Divya Jyothi - March 2012 by Atmajyothi Subbu

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Prabhuji Speaks

Spiritual Significance of Holi

Message of Holi

Sufism

Osho on Sufism

Ten Sufi thoughts

Sufi folk tales

I am He

Spiritual Insights

Padabanda

Message of Ugadhi

Significance of Ugadhi

Divya Jyothi Sharing the Enlightened Wisdom I S S U E

Significance of Ugadhi

Guru Paduka Stotram

Guru and God

Purpose of Life

Four birds

Ananda Marga

12 Lingas - Part 2

Vachana - Part2

Jnanappana

Mundaka Upanishad– Part1

Mundaka Upanishad on a lighter note

Greatness of service

In search of eternity Part 2

Transformation Story

Akka Mahadevi

Yogasana

LADS—Little Atmajyothi Dharmakshetra Sangha

2 0 1 2

From the editor’s desk There is love and there’s divine love. There are devotees and there are the Sufis. This month we’re celebrating the teachings of Sufis who ex‐ alt love for the Divine above everything else and express their faith as outpouring of this Love . All the quotes featured in this months edition are Sufi , thanks to Atmajyothi Komal for contributing them. And if you noticed, the image on the left is that of a Sufi Dervish, its not the Sufis alone who danced their way into silence. We Atmajyothis had our own dancing meditation sessions both at Prabhuji’s place and on the occa‐ sion of Shivarathri at Atmajyothi Prasad’s home.

Festival of Ugadhi—Living 23 Life of Equanimity Sthita Prajna Message and Resolution for Ugadhi

M A R

We’re also celebrating Holi and Ugadhi , and the March edition has contributions and articles fea‐ turing messages and significance of these festivals along with teachings of the Mundaka Upani‐ shad. A Crossword Puzzle called Padabanda in Kannada has been included to give your intellect that subtle investigative edge !! A new series of Yogasana has been started to bring out the bene‐ fits of various asanas. To fill up spaces in some pages, meditation fillers have been used. Check out the Buddha image used in these spaces, become aware of your breath and the changeless background behind the image, before turning the page over :) . One image is right below.

So, wish you a happy Ugadhi and a colourful Holi too. And here is a Hakim Jami quote to enjoy, in case you are going easy on your shaving budget —"If the scissors are not used daily on the beard, it will not be long before the beard will begin pretending to be the head..." . Happy reading . Hari Om, Editorial Team.

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Prabhuji Speaks: Purpose of Life “The purpose of life is a life of purpose”. ~Robert Byrne Human life is precious. It is a great opportunity to be born as human being. Is there a purpose in our life? Are we born with a purpose? Do we find the purpose in our life or life finds the purpose for us? For many of the people these questions do not arise. For some of the people these questions arise but do not bother. For a rare few people these questions haunt till they find a meaningful answer. It is fairly obvious to all of us that all of us constantly seek happiness. There is a great urge in us to seek happi‐ ness and avoid suffering. This seems to be only purpose of our existence. We seek happiness through many things. Through spouse, children, family, friends, entertainment programs, job and what not. There are many avenues for happiness in the world today. But somewhere, the happiness seems to be elusive. Our Rishis‐Spiritual Masters indicated the futility of the exercise of finding happiness in the outer world. They said true happiness lies within. The nature of our True Self is Supreme Bliss. We need to seek the happiness in the inner Self. This was the message of our Rishis. Great philosopher Swami Vivekananda articulated the purpose of life as “Atmano Mokshartham, Jagad Hitaya cha – To realize the bliss of the True Self ( by dropping the apparent self) and Serving the world “. This great message has two components.

Atmano Mokshartham

Jagad Hitaya cha

First part – atmano Mokshartham means ‐ to liberate oneself. This liberation is from the false identity which we have – that of the body, mind, intellect. In essence we are divine. We are the Supreme Spirit Brahman. To realize our true identity is the inner purpose of life. On the other hand, we have to meaningfully relate to the outer world. To see the divine in every living being and offer the service to the Lord in all beings is called – Jagad hitaya cha. While the inner purpose is accom‐ plished through Sadguru‐Shastra‐Satsang‐Sadhana‐Sharanagati, the outer purpose is served by living a life of sacrifice – yagna. There are five yagnas – called Pancha Maha yagnas which every person has to perform every‐ day as per Vedic injunctions. They are – Deva yagna, Pitr Yagna, Manushya Yagna, Bhuta Yagna and Rishi Yagna. Deva Yagna is offering gratitude to divine through worship and working for the environmental cause. Pitr ya‐ gna is service to the elders and senior citizens. Manushya yagna is serving human beings seeing the Lord in them (Nara Narayana Seva). Bhuta Yagna involves acts of compassion to animals. Rishi Yagna involves study of scriptures and teaching the scriptures. As Atmajyothis let us focus our efforts towards “Atmano Mokshartham, Jagad Hitaya Cha” and make most of the God given precious gift of human life.

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Spiritual Significance of Holi Festivals are not just the celebration but bring spiritual Awareness in us . Holi is the festival of colours and triumph of Good over Evil. Holi celebrates the meeting of Soul and Creator. The reference of Holi is found in Narada Purana , Holi welcomes the spring and celebration of New Life and Energy of the Season. Holi is also Tribute to Mother Earth for Supreme Patience or Forgiveness towards us (Kshmaya Dharitri). The Legend behind Celebration of Holi: The most famous is of Prahalad, who was saved from burning by Holika by Lord Narayan, King Hiranya Kashyap was angry at his son's devotion to Vishnu , he made many attempts to kill Prahalad but was in Vain. Finally he decided to make Prahalad sit on his sister Holika's lap who had a Boon that Fire will not burn her. He thought in this way Prahalad would be Burnt to Ashes and Holika would remain unharmed. Prahalad's ﬁrm faith on God Vishnu enabled him to emerge Safe from terrible ﬁre while Holika is reduced to ashes. This is the victory of Posi‐ tive forces over Negative and celebration of Positive energy in Nature.

When the eye is pure it sees purity. - Hakim Sanai

Lord Krishna killed Putana on that day. In memory of reincarnation of Kamadeva ‐ Kamadeva is considered as God of Love. He is destroyed to ashes when he tries to disrupt Lord Shiva's Penance for the marriage with Devi Parvati on request of Indra (God of senses) for the destruction of demon Tarakasur. This happened on the Holika Dahana day. When Rati (wife of Kamadeva) prayed Lord Shiva, he restored him as a mental image. This signifies the burning of carnal desires and presents Spiritual state of Love than Physical Lust.. Holi Bonfire signifies devotion and knowledge which burns away the mind's impurities like egoism lust, selfish‐ ness, greed, hatred and undesirable tendencies by decomposing the Raja and Tama particles in the atmosphere. Eliminating Negative energies helps in acquiring divine attribute of Love through play of colours , the colours are said to be the generators of energy. It is also said that this Bonfire destroys the bacteria which is responsible for illness due to change in season. Colours (vibgyor) also known as 'Kamana Billu' ( Rainbow) are the manifestation of cosmic powers. ''The seven colours of the Rainbow are associated with the seven chakras (energy centers) of our body.'' Whatever is the reason and method of celebrating Holi, it is certainly a good time to burn carnal desires and impurities of the mind through the fire of devotion and knowledge, which leads us to divinity, so, let us try to know the different types of desire and how it can be burnt . Spiritually Holi means Burning the Desire. Desire - Kama ‐‐Desire first stirred in it, desire that was the first seed of the spirit. The connection of the existent in nonexist‐ ent the sages found, seeking in their hearts with wisdom. (Rig Veda X.129.4) All this world arises from pure consciousness. That state is absolute peace and fulfillment. But within the Infinite is the infinity of possibilities, including disturbance. The first disturbance of peace is thought ‐ the desire for another. That is the seed (origin of desire) which grows into the world of names, forms and activities and from their fruit are sown more seeds of desire to perpetuate this world.

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‐‐Arjuna said ‐ O Krishna , by what impulse does man commit sin, though against his wishes, constrained as it were by force ? (Bhagavad Gita 3.36) Sin means agitation. It is not the action, but the reaction which determines sin. Agitation is for the mind, when an action rebounds and agitates the mind, you have committed a sin. Sin is the state of mind. The problem is not knowledge, we know what is right and wrong. We know what agitates us. The problem is how to be on the right path and avoid what we think is wrong. Arjuna is asking what is it that makes him act against his better judgment for peace of mind. In day to day life we want to get up early in the morning and do exercises but we can't ; we want to control our anger but we can't. what prevents us from doing the Good we want to do in life ? ‐‐The Blessed Lord said‐It is the desire. It is the anger, Arjuna and it is begotten by the quality of rajas (passion). It is a great devourer. It is all‐sinful. Know this as enemy. (Bhagavad Gita 3.37)

Join me in the pure atmosphere of gratitude for life. - Hafiz

Desire, is the enemy that prevents us from better judgment. When we are attracted to a object, we start think‐ ing of it continuously , this stream of thought leads to desire of acquiring that particular Object, If there is an obstruction by a person or a thing, the thoughts are refracted , this is nothing but anger, so, anger can never come without desire. Desire and Anger are the two faces of a coin. It is the desire which takes us away from the chosen path. Desire is insatiable . One desire is enough to interlink with other and take you until it has devoured your life, e.g., Desire for gambling leads to drinks, another person, money, fame etc., Desire of the mind is like a fire Insa‐ tiable ! any amount of fuel we give to the fire will not satisfy it. We can throw the whole house, whole country, the whole world into the fire and at no point will it say, "No thank you, I've had enough.' This is the nature of fire. Lord Krishna says ‐ This is the nature of desire. The more we feed it the more it's appetite increases, the higher and wider is it's sweep. ‐‐The senses are so strong and impetuous, Arjuna, that they even carry away the mind of a wise man who is striving on the path of realization. (Bhagavad Gita 2.60) The senses are constantly driving us to beautiful sense objects and the sense objects pull us towards them. At‐ traction and Aversion are the two sides of the coin of desire. They are the greatest enemies yet we are very friendly with them. ‐‐ They say the senses are great, greater than the senses is the mind, greater than the mind is the intellect, greater than the intellect is He. (Bhagavad Gita 3.42) What controls the body is the mind, what controls the mind is the intellect, what controls the intellect is ''He'', The Atman (Eternal Self). How can the desires be controlled ? When we identify with body, we have physical desire. When we identify with the mind, we have emotional desire. When we identify with intellect , we have intellectual desire. Emotional desire overrules Physical desire. Intellectual desire overrules emotional desire. Final stage is when we identify with Atman, then the intellectual desire drops away and there is no desire, We realize the Atman. For e.g., The father who loves his child gives her the sweet because the emotional pleasure of seeing her happy is greater than the physical pleasure of eating the sweet himself. Similarly, when the intellectual desire arises the emotional desire drops. As Brutus said, after killing Caesar, ''Not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Roma more.'' (Shakespeare famous play Julius Caesar). Finally, when we identify with Atman, the intellectual desire drops and there is no desire, we realize Atman.

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‐‐Thus knowing that which is greater than the intellect and restraining the Self by your own self, O mighty‐ armed Arjuna, kill the formidable enemy. (Bhagavad Gita 3.43) Lord Krishna concludes giving a very practical tip to Arjuna. What we need is the knowledge of the Atman (supreme soul ) to help withdraw worldly attachments (desire) . when we withdraw a little, we will be able to learn a little more and so on. These are the two pedals to the wheel which will carry us towards the Truth. Just as Arjuna handed over the reins of chariot (mind) to Lord Krishna, If we hand over the reins of our life to Gurudeva ( Pratyaksha Daiva) , It is His wish that will prevail. Believing that Gurudeva is the all‐doer gives mean‐ ing and joy (bliss) to our life. So, All Atmajyothis , please come. Let us all hand over our reins to Gurudev, burn our worldly desire in the Fire of Eternal Knowledge, and celebrate Holi by lighting the colorful Divya Jyothi at the Lotus Feet of Pujaneya Prabhuji . Shirasa Namisuva, Gurudeva Pada Sevaki

There are as many paths to God as there are

Zen Koans

souls on Earth. – Hadith

IT'S USED EVERYDAY BUT NOT KNOWN When Gensha Shibi, a Chinese Zen master, and a general were eating cakes together, the general asked: ‐ What is it that's used everyday but not known? The master handed a piece of cake to the general and said: ‐ Eat this piece of cake. The general ate the piece of cake, then repeated the question. The master said: ‐That's what's used everyday but not known.

THE SOUND OF RAIN DROPS Ching Ch'ing, a Chinese Ch'an master, asked a monk: ‐What is the sound outside? The monk answered: ‐That is the sound of rain. The master said: ‐Sentient beings are upside down, they lose themselves in pursuit of things. The monk asked: ‐What should I do? Ching Ch'ing replied: ‐I am the sound of the rain.

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Message of Holi Coming after Shivaratri Festival, Holi brings the message of life. Shivaratri stands for waking up from the dream. Waking up to reality. Holi shows the way. Holi is celebrated with splashing of colours and burning of Kama. Symbolicing the Upani‐ shadic ( Ishavasya), Tena Tyaktena Bhunjitaha ‐ Enjoy with renunciation.

Tena Tyaktena Bhunjitaha

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find

We have to understand that we have been given right to use but not ownership. We are trustees of everything given by Lord ‐ Ishvara.

all the barriers within yourself that you have

We need to take good care of the nature, our body mind complex and live gratefully, for all the grace We have to renounce ownership and live in joy, celebration with all that is given to us. This is the spirit of Holi. Spirit of Holi Holi involves celebration of life ‐ splashing of colors. Burning of Kama. ‐ Symbolizing renunciation of what is not ours and in the process experiencing the bliss of life, joy of life.

built against it. Rumi

Isha Vasya upanishat says "Enjoy with renunciation". How can someone enjoy with renunciation. How is it possi‐ ble. Everything in the Universe belongs to the Lord ‐ Ishvara. There is nothing which belongs to anybody. If we look at our body, mind, intellect complex, space, water, ﬁre, earth everything is Prakriti‐ Nature. Nature belongs to Ishvara. We have been given this body, this mind, intellect to experience the Prakriti. In forgetfulness, we start assuming ownership. We say my body, we say my mind, we say my intellect and gradually, we start experi‐ encing I am body. Then we start accumulating. My property, my house... . There is no such thing. Everything belongs to Ishvara. We are given the right to use body for a limited duration. Body is like a rented house. The moment we start claiming ownership of the rented house, we are in trouble. In universal terms, the trouble is called karma. Suﬀering starts.

Story of Holi Festival - Story of Holika According to Narad Purana, this day is celebrated in the memory of Prahlad’s victory and the defeat of his aunt ’Holika’. The legend says that there once existed a mighty demon king by the name of Hiranyakashyap who wished that everybody in his kingdom should worship him. However, his son, Prahlad became a worshipper of Lord Vishnu. He tried every way to stop Prahlad from worshipping Vishnu but could not succeed. Out of frustra‐ tion and anger, the demon king then decided to kill his son. Despite all his efforts, Prahlad remained safe by the blessings of Lord Vishnu. Finally, Hiranyakashyap instructed his sister, Holika to sit in the burning fire with Prahlad in lap. She was blessed with a boon, as a result of which no fire could burn her. But the opposite happened, Prahlad survived and Holika was charred to death. This incident thus re‐established the faith of people in the ultimate divine power and is thus celebrated as the day of eternal love, devotion, blessings and the victory of Good over evil. It is because of this event, Holika (a bonfire) is burnt every year on Holi. The burning of the effigy of Holika is called Holika Da‐ han. Spiritual Meaning of the Story of Buring of Holika. - Mandukya Upanishad Hiranya kashyap ‐ stands for desire ridden individuals ‐ Hiranya means gold. Kashyapu ‐ means pillow. Some‐

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body whose sleep is disturbed by desire for possessions and wealth. He becomes Asura ‐ demonic. Disturbing the society and himself. Prahlad is child ‐ a opening in the heart for the Lord ‐ Supreme Bliss ( Pra‐Ahlada). The desire ridden ego suppresses the child. Even tries to kill through holika ( the anger). But lord protects the child and shows himself in the form of Narasimha ‐ Neither man, nor animal, neither inside nor outside, neither darkness, nor light ( Na antha prajnaha, Na bhahish prajan ) ‐ Turiya state of consciousness. Practice of Turiya, ‐ Samadhi ‐ 4th state of consciousness ‐ kills the ego ‐ Hiranyakashyap and Holika. Burning of Holika is symbolic of Tapasya ‐ Spiritual practices. Tapasya means heat ‐ Heat of spiritual practices of ‐ Kaya, vacha, manasa tapasya burns Holika ‐ Anger ‐ sister of ego. Spiritual Meaning of Kamadahana - Jnanagni Dagda Karmani - Bhagavad Gita

Where do you think you will Be When God reveals

Spiritual Meaning of Burning Of Kamadeva Shiva is Adi Guru. Destroyer of Ignorance. Opening of third eye represents ‐ wisdom. Wisdom gained through Shastra (Scriptures), Sadguru (Enlightened Master) and Atmaguru (The Inner Self)

Himself Inside of you? – Hafiz

There is another legend that is also attributed to the origin of Holi. This story is about Kamadeva, the god of love. Kama’s body was destroyed when he shot his weapon at Shiva in order to disrupt his meditation and help Parvati to marry Shiva. In anger for disrupting his meditation, Shiva opened his third eye, the gaze of which was so powerful that Kama’s body was reduced to ashes. For the sake of Kama’s wife Rati (passion), Shiva restored Kamadeva only as a mental image, representing the true emotional and spiritual state of love rather than physi‐ cal lust. It is also believed that the Holi bonﬁre is lit in commemoration of this event.

Story of Shri Krishna and Gopikas In Vrindavan and Mathura, where Lord Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanch‐ mi in commemoration of the divine love of Radha for Krishna). Lord Krishna is believed to have popularized the festival by playing pranks on the gopis here. Krishna is believed to have complained to his mother about the contrast between his dark skin complexion and Radha's (Shakti or energy that drives the world) fair skin com‐ plexion. Krishna's mother decided to apply colour to Radha's face. The celebrations oﬃcially usher in spring, the celebrated season of love. Spiritual Meaning of the story : Shri Krishna represents the Paramatman. Gopikas represents the Jivatman. Radhika represents the Prakriti. The deep love of Gopikas and Bhagavan and the play is Rasa lila. Colours repre‐ sents the animation of the Prakriti and Jivatman by Paramatman. Peace, Prabhu

Spiritual Message of Holi "Renounce the desires(kama) by burning them in the ﬁre of knowledge (dahana) and Rejoice the light that arises with the burning ﬁre, celebrate the freedom from darkness (ignorance) and Realise the true blissful nature of enlightened self, peace and love....!!!

— Atmajyothi Komal

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Sufism

Sufism called as Tassawuff in Arabic is a mystical dimen‐ sion to Islam. A practitioner is called Sufi or Der‐ vish. Sufism gained adherents among a number of Mus‐ lims as a reaction against the worldliness of the ear‐ Dargah of ly Umayyad Caliphate (661‐750 CE). Sufis have spanned Moinuddin‐ several continents and cultures over a millennium, at first chishti – Ajmer, expressed through Arabic, then through Persian, Turkish India and a dozen other languages. While all Muslims believe that they are on the pathway to God and hope to be‐ come close to God in Paradise—after death and after the "Final Judgment"—Sufis also believe that it is possi‐ ble to draw closer to God and to more fully embrace the Divine Presence in this life.

Love is the cure, for your pain will

It is the transmission of the divine light from the teacher's heart to the heart of the student, rather than of worldly knowledge transmitted from mouth to ear, that allows the adept to progress in sufi‐ism. Scholars and adherents of Sufism are unanimous in agreeing that Sufism cannot be learned through books. To reach the highest levels of success in Sufism typically requires that the disciple live with and serve the teacher for many, many years. Definition :

keep giving birth

Is a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.

to more pain

Is a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one's inner self from ﬁlth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits.

until your eyes

Terminology :

constantly exhale

Fitra : A primordial state of being where nothing one does deﬁes God, and all is undertaken with the single moti‐ vation of love of God. The goal of Suﬁ‐ism.

love as effortlessly

Dhikr‐e‐Qulb : remembrance of Allah by Heartbeats. The basic idea in this practice is to visualize the Arabic name of God, Allah, as having been written on the disciple's heart.

as your body yields its scent. Rumi

Dhikr : A practice of repetition of holy names of God. Any act by which awareness of God is maintained.

Turuq : Orders of Sufis, different schools like chishti, Naqshbandi etc. Fiqh : Two types of basic laws a sufi has to follow. An outer law concerned with actions, and an inner law con‐ cerned with the human heart. The outer law consists of rules pertaining to worship, transactions, marriage, judicial rulings, and criminal law – known as ‘qanun’. The inner law of Sufism consists of rules about repentance from sin, the purging of contemptible qualities and evil traits of character, and adornment with virtues and good character. Ijazah : An authorization to teach coming from one’s master, who got it from his master. Silsilah : An unbroken tradition of master‐disciple tracing back to Prophet Mohammed. Fana and Baqa : The state of annihilating the self in the presence of the divine, accompanied by clarity concern‐ ing worldly phenomena derived from that perspective. Tariqat : institutionalization of Sufi teachings into devotional orders. Maqamat : The approaching of God through a well‐described hierarchy of enduring spiritual stations (Like

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‘sapta bhumika’ in Hindu spirituality). Ahwal : Transient spiritual states. zaouia, khanqah, or tekke : Gathering place for Sufi adepts, as well as lodging for itinerant seekers of knowledge. Way of Imam Al‐Ghazali : The order from the signs to the Signifier (or from the arts to the Artisan). In this branch, the seeker begins by purifying the lower self of every corrupting influence that stands in the way of recognizing all of creation as the work of God, as God's active Self‐disclosure or theophany. Jadhbha : The order from the Signifier to His signs, from the Artisan to His works. In this branch the seeker ex‐ periences divine attraction, and is able to enter the order with a glimpse of its endpoint, of direct apprehension of the Divine Presence towards which all spiritual striving is directed. This does not replace the striving to purify the heart, as in the other branch; it simply stems from a different point of entry into the path.

The divine is

Lataif‐e‐sitta : The doctrine of "subtle centers" or centers of subtle cognition, addresses the matter of the awakening of spiritual intuition. Similar to Chakra concept in Hinduism. These subtle centers or latâ'if are thought of as faculties that are to be puriﬁed sequentially in order to bring the seeker's wayfaring to comple‐ tion.

found by those with pure and

Nafs : Lower self in human beings (ego)

true heart.. You

Qalb : Faculty of spiritual intuition or spiritual heart. Ruh : Spirit or Soul.

alone exist; I do

Aqidah : Correct creed of suﬁ order. Muraqaba : Similar to meditation.

not, O Beloved!

Ney : Suﬁ reed ﬂute

You alone exist, I do not!

Pre-eminent Suﬁ masters Abul hasan al-shadhili : Introduced ‘dhikr‐jahri’ , remembrance of God through loud means. Bayazid Bastami: First mystic to openly speak of the annihilation (fanā') of the base self in the Divine, whereby the mystic becomes fully absorbed to the point of becoming unaware of himself or the objects around him. Every existing thing seems to vanish, and he feels free of every barrier that could stand in the way of his viewing the Remembered One. In one of these states, Bastami cried out: "Praise to Me, for My greatest Glory!" His be‐ lief in the unity of all religions became apparent when asked the question: "How does Islam view other reli‐ gions?" His reply was "All are vehicles and a path to God's Divine Presence." Ibn Arabi: Never abandon your servanthood (Ubudiyya) to God. Mansur-al-Hallaj: He said ‘Ana‐I‐Haq’ (I am the Truth), which was apostasy in the eyes of traditional Islamists and he was put in prison and his trial went for 11 years before they tortured and publicly dismembered him.

In Guruseva, Atmajyothi Prasad Source: Wikipedia.

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Osho on Sufism The word 'suﬁ' comes from an Arabic word 'safa'. Safa means purity. Suﬁ means one who is pure in the heart. (the word suf meaning “wool”; symbolic of their renunciation of worldly values and their abhorrence for physi‐ cal comforts. also means soft.. soft at heart, humble...loving..)

Sufi is the Bhakta on the Mohammedan path; Bhakta is the Sufi on the Hindu path. There is no difference be‐ tween a Bhakta and a Sufi. Curiosity is not enough. You have to be ready. Sufis say that a master accepts you not because of your inquiry, he accepts you because of your preparation ‐‐ and that is a totally different thing. A Sufi Master has no teaching, he is his teaching. A Sufi Master does not philosophize about reality, he exposes his heart to the disciple. Even if he sometimes uses words, those words are only indicators ‐‐ just like arrows being used on milestones ‐‐ just indicators that you have to go on and on. As the disciple becomes more and more attuned with the Master then less and less words are needed. Then the presence of the master is enough. A real Sufi has such presence that he does not ask for attention. The unreal Sufi can be immediately judged if he asks for attention. Sufis say that your prayers should be in the middle of the night, when even your household people are fast asleep. Nobody should know that you pray. Your prayer will be just a whisper between you and the unknown; you should not be an exhibitionist.

Repeating the name of the Beloved. I have become the Beloved myself. Whom shall I call the Beloved now?

A Sufi is just the opposite of a philosopher. A Sufi is one who is not concerned with words at all. A Sufi is one who is not interested in scriptures at all. A Sufi is one who is interested in going into existence itself. He does not want to bother about the word "beauty", he wants to experience beauty itself. He is not concerned about the word "water", he is thirsty and he wants to drink water. His interest is in drinking, his interest is existential. Sufis talk about love, of paradise, of the garden of paradise. They think of God as the Beloved. They talk about wine; wine is their symbol. They talk about drunkenness; they are drunkards, drunkards of the divine. They abandon themselves in dance and song. They feast, they celebrate. That seems absolutely logical. Enough of the desert ‐‐ they have to balance it by an inner garden. On the surface, from the outside, the Sufi seems to be dancing. But he is not dancing, because there is no danc‐ er. It is pure dance. God has taken possession of him. The Sufi is drunk, intoxicated. His state is that of non‐ being. He is anchorless. The waves of the ocean toss and turn. First his inner being is stirred, great joy arises there; and then it starts spreading towards his body. Once you understand the art of non‐identification, you have learned all that Sufis can teach you. Gurdjieff intro‐ duced Sufi essentials into the West. He was the man who brought to the West the secrets of the Sufis. His whole teaching depends on one word, and that is non‐identification. Don't get identified with anything because consciousness is always transcendental. It cannot be reduced to anything · The escapist says, ”Renounce your colored stones so that you can get to the real diamonds.” The Sufi says just the contrary: he says, ”Get to the real diamonds, and that which is not real will drop out of your life of its own accord.” · The Sufi says: God is available, it is already available. All that you need is an uncomplicated mind, all that you need is a state of no‐motivation. All that you need is to fall into the silence of this moment, no trying to achieve something tomorrow. And what is your afterlife? It is the prolonged shadow of the tomorrow. So those who are thinking to attain to heaven or to nirvana after death are very greedy people. They are not religious at all.

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Suﬁsm is not a way of thinking but a way of life, a way of living; not a philosophy of life but a way of life.

· Sufis always talk about techniques, methods. They never talk about ’whats’, they only talk about ’hows’. In that way they are as scientific as any scientist. Sufism is a glimpse of how religion should be. It is pointless to talk about God; create the ladder that takes you to God. · It is utterly a waste of time talking about paradise; give methods so that paradise can be explored inside your being. It is an inner phenomenon, it is your inner space. It has no church, it has no book – Bible or Koran or Veda or Dhammapada. It has no book, no sacred book. It has no church. Sufism is a very, very free‐floating reli‐ giousness. Anybody can be a Sufi – a Hindu, a Christian, a Mohammedan. Anywhere, one can be a Sufi. It is a practical approach on how to create religiousness. · Hamido is a Sufi name for God – it means the praiseworthy. Sufis continuously praise God. They call it jikr – remembrance They are continuously bowing inside to God. That is a way of effacing yourself. That is a way of destroying the ego, the way to destroy the person. When the person is completely effaced, dropped, he be‐ comes a presence, and that presence is love.

Heart is the substance and the words are only accidents.

· In fact to call it ’Sufism’ is not right because it is not an ’ism’ at all. Sufis don’t call it ’Sufism’; it is the name given by the outsiders. They call their vision TASSAWURI, a love‐vision, a loving approach towards reality. It is falling in love with existence. · Love is known only when you are no more a person and you have become a presence. Love is a shadow of presence. If you are a person then in the name of love a thousand and one other things go on masquerading as love: possessiveness, jealousy, domination, politics, power. A thousand and one are the games of the mind. If you are a person – and by ”person” I mean if you have the ego, the ”I”; that’s what person means – if you are living in a kind of separation from existence, then you are constantly in Conflict. Even with those you love there will be conflict; your very style of life is of conflict. Then people love, but the love brings only misery… gives great hope, but never fulfills, promises much but the goods are never delivered. · There is another kind of love – the real love – that never happens to a person; it happens only when you have become a presence. The way to love, the method to create love energy in you, is to negate the ego. And to negate the ego the Sufis use the continuous prayer, praising God in every possible way. They never miss a single opportunity to praise God. · He continuously uses all occasions to praise God. Hence one of the names of God is Hamido, the praise‐ worthy, one who has to be praised continuously. It is a technical device to efface oneself, to forget oneself, to drown one’s person into oblivion. And then one day you are not there. Something is, but you are not there. There is no feeling of ”I” – a pure presence. That presence showers love. That presence becomes a blessing to existence. So your name means: attain to love, a love that becomes a blessing to existence. Attain to that love which is synonymous with God, the praiseworthy one. Love be praised. · Love is the only alchemy that transforms a man into something superhuman. It is there, frozen; it needs a little warmth, a provocation, and then it starts flowing. It needs to be called forth, and that is the function of the Master: to call forth the intrinsic in you, the potential in you, and to help it become actual. ·

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The Suﬁ concentrates on only one thing, remembrance of God – ZIKR. As that remembrance deepens, his

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obsession with the world lessens. As he comes closer and closer to the ultimate reality, the ordinary reality is no longer attractive; it starts receding back. Because when you find the real gold, how can you go on carrying the unreal gold? When you have found the real diamonds you will automatically drop the stones, colored stones, that you have been carrying all along · Self‐remembering is its only and its whole philosophy. Sufism can be reduced to a single method: self‐ remembering · If you can understand one word, ’self‐remembering’, you have understood all that Sufism consists of. Man lives, but without any remembrance of who he is. Then you can go on doing a thousand and one things, but failure is going to be your fate. You are doomed to fail, because unconsciousness fails. · Only consciousness succeeds, because it is only through consciousness that you become part of the divine cosmos. Unconscious, you remain apart. Unconscious, you are confined by your ego, you are like an island. Con‐ scious, the ego melts, you become one with the whole, the harmony of the whole. The part is going to fail. The part cannot succeed. Only the whole succeeds. · Its whole emphasis is on how to destroy man’s mechanicalness, how to de‐automatize man, how to re‐ lease awareness in him.

Would you become a pilgrim on the road of love? The first

· Suﬁs work with their hands ‐‐ carpet making, shoemaking, carpentry, or anything whatsoever, but with their hands. Hand and head are the two poles, and if your energy is moving through the hands, the head by and by subsides. And if for years, twelve years ‐‐ such a long time! ‐‐ you are simply working with the hands, you completely forget the head. There is no need of it. The head becomes nonfunctioning, and that is what is need‐ ed for a disciple: the head must be in a non‐functioning state. Thinking should stop. The mind should become like a no‐mind. Not ﬁlled with thoughts, dreams, ideas. Completely empty……!!!!!

Compiled by Atmajyothi Komal

condition is that you make yourself humble as dust and ashes.

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Ten Sufi thoughts There is one God, the Eternal, the Only Being; none else exists save He. There is one Master, the Guiding Spirit of all souls, who constantly leads his followers towards the light. There is one Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, the only scripture which can enlighten the reader. There is one Religion, the unswerving progress in the right direction towards the ideal, which fulﬁlls the life's purpose of every soul. There is one Law, the Law of Reciprocity, which can be observed by a selﬂess conscience together with a sense of awakened justice.

The happiness of the drop is to die in the river.” ? Imam AlGhazali

There is one Brotherhood, the human brotherhood, which unites the children of earth indiscriminately in the fatherhood of God. There is one Moral Principle, the love which springs forth from self‐denial, and blooms in deeds of beneﬁ‐ cence. There is one Object of Praise, the beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshipper through all aspects from the seen to the unseen. There is one Truth, the true knowledge of our being within and without which is the essence of all wisdom. There is one Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality and in which resides all perfection. — By Hazrat Pir‐o‐Murshid Inayat Khan Contributed by Atmajyothi Prema

Lets scramble our head to unscramble these words. Answers on page 29 1.

RIKSHAN

Clues:

I 2. LAPUHANG

•

All the words are related to Holi festival

•

The letters given in the boxes are given as clues and also forms a 6 letter word related to Holi festival only.

•

All are not English words

L B

3. LAROTYDA

O L

4. NAGBH

H 5. CHAPRIKI

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Sufi folk tales The Cheese Sandwich During lunch break at work, the Mullah was getting exasperated. Every time he opened his lunchbox, it was a cheese sandwich. Day after day, week after week, it was the same ‐ a cheese sandwich. "I am getting sick and tired of this lousy cheese sandwich", complained the Mullah repeatedly. His co‐workers gave him some advice; "Mullah, you don't have to suffer through a cheese sandwich over and over again. Tell your wife to make you something different. Be firm with her if you have to." "But I'm not married," replied the Mullah. By now, puzzled and confused, his colleagues asked, "Then who makes your sandwiches?" "Well, I do!" replied the Mullah With compassionate mindfulness we can become aware of the cheese sandwich patterns in our lives in which we might be stuck.

Nour the Fire-Maker, and the Five Tribes In ancient times, a man named Nour discovered how to make fire. He traveled to various places and shared his discovery to five tribes of people. They all had different reactions to him—some embraced his discovery, and others regarded him with aversion and fear. Eventually, Nour was killed by a group of people that were terri‐ fied of him and his fire. A few centuries later, each of the five tribes had a unique viewpoint towards Nour and fire making, and these subjects accounted for a major part of each tribe’s cultural and religious practices.

You are a Sufi

The ﬁrst tribe had a priest class that kept ﬁre‐making a closely guarded secret that gave them leverage over the other citizens.

when your heart is soft as wool.

The second tribe did not care about fire making, but they worshipped the tools used to make fire. The third tribe was entirely unconcerned about fire making, and instead worshipped Nour. The fourth tribe had legendary tales about Nour and fire making ingrained in their cultural folklore—and some people believed the legends, while other rejected them. The fifth tribe used fire throughout their community for various useful purposes. One day, a master and his disciples were traveling in the lands where these tribes lived. After observing the tribes, the disciples said to each other, “It is very surprising to see how all these tribes differ so greatly in the way they regard fire making and Nour. Let us visit the tribes, and tell them the truth about fire making. After when we tell them, their lifestyles will surely change dramatically.” So the traveling master and disciples went to the first tribe—the one where fire was a closely guarded secret used among the priest class. After receiving a warm welcome by the tribe, they attended one of their fire mak‐ ing religious ceremonies headed by the priests. When the ceremony finished, one of the traveling disciples said, “I can duplicate the fire making that you people regard as divine and restricted only to the priests. If I do this, will you admit that you have been wrong for all these years?” When the priests heard this, they immediately shouted out, “These travelers are heretics—seize them and take them away at once.”

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The people immediately did as they said, and the travelers moved on to the second tribe—the one that wor‐ shipped fire‐making tools. One of the traveling disciples announced to the tribe, “I come here to inform you that you are worshipping these tools, yet you are unaware that their use is simply to make fire.” The people heard this and responded, “We are hospitable people and welcome you to our land, but we must inform you that you are a stranger to our customs, and you do not understand what we are doing. Your state‐ ments are mistaken, and you are not acting in accordance with our religion. Hence, we will not listen to you.” So the travelers went to the third tribe—the one that worshipped Nour. They observed the tribe’s various Nour statues and ceremonies. Later, they approached the tribe’s leaders and said, “The Nour that you worship is actually just a person like the rest of you. He discovered a fire making skill that you can learn and use.” The tribe leaders replied, “Even if that is true, such knowledge is reserved only for a select few like us, not for the entire community to know.” “But why not spread this knowledge to all?” the traveler replied. Upon hearing this, the tribe leaders replied, “We have had enough from you! You are sacrilegious and unfamil‐ iar with our culture!” So the travelers left, and went to the fourth tribe—the one where fire making and Nour were legendary folk‐ lore that some people believed and others didn’t.

Bringing joy to

One of the travelers announced to the tribe, “The ﬁre making stories and legends you speak of are indeed true, and I can show you how to make ﬁre.”

one heart with

This announcement caused much division among the tribe. Among them, some people desired to learn how to make fire from the travelers, but were only concerned with using it to take advantage of others. They also did not learn to make fire properly because they were still fixated on their inaccurate legends about fire making.

love is better than

Another group of people said, “These travelers are duping us and trying to take advantage of us; and we will have nothing to do with them.”

one thousand repetitive prayer recitings.

And another group of people said, “Whether these travelers speak the truth or not, we do not want to hear from them. We prefer to retain our current legends as they are, which forms the foundation of our culture and community.” So the travelers left and went to the fifth tribe, where they used fire, and observed the people’s ways. The travelers then said to their master, “What are we to make of all of this? We tried to teach the four other tribes to make fire the way this tribe does, but our efforts have gone in vain.” The master replied, “Most people don’t really want to be taught—so you have to know the proper way to teach them. Although they have the capacity for learning, this is not enough. “You have to teach them that there is something to learn. They imagine they are ready to learn, but they are really concerned with learning what they imagine is to be learned, and not what they first need to learn. “Understand this, and then you will find the proper way to teach.”

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The Bird’s Advice A man caught a bird, and the bird said to him, “Release me, and I will give you three valuable pieces of advice. I will give you the first when you let me go, the second when I fly up to that branch, and the third when I fly up to the top of the tree.” The man agreed, and let the bird go. The bird said, “Do not torment yourself with excessive regret for mis‐ takes.” The bird then flew up to a branch and said, “Do not believe anything that goes against common sense, unless you have firsthand proof.” And then the bird flew up to the top of the tree and said, “You fool. I have two huge jewels inside of me, and if you had killed me instead of letting me go, you would have had them.” “Darn it!” the man said. “How can I have been so stupid? I am never going to get over this. Bird, can you at least give the third piece of advice as a consolation?” The bird replied, “I have been hoaxing you. And now you are asking for more advice, yet you have already dis‐ regarded the first two pieces of advice I gave you. I told you not to torment yourself with excessive regret for mistakes, and I told you not to believe things that go again common sense unless there is some kind of firsthand proof. And yet, you just tormented yourself with excessive regret for letting me go, and you also be‐ lieved that somehow there are two jewels inside of a tiny bird like me! So here is your third piece of advice: ‘If you are not using what you know, why are you so intent on seeking what you do not know?’”

I am He

Know that you know nothing and are no one.

A Muslim fakir has written a poem concerning Al‐Hallaj Mansoor, a Sufi saint who was tortured and killed be‐ cause he had declared , "I am God". The poem refers to a dream dreamt by someone who had participated in the killing of the saint. He saw that Al‐Hallaj was being ceremoniously taken to heaven, and he could not under‐ stand it. The poem reads: O God! Why was pharaoh condemned to flames for crying out "I am God" and Hallaj is swept away to heaven for crying out the same words: "I am God". Then he heard a voice speaking: When pharaoh spoke those words, he thought only of himself, he had forgotten me. When Hallaj uttered those words ‐ the same words ‐ he had forgotten himself. He thought only of me. Therefore the "I am" in pharaoh's mouth was a curse to him and in Hallaj's the "I am" is the effect of My grace. ‐ Excerpted from Ramesh Balsekar’s “A duet of one”

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Spiritual Insights Dear Sadgurudev, Hari Om! How does one describe in words when there is NO body ‐ neither any nor some hunger, thirst and sleep ‐ functions of the body do not exist any more just as all relationships (illusory) have vanished into nothing there is neither wife, mother, sister, friend nor foe, you nor me, this nor that only emptiness and vast expanse filled with overwhelming inexhaustible unblemished ‐ LOVE that is pure, divine, unconditional and everlasting Every inhalation is breath filled with Grace, and exhalation an out pour of Love. In the stillness and silence of the mind, only LOVE IS, was and always will be as an act of compassion tears of gratitude, prayers of peace shower‐ ing upon one and all indiscriminately and selflessly

With faith, devotion and surrender, Atmajyothi Prema,

O Sadguru..

Except tears, what else I can offer Except love, what else u can give O Sadguru, your love is infinite My ego is finite, unable to feel it… Yet it longs for love only Except tears what other ways can I purify myself Except love what other ways can u grace me O Sadguru, your grace is infinite My heart is finite, unable to receive it Yet if longs for grace only Except suffering, I see nothing Except bliss, you see nothing O Sadguru, you are bliss eternal My mind is finite, unable to perceive it Yet it longs for bliss only.. And you say ‘I am bliss only’…..!!!!

peace and love Atmajyothi Komal

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పదబంధ 1

3 5

9 10 11

Act as if there

12 13

were no one on

15 16

earth but you,

and no one in Heaven but God.

ఎడ ౦ ఎడ ౦ద బల ె

Lౕ9Mంద ెళ ె

౨. మూరు ెూౕకగ ె ఈశ ా రువవను - ౪

౧.5రు 5రు బందు అంత8Oద9: ాణువవ ‐౫

౩. చంద$న ఇ ెూ&౦దు 'ెసరు - ౨

౩.చ౦ద$నను& 'ెూతు6M౦5రువవను - ౬

౫. ఇవ ెౕ నమ* +,ెౕశ - ౨

౪.ఎల:8గూ Q$య,ా రువవ - ౪

౬. ఈశన ఇ ెూ&౦దు 'ెసరు - ౨

౫.గRెౕశన తం=ె - ౩

౭. కన&౦/ా0 క12ౕద ఈశ - ౪

౭.?ౕర8 ె భద$ ె ెSా M౦5రువవ - ౪

౯. గ౦ ెయను& 'ెూ56రువవను - ౫

౮.తుంబ కటు2,ా ె ె;రువవ - ౪

౧౦ 8య9: ె ె;రువవను - ౪

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౧౨.>ా?ర భుజగళను& 'ెూ౦ రువవను ‐౫

౧౪.నంజును& ఉండవను - ౩

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….Answers on page 56

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Message of Ugadhi Ugadhi is the beginning of the new year. It comes in the month of Chaitra‐ the beginning of Vasanta Ritu (spring season). Yuga means year (Samvastara) and adi means the beginning. The Hindu calendar is a cycle of 60 Samvastsaras. The real Ugadhi is the birth of our universe which was manifested 161 billion years ago. Kato‐ panishad explains theory of manifestation in a single sentence: "everything in the universe is manifested pri‐ mordial vibrating cosmic energy." THE NEW YEAR'S DAY can thus be considered as the day of thanksgiving to the earth, for having taken us successfully in space around the sun. Ugadhi is the beginning of the spring season called Vasanta Ritu, when the goddess of nature is bedecked as a divine bride with trees bearing delicious fruits such as mango, jack fruit papaya. fragrant ﬂowers like jasmine and rose are in blooms. A Prasad of neem sym‐ bolising diﬃcult experiences and sweet jaggery, representing Happiness is accepted to convey that one needs to accept both unhappiness and happiness in a cheerful manner. A small prayer is chanted while accepting the prasad. Shataayuh Vajradehaaya Sarva Sampat Karayacha Sarvaarista Vinaashaaya Nimbakamdala Bhakshanam

“You are not practicing what

Wish all a very Happy Ugadhi. Warm Regards, Athmajyothi Rekha

you know, so why

Significance of Ugadhi

do you seek what you do not know?”

Parama Sadgurugalige Namanagalu... Festival of Ugadhi - Life of Equanimity - Balanced in pleasure and Pain.

Let us first understand the celebration of Ugadhi and its Significance... The New Year festival or Ugadhi comes close on the heels of Holi. Holi is the celebration of colours and Ugadhi is the celebration of the flame of the forest where tress with bright red flowers that blossom during Holi are in full bloom signifying an affluent season. It is believed that the creator Lord Brahma started creation on this day ‐ Chaitra Shudda Padyami or the Ugadhi day. It is the beginning of the New year, New month and New day. Spring is considered the first season of the year, new beginning full of colourful blossoms signifies growth, prosperity and well‐being. Traditionally, the Panchangasravana or listening to the yearly calendar was done at temples or town square but the modern technology has made to hear the priest‐scholar on Television sets in home or one's living room !. Raw mangoes spreading its aroma, the fully blossomed neem tree that makes air healthy, jaggery made with fresh crop of sugarcane adds flavour to the celebration. 'Ugadhi Pachchadi'' is one dish that is made of new jaggery, raw mango pieces and neem flower which truly reflect life ‐ a combination of sweet, sour and bitter tastes !

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Spiritual significance of Ugadhi - Life of Equanimity Ugadhi is the celebration of New birth in the life of spiritual seeker, the day when he understands his True Na‐ ture, the day when his ignorance is destroyed and accepts life as the Gift of God ‐ Balanced in pleasure and pain. Life of Equanimity means not just accepting pain and pleasure in the balanced way but also being friendly, com‐ passionate, free from egotism and attachments, neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor desires, re‐ nouncing good and evil, who is alike to friend and foe, alike to honour and dishonour, alike to heat and cold, censure and praise are equal . Balanced in pleasure and pain , free from attachments and egotism (Bhagavad Gita 12. 13) To be balanced in pleasure and pain is the state of detachment from the transformation of life. This does not mean that feeling of joy and sorrow is ceased, but they are not affected or the state of mind is not disturbed in any way. when we feel joy and sorrow and are unaffected, we are human beings with balanced life.

Whatever you think concerning God—know that

Free from attachments means non‐possessiveness, not indulging in my‐ness. There is nothing that can be claimed as mine ! anything we do, anything we have, anything we achieve is the result of collective factors. Any event or achievement ‐ it radiate out into inﬁnity, so what can be claimed as 'mine' ? Freedom from egotism is freedom attachments, freedom from ;my‐ness' is freedom from 'I‐ness'. when we understand whatever we have or do is the result of collective contribution, we understand we are just the spokesmen.

he is different

Neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor desires, renouncing good and evil (Bhagavad Gita 12. 17)

from that!

Likes and dislikes determines our present activity, when we understand that they are the collective desires and are like sweets to a diabetic, we neither rejoice about what we like nor hate about what we dislike. Not grieving for what was done or not done in past and not harboring for desires which we believe brings hap‐ piness. when we understand happiness does not depend on certain arrangements of the material world but on our spiritual state we stop craving for desires. Good and evil are the nature of material world in dualistic. Good has no meaning without evil, pleasant is de‐ fined by unpleasant, tall is determined by short. It is our nature to enjoy with variety of dualistic world, we should enjoy without being affected. Alike to friend and foe, honour and dishonour, heat and cold, in pleasure and pain (Bhagavad Gita 12, 18) The attitude of equality towards all beings , treating a person with gentle nature and harmful nature with un‐ derstanding the nature of being, accepting them and treating them wisely but with love. This equanimity should follow through , we should not be effected by the material world, they are like fluctuations of mind, just as heat and cold, pleasure and pain are the fluctuations of the body. Censure and praise are equal (Bhagavad Gita 12. 19) These are the fluctuations in the intellectual level, the principle is the same as above, to stay balanced in all lev‐ el. Whatever above said is again APARAA VIDYA, PARAA VIDYA is what Pujaneya Prabhuji has said about Ugadhi ‐ Equanimity of life

Honouring The Principle of Time We keep running against time, pushing time hard, struggling to catch up with time. But the time keeps slipping,

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Future, past, present from past to present to future. Ugadhi is the call for honouring the Principle of time. Hon‐ ouring the lord of Time (kala purusha). Five aspects of Kala Purusha are (panchanga) ‐ Tithi, Vara, Nakshatra, Karna, and Yoga. Custom of discarding old dress ‐ symbolizing dropping of old concepts, ignorance, dropping of useless values/ ideas. Old dress symbolizes the soul dropping the old body (like old dress) and searching for new (new dress) Vasani jirnanai yatha vihaya ‐ (Bhagavad Gita 2. 22 ) Cycle of Birth ‐ Death ‐ Birth, continues due to ignorance of nature of self (Atma) Instead, we should learn to discard impression ‐ Vasanas, samskaras and ignorance of self (Atma) which forces us into birth‐death‐birth cycle. By purifying our heart we should strive for liberation. By dropping the false concepts that '' I am the body, I am the mind, I am the intellect'' we should strive for en‐ lightenment (Stita prajna nature). Custom of wearing New Dress symbolising New Wisdom, New way of life.

Appear as you

Wearing New Dress representing New Values, Vision, Ideas. Symbolizing the New Life‐ a life of Sthitha Prajna (enlightened one)

are; be as you appear.

Realizing that I am the Birthless, Deathless Immortal Self (Atma) free from all bondage's. Custom of eating Jaggery and Neem symbolizing equanimity of Sthita Prajna. Neem represents ‐ Pain/difficulties and Jaggery represents happiness / success. Sthitha Prajna (Enlightened One) is One who is not depressed by miseries in life nor elated when there is happi‐ ness, and one who is free from attachment, fear and anger is called sthita prajna (Dukhesu Anudvigna manaha‐ (Bhagavad Gita 2.56). The 36 qualities of Equanimity of a true Sthita Prajna (Bhagavad Gita 12 . 13 to19) Absence of hatred towards all beings / Friendless / compassion / the absence of 'My‐ness' / absence of egoism / equanimity in joy and sorrow / forbearance / contentment / self‐control / fire determination / surrendering the mind and intellect to God / the world not being agitated by him / he being unagitated by the world / absence of joy, fear and anxiety / desirelessness /purity / competence in action / indifference / freedom from anxiety / re‐ nunciation of fruits of actions / absence of elation / absence of hatred / absence of desire / absence of fear / renunciation of good and evil / equal‐mindedness towards friends and enemies / equanimity in honour and dis‐ honour / equanimity in heat and cold / equanimity in joy and sorrow / non‐attachment / equal mindedness in praise and blame / silence / contentment with what‐so‐ever obtained by chance / absence of attachment to home / firmness of decision / devotion to God.

Shirasa Namisuva, Gurudeva Pada sevaki

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Festival of Ugadhi - Living life of Equanimity ( Sthita Prajna) Ugadhi is festival of celebration of life of Sthita prajna one who is enlightened. Evaluate your own life against the characteristic of Sthitaprajna in the following article – extract of speech by Guruji Shri Ram Lord Krishna narrates the characteristics of a Sthita‐prajna in eighteen verses of Bhagavad Gita (2.55 – 2.72).

"Sthita‐prajna, one with stable intellect, is the perfect man. According to the Gita, he is a real Yogi or an ideal per‐ son." There are eighteen verses in praise of that personality. Verses 55 and 56 give a deﬁnition of such an Illu‐ mined Soul. To sum up, a Sthita‐prajna: 1. Shuns completely all desires of the mind. 2. Remains unperturbed in adversity. 3. Remains detached under aﬄuent conditions. 4. Is free from attachment, fear, and anger. 5. Is absorbed and contented within his own Self.

Between me and You, there is only

How does one reach this state of illumination or level‐headedness? The following ﬁve verses give a description of the process: 1. He is neither pleased nor pained by good or evil, because he is not attached to anything anywhere.

me. Take away the me, so only You remain. – Hallaj

2. He has now mastered the art of withdrawing his organs at will from the sense objects, just like a tortoise. The tortoise is endowed with a strong shell on its back. It swims and plays in the water. The moment it senses some danger, it withdraws its legs and neck and takes shelter under its protective covering. When there is no danger, the tortoise stretches out its limbs and starts moving freely. Similarly, a Sthita‐prajna always has the protective shell of the Soul. He moves about in the world. He does his duty. He eats. He drinks. He plays. He laughs. But he remains aware of the Divine during all these activities. In case there is some danger of slipping away from and forgetting the Divine, by falling into the region of ego or diversity, he immediately withdraws his sense organs. He takes refuge under the benevolent protective umbrella of God. He chants the mantra, remembers his guru, or practices austerities and regains his composure. Then he comes out from under his Divine umbrella, continues his work, and starts playing his game or part again. It may sound easier to give up the world and go to the jungle, but that is not as desirable. One should put to use the organs of actions and organs of sense given by God only along the right paths. One should have control over them. One should be able to withdraw them at will and thus avoid being carried away. Thus, if one always remains under the Divine roof and carefully moves around in the world, he will never lose his balance as he is firmly rooted in the Divine. This means one has to be always alert and watchful while moving around. One may suggest that it would be wise to remain away from the sense objects instead of getting into such spiritual acrobatics. This aspect is discussed in the next verse. 3. If one decides not to entertain any sense objects, they go away from him. If one honestly renounces the worldly objects, they will not have any more appeal for him. That is true. However, the secret longing or hankering does not vanish. Those subtle desires that remain hidden in the deep recesses of the causal body will finally disappear only when one merges into the Divine. Hence, there is no point in running away from the sense objects. One should face them. One should freely and boldly move with them. One should always try to get a firm footing in the Divine and thus obliterate all lower instincts and become Sthita‐prajna. This line of thought sounds good. This is the only way to attain Self‐realization. But the organs of action and or‐

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gans of senses are like unbridled horses. What to do about them? This situation is analyzed below. 4. It is a fact that the organs of action and organs of senses are very powerful. They are very turbulent. Even the wise men who practice austerities for a long time find it difficult to control them. They forcibly drag and carry away the mind. It is really a difficult job. 5. However, there is no other alternative. One has to have complete faith in God. He should contemplate all the time on the Divine attributes of the Supreme Self. Thus, he should gradually gain control over all his organs. Only then his mind will become steady and he can be called Sthita‐prajna. Arjuna now feels happy about the method of gaining control over one's self. He agrees with the technique sug‐ gested by Lord Krishna. He now wonders how and why at all, one becomes a slave of these organs whereas he legitimately should be their master. Lord Krishna describes the steps through which one loses control over one’s Self in the next two verses (62 and 63).

In His presence, silence is the gift of tongues. Hakim Sanai

The downfall starts when one begins to ponder over the sense objects. The posters, advertisements, television, cinema houses, and behavior of people around, etc. — all these create some sort of brain wave which soon gains strength and results in a strong liking or attachment of the sense objects. Attachment breeds desire to get or possess. If this desire or lust is not fulfilled, anger follows. When one loses his temper, he comes under delusion, which then leads to loss of reason. Once you lose all reason, you have lost your intellect, your capacity to think and to judge consistently. Then that person is lost altogether. He may resort to drugs or alcohol. But in any case, he is to be written off. If one really wants to avoid such a danger, Lord Krishna advises (Verses 64 and 65), "One should have full control over his mind. The organs should be free from greed and hatred. He can now play with the sense objects. He will now attain peace and tranquility. When he is firmly established in peace, the worldly ups and downs or pains do not affect him anymore. He is always happy. He is blessed with peace, plenty, and bliss. This state is known as Prasada. Such a person is endowed with a balanced state of mind. He is a Sthita‐prajna. "If one is not composed" says Krishna (Verses 66,‐67,‐and 68), "then he will never have a clear and balanced intel‐ lect. Nor can he dwell or meditate upon the Self. Where there is no meditation, how can there be peace? Without peace, how can one be happy? Please remember, these sense organs are very slippery. Take care! Suppose the mind is lenient towards one organ, suppose it has a weakness for one sense object. In the long run, or in some weak moment, that sense organ drags him away and leads him astray. Such a person gets caught in the trap and becomes completely helpless. He is like a ship hit by a storm in the middle of the ocean. He is tossed between life and‐death. "That is why, O Arjuna,"‐Lord Krishna continues, "I want you to have full control of your mind and body, of all your limbs and organs. Once you attain that mastery, you are one with the Divine inside." Verse 69 speaks of the difference between a worldly man and a Yogi. Lord Krishna says, "A person with self‐ control remains awake when everybody else is asleep, whereas he looks upon that as the night wherein every‐ body else is active." The reference here is to the super conscious state which is unknown and beyond the reach of a common man. He is ignorant about it. He looks upon the world and sense objects as the ultimate truth. So he struggles very hard to come up in this material world. As far as the Divine or the super conscious state is concerned, he is in the dark. However, a Sthita‐prajna has full control over himself. He is firmly rooted in the Divine. He knows that this world is a creation of the Self, a projection of the Self, by the Self, and for the Self. He does not hanker after the worldly objects. He is busy strengthening his footing on the Divine plane and hence does not bother much about the world. Hence, that area of activity in which an ignorant man struggles all his life is dark or night for him. The Sthita ‐prajna has realized the Self and knows his duties. He is not affected or motivated by anger, hatred, etc. which are

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the driving forces of the lower world. In other words, the realized Soul sleeps in that region or time. The second chapter of Gita is summed up in the last three verses (70, 71, and 72). Lord Krishna cites the example of the ocean. "The ocean is always full. It has a ﬁrm base. Hundreds and thousands of streams and rivers are pour‐ ing in millions and millions of gallons of water into the ocean every minute. However, the ocean never overﬂows; it remains unperturbed. Similarly, a man should remain calm and unmoved even though the desires, lust, greed, and sense objects continue to pour into him from all sides. He can attain peace, plenty, and bliss if he remains unperturbed and undisturbed. However, if one is tossed up and down by these material things, he will never be at peace." What is true of the material world is also true of spiritual evolution. Many times a seeker is elated if he has a good dream or a pleasant vision in meditation. There are moments when one feels blocked up on the path and that leads to depression. Many aspirants struggle very hard for many years expecting some power or results. When they fail to achieve what they think to be the right status, they are frustrated. They curse themselves and God, and give up everything. They are doomed for life.

I saw my Lord with the eye of the heart. I said, “Who are you.” He said, “You.”

It is necessary for an aspirant to be alert and avoid such a situation. The spiritual evolution or progress in the path of Yoga should be slow, gradual, and painless, like the opening of a bud. The good dreams and pleasant visions should be the guiding signs on the road. They should not elate or puff up the aspirant beyond a limit. Sickness, failures, etc. should not lead to dejection. The aspirant should take all these things in his stride. He should remain unperturbed like the ocean. There is no need to disturb the lifestyle or pattern. One should continue to be what he is ordained to be, should do his best and play his role in the Divine plan. At the same time, one should not lose control over oneself. Many persons look upon odd patterns of behavior as spiritual actions. This is undesirable. There is no need to put on an odd‐looking dress. It is not necessary to remain dirty and unclean. Shedding of tears in the name of God, with a view to impress the public, etc. is no good. Just as Lord Krishna led the life of a Yogi inside and did his part in the external world, without creating a commotion, so also, an aspirant should remain unmoved by gain or loss in the material or spiritual worlds. This attitude of detachment toward the world and its objects definitely eliminates all ego. He no longer thinks of "I" or "mine" or "you" or "yours." He is thus qualified for that eternal peace, plenty, and bliss. This is the super conscious state. When one is finally established in it, he is liberated once and for all from the cycle of births and deaths. He now merges into the Divine. There is no delusion for him anymore. He is one with the Supreme bliss/ consciousness/love which is the true nature of the Self in all beings. The word Anta‐kale need not necessarily mean "at the time of death." According to Shri Vidyaranya, it means "that moment when Avidya, or misunderstanding, ends." It may also mean "all through the life or finally

— Extract from Lecture given by Guruji Shri Ram

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Message and Resolution for Ugadhi " As you sow, so

SPRITIUAL MESSAGE OF UGADHI

shall you reap.

• •

Ugadhi is a call for honoring the “Principle of Time”… Honoring the lord of Time ‘KALAPURUSHA’.

• •

Discarding the old life of ignorance and leading a new life of wisdom and awareness..!!!

• • • • • •

To begin a new Era (Yuga) in my life by living in the wisdom that

That is utilizing every moment of the present given to us as a Present (Gift) for Self Realization and Libera‐ tion.

Attaining the Sthitha Prajna state (Enlightened One) by accepting the ups and downs of life each moment with equanimity. RESOLUTION (SANKALPA) FOR UGADHI

“I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the intellect, I am pure awareness, Shakshi...!” To lead the life of Sthitha Prajna(with equanimity) To share peace, love and truth within the world. To constantly focus on “Atmanomokshartham Jagad Hitayacha” (to realize the bliss of self by Antakarana shuddi or Self puriﬁcation, and serve the world )

— By Prabhuji Transcribed by Atmajyothi Komal

Quiz - Vishuddhi Chakra 1.

Vishuddi means __________________________.

Vishuddi Chakra is located in the ____________region.

__________ Gland is governed by Vishuddi Chakra.

Vishuddi Chakra has ____________petals.

The Sound associated with Vishuddi Chakra is _______________.

The Element associated with Vishuddi Chakra is ________________.

The Color of Vishuddi Chakra is __________________.

The Organs (body parts) associated with Vishuddi Chakra are ________________________.

The important Personality Factors associated with Vishuddi Chakra are_____________&________________.

10. The important Qualities of Vishuddi Chakra are________________&___________________.

Answers on Page 31

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Significance of Ugadhi Ugadhi ‐ Beginning of new era is the day, Brahmaji started the creation of the Universe. Like all other festivals, Ugadhi has deep spiritual signiﬁcance. Let us explore the meaning of Ugadhi.

Spiritual Meaning of Festivals. Each festival in India carries a deep spiritual call ‐ from Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita. The sequence of festivals also has a signiﬁcance. It indicates how to put in practice deep spiritual truths in life. Ugadhi comes after Shivaratri and holi. Shivaratri gives a call for waking up. Waking up from dream of Maya. While Holi ‐ shows the way. By Kamadahana ‐ burning of desires. Ugadhi shows the way to make a new beginning. Vikruthi Nama Samvatsara Spiritual Signiﬁcance of Ugadhi - Panchanga sravanam. Ugadhi is the day Brahmaji created the universe. Ugadhi is the day, we create our universe. By making a new beginning. Whatever action we perform becomes the karma. What we experience in life is our karmic forces. It is our own earlier creation. We have a choice to create new universe for ourselves by right action. Action with right attitude. Action with right attitude is called Karmayoga. Action performed as service is called Yagna. Karmayoga and yagna is the way for us to celebrate Ugadhi ‐ making a new beginning.

What limits God? His name…!

It is customary to read Panchanga on the day of Ugadhi. This is to respect Kalapurusha. Lord himself is the time. He has 5 angas ‐ parts ‐ Thiti, vara, nakshtra, karana and yoga. Worship of Kalapurusha is respecting time. Every moment available to us should be lived respecting time. Performing yagna, karma yoga. This is the respect for kalapurusha. Panchanga sravana is done for this purpose. Horoscope is nothing but our karmic inﬂuences. Ya‐ gna, karma yoga is the way to come out of karmic inﬂuences. Path to liberation. Wearing New Clothes : On Ugadhi day, we wear new clothes. This is a reminder of Bhagavad Gita sloka 2.20. We are not the body. We are souls ‐ atma. Body is like clothes to us. We are immortal. Like we drop the old clothes, we drop body and take new ones. vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro ’parani tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyati navani dehi ‐ Bhagavad Gita chapter 2.20 As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. Eating Sweet Bevu‐ Bella (Jaggery, Neem leaves) ‐ Ugadhi day we eat jaggery and neem leaves to remind ourselves of the highest goal of enlightenment ‐ Sthitaprajna state. To be able to accept ups and downs of life with even minded‐ ness is the highest achievement in life. ‐ State of Sthitaprajna as indicated by Bhagavad Gita 2.56. Ugadhi carries this message of Bhagavad Gita. duhkheshu anudvigna‐manah sukheshu vigata‐sprihah vita‐raga‐bhaya‐krodhah sthita‐dhir munir ucyate ‐ 2.56

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One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.

Samvatsaraha Samvatsara stands for cycle of 60 years. In Vishnu Sahasranama, Shri Vishnu's name is Samvatsara. Lord himself appears as Kala ‐ Time.

Vikruti Nama samvatsara - Year 2010. ( A view from Ayurveda)

We start our lives trying to be teachers; it is very hard to learn to be a pupil.

According to Ayurveda, your basic constitution is determined at the time of conception. This constitution is called Prakruti. The term Prakruti is a Sanskrit word that means, "nature," "creativity," or "the first creation." One of the very important concept of Ayurveda is that one's basic constitution is fixed throughout his lifetime. The combination of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha that was present in the individual at the time of conception is main‐ tained throughout his lifetime. This is your base point. Notice that different persons can have different combina‐ tion of Vata, Pitta and kapha as their basic constitution or Prakruti. This is how Ayurveda can explain the subtle differences between individuals and explains why everyone is unique and that two persons can react very differ‐ ently when exposed to the same environment or stimuli. Your Prakruti is unique to you just as your fingerprint and DNA. Thus, in order to understand a person, it is necessary to determine his or her Prakruti. Ideally, your constitution remain fixed throughout your life. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Every person is subjected to the constant interaction with his or her environment which will affect the person's constitution at any time. The body will try to maintain a dynamic equilibrium or balance with the environment. Your current condition is called your vikruti. Although it reflects your ability to adjust to life's influences and is always chang‐ ing, it should match your prakruti, or inborn constitution, as closely as possible. If the current proportion of your doshas differs significantly from your constitutional proportion, it indicates imbalances, which in turn can lead to illness. Farther your Vikruti is from your Prakruti, more ill you are. Ayurveda teaches that your Vikruti can be changed by means of diet and meditation so as to approach your Prakruti or the state where you have perfect health. The concept of Prakruti and Vikruti can be illustrated by reference to our body temperature. When healthy, we maintain an average body temperature of about 98 degrees. Although, different persons can have different base temperatures, it does not change much so long as the person is healthy. When we go outside on a winter day, our body temperature may go down slightly; but will pick right back up to the normal if we are healthy. Similarly, jogging on a hot day can temporarily raise our body temperature. When we are sick, or catch a cold, our body temperature will go up. This indicates that we are sick or outside our normal base condition. We may take medi‐ cine to bring the body temperature back to the normal range. In analogy to Ayurveda, our present temperature may be considered as Vikruti and the difference between the Prakruti (our normal temperature) and Vikruti (our present temperature) can determine whether any medical intervention is required. Just like an allopathic doctor will take your temperature and blood pressure routinely as the first step in diagnosing your condition, Ayurvedic practitioners will determine your Prakruti and Vikruti as the first step in diagnosing your condition.

‐ Contributed by Prabhuji

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Guru Paduka Stotram - Shloka 3 Natha yayo sripatitam samiyu kadachidapyasu daridra varya, Mookascha vachaspathitham hi thabhyam, namo nama sri guru pad‐ ukabyam

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru, which makes those who prostate before it, Possessors of great wealth, even if they are very poor, and which makes even dumb people in to great orators.

We waste our energy designing and carrying out plans to become what we already are.

Money, gold and land, having these certainly make you a rich person, you can be called ‘wealthy’, but the Guru Bhakta is not talking about this wealth. The Bhakta speaks from an internal plane to an internal plane, he has no attachment to the outer, to the physical. A Bhakta’s greatest wealth is his Bhakti, it is his Bhava. This inner wealth that he carries is infinite. This wealth transforms people, purifies people, it frees people. The Bhakta says that this inner wealth is received by prostrating to the Sadguru. He says, I know you are poor! Very very poor, even I was, I had a black heart, a shallow heart, a disturbed mind, I was in poverty of peace and love, and then I went to my master, 50 feet away from him my mind became peaceful, 10 feet away I felt light at heart, and when I touched his feet I was pure! Guru Bhakti will bring great spiritual wealth inside. Just like a poor man who’s appearance and clothes changes after becoming rich, in the same way when a Bhakta is graced by spiritual wealth, highest wisdom, he becomes beautiful, he blossoms, his speech is pleasant, his touch is comforting, his life is an offering. To touch the feet of the Sadguru is to touch the feet of lord himself, that touch transforms you, when all your life you spoke from your mind, you will now speak from silence. For the one who has surrendered to the Sadguru, Sadguru speaks through him. The speech came because of prostrating to the Guru’s feet, and that same speech is able to take people to the Guru’s feet.

— Atmajyothi Murali

ANSWERS TO THE SCRAMBLE 1.

KRISHNA

‐ The Hindu god inseparably associated to the Holi celebrations.

PHALGUNA

‐ The month for Holi celebrations.

DOLYATRA

‐ The name by which Holi festival is known in West Bengal.

BHANG

‐ The intoxicant taken with milk during Holi celebrations.

PICHKARI

‐ The water gun used during Holi celebrations.

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Guru and God "गु गो व द दोन खड़े , काके लागून पाए बिलहार गु आपक जन गो व द दयो बताये I" “Guru Gobind donon khade, Ka ke lagoon paayen, Balihari Guru aapne, Jis Gobind diyo milaye.”

Translation: “I face both God and my guru. Who should I bow to ﬁrst? I ﬁrst bow to my guru because he's the one who showed me the path to God.”

Meaning

You yourself are your own

Guru and Govind (God) are both objects of reverence and worthy of worship but, Kabir puts ‘Guru’ at a higher pedestal than God. He says if both God and Guru condescend to give him ‘Darshan’ together, he would ﬁrst touch the lotus feet of his ‘Guru’ before seeking blessings from the Lord, because it is He (Guru) who showed him the way to meet the Lord. Kabir, a well known Indian Saint and a highly exalted soul, in this doha(couplet), signiﬁes the degree of rever‐ ence a devotee has for his Guru….!!!

obstacle—rise above yourself.

Well this Doha was learnt at high school level with the understanding that ‘if you bow to God, God will give you whatever you want, riches, fame…. But if bow to Guru, Guru will give you God only… but why, how, I never con‐ templated….!

But today after meeting the Guru in my life, I really understood the message of Kabirdas. ‘Guru not only reaches your head, but touches your heart Guru not gives you information, but brings transformation Guru not only gives you God, but makes you God himself’ The one who holds your ﬁnger and conditions you to fearlessly travel from the illusionary material world, to the realms of spirituality so that you could be one with the Real One and realize the ultimate Truth – i.e. God, is a ‘Guru’ A Sadguru ‘Sat‐Guru’ being one with the Lord is His own manifestation representing His diﬀerent Forms. Being one with ‘Para Brahma’, He is the manifestation of ‘Para Brahma’ only. “A Sadguru is not a just a man who has realized God But God revealing through man for Mankind”

To worship GURU in the true sense, our scriptures have given us the following ‘mantra’:

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गु र गु र

ॄ#ा , गु र

वंणु , गु र

दे वो

सा)ात पर ॄ#ा , तःमाये ौी

महे 'र , गु वे

नमः

Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwara, Gurur Saakshat Paar Brahma, Tasmaye Shree Guruve Namah: GURU and GOD are two diﬀerent names of ONE power. It is equally true that when we worship God in the Form of Guru, we place Him at a higher pedestal. We are rewarded or punished by God (laws of creation) by virtue of our own ‘karmas’ (actions). But when we worship God under the umbrella of Guru, who is full of love and com‐ passion, we are always rewarded and never punished, he does not get angry as God…!!! He is above all laws of nature, mind, matter, time and space…!!! Guru always welcomes you… “Come, come, whoever you are, Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times..”

Where part of you

O revered Guru, Thou art the manifestation of the Lord Himself, My salutations to Thee, My salutations to Thee.

goes, the rest of you will eventually follow.

Tasmaye Shree Guruve Namah by Atmajyothi Komal Courtesy : http://www.gurujiofgurgaon.com/

Answers to Quiz 1. Puriﬁer (beyond impurity‐Visha and purity‐Shuddi) 2. Throat region (Cervical Plexus) 3. Thyroid 4. Sixteen 5. Ham 6. Ether (Akasha) 7. Sky‐Blue 8. Throat, neck, mouth, teeth, face, nose 9. Communication and Creativity 10. Witnessing nature and Collectivity

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Purpose of Life My Master starts with a story……..

There was an old man, one day he was walking down a beach at dawn, he saw ahead of him a young man. The young man was running across the sand, rhythmically bending down to pick up a stranded starfish and throw it far into the sea. The old man gazed in wonder as the young soul again and again threw the small starfish from the sand into the water. The old man approached him and asked why he spent so much energy doing what seemed a waste of time. The young man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun.

Always be happy. No matter what happens, the single most important thing is to be happy and to spread happiness to others.

"But there are thousands of miles of beach, and miles and miles of starfish. How can your effort make any differ‐ ence?" The young man looked down at the small starfish in his hand, and as he threw it to safety in the sea, said, "It makes a difference to this one!"

My master speaks from deep silence. He talks about the purpose of life. There are 3 categories of people. The ignorant, the seekers and the Masters. The ignorant are many, the seekers are few, and the Master is only one. Sadguru is one. It is the Sadguru that saves you like the man who throws the starfish back to the ocean, please don’t misunderstand, Sadguru will not throw you back into Samsara, the ocean here is consciousness, it is Para‐ brahma. At another level, the seeker, the Sadhaka who is working on his purification, he throws the less fortunate to safety by Yajna and Dana. The ignorant, well, they just watch. How funny to think how they have misunder‐ stood ‘Witnessing’. People are so drowned in themselves and their creation that they cannot understand when they see someone creating freedom for others and themselves. What are you creating? Are you creating freedom for yourself and others or bondage? The way you think now, is it going to free you? Your actions, are they going to free you or bind you? Purpose of life is freedom. You are not born to die, a dog is born to die, you are born to become completely free. I cannot tell this to a dog, because it does not understand “you” nor does it misunderstand. But you have a misunderstanding of yourself, and that can be corrected. A man is walking on the road, counting the stars, he falls into a ditch. So are the ignorant, constantly looking outside and moving in life, fall is inevitable. This purpose of life, I call as ‘Atma Yajna’ No no, it does not mean jumping into fire ‘Atma Yajna’ is living your life as an offering to the world, to the divine. You are the greatest offering. Offering your body, mind and intellect to the divine so that it can be used for God’s work. This is not a one‐time offering. It is constant purification of the body mind so that the divine can use it. Because, only purification is in your hands, freedom, enlightenment, come from grace.

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You need to understand this clearly. You consist of 4 parts, the body, the mind, the intellect and Prana. You need to purify all these, to balance all these. The body needs to be fit to serve, to teach. The mind needs to be clear. The intellect needs to be purified, the Prana should flow correctly. Why do I say ‘Atma Yajna’ is the purpose of life? Previously I have told Sakshatkara is the purpose of life. My dear students, for Sakshatkara, you need to drop even the desire for Sakshatkara. You simply focus on purifica‐ tion, leave liberation to the Sadguru. You can spend your time thinking about enlightenment, about your con‐ cepts or you can work thinking about the Sadguru.

Dhyana Moolam Guru Moorthihi Pooja Moolam Guru Paadam

Deep in the sea

Mantra Moolam Guru Vakhyam Moksha Moolam Guru Kripa

there are riches Now the ﬁrst 3 parts are in your hands.

beyond your imagination. But if you seek

Spend some time for Dhyana, meditate on the Guru, Saguna to Nirguna, and throughout the day do his Dhyana by being aware. Spend some time to do manasa Pooja imagining the Sadguru and offer all your thoughts as flowers, and throughout the day offer all actions to him. Mantra, recollect his teachings, contemplate on them. When this is your daily routine there is Moksha, freedom. Guru Kripa is always there, and you are ever free. You think you are bound because of impurities in you. So purify.

safety, that is at the shore. - Saadi

— Shri Gurupada. Contributed by Atmajyothi Murali

of Shiraz

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Four birds King Janamejaya wonders at the escape of four tiny birds from the forest fire. Sage Vysampayana narrates the story of those four birds and of a rishi Mandapala. Mandapala observed many austerities and on ascending to heaven, he was not allowed to Pitr loka (world for ancestors), because he didn't have progeny. So, Mandapala returns to earth, takes the form of a small bird of species sarangaka and has four sons (all of them reciters of veda) out of his bird‐wife named Jarita. He left Jarita after she bore him sons, and married another by name lapita. When forest was on fire, He remembers his sons, and prays to Agni not to harm his chil‐ dren. Agni agrees. When fire was approaching the nest, Jarita is afraid, and tells the sons to enter the rat‐hole near the base of tree, so that she can cover the hole with dust. The four sons do not agree. The elder of the infant birds, Jaritari, say, "You do not know us, and you are not benefited by us, why do you want to protect us, fly away and seek your husband. If we survive, you can come to visit us". Hearing this the mother‐bird flies away.

Painting by

In this world you never stand by

Jaritari says, "When a person is awake to the reality of death, he is wise and is not afraid of death." Second bird Sarisrikka says "you are brave in the moment of death, and intelligent. Very rarely a person can exhibit such qualities, one amongst a million can be brave and intelligent"

your own

third bird stambamitra says "Eldest brother is called a protector. What can younger one do when elders cannot protect him"

strength;

Fourth bird Drona says "Agni comes quickly with seven tongues and seven mouths, consuming everything in its path"

It is the Invisible

Having talked to each other, the four little birds then pray to ﬁre god Agni,

that sustains you

Jaritari says "You, O Agni, has Air as soul, body as earth, water as parent, and you are parent of water. Your ﬂames are on every side"

every moment. -

Sarisrikka says "O Agni, our mother is not there, we know not our father, nobody to protect us, we seek protec‐ tion at your hands. You are the giver of heat to universe and sun, please protect us"

Sa'adi

Stambhmitra says "O Agni, You are creator and destroyer, sustainer of universe. Wise know you as one and many. Please protect us" Drona says "O Agni, you stay inside the body and as Vaishwanara (fire that helps in digestion), you sustain the universe. Our bodies are made up of water (varuna) and we cannot bear your splendour, please protect us". Agni being pleased with their knowledge and devotion, do not harm them and consumes entire forest except these four birds. My Commentary : The four birds are four vedas. They do not have mother and father, meaning that they are not written by human beings. They refuse to be hidden in a rat‐hole and hide behind dust. 'Forest on fire' is symbolic of pralaya (final universal deluge with water and fire. During pralaya, Vedas (knowledge and eternal wisdom) will survive. Hari Om, In Guruseva — Atmajyothi Prasad

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Ananda Marga - The Path of Bliss Transcript of talks by Prabhuji (given at Anand’s House from Dec 22, 2011 to Feb 2012)

Part-1 Everyone is searching for Bliss…Ananda…..Actually Bliss and Love is our inner experience, not an outside expe‐ rience. Again and again, every time our mind keeps on projecting Bliss and Love outside. Then what are you searching…? You are searching for Bliss and that u covert into God...Religion… I am not religious... I am suc‐ cessful... I am doing well in my business…even then also you are searching Bliss only…! Everybody in this world is a seeker... Everyone is searching, the spiritual person says I am seeking, what you are seeking, everybody is seeking….No one has found…! Seeking is inherited in every human being; it is common in every human being. The religious, spiritual and the materialist all are searching for Bliss …! What you call God is your projec‐ tion..! The real God is Bliss..! Everybody in the world is searching for Bliss …Bliss only you are searching... Life is for searching Bliss only..! Then, where is the Bliss lost..???

No one can keep us from carrying God Wherever we go. - Hafiz

Everything in the universe is Bliss only..!!!!! The whole world is full of Bliss. The sun rises in the morning, does it cry, whine and rise, it rises in Bliss. The moon shines, the stars twinkle, because of Bliss only, it rains, birds chirp, sing in the morning, it is out of Bliss, the ocean rises due to Bliss. The whole world is full of Bliss. The irony is … “Water, water everywhere, not drop to drink..!” The universe is full of Bliss, but why I am not having it..? The whole world has known that you don’t have Bliss and you are searching for Bliss and so everyone tries to sell Bliss to you. Builders sell beautiful home, by putting a husband wife photo. The name ABC … each refers to Bliss. All are trying to sell Bliss which is not there…! Have you seen car ads… what a happy family driving the car..? Are you trying to buy the car or happiness… Bliss? And see the ads trying to sell a car with a beautiful girl standing beside, are you buying the car or buying the girl. You are buying the Bliss…! Everywhere they are Marketing Bliss. Bliss marketing…whether it is soap shampoo….house, car, job… everything it is marketing of Bliss only..! It is like selling Ice to Eskimos! Eskimos live in Iced and some good sales‐ man goes and sells Ice‐cream..! He is selling ice to people living in Ice.!!! Like that everyone is trying to sell Bliss to you. Everywhere you are searching for Bliss! What about poojas, what about temples, somebody goes to Himalayas why? For Bliss! All this is will not work... You have to search inside, searching inside they called them‐ selves Spiritual persons...Those searching outside Bliss above, upstairs they called religious persons We get glimpses of Bliss, drops of Bliss but what we are searching for is permanent Bliss! All our life we get one drop, here one drop there…………DRIPS..!!!! a moment of joy you get something and the next moment it is los ….drips….otherwise you won’t be living…like in hospitals you will get drips..!

Audience: How sir? Some joy, some happiness, you get, my son passed the examination in good marks..! Audience: That is superﬁcial know! That you understood now..! To understand that it took 35 years... for you otherwise that itself was real Bliss! Ramakrishna Paramahamsa gave a good example. There is a dark deep well, somebody has fallen to it and he is holding on to a creeper , if he leaves it , he will fall, he doesn’t know when the creeper will fall or slip …there only honey is dripping from the honey hive and he swings puts his tongue out to catch the honey dripping ..!

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Our life is that dark well and we are holding to some creeper…! It may be beauty…. I am beautiful …Bliss comes because I am beautiful, how many days….somebody holds on to money…some to power... some to husband... some to wife…everyone holds on to some creeper in wife , when will it slip you never know..! Audience: Suddenly they ﬁnd nothing to hold on to what they will do? They will fall! That is called depression…! Whether it is family, friends…. Soon cracks will appear, you have money but money cannot buy happiness and peace. So you understand the limitations. What is there that you can hold in to? Is there something that you can hold on to in life? Audience: Hope

If a gem falls into

That is also hopeless..! Yes, you are correct it is hope, hope of what… getting permanent Bliss… happiness! There is no permanent Bliss in this materialistic world... only Drops! All your life you are searching for drops of happiness! But the problem is or the beauty is, you are living in the ocean of Bliss!!! …………..you are not able to recognize ‘That’ and recognizing ‘That’ is Spirituality! Now many people understand that spirituality requires lot of Sadhana, one has to put lot of eﬀort to get the Bliss which is called God. It is very logical you are logical , for getting a job you study 20 years, for getting married , I have struggled a lot to get promotion I have worked day and night.. Can I get anything without eﬀort in life, earning money, house, marriage….you have to work. All your working is for money, job, marriage….in heart you know that it is for Bliss only!

mud, it will still

If I work harder I will get happiness, you are logical. If you are searching Bliss outside, you have to work! If you are searching Bliss inside, you have to stop working…it is other way! That is why we have surrendering..!

remain valuable.

Now surrendering means a big problem. I am facing too much loss in my business I have surrendered to God. Loss you have surrendered to God..! I have examination...I have surrendered to God..! All you life surrendering is to get something a path to get something…what is that something? ….why is the surrendering? To catch hold and ask something what is in your heart ...SUCESS, happiness… in some form or the other that you are surren‐ dering..!

And if the dust descends to

Why are you giving all these names? Be clear what you want in life….Ananda….. Bliss….!!!!!

heaven, it will still of no value. Saadi of Shiraz

To get Ananda stop searching outside and you have the wrong concept that you have to work hard...It is wrong! Then without eﬀort I will not get anything… if I don’t put eﬀort… that is the secret of spirituality. “sarva‐dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva‐papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah” (Gita 18.66) Bhagavan is saying “Surrender to me”. What is the meaning of surrender? What are you surrendering? …. To be Continued. — Contributed by Atmajyothi Komal

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12 Lingas =ాYదశ 9ంగగళH -౨ ౨ +$ౕ ZెKల మ9: ాజు[న "+$ౕ ZెKల 8,ాసం తం సవ[ =ెౕ,ా\ా*తం ?భుంI మ9:ౕశం భ$మర ాథం స=ా+వమహం భ_ెౕII " ఒL* Zెౕష=ెౕవను +వనను& శ$=ాaభb6గ ంద అc[; తన ె రORె Mౕడ/ెౕ ెందు dా$eె[ ె fా0దను, ఆగ +వను ా ాంతరద9: \ాను +$ౕ ZెKలద9: ె ె;=ాగ Zెౕషను పవ[త రూప \ాళHవ ెందూ +$ౕ హ8యూ 'ెEెయను& \ాను /ాలవనూ& ాdాడు\ె6 ెంబ భరవ>ె Mౕ0దను.

Your hope in my heart is the rarest

=ెౕ,ాను=ెౕవ\ెగళH ెల ాల ఆ9: ెల; \ావh మూల>ాiనవను& తలుపhవ మున& >ాYjయను& అ9:kౕ ె ెసువం\ె ెూౕ8దరు. lౕ ె +వ-dావ[5యరు మ9: ాజు[న 'ాగూ భ$మmాంnె రూపద9: =ెౕవ\ెగళ dా$థ[ ెయం\ె +$ౕ ZెKలద9: ె ెMంతరు . ా ాంతరద9: చం=ా$వ5 ఎంబ అరణKక ెK >ాYjయను& మ9: ె 'ాగూ అజు[న(\ాpె) పhషrగ ంద అc[;దF8ంద +వను "మ9: ాజు[న" ఎం=ెౕ

treasure Your Name on my

'ెసరను& ధ8; ప$;దF ాదను.

tongue is the sweetest word. Rabia

ఇ9: +వ ఆ Zెౕషన ె&ౕ 'ా,ా 'ెగ9 ె 'ాb ెూండ ప$సంగ,ెMసువhదు, అందmె కుండ9ౕM శb6య >ాtా\ా ర. ఇ9: మ9: ాజు[న భ$మmాంnె అందmె , +వ-శb6 ఇబuర అ;6తYవh \ెూౕరుత6=ె. =ెౕ,ాను =ెౕవ\ెగళH గRెౕశ, సుబ$మణK ఎం=ాగ ఎల: చక$గళH 'ాగూ కుండ9ౕM శb6య ప$సరవగువhదు. అ9: +వ, 'ాగూ శb6యర ప$nావవh ఇ=ె. ఇ9: \ాpె పhషrగళ అచ[ ె అందmె, పhషrగళ సమప[Rె (ego surrender ) +వన9: ఆ =ె. vదలు >ెూౕమ ాథన9: మనవను& అQ[; ఇ9: ాను ఎను&వ అహం అను& +వన&9: అQ[;సువh=ెౕ ఈ 9ంగద (+వన ) ఉ=ెFౕశ. lం=ె, ప$5 tెౕత$గళలూ:, lౕ ె ఒం=ెూందు ఆత*సమప[Rెయ ఉ=ెFౕశ,ా తు6. Sావ స6ళద9: ాను-మనసుw ఎంబుదు ఇల:xౕ అ=ెౕ +$ౕ ZెKల..!!

+$ౕ గురుnెూKౕ నమః ఆత*_ెూKౕ5 mెౕ{ా

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Vachanas వచనగళH -౨

మ0,ాళ fాచSాKనవర వచన \ాతrయ[ మ0,ాళ fాచSాKనవర వచన:

"తనునష2 , మననష2, ెనహనష2 nావనష2 , }ాననష2. ఇం5 పంచ నష2=ెూళ ె ానష2,ా=ెను I searched for God and found only

ఆనష2=ెూళ ె Mౕ నష2,ా=ె ఘట=ెూళ ె \ెూౕరువ సూయ[నం\ె సవ[mెూళ ె +వ ెKతనK?=ె

myself. I searched

అ8తు ఆచ8సబ ా:త ె అచ శరణ

for myself and

+వ Mమ* ముట2ద మన?=ెూFౕEెౕనయK"

found only God. -–Sufi Proverb

వచన \ాతrయ[ : ఇ9: ఈ వచన=ెూళ ె తుం/ా ఆళ,ాద అథ[వను&, >ా=ారణ,ాద సులభ,ాద nా ెయ9: నమ ె 5 స ా =ె. తనునష2 ఎం=ాగ =ెౕహద నష2, =ెౕహ... ఇదు నన& =ెౕహ ఎంబ nావ ాశ,ాగువhదు. మననష2 ఎం=ాగ మనసుw సహ నన&దల: ఎం=ాగ, నన& మనవ ాశ,ాగువhదు. ెనపhగళH నన&వల: ఎం=ాగ, nావ ెగళH ాశ,ాగువhదు. ెూ ె ె ఎల:వను& 5 యువ }ాన(బు F) కూడ నన&ద ా: ఎందు 5 యువhదు. ఈ ె Sావhదు నన&దల:............ నన&=ెంబుదు ఏనూ ఇల: . ఈ =ెౕహ, మనసుw, ెనపh, nావ , }ాన(బు F) ౫ నష2,ాదగ, ాను ఎంబుదు ాశ,ాగుత6=ె . సూయ[న /ెళbనం\ె ఎల:mెూళ ె ఇరువhదు +వ ెKతనK మ\ె6ౕను ఇల:, ఇదను& 5 దు నEెదmె అవmెౕ '+వM ె(గురు) శరRాద శరణరు'. " ఈ =ెౕహ, మన , భు F , ానల: , సc =ానం=ాత* +వ ాను ా ె

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+xౕహం +xౕహం +xౕహం ...!" +వ ముటiద మన (ఇదను& 5 యద మన) ఇదFmెౕను........... ఆదు బ8ౕజఢ. ఇదను& 5 ద మన +వ ె ఆగుత6=ె.

+$ౕ గురుnెూKౕ నమః ఆత*_ెూKౕ5 mెౕ{ా

Word Search Puzzle A donkey with a

How many words can you ﬁnd in this Word Search Puzzle? All words are related to Ugadhi Festival… You can ﬁnd at least 15 words…!!! Get set go... raise your adrenalin...!.. Answers on Page 55 O

Traditional

(Essential

load of holy books is still a donkey. -

Sufism)

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Jnanappaana Krishna! Krishna! Mukunda! Janaardana! Krishna! Govinda! Naarayana! Hare! Achyuthaananda! Govinda! Maadhava! Sachidaananda! Naarayana! Hare! Jnanappaana is a melodious song yet containing deep spiritual knowledge. It is written by Sri Poonthanam Namboothiri, a great devotee of Lord Guruvayoorappan (Krishna in Child Bhava), lived in 16th century. The story of Jnanappaana goes like this:

From Him forgiveness comes so fast, it reaches us before repentance has even taken shape on our lips. - Hakim Sanai

Poonthanam Namboothiri was a devotee of Lord Guruvayoorappan and was staying in a nearby village of Guruvayoor temple. During that time, Melpathoor Narayana Bhattathirippad, a great scholar of San‐ skrit, visited Guruvayoor temple. He was suffering from rheumatism and came to Guruvayoor to seek the blessing of Lord. He stayed in Guruvayoor, wrote the famous Narayaneeyam book in Sanskrit, offered it to the lotus feet of Lord Guruvayoorappan and got relieved from the disease. During these days, Poonthanam wrote a Kavyam in Malayalam and requested Bhattathirippad to review it. Since writ‐ ing literatures in Malayalam were considered lower dignity than Sanskrit, Bhattathirippad refused to review it and also made fun of Poonthanam. That night Bhatathiripad’s disease became very serious. And he had a dream; in it Lord Guruvayoorappan told him that He loves the “Bhakthi” of Poontham rather than the “Knowledge” of Bhattathirippad! Next day Bhattathiripad rushed to Poonthanam and read the Kavyam. He was surprised to see that the supreme knowledge was so nicely explained in a simple poetic way with great devo‐ tion. He praised Poonthanam and requested for his forgiveness. This Kavyam is known as Jnanappaana (Drink of Wisdom) and it is sung everyday at Guruvayoor Temple. Reading /Listening Jnanappaana is one of the offer‐ ings at the temple. Jnanappaana is also considered as the Bhagavad Gita of the devotees of Lord Guruvayoorap‐ pan. Now, let us have a close look at this Kavyam. There are 356 lines in this poem and can be divided into 13 sec‐ tions and are covered in two issues of Divya Jyothi. The poem starts with a Mangalam (4 lines) that praises the Grace of Guru and Holy Names of God. The poet declares “To attain the final goal of our human life, with the grace of Guru, the Holy Names of God should never depart from our tongue”. In the second section (10 Lines) the poet is wondering about the Leela of Time. He says “ Whatever happened till yesterday were not known to us in advance and we have no clues about tomorrow! It is uncertain that, when will be the end of this body. It is His Leela that makes people to disappear from the scene, makes a poor to a rich and a King to a beggar”! Third section (12 Lines) brings forth the nature of different types of people. Some people learn from the experi‐ ence and some do not. Some learned ones realize that whatever seeing in this world is not the Truth. As the people are at different levels, to educate them that “they own their deeds (Karmas)”, the Sastras are told in different tones and levels. And also there are numerous Sastras like Karma Sastras and Sankya Sastras to suit their nature. From the fourth section onwards the poet assumes the role of a Guru. Parama Tatwam is discussed in fourth section (22 Lines). First he points out the dangerous situation we are in – “we all are rotating along with the Samsara Wheel (birth‐rebirth cycle)”. Now, to get out of this wheel, to attain Liberation (Mukthi), he quotes the

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Truths those are proclaimed by great Mahatmas. Foremost is “to know that the connecting link between us and the Wheel is Karma”. The Jnanis also revealed that the true nature of the entire universe is the Jothiswaroo‐ pam, which is also known as Parabhrahma. Even though this Jyothiswaroopam is appearing as the world to the Jeevi, the happenings in this world is not affecting IT (The Parabhrahma). Similarly IT is not involved in any of the activities in this world. IT is clearly known to the people who seek IT but IT is a mystery to the ignorant. Even though He created this universe, in which no two creations are similar, and sustaining it as the life source, He remains unattached to it. And during the Pralaya, the three states (Jagart, Swapna and Sushupthi) are merged into IT and the world disappears. Karma is explained in fifth section (22 Lines). In this world, that has sprung from the “One” (the Parabhrahma) there are three types of Karmas namely Punya, Papa and Punya‐Papa (the mixture of both). On a close look, all three are bondages to Jeeva. Punya can be considered a chain in gold. Similarly Papa may be considered a chain in Iron and Puny‐Papa is mixture of both. All beings in this world – Devas like Bhrahma, Insects, Ants etc. are bound with Karma. The duty of Bhrahmadeva is creation of worlds until the Mahapralaya. Even for him, it is not easy to break the rope of Karma. Similarly the Dikpalakas (various universal forces) are tied with their respec‐ tive duties. In the case of us, who are carrying the bundle of lower Karmas (more towards Papas) take births in the wombs of different animals under the influence of our own Karmas.

I love God: I have no time left

Sixth section (40 Lines) illustrates the Travel path of a Jeeva. The mind of a Jeeva living in Naraka, upon ending its misdeeds, become nurtured. As a result it takes a birth as a human. By performing good deeds in its human life, it acquires punya and goes upwards and enjoys the luxuries of Swarga. Similarly a Jeeva in Heaven, upon completion of its punya, takes birth in earth. By performing bad deeds in its human life it acquires papa and as a result it falls into the Hell. From Suraloka (Heaven) a Jeeva goes and takes a life of Human on Naraloka (Earth) …..

In which to hate the devil. - Rabia

By performing Neecha Karmas (Papas), upon death, he takes birth in a Neecha Family … People with Aasuric nature, by performing good Karmas becomes Devas… People who thinks they are Amaras (deathless) due to their ignorance becomes Mara (Trees); Ajam (Goat) takes the birth as Gajam (Elephant); Gajam (Elephant) becomes Annajam (rice bead); Nari (Tiger) dies and take birth as Naran (Human); Nari (Lady) becomes Ori (Fox); Nrupan(King) who is merciless becomes Krumi (worm); Eecha (Insect) becomes Poocha (Cat); this is the Leela of GOD! The Jeevas who limbs up and down like this, gains their Karmas only on Booloka (Earth! It is pathetic that the Jeevas acquire unlimited Karmas on Earth due to their ignorance! The Jeevas during their human life acquire various Karmas and upon death they go to the respective Lokas (totally 14 Lokas including Booloka) and enjoys the Karmaphalas (result of their Karmas). On diminishing the eﬀect of the Karmaphala at various Lokas, they take birth as humans on Booloka (Earth) and again gain endless Karmas. The poet compares the above process with a scenario where “one carries the money from his house, goes and enjoys at some other place. On exhausting the money, he comes back to his house and earns some more mon‐ ey and goes to another place for enjoying it” and it repeats!

Continued….. — Atmajyothi Padmalochan

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Mundaka Upanishad - Part 1 Transcript and Compilation of Prabhuji’s teachings on the Mundaka Upanishad. The below lecture was delivered on 23‐Feb‐2012 at Atmajyothi Anand’ s place. Vedas – Sacred Knowledge Veda means knowledge. Four Vedas Rik, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana Veda contain the most ancient sacred spiritu‐ al wisdom handed over to mankind. Rik veda contains verses called mantras in poetic form while Yajur veda man‐ tras are in prose form. Sama veda mantras are nothing but Rik mantras sung in poetic form. Atharva veda mantras are a mix of prose and poetry. In recognition of three forms of rendering of vedas – poetry, prose and musical, the vedas are called trayi – three. Vedas are called apourusheya – means not authored by any being including God himself. Vedas are called breath of God. Another name for Vedas is Shruti – meaning that which is heard. It is said that the primordial being Shri Narayana taught the Vedas to Brahmaji – creator of the universe. The Vedic verses called mantras were revealed to the Seers of ancient times called Ri‐ shis. They then taught the same to their disciples. The vedic mantras have been handed over from master to disciple in an unbroken oral teaching tradi‐ tion till date.

If I love myself I love you. If I love you I love myself.

The subject matter of Vedas is divided into three – Karma kanda, Upasana kanda and Jnana kanda. Karma kanda provides the various kinds of ritualistic worship for the Supreme. Upasana kanda provides the meditational prac‐ tices for connecting with Supreme while Jnana kanda deals with the knowledge of Supreme – called Brahma Vidya. These are respectively covered in three sections of Vedas called Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad. Thus Upanishads represent the highest and most sacred spiritual teachings revealed to mankind. A human being has three aspects namely hands, heart and head. While hands repre‐ sent the work, heart represents the feel‐ ings and emotions, and head represents the intellect. Vedic literature provides the highest spiritual wisdom for the integrated development of hands, heart and head of a human being in particular and humanity in general through Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad.

— Rumi

Upanishad – Cream of Spiritual Knowledge This year, let us dedicate ourselves for the study of Upanishads. I will be speaking on diﬀerent Upanishads each month. Why should we learn and study Upanishads? Upanishads represent the highest spiritual wisdom revealed to mankind. Upanishad means, upa + nishad=upari+nishad= up one which uplifts, elevates our consciousness. There are hundreds of Upanishads. Ten of these are called major Upanishads. Upanishad also means to sit down at the feet of the enlightened master – referring to the way disciples used to sit at the feet of the master to listen to the greatest uplifting wisdom. There are at least 108 upanishads available today. Of these 108, ten Upanishads are considered as major Upanishads since great Acharyas have commented on these Upanishads.

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Why should we study Upanishads? Upanishads outline the highest spiritual teaching of Vedas. Upanishads focus on the nature of Supreme Reality – Brahman, individual reality – Atman, the essential nature of the world and the relationship between these three – Brahman‐Atman‐World. The Truth outlined in Upanishad is beyond the capability of comprehension by human mind and sense organs. With faith in the Upanishadic teachings, one can realize the Truths outlined in these sa‐ cred teachings under the guidance of a realized Spiritual Master. By realizing the Truth one can realize the su‐ preme bliss which is ones true nature. The essence of human being– Atman which is nothing but Brahman – Su‐ preme reality nature of which is Supreme Bliss, Intelligence and Truth – Sat‐chit‐Ananda. One who realizes the Brahman crosses the ocean of samsara‐ transmigration experience of repeated births and deaths. At the feet of the master

Without cause

Traditionally, disciples used to sit at the feet of the Realized Master to listen to the teachings of highest Truth called Brahma Vidya. The teaching used to be a dialogue between the master and disci‐ ple. The Master used to answer the deepest spiritual question of the student. In this way of teaching, there is communication from the master and communion between the master and the disciple.

In the modern times, there are multiple communication media available – TV, computer, video etc. where the master can deliver the message. But for a genuine transformation God gave us Being; to happen, it is essential to have discipleship of a realized master. In a typical mass com‐ munication method of teaching, there are bound to be misunderstanding on the part of without cause, the student due to the subtle nature of the Truth. In a genuine Master‐disciple relation‐ ship, the Master will have opportunity to cross check the understanding of the student. give it back There is a common misconception that you can learn spirituality through books, televi‐ sion. Even though these can provide good amount of information, to have a genuine transformation, presence of again. living enlightened master is an absolute necessity. Spiritual truths are extremely subtle in nature. We have learnt simple things like cooking, cycling, and music with the help of a guide. We cannot even imagine how to learn clas‐ sical music without the guidance of a music teacher. Such being the case, we can realize the importance of a living realized spiritual master for understanding the Truths.

- Rumi Upanishads are for Seekers of Truth Everybody in the world is seeking happiness. For happiness they do a number of things. Whatever they do the happiness slips away. Still, people keep on trying to catch that slippery happiness. There are very few people who understand that true happiness lies within. Upanishads provide the guidelines for them. Supreme happiness is our essential nature. This is the teaching of Upanishads. This is Supreme bliss – Supreme Reality. People call Supreme Reality as God. They do not understand that that Supreme Reality is their essential nature. Instead they pray to God for mundane things. God becomes the means for them to attain one thing or other in life. Upanishads are for the people for whom God is the means and the end. One day there was an argument between Lakshmi and Narayana. Narayana says 'I am very popular on the earth. People worship me always. Lakshmi says 'what is proof’? Narayana says, “You go to any temple. Count the num‐ ber of people coming there.” Narayana and Lakshmi decide to test the popularity of Narayana. Narayana takes the form of a brahmana. He goes to a king’s palace in the disguise of a brahmin. The king was known as a great devotee of Vishnu. The Brahmin chants a few slokas from Vishnu sahasranama and blesses the king. The king becomes happy and requests the Brahmin to stay in his kingdom and chant daily in his court. The Brahmin says

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that he doesn’t have a place to stay. The king donates to him a mansion nearby. After a couple of days Lakshmi comes to the king’s palace in a golden chariot. Everybody is dazzled by her aura and by the jewelry she is wearing.. She looks at a table and lo ‐it turns into gold. She looks at a chair and it turns into gold. Whatever she touches turns into gold. Queen bows respectfully to Lakshmi and says, “Please stay here, and don’t go”. Lakshmi says, “I want a place to stay”. Quickly, the queen orders the place given to Brahmin (Narayana) be vacated and given to the new lady (Lakshmi). In no time, Brahmin (Narayana) was thrown out of the mansion and Lakshmi was given that mansion. Lakshmi is the Universal mother. She is the way to Supreme consciousness Narayana. For most of the people, God is the way to wealth. Narayana is the means and Lakshmi is the end. Upanishad is for the people for who seek the Supreme Reality – Narayana. Razor of Truth – Mundaka Upanishad Mundaka means razor. Razor used for shaving the head. Just like the razor shaves the head, the teachings of Mundaka Upanishad shaves oﬀ the ignorance in the head. Hence the name Mundaka Upanishad. Traditionally, as part of custom, head is shaved in the Indian society. For example if there is death in the family the closest relatives shave their head. When the sacred thread (Upanayana) ceremony is performed, head of the child is shaven. When people go to holy places, pilgrimage they shave their head. Monks (sanyasis) shave their head regularly. The shaving of the head is symbolic ritual. Shaving of the head symbolically represents dropping the thoughts of sorrow and grief (in case of death), dropping of ignorance in case Upanayana and sanyasa. Mundaka Upanishad is part of Atharva Veda.

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.

- Rumi

Upanishad for Monks (Sanyasis) There is a popular notion that Mundaka Upanishad is for monks (Sanyasis) by associating shaving of the head with Mundaka Upanishad. This is far from Truth. Mundaka Upanishad is for all seekers of Truth. Those who seek the Truth by offering their ignorance to be shaved off by the razor of Truth benefit from the teachings Mundaka Upanishad. We also need to be aware of the meaning of Sanyasa. Sanyasa is popularly associated with robes. Sanyasa has nothing to do with the robes. Sanyasa means samyak nyasa – right kind of deposit of mind. One who deposits the attention of mind in the right place is a Sanyasi. All the people have their own favorite topics, places to deposit their attention be it money, wife, family, jobs and what not. Our attention gets deposited in activities which can give us happiness. Sooner or later one realizes that there is no way to get happiness from the objects of the world. Real happiness can be found only within. Then the attention starts moving inwards seeking the source of Happiness within. Such a person is called true Sanyasi since he is doing the right kind of deposit of the mind by seeking the Supreme happiness within. Sanyasa is an attitude towards life. Most intelligent people use their time and money very judiciously because both are precious. Similarly, a most intelligent person spends time very judi‐ ciously by seeking happiness within. The person with such an attitude is truly a Sanyasi who performs prescribed duties without getting attached to the results there off and thus spends the time available to him in the working life for the supreme achievement of eternal bliss within. Such a person performs all his duties to purify his inner consciousness (antahkarana shuddi). Shri Krishna in Bhagavad‐Gita speaks about Sanyasa in the following manner. “One who performs action, karma, to fulfill certain duties without depending on their rewards is a Sanyasi and yogi and not the one who has abandoned the fire sacrifice and nor the one who does no work” (Bhagavad‐Gita 6.1)

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Truth alone Triumphs (Satyameva Jayate) You have seen the national emblem of India. Engraved in the national emblem one of the teachings of Mundaka Upanishad – “Satyameva Jayate” – Truth alone triumphs. That is the theme of Mundaka Upanishad. Truth is God, and God is Truth. The focus of Mundaka Upani‐ shad is Supreme Truth –knowing which one becomes liberated and experiences the Su‐ preme bliss of Self‐realization. Understanding the teaching of the Mundaka Upanishad, one realizes that my essential nature is the Truth. I am the light of Truth (Atmajyothi). Mundaka Upanishad is about your essential Nature One who realizes the Supreme Truth of Mundaka Upanishad can say conﬁdently, "Naanu nanembudu naanalla....ee deha mana buddhi naanalla …Sachidanandaatma Siva naanu naane Sivoham, Sivoham, Sivoham" (I am not the body, mind, intellect. I am of the nature of Existence‐Consciousness‐Bliss. I am the pure spirit – Siva – most auspicious.) If I ask you who you are, you say 'I am woman, I am mother, I am businessman, I am engineer, doctor”. These are all your masks. You are none of these. Real you is the Supreme Truth. Identiﬁcation with the body, mind and intel‐ lect we get the feeling of being limited. When we identify with our True nature – Atma the witness (Sakshi) within we feel boundless and liberated. This is the power of teaching of the Upanishad.

They are the chosen ones who have surrendered. Once they were particles of light now they are the radiant sun. - Rumi

You identify with your husband or wife. After marriage wife identifies with the name of the husband. You identify with place‐ “I am from Shimoga/Bangalore/Bombay” etc. Have you identified with your true self? Has anybody told you about your true identity? Do you know your identify of Supreme Bliss, Truth, God? You have husband identity, woman identity, job identity, place identity. What happened to your true identity – identification with the Divine within? You have forgotten your essential identity. If you know your true identity you would have told “I am Atma. My nature is pure awareness and bliss. I am the eternal Truth”. Why can’t you answer like that? Be‐ cause, you have not learnt about yourself in your education system. You didn’t have education about the self. I am not speaking about the schooling or education you had in college. I know very well that you are well educated in subjects of your choice – medical, engineering etc. This is the education for living. No doubt education is required for survival and growth. I am speaking of another kind of education – education about life. Education about our own selves. I recollect the story of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. His conversations and discourses were recorded by Mas‐ ter M. He didn’t publish his name being humble. Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa asked him “Does your wife un‐ derstand your writings? M replied, "No Master, my wife is uneducated. She is illiterate ". Shri Ramakrishna Para‐ mahamsa smilingly asked him, “Oh you are educated isn’t it? Master M was humbled by this question. Master M was a graduate. Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is talking about education about God. Just because we are edu‐ cated, we become haughty. We think we know everything. This is our ignorance. We have no spiritual education. We think great about science and scientific education. But we are unaware that the language spoken by modern science – that of quantum physics closely resembles the spiritual teaching of Upanishadic teaching of Spiritual Scientists called Rishis who discovered these Truths thousands of years before.

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Mundaka Upanishad (On a lighter note) A Story Master: Why are you so late? Student: Had gone to get my head shaved master Master: Didn’t you do it the ﬁrst day here? Is it not enough to do once? Student: But it grew again Master: Why did you allow it to grow? Student: How can I stop hair from grown on my head! Master: I was talking about ‘in your head’

‘essence of things’

If the Rishis were to write this Upanishad in the 21st Century, they would probably name it differently, maybe ‘Laser Upanishad’. Laser does a better job than a Razor, it permanently takes off the hair, of course it’s risky, there are always possibility of damaging you brain. That’s what the Sadguru does, he does a good job, he does not shave your concepts, he does not polish them, they can’t grow back. He does a Laser Surgery. That is why you are left with something damaged inside, your identity, your ego. Now, you never thought of this, never could have imagined. You innocently went to him for some peace and knowledge, what you didn’t know that you came out with, let’s say severe side effects. Severe not for you of course, but for those poor souls who knew you and are now totally oblivious to your current reality.

You need to understand the question that Saunaka asked Angirasa Rishi “Through the knowledge of which, everything becomes known?”

A seer of the

characteristicall y mute and meditative. - Moinuddin Chisti

Why would anyone want to know everything? If we knew half of everything our psychiatrist would need psycho‐ logical treatment! As it is our head is a mess with the knowledge that we have, you see something on TV about a new disease how long before you fear you getting it. If you hear or see good, you want it to happen to you, if you see bad you fear ‘Oh what if it happens to me!’ Do you really want to know everything? That is why you need to do a background check on the questioner, he is not any layman, Saunaka is a divine be‐ ing, he is a pure soul, you need to understand what he means to ask when he asks the question he asks. He does not want to know everything. He already knows that everything is the ‘self’, he has been doing service with that higher principle. When he meets his Sadguru he asks the only relevant question, which is, about Atma Jnana. He wants to know the ‘self’, he wants to realize, and he knows that by realizing the ‘self’ he will realize everything as the ‘self’, because there is ‘self’ alone. Now that does not mean by realizing the ‘self’ you will be able to give a lecture tomorrow on thermodynamic, it simply means, you will see the ‘self’ in thermodynamics! Saunaka is a very intelligent man, well, looks at his question! There is a style, a poetry, “By knowing which, will I know all”. You must appreciate it, have you ever questioned this way? For instance, you want your wife to make coﬀee for you, you don’t say “Oh wife, by drinking which, my headache will go”. If you do say that she might give you Kashaya instead of coﬀee, and that is exactly what Saunaka wants, he doesn’t plainly ask ‘ I want to realize the self’ he wants the Sadguru to give what is best for him and for all. This question sets the platform for Angirasa Rishi to explain about Para and Apara Vidya. He is indirectly compli‐ ment the student that he has asked about the Para Vidya, so that Saunaka feels good and all those people who have approached a Sadguru seeking for Apara things realize their stupidity.

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Angirasa Rishi then talks about the ‘self’, that it is handless, footless, earless, eyeless etc. bottom line, he wants you to understand that it is not like you! It is not like anything that you can think of or imagine, so stop trying. The ‘Self’ cannot come from the mind because the mind has come out from the ‘self’, all that you see and know has come out from the ‘self’. Go give someone a piece of your mind, they will soon give you a piece of their mind. Go give Sadguru a piece of your mind, piece by piece he will take it away. When the giving ends, there will be no giver no taker, ‘self’ alone. — Atmajyothi Murali

Greatness of Service Follow my tracks in the sand that lead Beyond thought and space.

- Hafiz of Shiraz

Once there lived a wealthy man who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. He used to feed everyday without fail the devotees of lord Shiva. He used to make arrangements for their food and stay also. He also used to serve equally even those dressed like a devotee and had come just for food. He took great delight in feeding the poor also. In course of time all his wealth got exhausted, so he had to ask his servants to leave his and find job else‐ where since he was unable to pay them salary. But in spite of it, nothing stopped him from feeding the devotees and poor . He borrowed, Then he sold all the ornaments, when even ornaments also got over, he sold all his vessels. His wife was wondering how to cook, if vessels are also sold, then he brought . Some earthen pots and asked his wife to cook. Now Lord Shiva wanted to test this couple devotion further, so on a heavy raining day he went to the house of this couple completely drenched and said “ I am terribly hungry , but I know that if I come to your house I will get food, hence I came to your house, so please give me food “. They fed him with whatever little food they had, but then the wife said “Now all the grains are over and I don’t know what to do?”. Husband assured his wife that he will bring some paddy in the morning, and when the paddy was brought , wife told that there was no wood to light the fire, but the husband assured her that even for that he will arrangements and not to worry. He re‐ moved the wood from the roof of his house gave it to his wife, who was pounding the paddy to take the grains from it. By the time all these arrangements could be made , they found that the devotee who was in their house had just vanished, he was nowhere to be seen. They searched for him everywhere but couldn’t find him. The couple were dejected, then Lord Shiva appeared before them blessed them, and told them that he wanted to test them. He was pleased with them for the loving service and generosity in spite of all the adverse condition. He blessed them that Lord Kubera (Lord of Wealth) will be at their service so that they can continue their service to his devotees to their heart’s content. At the end of a long life of such service they will merge with him. The couple took his blessings happily and continued with their service till the end of their life..

Namaha Shivaya — Atmajyothi Mamatha

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In Search of Eternity- Part 2 High School Days I had lost the beautiful state of Consciousness which I lived during my middle school days. I did not know where and how I lost it. I had no clues about it. It is during later part of my life at the age of 30+ I realized what had happened. During the period of middle school, my mind was not worried about the past and future. I was living in total present mo‐ ment. In that total present moment, mind becomes no mind. Mind can exist only in the past or future. It can never exist in the present moment. I had hit that fundamental principle unknowingly. Since I got it unknow‐ ingly, I also lost it unknowingly.

Love has Befriended Hafiz so completely It has turned to ash And freed

I kept on searching for regaining the paradise I had lost. Some how I realized that the clue to success is mastery of mind. Somehow, my mind is playing mischief. I did not know what mischief it is. In the pressure of growing up in a lower middle class family, pressure for survival , pressure for being successful, pressure of hormonal changes in the adolescent period, I did not have a clue what is that I missed and how to gain it back. I kept searching. I hit upon two things for mastering the mind – hypnosis and yoga. I found hypnosis a great tool for mastering the mind. I went through all available books on hypnotism in the li‐ brary. I must have read 30‐40 books to understand about hypnosis. I experimented hypnosis with couple of my willing friends. I worked simultaneously on myself – self hypnosis. The thrill was unimaginable. Hypnosis appeared like a magical solution to master the mind. I even tried hypno regression – going to past lives for couple of my friends. Results were astounding. I kept on mastering the hypnosis. By now I had become convinced that mas‐ tery of mind is most important for life. I kept on searching for solutions to master the mind. Dropping the Anger

- Hafiz of Shiraz

There was one Mr. R – a neighbour of ours. He was aged around 40. He had problem of obesity. He was trying to reduce weight – but failed every time. I saw his struggle and explained to him the mind‐body connection. I told him, he needs to master his mind first before he can get rid of that obese belly. I even offered solution in terms of a book on hypnosis to him. At that time I must have been around 13‐14, advising a guy of 40 !. Obviously, he did not like it. He mocked at my suggestion and scoffed at hypnosis as a solution for his overweight problem. I got very angry by his comments. I was very furious. I walked into my home and smashed the wooden electric switch‐ board with my fist. The house plunged into darkness due to short circuit caused by the breaking of switchboard. My father was furious at me having caused the loss. I suddenly realized that I had done a mistake. There was no reason for me to get angry. In anger I had caused the immeasurable damage. I felt very bad about what I had done. At that moment I decided, I will not get angry in future. Somehow from that moment onwards anger dis‐ appeared all together from my consciousness never to reappear again ! Good riddance !

Contd next month… — Prabhuji

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Transformation Story “From living in thoughts to being in action” AN ATMAJYOTHI Date: 24‐Dec‐11 Current Age: 34yrs Gender: Male

Before meeting SADGURU PRABHUJI in August 2010 He was living an average life with no direction and cause, was a crowd follower in almost all the things with a heavily cynical outlook of everything around. He had his share of the usual drugs, music, movies, relationships, lost causes. Was disinterested at work place too, would just do what was told, not enthusiastic and proactive. Socially, he never enjoyed gatherings, and when it came to one on one conversation, he never really connected with anyone, couldn’t feel anything genuinely, couldn’t empathize, actually was so bored and ﬁlled with irrever‐ ence that he hardly listened to what the other person was saying, nothing could move him. In general, was very laid back, not proactive, lethargic, disinterested and consistently ﬁlled with boredom, used to smoke cigarettes (over a pack) each day out of boredom, was in his own world, drifting.

One word of the truly inspired

He says, “Looking back, I don’t think I was living my life, I was not alive not ﬁlled with life, I was like a useless and lost log in the sea, just drifting, doing nothing in particular, interested in nothing, dark and negative.”

answers a hundred questions and avoids a thousand unnecessary words of explanation.

Something much unexpected and certainly very fortunate happened in April 2008 when his job contract with his company had expired and he was applying for other jobs. He stumbled upon the Bhagavad Gita. By the time he had finished reading The Gita, all his acquired habits of music, movies, drugs, books, and clothes had dropped. He decreased smoking and eventually got rid of that addiction too. Such a lot of changes inside him after reading The Gita!! He says, “At that time, I thought it was an accident, I thought that I accidentally came across this book. Now, I know that it was the divine’s plan, nothing is accidental in nature. The Gita started working inside me, my spiritual journey and inner purification began then. Understanding that the enjoyment from music or smoking and things like that cannot go beyond the realm of the mind made them all drop off. ” The Gita had put him in a different plane; spirituality was the only thing he could think of after that. He joined work in July 2008 and came under severe work pressure, somehow managed to meet deadlines. The thing that really bothered him most at that time was this sense of non specific deep fear and negativity. It grew on him, it was overwhelming; he couldn’t understand where it all came from and certainly could not do anything about it. His mind was reeling around this new found plane and was in vain trying to get things under control. At this time, he read multiples of spiritual books and tried to understand what was going on inside him and tried to find the cause and the cure for his current state of deep fear and negativity. Books didn’t help. Then went to some ash‐ rams, tried yoga, tried offering through Bhakti (Devotion), tried studying Vedanta. None of this brought peace, there was a sense of inexplicable separateness from the world around him. He then began to feel the real need for a Spiritual Master, the need for A Sadguru (Enlightened Spiritual Master). Once again, according to the divine’s plan, in April 2010 a colleague of his offered to introduce him to Sadguru Prabhuji.

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Between August 2010 and December 2011 In his first meeting with Sadguru Prabhuji, he sought his guidance and Sadguru Prabhuji accepted. Sadguru Prab‐ huji asked him to read Ramana Maharishi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Miracle of Witness Consciousness and some chapters from Bhagavad Gita until he could finalize the date for starting the next batch. He says, “These books gave me better insight washed away many erroneous concepts that I had built about spirit‐ uality, offering, devotion, wisdom and related things. Only a Sadguru knows where you are on the spiritual path and what is best for your evolution at that time. All spiritual books are good, but, which one to read at what stage? Right book at the wrong time can do no good. My mind went through a wash while reading these books under Sadguru Prabhuji’s guidance. The deep fear and negativity dropped as a direct consequence of meeting him and spending time in his presence more than reading the books that were suggested. There was a new sense of silence now, new yet familiar.”

You know and are not known; You see and are not seen.

- Akhbar alHallaj

The nine months course which Sadguru Prabhuji conducts began in August 2010. When the course began, he was very ready to listen, to observe and imbibe. Reading became reduced to a selected few books like Atma Bodha, Upadesa Sara, Vivekachudamani, which were suggested by Sadguru Prabhuji. He attended the weekly Satsanghs held at Sadguru Prabhuji’s residence, practiced all the Kriya Yoga Sadhanas (breathing practices done for purifica‐ tion of the energy system) advised by Sadguru Prabhuji and was in constant touch with other Atmajyothis. He also edited and did all the ground work required in bringing out the e magazine for Gita Jayanthi 2010 as a service ac‐ tivity. He says, “I went through tremendous transformation during the course, became more positive and peaceful with each meeting and each burst of purification and began to get more clarity about spirituality in general. My outlook of life changed from that of a cynic to a positive appreciation of God’s creation and his creativity. I especially re‐ member the sense of vacuum created when we offered our Karma into the Gayatri Homa during the course and also recollect with clarity the overwhelming feeling of having found a father who was holding my hand and taking me to a place where I could stand by my own during the two day camp we had at a Goshala. Of course there were all these battles with the ego‐mind which was cynical and apprehensive about the whole process, but fortunately the evidence of transformation undergone let facts speak for themselves. Anyways, it became obvious that a higher intelligence decides how these things turn out; I just let that higher decision take care of things at the same time not suppressing my mind. Either ways you realize Sadguru Prabhuji knows you better than you can ever hope to know yourself and it’s a great blessing to have a Guru who lets you be and doesn’t cage you in any philosophies or school of thought. Sadguru just works at deeper layers that cannot be understood by the visible tools of our mind, body and intellect unless they reach that level of subtlety, very minimal transformation has happened by instruction imparted through speech and most transformation has happened by him and just his presence. Ego tries to own the whole process of spirituality, sadhana, enlightenment, but actually it does nothing, Sadguru does it, so it eventually drops dead.”

December 2011, over a year after meeting SADGURU PRABHUJI He is now the ‘Techie’ of the Atmajyothi Satsang, the technical support of all Atmajyothi Satsang activities. He has created a website by name www.atmajyothi‐satsang.org for the Satsang and maintains it. As a hobby, started a site for Advaita (non duality) based t‐shirts www.nondualitee.org where he designs t‐shirts based on the concepts of Advaita. He is the chief editor and publisher of the monthly e‐magazine Divya Jyothi which is a Rishi Yajna pro‐ ject. He says, “If I could summarize my journey it would be that, reading the Gita made me realize I was not the body, being with Sadguru Prabhuji helped in letting go oﬀ all things I am not and keep evolving spiritually. Coming to

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after the course, life has been a bed of roses. New ideas have started ﬂowing through. Sadguru Prabhuji’s advice of doing service and teaching consistently will have grown on me. There is a sense of positive detachment and acceptance of life in the way it comes. Last but not the least thanks to Sadguru Prabhuji’s Grace, the practices taught has been going on regularly. I hope this consistency remains throughout and I can do justice to his teach‐ ings by spreading compassion and wisdom when the opportunity arises, and do service regularly. The sense of surrender and clarity is beautiful; the only way you enjoy it is by sharing it.”

Akka Mahadevi “I am without pride of caste, Without pride of resolute will am I. I have cast away the arrogance of riches, Of the pride of learning also I have none.

''IF words come

No manners of pride dare some near me,

out of the heart,

For Thou hast blest me with Thy Grace.” ‐ Akka Mahadevi

they will enter the heart, but if they come from the tongue, they will not pass beyond the ears''

A couple of weeks back I happened to read a few vachanas written by Akka Mahadevi. As I was reading through, I could sense a wave of energy in my body moving upwards while feeling her devotion towards Lord Shiva in those poems. Devotion ﬂowed like divine nectar in those poems. She is an embodiment of ‐ 'Surrendering to the Lord'. Her each poem is a gem of divine thought.

After the body takes your form, Whom shall I serve? After the mind takes your form, Whom shall U remember? After the breath takes your form, Whom shall I worship? After knowledge has merged in you, Whom shall I know? I know you, O Channa Mallikarjuna, Jasmine‐tender, Becoming you in yourself.

‘Akka’ who is popularly known as Akka Mahadevi of twelfth century, stands to this day not only as a sublime per‐ sonality, a soul force conjoining devotion, knowledge, and non‐attachment, a pioneer of the movement of wom‐ an’s emancipation, the pinnacle of the glory of Vachana literature, she is also an ever‐shining example of transcen‐ dental world‐view, a supreme mystical vision.” She is one of the greatest luminaries of the vira‐saiva bhakti move‐

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ment. She wrote about 340 vachanas (poems). She is honored with the term 'Akka' (Elder sister) by the then great Veerashaiva saints like Basavanna, Chenna Basavanna, Kinnari Bommayya, Siddharama, Allamaprabhu and Dasi‐ mayya. She was born at Udutadi in the Shivamogga District of Karnataka State to the couple, Sumati and Nirmalshetti, who were devotees of Shiva. They were the staunch followers of Trividhi philosophy of Guru, Linga and Jangama. It is said that Akka Mahadevi considered Lord Shiva to be her husband. Also, there is a popular belief that she is an incarnation of Goddess Parvathi. At a very young age Akka Mahadevi started worshipping Lord Shiva in the form of Chennamallikarjuna. She had wanted to remain an unmarried devotee of Shiva, but her family forced her to marry the ruler of her land, King Kaushik. Asserting that Chennamallikarjuna was her only lover and husband, she left all the comforts and luxuries to live as a wandering poet‐saint. She shed her clothes too as a symbol of her asceticism.

If someone remarks:

I love the Handsome One he has no death decay or form no place or side no end nor birthmarks. I love him O mother! Listen!

"What an excellent man you are!" and this pleases you more than his saying, "What a bad man you are!" know that you

I love the Beautiful One with no bond nor fear no clan, no land, no landmarks for his beauty. So my lord, white as jasmine, is my husband. Take these husbands who die, decay, and feed them to your kitchen ﬁres! She wandered about as a naked ascetic, clad only in her long hair, enduring the taunts of the men and teaching an example of purity and devotion to God Shiva. She not only wrote vachanas about the foolishness of lust, but chal‐ lenged it directly by living the rest of her life without wearing any clothing proving the triviality of ‘this pot of ex‐ crement’.

are still a bad man.

People, male and female, blush when a cloth covering their shame comes loose When the lord of lives lives drowned without a face in the world, how can you be modest? When all the world is the eye of the lord, on looking everywhere, what can you cover and conceal?

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Fie on this body! Why do you damn yourself In love of it‐‐this pot of excrement, The vessel of urine, the frame of bones, This stench of purulence! Think of Lord Shiva, You fool!

Later, Akka Mahadevi wished to join the Vira‐saivas community. When Akka Mahadevi ﬁrst met with the Virasaiva leaders at Kalyana, their holiest man, Allama Prabhu, tested her. She proved to the male Virasaiva leaders that she is worthy to be part of their community. When Prabhu questions her nude appearance and her covering with the long hair, she responds:

The fault is in the one who blames. Spirit sees nothing to criticize.

- Rumi

“It’s only when the fruit is ripe within That the outside doth lose colour. If I covered the symbol of sex, It’s lest it hurt your eyes. Why does it needle you, O Brothers? Spare this poor maid Who has surrendered herself to Chenna Mallikarjuna.” When Prabhu questions whether she can be ‘one with God’ when she is still in human form, she says: If you cut and grind sandalwood, Will it stop being fragrant because of the pain? If you cut and melt gold, Will it become dirty from the ﬁre? If you cut sugarcane into pieces and crush it in a mail, Will it stop being sweet because of the boiling? If you bring all my past mistakes into view, Will it harm you, my lord? I will not leave you, even if you kill me, O channamallikarjuna, jasmine‐tender one!

Allama Prabhu pays her his ultimate compliment: "Your body is female in appearance, but you mind is merged with God." She attended many gatherings at the Anubhavamantapa in Kudala Sangama. Later on, she left Kalyana and started her journey towards Srishila, where her eternal lover Chennamallikarjuna temple is located. Her journey of spiritual movement and social empowerment of womanhood ends in the thick forests of Srishila. It is said that she left her body in her late twenty’s. Though she lived and died young the lines she uttered and the divine life she led keep her as an in‐separable part of Indian history in general and the movement of woman’s emancipation in partic‐ ular. In fact the study of life and achievements of Akka, only from woman’s point of view will be a kind of injustice for one who declared that she was woman in nothing but the name. Because Master is her body, God Himself her mind, The Jangama her spiritual face. — Atmajyothi.

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Yogasana

Standing Asana: PARSVA KONASANA We’re starting a series on Yo‐ gasanas wherein one Asana will be featured in each edition. The series will de‐ scribe the bene‐ ﬁts of the Asana along with Dos and Don’ts . Please note the‐ se should be performed only under the super‐ vision of a quali‐ ﬁed teacher. You may contact Atmajyothi Pra‐ sad for details.

STEP – 1 : Introduction of Asana Name : Meaning : Justiﬁcation : Type : Category : Stithi : Vishranti : Counts : Complimentary :

ParsvaKonasana Side Angle posture. In ﬁnal posture forms one side angle Standing Culturative Tadasana Shithila tadasana 8 Self

STEP – 2 : Demonstration Silent Demonstration : Final posture as shown in figure Demonstration with counts : The demonstration has to be given with sanskrit counts. This asana has 8 counts Demonstration with counts and explanation and breathing : Come to Stithi (Tadasana) on left side of mat Ekam : Inhale and move right leg to about one and half meter away from left leg. Dve : Inhale and turn right foot towards right side of body so that toes pointing away from body Trini : Exhaling, bend the right knee and bring the trunk to rest on right thigh. Place the right hand palm on the ground beside the right foot. Chatvari : Inhaling, stretch the left arm over the head, biceps touching the ear and look at the tip of the fingers of left hand. Hold the position for atleast one minute. Pancha : Exhale and bring the left arm down to the side of your body Shatha : Inhale and bring the trunk back to straight position. Saptha : Exhale and turn your right foot pointing straight from your body. Ashta : Inhale and come back to stithi (tadasana). Exhale and come to sithila tadasana. STEP – 3 : Benefits and Limitations Standard Benefits :

• Strengthens legs, calf muscles, thighs, and shoulders. • Strengthens spine, spinal columns • Activates the function of abdominal organs

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• Improves memory, concentration, confidence, will power, and intelligence. Specific Benefits :

• • • •

Expands the thorax. Strengthens thighs, ankles, knees

• • • • •

People who are suﬀering hypertension or hypotension should avoid the posture

Prevents back pain Stimulates the intestinal peristalsis

Good for sciatica and arthritis Standard Limitations : People who have undergone any surgery recently should avoid the posture People with slip disk should avoid the posture Ladies, during mensus period should avoid the posture

Pregnant women should avoid the posture. Speciﬁc Limitations:

• People with cardiac problem should avoid in beginning days

STEP – 4 : Subtle points Don’t bend forward or backward Don’t bend knee of stretched leg

How will you ever

Try to touch biceps to the ears

know him, as long

In ﬁnal position, there should be a right angle between the thigh and the leg and the other knee should not bend. Both the soles should be fully in contact with ground.

as you are unable

Perform the asana on the complementary side also.

to know yourself? - Hakim Sanai

Answers to Word Search Puzzle 1.

PANCHANGA

NEEM

10. JASMINE

RANGOLI

11.

KALASAM

12. AVAKAI

PAYASAM

13. MANGO

HOLIGE

14. RASHI

TAMARIND

15. SILK

VASANT

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LADS - Little Atmajyothi Dharmakshetra Sangha Kishan and Chetana learnt about Prahalad’s Great devotion to Lord Narayana and that God can only be touched with great devotion. The Shlokas of the Gita has brought them great understanding of God and the nature of the world.

This Path to God Made me such an old sweet beggar. I was starving until one night My love tricked God Himself

LADS is an online initiative by Atmajyothi Satsang to bring the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to our children. In the lessons the children enter the world of young Kishan who learns the meaning of 108 shlokas of the Gita through various situations in his life. LADS was started on the occasion Gita Jayanti 2011 . Currently there are 18 students who have enrolled for the course. Each week one shloka, translation and supporting story/explanation is sent by email along with exercise and an audio ﬁle of the shloka, so that students can contemplate, learn chanting and understand their essence. The course is for two groups Primary School and High School , the material diﬀerent for each group.

Let us hear our children chant the Gita. Let us listen to them speak about this great scripture. Let us watch them grow great inner virtue and outer caliber. But ﬁrst, let us teach them To join LADS log on to the below website and check out the course details http://www.atmajyothi‐satsang.org/html/lads.html Age: Between 8 and 15 Contact: lads@atmajyothi‐satsang.org

To fall into my పదబంధ ఉత6ర

bowl.

ఎడ ౦ ఎడ ౦ద బల ె

- Hafiz of Shiraz

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Participate There are various forums for you to participate and contribute. Readers Reviews: If you have valuable feedback for Divya Jyothi please share them with us. You can email them to xsubbu@gmail.com and komalmopu@gmail.com Spiritual Insights: You can contribute short articles on your spiritual experi‐ ence, your love for Saduguru (prose/poems), poetry, etc.

Articles: These can include articles on various spiritual topics like Upanishads, Vedanta, Yoga, Trivia, Quiz, Puzzles, Yajna Activities, or your own original ones. Please encourage children to contribute. For contributing in Kannada, please visit google.co.in/transliterate to transliterate your article from English to Kan‐ nada font. Copy paste the Kannada font in the body of Gmail and mail the same. Page 3: Pictures and short reports of Satsang activities

Spiritual Masters: Articles of teachings on various spiritual masters. All contri‐ butions can be mailed to xsubbu@gmail.com and komalmopu@gmail.com

Next month (Apr’12), we’re celebrating Rama Navami,

Transcribe: We’ll be studying the 10 important Upanishads over the next year. Prabhuji’s teachings will be translated to various languages. Atmajyothis have volunteered. If interested, please get in touch with Prabhuji

Mahavir Jayanthi, Hanuman Jayanthi, Adi Shankara

Weekly satsangs: At Prabhuji’ s place over the weekends and at Atmajyothi Anand’s place on Thursdays. Satsangs for festivals are organized at a convenient date/time.

Jayanthi, Ramanuja Jayanthi. Please send your contributions

Come Online:

based on the above.

• •

Atmajyothi Satsang is online at www.atmajyothi‐satsang.org.

•

Atmajyothi Satsang is also on Facebook and Prabhuji can be reached at atmajyothi.satsang@gmail.com

•

Listen to Prabhuji’s talks live (and recorded) on UStream at www.ustream.tv/channel/atmajyothi

•

Listen to Prabhuji’s recorded talks on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/atmajyothisatsang

Prabhuji blogs at www.atmajyothi‐prabhu.blogspot.com and http:// www.atmajyothi‐satsang.org/wpadmin_prabhu/wordpress/

Breathe...

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