called north magnetic pole and north terrestrial pole. North Magnetic Pole is said to be magnetic phenomena that change on the daily basis as our Earth crust changes. The average location of the Magnetic North Pole is called Geomagnetic North Pole. North terrestrial pole is a ﬁxed point which points the top of the earth.

enough to provide enough heat to the living beings in those regions. Rest of the six months, it is dark there. Similar situation has been observed in the Arctic region of North Pole, with average temperature of 0° C (in summer) and - 40° C (in winter). These seemingly barren landscapes are home to a rich diversity of wildlife—both on land and under the sea surface—that has evolved to survive these harsh conditions. The outer reaches of the Arctic Circle are a great place to see polar bears in the wild. Other Arctic dwellers are Orca, Humpback, and Beluga whales, and the arctic fox. Several species of ﬂying penguin-like birds called auks, guillemots, and pufﬁns can also be seen in the Arctic Circle. Penguins are not found in the North Pole. They live in the South Pole.

North Pole is created by the accumulation of ﬂoating ice pieces coming from Arctic sea. The latter has an area of 9 to 12 million square kilometers, and thickness of 3 to 4 meters, with ridge height of 20 meters. In contrast, Antarctic sea is spread in around 14 million square kilometers. It is covered by 3 kilometers wide thick layer of ice on South Pole. North Pole’s peak is created by the top thick layer of ice present on Arctic sea, whereas South Pole’s peak, is created from Antarctic region’s deep embedded ice layer, present in the Antarctic Iceland.

Despite the freezing-cold temperatures, millions of indigenous people, called the ‘Inuits’ live in the Arctic region. They’ve found ingenious ways to survive in one of the harshest environments on our planet. They have traditionally inhabited the northern circumpolar region from eastern Siberia to across Alaska. People live in semicircular house made of ice blocks, which is known as Igloo. Their major food for survival, are ﬁsh. Reindeer is their main pet animal and is used for drawing sledges and as a source of milk, ﬂesh, and hide.

The average temperature of South Pole has been observed to be - 28° C (during summer) and - 60° C (in winter). Sun shines for about six months continuously; however, sun rays are never warm

This demonstrates that one can survive in any situation with wisdom, conﬁdence and courage. For determined people, nothing is impossible.

For humans, the Arctic is a harshly inhospitable place, but the conditions there are precisely what polar bears require to survive - and thrive. ‘Harsh’ to us is ‘home’ for them. - Sylvia Earle AKHAND JYOTI March-April 2019