Amrit Vani
Let Us Revive the Parivr³jaka Tradition for Social Upliftment (English version of some excerpts of a discourse given by Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya) Revered Gurudev, Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya, was a sagacious pioneer of scientific spirituality. He was a great saint, seer-sage, social reformer, patriot, and eminent writer. Many of his distinguished multifaceted contributions are like epochal gifts for a brighter future of humanity. These include revival and dissemination of the ancient Indian Culture in progressive light in a relevant and practical way for today’s society’s welfare. The present discourse illustrates this in the context of the tradition of voluntarily becoming a parivr³jaka. Going by the word meaning, many people today consider a parivr³jaka as someone who becomes a monk or a hermit who wanders in the forests or from one pilgrimage place to the other and survives on alms. The present discourse would uproot such misconceptions. It is addressed to the participants of a training session at Shantikunj, Haridwar, to revive the “Parivr³jaka Tradition.” It elucidates the objectives and multiple aspects of reviving the parivr³jaka tradition in terms of self-refinement, dissemination of knowledge, and social welfare. Sisters and Brothers, I welcome you all to the parivr³jaka1 session. Let us begin with a collective chant of the Gayatri Mantra: “Om Bh¿r Bhuva¡ Swa¡, Tatsaviturvareñya® Bhargo Devasya Dhºmahi, Dhiyo Yona¡ Prachoday³t ||” The parivr³jaka tradition was instituted in our ancient cultural system, mainly for an altruistic purpose. Our objective is to revive and propagate this benevolent tradition in a righteous way suitable and needed in the present
times. As you have come to participate in this session, I am sure you have the spirit of offering your services for social welfare. You must have it. But do you know the interesting point that becoming a parivr³jaka has personal benefits as well? How? Well, I will discuss this point first, as most people in today’s society are often keen to know how something would fulfill their self-interests. A primary benefit (and also a prerequisite) of becoming a parivr³jaka is good health, physical fitness. Some of you might be aware of the Hindi magazine titled “Arogya.” It provides general information on preventive healthcare and home-remedies, etc. In one of its issues, there was an article by Shri Kailash Joshi, a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. There he had shared his personal experience on health improvement without any medication. It seems he
Whenever it feels uncomfortable to tell the truth, that’s often the most important time to tell it. - Jennifer Lopez AKHAND JYOTI
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JAN.-FEB. 2022
