The Vedanta Kesari - May 2010 Issue

M ay 2010

VOL. 97, No. 5

ISSN 0042-2983

A CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL M O N T H L Y O F T H E R A M A K R I S H N A O R D E R

Started at the instance of Swami Vivekananda in 1895 as Brahmavâdin, it assumed the name The Vedanta Kesari in 1914.

For free edition on the Web, please visit: www.sriramakrishnamath.org

CONTENTS Vedic Prayers

May 2010 165

Editorial

The Struggle-Mantra

166

Articles

The Loving Aspect of Holy Mother Swami Tathagatananda Prayer of the Heart Pravrajika Brahmaprana Towards a Vedic Philosophy of Peace Rudraprasad Matilal

170 178 186

New Find

Unpublished Letters of Swami Saradananda

184

Travelogue

A Pilgrimage to Kalady— the Birthplace of Adi Shankara ‘Atmashraddha’

190

The Order on the March

199

Book Reviews

201

Features Simhâvalokanam (Taittiriya Upanishad)—169, Vivekananda Tells Stories—176

Cover Story: Page 4

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Cover Story

Sun rise at Purna River, Kalady The Purna or Periyar River is the longest river in the state of Kerala, with a length of 244 km. Known as the lifeline of Kerala, Periyar river is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns.

The source of the Periyar is in the Western Ghats range.

Kalady, the birthplace of Adi Shankara, is located on the banks of Purna river. The cover page picture is taken from the Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama, situated right on the banks of Purna river. For a detailed article on Kalady, see page 190 of this issue.

The Vedanta Kesari Patrons’ Scheme We invite our readers to join as patrons of the magazine. They can do so by sending Rs.2000/- or more. Names of the patrons will be announced in the journal under the Patrons' Scheme and they will receive the magazine for 20 years. Please send your contribution to The Manager, The Vedanta Kesari by DD/MO drawn in favour of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai with a note that it is for the Patrons' Scheme.

DONOR Ms. Madhu Nirmala

Rs. 3, 000

PATRONS 589. Mrs. Leela Prakash, Bangalore

590. Mr. Sachin Geria, Gujarat 591. Mr. V.K. Chaudhary, Haryana 592. Mr. M.S. Sethu, Chennai

The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme SL.NO.

NAMES OF SPONSORS

4278. T.A. Srikanth, Bangalore 4279. Mr. Sambandam Ekambaram, Canada 4280.

-do4281. Mr. S. Sivaprasanth Sivan, Dubai 4282. Mr. Thirupal Gorige, Bangalore 4283. Mr. K.V. Chanakya, Udupi 4284. Mr. Guruprasad, Villupuram 4285. Mr. C.S. Gopalakrishna, Bangalore 4286.

-do4287. A Devotee of Ramakrishna, Kalyan 4288. M/s. Adyar Bakery (P) Ltd., Chennai

AWARDEE INSTITUTIONS

Apeejay School of Marketing, New Delhi - 110 045 Srishti School of Art Design & Tech., Bangalore - 560 106 Bangalore Management Academy, Bangalore - 560 037 Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kerala - 691 573 Govt. Degree College, Kadapa Dist., A.P. - 516 434 Karmic Newspaper & Magazine Section, Udupi - 576 107 Sri Gnanananda Niketan, Villupram Dist., T.N. - 605 756 C.N.K. Reddy College, Bangalore - 560 038 C.M.R. Inst. of Mgt. Studies, Bangalore - 560 084 Hiraleon Nanavati Inst. of Mgt., Pune - 411 054 Lord Laxmi Narayan Durga Temple Trust, Orissa - 756 042

(To be continued. . .)

VOL. 97, No. 5, MAY 2010 ISSN 0042-2983

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ACH SOUL IS POTENTIALLY DIVINE.

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GOAL IS TO MANIFEST THE DIVINITY WITHIN.

Vedic Prayers Tr. by Swami Sambuddhananda

V_r˚damUmß na_ß _ho˚daß Vß XodVmZmß na_ß M X°dV_≤ & nqV nVrZmß na_ß naÒVmX≤ {dXm_ Xodß ^wdZoe_rS>Á_≤ && —Shwetashwatara Upanishad, VI, 7

Vß Him B©úamUmß of gods na_ß the great _hoúaß the Supreme Lord Vß Him XodVmZmß of the deities na_ß X°dVß the highest deity nVrZmß of rulers, administrators na_ß nqV the Supreme ruler B©S>Á_≤ worshipable, adorable naÒVmX≤ transcendent ^wdZoe_≤ the Lord of the universe {dXm_ may we realise.

May we realise Him, the transcendent one, the adorable Lord of the Universe who is the Supreme Lord of all lords,1 the supreme God of all the gods2 and the supreme Ruler of all rulers.3 1. Lords—Vaivaswat, Yama, etc.

2. Gods—Indra, Agni, etc.

3. Rulers—Prajapatis.

Love binds, love makes for that oneness. You become one, the mother with the child, families with the city, the whole world becomes one with the animals. For love is Existence, God Himself; and all this is the manifestation of that One Love, more or less expressed. The difference is only in degree, but it is the manifestation of that One Love throughout.

Therefore in all our actions we have to judge whether it is making for diversity or for oneness. If for diversity we have to give it up, but if it makes for oneness we are sure it is good. So with our thoughts; we have to decide whether they make for disintegration, multiplicity, or for oneness, binding soul to soul and bringing one influence to bear. If they do this, we will take them up, and if not, we will throw them off as criminal.

—Swami Vivekananda, CW, 2:305 T h e

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The Struggle-Mantra The Universal Mantra ‘Struggle-mantra’ is the one mantra that every student, without exception, receives from his teacher. ‘Struggle on!’ is a universal mantra and irrespective of the field of action— whether improving oneself physically, intellectually, morally or spiritually—it is imparted to every student by his teacher. The teacher places an ideal or a task before his student and tells him, ’Keep trying. Keep struggling; you will succeed.’

A cricket coach, for instance, while teaching a new technique to the newcomer, says, ‘Practice it a few days, and you will master it. Keep trying.’ A music teacher tells the same when he teaches a new song to the student. So too a drama teacher, a chemistry teacher, a driving-teacher, and even, an expert pickpocket tells to the new pickpocket while teaching the tricks of his trade—‘Struggle!’

Yes, struggle is basic to life. And dwelling on the meaning of the term ‘life’, Swami Vivekananda says, Life itself is a state of continuous struggle between ourselves and everything outside. Every moment we are fighting actually with external nature, and if we are defeated, our life has to go. It is, for instance, a continuous struggle for food and air. If food or air fails, we die. Life is not a simple and smoothly flowing thing, but it is a compound effect. This complex struggle between something inside and the external world is what we call life. . .1

This inner-outer nexus is at the root of every form of struggle that we face. All our individual and collective struggles in econoT h e

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mic, political and social and other fields too follow the same nexus—inner-outer. This includes our struggles of daily life such as arranging for food, clothing, medical care, transportation, communication, earning or multiplying money, learning new things, and so on, as also the higher struggle to grow morally and spiritually.

Struggle—Outer and Inner The ancient Indian thinkers, however, classified all struggles into three; they looked at all struggles as attempts to get rid of dukha or pain.

These three types of struggles are: 1. The struggle caused by the elements and forces of nature, 2. The struggle caused by other living beings, and 3. The struggle caused by one’s wrong attitude and response.

The last type of struggle is what we will focus on here. For it is the struggle with oneself, or self-struggle, which determines how well we can struggle with the other two types of struggles.

Only two types of men do not struggle: the absolute dullards and the perfect ones. The dullards or brutes have little power to think, and are lost in sense-enjoyments. They do not care for any other thing. Their moral sense is so gross and elementary that nothing disturbs their mind. The perfect ones have understood the highest truth, are established in it and are freed from all desires, ever-content and everpeaceful. They too do not struggle.

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Now, what is the struggle that we cause to ourselves? It is the struggle that is born of our desire to seek the perfect or become perfect. Whether we know it or not, we are all seeking perfection. The very fact that we become unhappy scores the point that we are seeking a perfect, uninterrupted state of happiness. In the language of spiritual seekers, it is wanting to attain a state of being or a state of consciousness where there is perfect joy. One might call that state as atman-consciousness, or Brahman-consciousness. Those following the path of devotion may visualize that state as the state of being eternally with their chosen deity—which represents to them the highest state of being, same as the atman or Brahmanconsciousness. In whatever way one might express the highest state, all human beings are trying to reach that state, consciously or unconsciously. Says Sri Krishna in the Gita: In whatever way man worships Me, in the same way do I fulfil their desire; it is My Path, O son of Pritha, that men tread in all ways.2

From Lower to the Higher ‘Struggle’ ‘Who conquers the world?’ asks a Sanskrit proverb. ‘One who conquers the self.’

But what is self?

According to spiritual texts and Masters, every human being consists of two selves: the lower self and the higher self. The lower self consists of our body, mind and ego. This ‘self’ is the instrument of our ordinary living consisting of all mundane experiences—laughing and crying, celebrating and mourning, undergoing all the ups and downs of life. The lower self is also the seat of all our lower impulses such as anger, greed, jealousy, lust and so on. But a time come when the self has had enough of these and wakes up, as it were. It then starts the upward journey, and we start manifesting our higher Self, and the virtues or values such T h e

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as truthfulness, self-control, contentment, kindness and so on.

Awakening of the lower self towards its higher possibility heralds the beginning of a long inner journey from ‘lower truth to higher truth’. This inner journey passes through many peaks and descends, and valleys and heady precipices, until one arrives at the highest. It is a journey from the vishayananda (the joy of vishaya, sense-objects) to bhajanananda (the joy of bhajana, spiritual practices) and finally to brahmananda (the joy of Brahman, the ultimate Truth). It is a progressive journey from lower to higher forms of joy.

To one who is struggling to rise from the vishayananda to bhajanananda, the journey is that of going and returning, to and from, the world of sensory enjoyment and the world of the Spirit. At first it is being pulled and torn asunder between the two. There are moments of joy of success and there are moments of despair and defeat. At times, the struggling soul decides to surrender before the sensory enjoyments and it appears to him that all his spiritual aspirations are dead and gone.

At other times, the glimpses from the world of Spirit overwhelm him. Sometimes he enjoys doing his spiritual practices such as meditation, prayer and Japa, and sometimes, it is a terrible drudgery. If he has intense faith and is strong in his resolve, he carries on and reaches the other shore, the shore of bhajanananda. After reaching the other shore, however, a new, higher form of struggle emerges— that of going beyond even the rasa or joy of spiritual practices and reach the ever-lasting Source of whole Existence. Reaching that state alone marks the end of all struggles.

Understanding ‘Struggle’ What does the word ‘struggle’ mean?

Whatever the context it may be used, ‘struggle’

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means overcoming an obstacle, combating all the challenges that come in one’s way; it consists of contending with an adversary or opposing force. But before one struggles, one should know what one is struggling for. This clarity is as important, or even more important, than the struggle itself. An interesting story is told of a man who was passing by parking place where two trucks were parked back-to-back.

He found his friend trying to push a container from one truck to another. He greeted his friend and offered to help to shift the container.

‘Welcome’, said his friend, and both began to push. After half an hour of struggle, when the container did not move an inch, the man remarked to his friend, ‘I do not think we can push the container that side.’ ‘What that side?

I am pushing it this side, and not that side!’

The first thing necessary, therefore, for any the struggle to become effective is to know what is at stake. One should be clear-eyed and be sternly honest about it.

At the root of all struggles lies the intense yearning to reach the desired end. This intensity of seeking fuels all our efforts, sustains us under all trails and trying conditions, and makes us hopeful and enthusiastic. ‘Where there is a will, there is a way.’ Only when this ‘will’ is tied to a goal or purpose that it makes everything else possible. ‘Will’ means a wholehearted determination to reach the goal.

Another aspect of struggle-mantra is that it is not always on expected lines. We may be aware of some part of what lies ahead—our strengths and weakness, opportunities and obstacles—but a good deal of our struggle will be in an unknown territory. Never can one get to know all the hurdles that lay in our path. There are unseen landmines which explode only when we step on them. A struggling soul should have courage and References

1. CW, 1: 84 T h e

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strength to face them. One needs a cooperative mind to do so. And only a pure mind can be cooperative. One should therefore try to be pure in one’s thoughts, words and actions.

Beneath all struggles is present the twofold principle of abhyasa-vairagya or practice and detachment. In order to practice something, one will have to give up something.

Abhyasa therefore is invariably tied to vairagya.

And as much intense is one’s vairgaya, so much intense will be one’s desire to practice.

And such is the power of practice that the story is told of a man who would lift a calf while crossing a river. And this he continued to do for days after days and even for months and years till someone pointed out to him that his calf was no longer a calf but a full grown cow! Lifting the cow daily! Practice has amazing powers.

Struggle includes facing despair, defeat and backslidings. They are a part of the term ‘struggle’. We should not scorn at them, or feel surprised as if they are unwelcome guests.

One has to face them and not fly away from them. Struggle means facing them with the help of inner and outer resources. Prayer, intense and genuine, and repeated practice is the best way to proceed in any struggle. Says Swami Brahmananda, Why do you think that you cannot do it because you failed once or twice? One has to try again and again. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, ‘The newborn calf tries to stand up but falls down many times. It does not stop. It tries again and again. And then at last it not only stands up, but also learns to run.’3

Repeating the struggle-mantra one does wonders. If a calf can learn to stand, should not a man too learn to stand firmly on higher values, on higher Self? It may be difficult but let us move on, struggle on, on and on.

3. The Eternal Companion, Sri R.K. Math, Chennai. Pp. 237-38

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Simhâvalokanam From the Archives of THE VEDANTA KESARI (February, 1918-19, pp. 317-318)

Taittiriya Upanishad (Introduction)

The Upanishad has been so named because it forms a part of the Taittiriya Aranyaka of the Krishna Yajur Veda. Taittiriya Aranyaka itself forms the latter part of the Taittiriya Brahmana and this Upanishad constitutes the seventh, eithth and ninth prapathakas of the said Aranyaka. The Taittiriya recension of the Krishna Yajur Veda got its nomenclature from the tradition that when the great sage Yajavalkya was asked by his offended Guru to return back the Veda which the former had studied under him, Yajnavalkya threw it out, and other Rishis taking the forms of Tittiris (partridges) swallowed the Veda thus thrown out.

The Upanishad is the most popular of all other smaller Upanishads, chiefly owing to the fact that it is still chanted with proper swarams and intonations by Brahmins in all parts of India. . . Moreover it speaks of the rules of conduct beginning from the student life up to the fourth Ashrama i.e., Sannyasa life, in well ordered graduated manner, revealing the depth of significance of each stage and its final culmination into the next, till man reaches the sumum bonum of life, the Brahmanandam.

It is divided into three parts, named according to Sankara, as (1) Shiksha-Valli, (2) AnandaValli, and (3) Bhrigu-Valli. But Sayana in his commentary on the Taittiriya Aranyaka styles them as (1) Samhiti, (2) Varuni and (3) Yagniki, according to the subject matters dealt therein.

The special feature of the Shiksha-Valli is that it gives a most beautiful pithy address to young novitiates of the Brahmacharya Ashrama, analogous to the convocation addresses of modern universities, where the teacher tells the students about the virtues they should try to posses and cultivate, the ideals of life they should foster and such other rules of conduct for the up-building of a noble character. The special feature of the next chapter, the BrahmanandaValli is in the grand proclamation that Brahman in Anandamaya or Supreme Bliss. Wherever is the expression of bliss or joy, know there, it asserts, is the light of Brahman. But its fullest expression is in the unfettered joy of the consciousness of the Universal Life. . .

The special feature of the third chapter, i.e., Bhrigu-Valli is the mention of the five sheaths, Koshas of the Atman. . . It is the most beautiful idea of leading the mind from the gross to subtler and subtler till to the subtlest of all, the Atman which is encased within these Upadhis or super-imposed adjuncts of life. † T h e

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The Loving Aspect of Holy Mother SWAMI TATHAGATANANDA

God As Mother Throughout the world, God is regarded as Father, Mother, Counsellor, Friend,—as everything. But the Indian tradition wants to look upon God as Divine Mother in view of the fact that all living beings emerge from mother.

Swami Vivekananda says:1 Mother-worship is a distinct philosophy in itself.

Power is the first of our ideas. It impinges upon man at every step; power felt within is the soul; without, nature. And the battle between the two makes human life. All that we know or feel is but the resultant of these two forces. Man saw that the sun shines on the good and evil alike. Here was a new idea of God, as the Universal Power behind all—the Mother-idea was born.

Mother is the first manifestation of power and is considered a higher idea than father. With the name of Mother comes the idea of Shakti, Divine Energy and omnipotence, just as the baby believes its mother to be all-powerful, able to do anything. The Divine Mother is the latent power sleeping in us; without worshipping Her we can never know ourselves. Every manifestation of power in the universe is Mother. She is life, She is intelligence, She is Love. . . . A bit of Mother,

a drop, was Krishna, another was Buddha, another was Christ . . . worship Her if you want love and wisdom.

The human mind, however, normally gravitates to the material plane and ordinary people nurtured in secular, sensate cultures find it impossible to fathom the Divine Mother. Though we cannot understand the inscrutable grace of the Divine Mother, we can understand an infinitesimal part of her glory if She is worshipped with devotion.

Down the ages, India has been worshipping God as Mother, as Devi. This worship is particularly popular in Bengal during the different religious festivals, when thousands of images of the Divine Mother are worshipped.

Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi was born as an incarnation of the Divine Mother. To meet the need of this age, the Divine Mother manifested her gentle aspect of the redeeming power and universal love of divine motherhood to the highest degree in Holy Mother, who demonstrated her divinity during her exemplary life of sixty-seven years. She belongs to all nations, to all races. Her divine love is extraordinarily expressed through her profound, intimate motherly compassion free

The author is a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order, and the Head of Vedanta Society, New York. His books include The Journey of Upanishads to the West, and Light from the Orient, among others.

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from bondage and attachment. The Divine and human, the infinite and finite, are fused in her.

She was sweetness incarnate and grace abounding. Her simple words went right to the heart of listeners, giving them complete solace and satisfaction. Her pure, immaculate nature radiated purity and utter tranquillity.

Holy Mother’s Boundless Love Holy Mother’s all-pervading love may be described as a vertical love for God and a horizontal love for the suffering humanity.

Born to a poor family in rustic surroundings and with no chance of schooling, Sri Sarada Devi raised herself to the highest stature of spiritual sublimity, which commanded respect and adoration from Sri Ramakrishna himself, who worshipped Holy Mother as the Mother of the Universe, Shodashi, at Dakshineswar in 1872. Moreover, Sri Ramakrishna prostrated before the Deity and offered the fruits of all his spiritual practices as well as his rosary at the feet of Holy Mother.

Sri Ramakrishna left Holy Mother behind to exhibit the Motherhood of God. God as Saviour is full of love. As a mother loves her children, the great Mother-Heart of God loves all. The expression, ‘Motherhood of God’, conveys to us that God, as Mother, loves His children infinitely more than a human mother.

The foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda was the first to understand Holy Mother and articulated this in a letter from the USA in 1894: To me, Mother’s grace is a hundred thousand times more valuable than Father’s. Mother’s grace, Mother’s blessings are all paramount to me.2

The monastic and lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna as well as common persons also revered her and worshipped her as Divine Mother. She was in reality the Divinity, the T h e

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Guru, a nun and a wife, all in one. Her words, ‘I am the Mother of all. I am the Mother of the good. I am the Mother of the bad, too,’ gives us the reassurance that every one of us is near to her, not far. She is an enigma. The world has never seen anyone like her. To think of her lovingly and reverently will make our mind purer.

Some Inspiring Anecdotes Let us look at a few of the innumerable anecdotes describing Holy Mother’s allencompassing love for the suffering devotees.

God feels our pain, anxiety, and so on. When genuine devotees wholeheartedly, sincerely and consistently seek God’s grace to tide over the situation, He comes to their aid.

Holy Mother used to bring Sri Ramakrishna’s food to his room at the Dakshineswar Temple. One day, a woman suddenly appeared and requested Mother to give her the plate, which she carried to Sri Ramakrishna and then left immediately. On many occasions during the Master’s life, it had been observed that Sri Ramakrishna was unable to touch any food defiled by the touch of a human being of immoral character. This time also, he did not touch the food. After a little while Holy Mother came to his room. She was gently reprimanded

by Sri Ramakrishna for handing his lunch over to that woman and spoiling it. He tried to extract a promise from Mother that she would always bring his food to him herself. Although Holy Mother was ever obedient, vigilant, and dedicated in the service of Sri Ramakrishna, she had to tell Sri Ramakrishna that it was impossible for her to refuse anybody who addressed her as ‘Mother.’ Sri Ramakrishna felt immense inner joy as he observed the flowering of her universal motherly affection.

But this is not the only such occurrence.

Readers of her enigmatic life will invariably

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find out that she was the living embodiment of Vedanta and rooted in Divinity—she moved and had her being in the Divine and the Divine alone. Being the Universal Mother, she did not refuse anyone who approached and addressed her as ‘Mother.’ Actresses and other women of immoral character also received her abundant love and sympathy. When some intimate devotees of Sri Ramakrishna did not approve of Mother extending her love to undesirable types of people, she ignored their advice and remarked, Everybody can be the mother of the good, but who will accept these dregs of society and console them? I am the mother of the wicked as well as the mother of the good.

Once, an elderly maidservant carrying a bundle came to Holy Mother at Jayrambati, on behalf of Akshay Kumar Sen, the author of Ramakrishna-Punthi. As usual, Holy Mother received her with the full affection of a compassionate mother and made her sleep at Jayrambati that night. Holy Mother’s regular habit since her days at Dakshineswar was to arise at early dawn. At dawn the following day she entered the maidservant’s room and found the poor woman burning with a fever and in the pathetic condition of having soiled the bed. Holy Mother was very affectionate with the maidservant. She encouraged her to avoid the scorching heat of the sun by starting early on her return journey. Then Mother immediately cleaned everything herself so that no one would find any trace of the soiled bed.

Another time, a woman belonging to the Bannerjee family at Jayrambati was in a precarious condition. She had no one to look after her and had developed a disease in her ears. Her condition was so pathetic that pus was exuding from both ears and she had a fever. Learning about it, Holy Mother nursed her and gave her hot milk. She also approachT h e

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ed Brahmachari Varada (Swami Ishanananda) in an effort to find shelter for her at Koalpara Ashrama, where they used to take care of some patients. Varada went to Koalpara, consulted with the Head of Koalpara Ashrama and returned to take the patient to Koalpara.

Revealing her immense concern for this unfortunate woman, Holy Mother sent her to Koalpara in a bullock cart. The attending doctor at Koalpara gave the woman some medicine but in spite of the best efforts of the inmates, she passed away. When Holy Mother heard of it, she told them, ‘You acted as her own children in serving her and I am happy that she received this humane treatment at the end of her life.’

Holy Mother’s divine love was always conspicuous. Due to the fact that she was born and raised in a rural society, Holy Mother often encountered issues generated by casteconsciousness. When the collapse of their trade deprived Amzad and other Muslim weavers of their basic needs, they were forced to resort to theft and highway robbery. But this did not provide them with enough means to take care of their families. In their desperate condition, they went to Holy Mother for help. Though she was fully aware of their unlawful behaviour, Holy Mother’s heart was deeply touched by their pitiable condition. Despite the local prejudice against Muslims, Holy Mother treated them as her own children. Like the most affectionate mother, she provided them with some opportunities to work. Every one of these Muslim weavers regarded Holy Mother as their Guardian Angel.

In another example, Holy Mother’s niece Nalini harboured a strong sense of the superior purity and social status of Brahmins accorded by the Hindu caste system. On one occasion Nalini found Holy Mother removing the leftover scraps of a meal. This sight naturally

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horrified her and she cried out, ‘Ah me! She’s removing the leavings of a multitude of castes!’

But the universality of Holy Mother’s love which knows no division immediately revealed itself. She responded, ‘What if they are from various castes? They are all my children.’

Removing leftovers was actually a part of Holy Mother’s daily routine. Although she was steeped in the Orthodox tradition of Hinduism, Holy Mother never allowed devotees or the Swamis to remove their leftovers themselves. By her own example, she relieved them of their stigma of division that was associated with their caste-consciousness.

When Swami Vishweshwarananda resisted and offered to remove his own plate after the meal, Holy Mother persuaded him to allow her take it instead and said to him, ‘What indeed have I done for you? A child even soils its mother’s lap and does so many other things.

You are rare jewels to be sought for by gods.’

With these sweet words she expressed the grace of her divine Motherhood. Some other women who had the good fortune to live near Holy Mother nevertheless criticized her for this. Her natural response was, ‘Well, I am their mother. If a mother shouldn’t do it for her children’s sake, who else should?’

These are not the only cases demonstrating Holy Mother’s lack of prejudice. We have seen that throughout her life of infinite universal love, she consistently transcended the limitations of social convention, even with foreigners. Her motherly affection removed all timidity and doubt from any devotee inclined to approach Holy Mother with hesitation or reservation.

Holy Mother gave shelter to giant souls like Swamiji and others. Her simple word was final to them. Whereas these great disciples had the innocent habit of arguing with Sri Ramakrishna, they never dared to think of T h e

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arguing with Holy Mother. Every word of Holy Mother’s was a command to them.

Swami Vivekananda ceremonially purified himself before going to Holy Mother and shook with pious emotion in her presence. We would like to cite one instance of Holy Mother’s guidance of the Mission in times of crisis.

Some political revolutionaries dedicated to winning India’s freedom later joined the Ramakrishna Order. They did so with great sincerity and completely eschewed the path of politics. On December 11, 1916 the Governor of Bengal, Lord Carmichael, made a statement that cast aspersions on the Ramakrishna Mission. During that crucial period of India’s history, the Mission’s devotees and wellwishers were alarmed that sinister consequences might follow the governor’s unfriendly opinion of the Mission. They suggested to the Mission authorities that they call for the revolutionaries to leave the Order. At that juncture, Swami Saradananda, the Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission, discussed the matter with Holy Mother, who firmly rejected this suggestion. Notwithstanding the adverse official remarks of the government, Holy Mother deemed that those who joined the Order in the name of Sri Ramakrishna should be allowed to remain. She suggested that Swami Saradananda meet personally with the governor to explain the Mission’s viewpoint.

Accordingly, Swami Saradananda met with the governor’s private secretary with the result that the governor issued a statement in March 26, 1917, and exonerated the Mission and its members.3 Not only did the Holy Mother bless all of the Mission’s philanthropic activities, she was keenly interested in all the details of this work. Whenever relief workers came to her, she always inquired in depth about these

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activities. She always wanted to know if the Mission had been informed and if it had alleviated the people’s woes. Recognizing that the ordinary monk cannot remain absorbed in meditation round-the-clock, she advised such monks to earnestly accept philanthropic activity for their own benefit. She once said, ‘That is why my Naren started all these centres for work. Our organization will function this way. Those who cannot adjust will leave.’

Mother loved Girishchandra Ghosh, although he was a bohemian in every respect.

Due to his unwavering staunch faith, he regarded Holy Mother as Divine Mother. Once, he went to Jayrambati and stayed there a whole month. Every day, he saw with his own eyes the divine love of Holy Mother. Even in her old age, her body frail and rheumatic, she would go door-to-door to get some milk and vegetables in her effort to bring a little comfort to Girishchandra in that village surrounding.

Nearly every day, Girishchandra would notice that Mother herself washed his bed sheets.

Girish had become so embittered with life that during that time he broached the idea to Mother of renouncing the world and becoming a monk. When she did not approve of the idea, Girish ‘resorted to the logical and vehement reasoning of which his keen intellect and poetic tongue were capable, and which was calculated to sweep anyone off his feet.’ She withstood this barrage of words without changing her mind and he had to give up the thought of becoming a monk.

Despite his faults, Girish was a great devotee of fiery radiant faith in the divinity of the Master and the Mother. Her tender actions and loving concern for him when he was at Jayrambati left deep impressions in Girishchandra’s mind; he requested Holy Mother to grace his house with her presence on the occasion of Durga Puja in 1907. To his great T h e

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disappointment, due to her continuous illness which left her physically debilitated, Holy Mother initially did not want to make the long, arduous journey to Calcutta. However, because of his deep, abiding and steadfast devotion, she accepted this importunity and came to Calcutta. This made Girishchandra and the other devotees extremely happy.

On the first day of Durga Puja, she endured much. An endless stream of devotees came to place flowers at her feet. Holy Mother sat quietly for many hours together at Balaram’s residence before going to Girishchandra’s house where she had to remain for the rest of the worship. On the second day, she was not at all well and covered herself with a cotton sheet.

Again, she sat for many hours, gratifying all the devotees with her serene presence. Not a single devotee was disappointed. Holy Mother’s patience was unflagging, but the strain of it all weakened her further. Her exhaustion became more apparent and it was decided that she would be unable to satisfy the devotees’ greatest wish: her presence during the evening juncture of the eight and ninth days of the moon [sandhi]. But without Mother’s presence, the Puja worship would be useless. Of all the disappointed devotees, Girishchandra was the most distressed, for he was convinced of the absolute necessity of her presence. He withdrew to his drawing room upstairs and refused to participate; no amount of cajoling could convince him to come back down. Then, to everyone’s amazement, at the exact moment of the blessed juncture Holy Mother appeared at the doorway and stated simply, ‘Here I am.’

Swami Premananda was there and tells the story:4

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worship. So I went there. What I witnessed struck me with great wonder. Girish Babu is comparable only to Girish Babu. He is indeed unique.

At about half past two in the morning, the palanquin that was sent to Balaram Babu’s house for the Holy Mother to attend the sandhi puja [the most important hour of the worship] came back empty. Five minutes later, at just the moment of the sandhi puja, the Holy Mother arrived by herself. [She walked just one block from Balaram Babu’s house to the house of Girish.] We all were struck dumb. Girish Babu was overwhelmed with joy at seeing her. Now again, imagine the presence of an array of girls in the worship hall, girls who are despised by society [prostitutes who were dancers and actresses in the theatre of Girish], and the Holy Mother, who is worshipped as an embodiment of purity, seated in their midst. This was indeed a unique sight. Girish is the only one who can make the impossible possible.

Indeed, Girish was beside himself with sheer joy and could barely speak as he ran downstairs to greet her. Catching his breath he exclaimed, ‘I thought that my worship had come to naught, and just now the Mother knocks at the door and announces, “Here I am.” Everyone, including his theatrical troupe of performers, rushed to offer the flowers of their devotion at her feet.

Mother stood still the whole time, her pure gaze concentrated on the image of the Goddess Durga.

The Goddess Durga was worshipped the entire three days. During those three days, Holy Mother also received the worship of all without exception while sitting calmly and

serenely in a chair, in spite of her illness. And although her condition required her to return home as soon as possible, she fulfilled the devotees’ wish to prolong her stay for the worship of Kali. Having thus satisfied them all, Mother returned to Jayrambati, partially on foot, and arrived there in the darkness of night. Her failed health and the general lack of conveniences made it a very stressful journey for her.

Conclusion As only the tip of a massive iceberg is visible above the ocean’s surface, this essay also, gives only a glimpse of the unobservable immensity of her Mother-soul. No greater being was ever born in such obscurity and quietude as Holy Mother. Peace always dwelled in her pure heart. She was a sweet and lovely rose quietly radiating the fragrance of her graceful life. Grace, like radium, penetrated her entire personality, giving a halo of unknown beauty. She was the living embodiment of love, non-attachment, kindness, gentleness, sympathy and loving service to all.

When great spiritual souls take rest and are no longer actively involved in human welfare with their whole-souled, sincere willingness, we are forced to acknowledge the deep impact of their treasured presence and loving concern on our behalf. Their exemplary lives are our greatest tangible treasure which gives us hope and increases our faith in God. The power of their pure and loving memory is the eternal legacy of their gift to humanity.

References 1.

2.

3.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 1964, 8: 252. [Hereafter C. W.] CW, 7: 26-7.

Swami Gambhirananda, History of the Ramakrishna T h e

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4.

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Math and Mission, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 1957, p. 218.

Swami Premananda, Teachings and Reminiscences, Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 1970, pp. 210-11.

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Swami Vivekananda was a great storyteller. His talks and writings are interspersed with numerous anecdotes, examples, similes, and illustrations mirroring his vast knowledge of human nature—its potential and its relative limitations. Some of these stories are well known, many others are little known. We present here some more of these insightful stories, selected from his Complete Works.

XXXXXV The Story of Mahabharata (Continuation of previous issue. . .)

At a Svayamvara there was always a great feat of arms or something of the kind.

On this occasion, a mark in the form of a fish was set up high in the sky; under that fish was a wheel with a hole in the centre, continually turning round, and beneath was a tub of water. A man looking at the reflection of the fish in the tub of water was asked to send an arrow and hit the eye of the fish through the Chakra or wheel, and he who succeeded would be married to the princess. Now, there came kings and princes from different parts of India, all anxious to win the hand of the princess, and one after another they tried their skill, and every one of them failed to hit the mark.

You know, there are four castes in India: the highest caste is that of the hereditary priest, the Brahmana; next is the caste of the Kshatriya, composed of kings and fighters; next, the Vaishyas, the traders or businessmen, and then Shudras, the servants. Now, this princess was, of course, a Kshatriya, one of the second caste.

When all those princes failed in hitting the mark, then the son of King Drupada rose up in the midst of the court and said: ‘The Kshatriya, the king caste has failed; now the T h e

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contest is open to the other castes. Let a Brahmana, even a Shudra, take part in it; whosoever hits the mark, marries Draupadi.’ Among the Brahmanas were seated the five Pandava brothers. Arjuna, the third brother, was the hero of the bow. He arose and stepped forward. Now, Brahmanas as a caste are very quiet and rather timid people.

According to the law, they must not touch a warlike weapon, they must not wield a sword, they must not go into any enterprise that is dangerous. Their life is one of contemplation, study, and control of the inner nature. Judge, therefore, how quiet and peaceable a people they are. When the Brahmanas saw this man get up, they thought this man was going to bring the wrath of the Kshatriyas upon them, and that they would all be killed. So they tried to dissuade him, but Arjuna did not listen to them, because he was a soldier. He lifted the bow in his hand, strung it without any effort, and drawing it, sent the arrow right through the wheel and hit the eye of the fish.

Then there was great jubilation. Draupadi, the princess, approached Arjuna and threw the beautiful garland of flowers over his head. But there arose a great cry among the princes, who could not bear the idea that

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this beautiful princess who was a Kshatriya should be won by a poor Brahmana, from among this huge assembly of kings and princes. So, they wanted to fight Arjuna and snatch her from him by force. The brothers had a tremendous fight with the warriors, but held their own, and carried off the bride in triumph.

The five brothers now returned home to Kunti with the princess. Brahmanas have to live by begging. So they, who lived as Brahmanas, used to go out, and what they got by begging they brought home and the mother divided it among them. Thus the five brothers, with the princess, came to the cottage where the mother lived. They shouted out to her jocosely, ‘Mother, we have brought home a most wonderful alms today.’ The mother replied, ‘Enjoy it in common, all of you, my children.’ Then the mother seeing the princess, exclaimed, ‘Oh! what have I said! It is a girl!’

But what could be done! The mother’s word was spoken once for all. It must not be disregarded. The mother’s words must be fulfilled.

She could not be made to utter an untruth, as she never had done so. So Draupadi became the common wife of all the five brothers.

Now, you know, in every society there are stages of development. Behind this epic there is a wonderful glimpse of the ancient historic times. The author of the poem mentions the fact of the five brothers marrying the same woman, but he tries to gloss it over, to find an excuse and a cause for such an act; it was the mother’s command, the mother sanctioned this strange betrothal, and so on.

You know, in every nation there has been a certain stage in society that allowed polyandry —all the brothers of a family would marry one wife in common. Now, this was evidently a glimpse of the past polyandrous stage.

In the meantime, the brother of the princess was perplexed in his mind and thought: ‘Who are these people? Who is this man whom my sister is going to marry? They have not any chariots, horses, or anything.

Why, they go on foot!’ So he had followed them at a distance, and at night overheard their conversation and became fully convinced that they were really Kshatriyas. Then King Drupada came to know who they were and was greatly delighted.

Though at first much objection was raised, it was declared by Vyasa that such a marriage was allowable for these princes, and it was permitted. So the king Drupada had to yield to this polyandrous marriage, and the princess was married to the five sons of Pandu.

Then the Pandavas lived in peace and prosperity and became more powerful every day. Though Duryodhana and his party conceived of fresh plots to destroy them, King Dhritarashtra was prevailed upon by the wise counsels of the elders to make peace with the Pandavas; and so he invited them home amidst the rejoicings of the people and gave them half of the kingdom.

Then, the five brothers built for themselves a beautiful city, called Indraprastha, and extended their dominions, laying all the people under tribute to them. Then the eldest, Yudhishthira, in order to declare himself emperor over all the kings of ancient India, decided to perform a Rajasuya Yajna, or Imperial Sacrifice, in which the conquered kings would have to come with tribute and swear allegiance, and help the performance of the sacrifice by personal services. Sri Krishna, who had become their friend and a relative, came to them and approved of the idea. But there was one obstacle to its performance. (4: 80-83) (To be continued . . .)

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Prayer of the Heart PRAVRAJIKA BRAHMAPRANA

The Interior Prayer ‘Pray without ceasing,’ St. Paul said in his letter to the Thessalonians. 1 One day, hundreds of years later, in 19th century Russia, prior to the liberation of the serfs, a Christian peasant went to church and heard his preacher quote this aphorism. But unbeknownst to the preacher, the peasant was wonderstruck.

‘What ought I to do?’ he thought. ‘Where shall I find someone to explain this to me?’ With Bible in hand, he left home in search of the answer.

Sleepless nights passed, till the Pilgrim came to a monastery, reputed to have within its walls a starets—a realized soul who had the gift of guiding others along the path to God-realization. The starets kindly received the pilgrim and asked him into his cell, whereupon he gave the aspirant spiritual instruction. The starets said: ‘Thank God you have this insatiable desire for prayer. Recognize it as the call of God.’2 He continued: Understanding of what prayer is cannot be attained by the knowledge of this world nor by the outward desire for knowledge. It can be found only in poverty of spirit and active experience.3

Name of Jesus with the lips, in the spirit, in the heart; while forming a mental picture of His constant presence, and imploring His grace, during every occupation, at all times, in all places, even during sleep. The appeal is couched in these terms: ‘Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.’ One who accustoms himself to this appeal experiences as a result so deep a consolation and so great a need to offer the prayer always, that he can no longer live without it, and it will continue to voice itself within him of its own accord.4

With these words, the guru accepted his disciple, and the disciple was blessed with initiation into spiritual life.

This marks The Way of a Pilgrim, a spiritual initiation into the hesychast method of prayer, which has a strong spiritual alliance with other paths, including the system of Tantric sadhana known as japam and meditation. Just as the Pilgrim met his starets, we may be reminded of a passage in the Upanishads which reads:

The starets then disclosed the secret of prayer. He said:

To many it is not given to hear of That (meaning God) which dwells in eternity. Many, though they hear of it, do not understand it. Wonderful is he who speaks of it. Intelligent is he who learns of it. Blessed is he who, taught by a good teacher, is able to comprehend it.5

The continuous interior prayer of Jesus is a constant uninterrupted calling upon the divine

Religion is transmitted from guru to disciple; it cannot be borrowed from books.

Pravrajika Brahmaprana is a nun at the Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood. In addition to writing articles for various publications in America and abroad, she has also edited With the Swamis in America and India, by Swami Atulananda, the Vivekacudamani of Sri Sankaracarya, translated by Swami Turiyananda, and volume 9 of The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda.

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But it does not only mean a guru-disciple relationship. Religion means realization. By keeping the company of the holy—our Pilgrim and his starets—let us probe into the metaphysical science of the Philokalia as well as the system of the Tantric mantra shastras; the practice of prayer—its obstacles and stages; and finally the results of prayer—the higher levels of consciousness which come as the supernatural outgrowth of prayer.

The Idea of Word-Brahman The metaphysics of prayer, or mantra, is the hidden science behind the major religions of the world. In Tantra, it is known as Shabda, or Sound Brahman.

Through unceasing prayer and repetition of the Holy Name, Sound is the ladder by which man ascends Godward. Through the Word—known in Hinduism as Sphota-vada and the Logos in Christianity, Sound is the channel by which God descends as man. In the Tantric tradition, Shabda, or Sound, is also the power of Brahman and the metaphysical law which governs this universe.

Although it is possible that the mystical doctrine of Sound originated independently in Hinduism and the Judeo-Christian religion, it is a well-known fact that Tantric scholars influenced early Christianity and later Western philosophy. In the Vedas we read: In the beginning was Brahman with Whom was the Word; and the Word was verily the Supreme Brahman.6

This verse, echoed thousands of years later in the Gospel of St. John, became the scriptural basis of the avatarhood of Jesus Christ: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . . And the Word was made flesh.7

The ancient rishis, or seers, of India discovered that Shabda, or Pure Sound, is the T h e

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seed of creation and the essence of both matter and energy. From the silence of Brahman, the reservoir of all sounds, issued forth Om. The meaning of this sound is the origin of creation—the Name of His own reflection. To quote Swami Vivekananda: All this expressed, sensible universe is the form, and behind it stands the eternal, inexpressible Sphota, the manifester, or Logos, or Word. This eternal Sphota, the essential and eternal material of all ideas and names, is the power through which the Lord creates this universe.8

In other words, energy is a fleeting thought and matter a more concrete thought.

Above all, this creation is an extension of His Thought. From the cosmic seed of Shabda, or Sound, the power of Brahman was released as primal energy and seized its expression in a world of space and time. This phenomenon is beautifully expressed in the Psalms: ‘By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.’9 This sound is audible to the rishi in deep meditation. In the Jewish mystical tradition, the tetragrammaton, or Name of the Most High, is considered too sacred to be spoken aloud in the worship of the synagogue. It is the Jewish belief that: He who can rightly pronounce it causeth heaven and earth to tremble. For it is the Name that rusheth through the universe.10

The quality of this original Sound is unimaginable. Its power and magnitude are immeasurable. We know for a fact that jet noise can shatter glass and high frequency sound can crack metals. As the sound wave shortens, its frequency heightens and, so also, its force intensifies.

There is first a general movement. Then there are diverse, particular movements that produce time, space, and causation. With the

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descent of the mystic Sound, gunas act and react. Combinations of ‘sounds’ then issue forth and recombine into compounded ‘sounds’ that send forth the laws of this universe.

Not only is the cosmic creation fathered by the Supreme Sound, but each form within creation has its own successive ‘sound’ equivalent, or Natural Name—the Bija, or seed word, of the form it calls into existence. The Natural Name is what the Cosmic Ear hears as the intrinsic nature of a particular form, whether animate or inanimate, approximating the sound of activity within the object it names.

For example, the Natural Name of a tree would be inextricably connected to the sound of its sap running.

Furthermore, each of us has a Bija, or primary Natural Name, corresponding to our respective causal bodies. This is the ‘sound’ of our inner being and the power that has fashioned our body, mind, and senses. Mantra sadhana is not an effort to capture something foreign to us; it is the effort to slough off our fictitious self and to reunite us with our true nature—the Sound-Body of the Ishta, or Chosen Ideal, which is one with Brahman.

Religion means ‘unfolding this divinity already within us.’ As Christ said, ‘Is it not written in your scripture, I said, “ye are gods, and all of ye are children of the most high?”’11 The ancient Hindus said that through Shabda any object can be made, remade, or unmade. Shabda is power; and by the power of the Name, a form is materialized. This principle is the axis on which spiritual life turns. Religious songs can materialise the object of their devotion, and the Bija mantra is believed to shape the mind into the form of the Chosen Ideal it represents. The mind becomes purified by the purity of its contents, invoked by the thought vibration of T h e

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the sacred seed word, which is the SoundBody of God. Mantras were first revealed to the rishis in a superconscious state—a state in which they saw them in a flash of light or heard them.

Though some mantras are without seed-word, the Name of God and its seed-word are said to be equally powerful. In this connection, the following was told by Swami Gangeshananda who heard it directly from Swami Shivananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the second President of the Ramakrishna Order: One day Mahapurush Maharaj wanted to know the Christ mantra. He had a vision and it was given to him in English: ‘Lord have mercy on me.’12

The Four Yogas From the practices the starets gave his Pilgrim, we can easily recognize a Christian version of the four yogas. Bhakti yoga, or the path of devotion, is most commonly the method of union through the Chosen Ideal— in the Pilgrim’s case, Lord Jesus—a subject which we will discuss in greater detail later. It can also mean, devotion to the guru—at first to the human guru, then the purified mind, and finally to the Supreme Guru—whether He be called ‘Satchidananda Brahman’ in the sahasrara, the thousand-petalled lotus of the brain, or ‘our Father who art in heaven.’

Especially to the great jnanis of the Vedantic tradition, the guru takes the place of the Ishta.

This path can be illustrated in The Way of a Pilgrim.

What is the function of the guru? The starets explained to his disciple, that one must tell the starets everything, making a frank confession and report; for the inward process cannot go on properly and successfully without the starets’ guidance. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother, further explained this:

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Power flows through the mantra from the guru to the disciple and from the disciple to the guru.

That is why when one gives the mantra and takes the sins of the initiated upon oneself, one’s health fails. It is hard to be a Guru, one has to take the responsibility for the disciple’s sins.

If the disciple commits a sin, the Guru must atone for it. If the disciple is good, the Guru also stands to gain. Some progress rapidly, some slowly, according to each one’s accumulated tendencies.13

To serve the guru means to follow his spiritual instruction. Scriptural study usually falls under the guidance of the guru, as it is an important aspect of jnana yoga, or the path of knowledge. In Hinduism, scripture is considered living, as it is based on the revelation of God. Sri Ramakrishna actually experienced this when one day while listening to the Bhagavatam, he had the vision of the Lord Krishna, from whose feet came forth a beam of light like a cord, simultaneously touching the scripture and his own heart for some time. Sri Ramakrishna became convinced that the three were the one Reality.

The starets’ preliminary instruction to his disciple was: Read this book—the Philokalia. It contains the full and detailed science of constant interior prayer set forth by twenty-five holy Fathers. It contains clear explanations of what the Bible holds in secret.14

The Philokalia, or Dobrotolyubie in Russian, means ‘love of spiritual beauty.’ It is a collection, over a period of eleven centuries, of mystical and ascetic writings by the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which deals with the science of spiritual phenomena. It reads like a spiritual travel diary, however, the Pilgrim could not even begin to grasp the writings of the Philokalia until his starets guided his reading program.

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The starets explained: It is a secret treasury. . . It is not everywhere and to everyone that it is accessible, but it does give to each such guidance as he needs, to the wise, wise guidance, to the simple-minded, simple guidance. That is why you simple folk should not read the chapters one after the other as they are arranged in the book. That order is for those who are instructed in theology.15

The reading order which the starets then gave his disciple was the books of Nicephorus the Monk, Gregory of Sinai, Simeon the New Theologian, Callistus and Ignatius, and finally a summary of prayer by Callistus.

Although there are four yogas—Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, and Dhyana—the paths of devotion, knowledge, work, and meditation— they are all interchangeable and lead to the same goal. Thus various disciplines which bring us devotion to the guru, discrimination between the real and the unreal, or deep meditation are also karma yoga.

Furthermore, though people generally interpret karma yoga as physical acts which unite us to God, the finer form of karma yoga is the selfless thought behind action. In order to purify the motive that precedes and accompanies our actions, the spiritual tradition in the Ramakrishna Order stresses meditation as the priority, because without it, we forget for Whom we are working.

At one time, Swami Brahmananda, the first President of the Ramakrishna Order, said: We judge men by their actions, but God looks into their innermost minds…. Under no circumstances give up your spiritual practices. If you give up the practices of japam and meditation and engage yourself solely in work, egoism is bound to arise in you, and you will become the source of quarrels and disharmony.16

In this connection, the starets also told his Pilgrim:

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Most people are under the misunderstanding that good actions make us capable of prayer.

No, it is prayer that bears fruit in good works and all the virtues…. Constant prayer is essential…. But perfection in prayer does not lie within our power. Unceasing prayer is the means of attaining purity of prayer, which is the mother of all spiritual blessings. ‘Capture the Mother, and she will bring you the children.’17

Finally, we come to dhyana yoga, or the path of meditation, the predominant method of union in The Way of a Pilgrim. What is the relationship between prayer and meditation?

Swami Brahmananda said,

Two Types of Prayer There are two types of prayer, known in Eastern Orthodoxy as ‘sounding’ and ‘soundless’ prayer, or in the Yoga tradition as oral and mental japa. Furthermore, in the Yoga tradition, there is what is known as akhanda japa, continuous japa done without break; likhita japa, written repetition; and ajapa japa, with every flow of the breath. These sadhanas, have a corresponding practice in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. The Pilgrim was drawn to the method of ajapa japa, as taught by Simeon the New Theologian, in the Philokalia.

To quote the Pilgrim:

With unwavering faith in the words of the guru, the disciple must practice repetition of the mantram and meditation on its meaning. Thus will he find peace of heart.18

With my eyes shut I gazed, in thought, ie., imagination, upon my heart. I tried to picture it there in the left side of my breast and to listen carefully to its beating. I started doing this several times a day, for half an hour at a time, and at first I felt nothing but a sense of darkness.

But little by little after a fairly short time I was able to picture my heart and to note its movement, and further with the help of my breathing I could put into it and draw from it the Prayer of Jesus in the manner taught by the saints. . . When drawing the air in I looked in spirit into my heart and said, ‘Lord Jesus Christ,’ and when breathing out again, I said, ‘have mercy an me.’21

In the Philokalia, St. Simeon the New Theologian, instructed the Pilgrim: Sit down alone and in silence. Lower your head, shut your eyes, breathe out gently and imagine yourself looking into your own heart. Carry your mind, ie., your thoughts, from your head to your heart. As you breathe out, say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.’ Say it moving your lips gently or simply say it in your mind. Try to put all other thoughts aside. Be calm, be patient, and repeat the process very frequently.19

In this connection, Sri Ramakrishna explained in even greater detail: Japa means repeating the Name of the Lord silently, sitting in a quiet place. If one continues the repetition with concentration and devotion, one is sure to be blessed with divine visions ultimately—one is sure to have God-realization.

Suppose a big log of wood is immersed in the Ganges with one end attached to a chain, which is fixed on the bank. Following the chain, link by link, you can gradually dive into the water and trace your way to it. In the same manner, if you become absorbed in the repetition of His holy Name, you will eventually realize Him.20 T h e

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Swami Shraddhananda, an eminent monk of the Ramakrishna Order, explained in his Prabuddha Bharata article ‘Rosary for Japa,’ that when the meaning of the mantra unfolds, our entire psycho-physical being is bathed with its nectar—and our system becomes illumined by the radiant light of its consciousness. The aspirant experiences total harmony with all. At that time such functions as inhalation and exhalation (breath) or the rise and fall of mental thought waves (mind) form circular movements—a mental rosary as it were—to the aspirant.

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With sadhana spiritual regeneration is bound to come—what St. Paul must have referred to when he said: ‘Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.’22 In transforming one’s breath, or prana, into a rosary, Swami Shraddhananda explained: The mantra consciousness united with the prana movement transforms the biological prana into divine prana. The biological prana maintains, protects and strengthens the organs, blood vessels, millions of cells, and so on. The role of the divine prana is to communicate into the blood stream and cellular systems a spiritual power. Prana as a rosary does not keep count of the number of japa but, being animated by the

consciousness of the mantra, brings under control the biological passions of the body like lust, anger, etc., and gives them a spiritual turn.23

As the Pilgrim progressed in his mantra sadhana, he discovered that there were different ways of saying the Jesus Prayer, and that when the aspirant placed special emphasis on a particular word in the Prayer, a corresponding spiritual gift resulted. With the word ‘Lord’ came a reverence for the power of God; with ‘Jesus Christ,’ a secret outpouring of love in the heart; ‘Son of God’ brought unshakable belief in the Godhead of Jesus Christ, as being of one substance with the Father; and with ‘have mercy on me’ came the gift of humility.

(To be Continued. . .)

References 1.

2.

Thessalonians 5:17.

R. M. French, trans., The Way of a Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Continues His Way (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1952), p. 6.

3. Ibid., p. 6.

4. Ibid., pp. 8-9.

5. Katha Upanishad: I.2.7.

6. cf. Swami Prabhavananda, The Spiritual Heritage of India (New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1963), p. 231.

7. John 1:1.

8. Swami Vivekananda, ‘The Mantra: Om: Word and Wisdom,’ The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (Advaita Ashrama, 1973), 3: 57 9. Psalm 33:6.

10. Charles Francis Horne, Medieval Hebrew; The Midrash; The Kabbalah (Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East), vol. 4 (Sept. 1, 1997), p.

157 11. Psalm 82: 6.

12. Pravrajika Anandaprana, Unpublished Reminiscences of Swami Prabhavananda, VSSC Archives.

13. Swami Tapasyananda and Swami Nikhilananda, Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother: Her Life and Conversations ( Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1958), p. 165.

14. The Way of a Pilgrim, p. 9.

15. Ibid., p. 38.

16. Swami Prabhavananda, The Eternal Companion (Hollywood: Vedanta Press, 1970), pp. 194, 231.

17. The Way of a Pilgrim, pp. 7, 8.

18. The Eternal Companion, p. 196.

19. The Way of a Pilgrim, p.10.

20. M., Swami Nikhilananda, trans., The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (New York: RamakrishnaVivekananda Center, 1973), p. 588.

21. The Way of a Pilgrim, p. 40.

22. Romans 12:2.

23. Cf. Swami Shraddhananda, Seeing God Everywhere (Hollywood: Vedanta Press, 1996), p. 189.

Lust, anger, and avarice—these are but different forms of the same thing. They are the eternal enemies of the jnani, and destroyers of knowledge and wisdom. Join the senses to the Lord. That is the way to teach the senses a lesson.

—Swami Turiyananda T h e

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Unpublished Letters of Swami Saradananda1 January 19th 1899 Deoghar, Baidyanath E.I.R. C/o P.N.Mukherji Esq. My dear Jane— I had to run down here two days ago for the swami has been suffering from the same kind of difficulty of breathing & sent a telegram. I will return to Calcutta with him as soon as he feels equal to it. He is much better now & we hope he will be himself again in a few more days.

We are having a very very hard time with disease & sickness amongst us, after the guardian angels withdrew from the country. Alas! for the poor swamis!

Jogananda is still tumbling between life & death. The swami had a very hard time with Disphnoza[?] & a few others though cured of their complaints, are still in poor health. One fortunate thing is none in the Math have been ill since our removal.

‘God is kind!’ Is it not?

I spent a few nights at Calcutta to watch Jogananda’s case—so had good opportunities to see Nivedita [a] number of times. She is well and happy with her good work. I have arranged two lectures a week for her in the Math, for our men. I think it will do them good. The subjects treated are Botany & Drawing, Physiology & Sewing!

Write me your opinion about Max Muller’s book as soon as you finish [it].

I saw Mohini twice after you left. He is well & so friendly to me.

Poor Miss Muller has sailed for her house Tuesday last—perhaps to try her fortune there—as none will appear here to ask for her precious hand and as I with all my efforts could not be quick enough in demanding! Well, I thought of seeing her & say goodbye, but the report of her last visit with Nivedita made me withdraw. Then I thought of writing a letter on behalf of the Math & I wrote it too—but Nivedita thought it too sentimental. Then we concluded by letting Nivedita write a few lines for us & send Kali Krishna with it & a few roots and fruits & nuts. I do not know if it had been carried out or not for I hastened here for the Swami. A few opinions of Miss M. will interest & enlighten even yourself if you deign to lend your ear!

First—The Swami tried for some occult power or organization or something humbug & he failed miserably & all other occult teachers in India predicted it. Hence her love for the Swami has withered & dropped like a dried flower as in the case of Akshaya!

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2nd—We are a nation of black magicians; we mesmerize food tc and we have practised that on our dear Granny & Jane—hence your devotion & love!!!

3rd—It is her sacred duty to go around in England & elsewhere & enlighten people of these bright experiences.

4th—No salvation for Swami or us unless we become Christians as herself who. . . [continued on the side margin] the Swami says has never been baptised! Now ponder over these & be miserable for even then awfully deceived lady! Our everything as before to the dear two [?]

Yours S

April 7th 1899 Morvi My dear Akhandananda, I have mailed today a prospectus for your work at Calcutta, to get it corrected from Swamiji. I hope you will receive it soon.

You have heard by this time of the sad death of our brother Jogananda, on the 28th of March last.

We are glad to hear of the celebration of the Utsab in the orphanage. We start tomorrow for Bhavnagar, care of Gopaldas Viharidas Desai Esq. With love & best wishes always Yours Saradananda & Turiyananda On the postcard: The Swami Akhandananda The Orphanage Bhavda P.O. Dist.Murshidabad Bengal

Note: 1. A direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna

Courtesy: Ramakrishna Museum, Belur Math T h e T h e

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Towards a Vedic Philosophy of Peace RUDRAPRASAD MATILAL

The Need for Peace Peace or shanti is the single most urgent issue confronting the humanity today. We find reports of violence, big or small, strewn across all dailies and monthlies. These reports could be about a terrorist attack or a bomb explosion or an ambush or mob violence or domestic and school violence—anywhere in the world.

Everyday, without fail, a large section of daily news is filled with reports of violence. It seems humanity, for all its marvellous scientific advances, has been a total failure in the area where it matters most—to have peace in the world.

The great Vedic Rishis, our illustrious forefathers, had well understood the need for peace in the world. Therefore, in the ancient Vedic books one finds a constant reference to peace. It is the most sublime message of the Vedas—the need for peace; and it is a message that is more relevant now than ever before. In articulating this philosophy of peace, the Vedic Rishis took into account all aspects of peace.

The Yajur Veda boldly declares: Let there be peace in heaven, Let there be peace in the atmosphere, Let there be Peace on Earth, May the waters and medical herbs bring peace, May the trees give peace to all beings, May all the Gods be peaceful, May the Vedas spread peace everywhere, May all other objects everywhere give us peace,

And may that peace come to us and remain with us for ever.1

The Vedic idea of peace, as it is seen, is not restricted to the human realm. It includes peace in all areas of life—psychological, social, environmental and so on.

Peace as a Positive Concept The Vedic idea of peace is not mere absence of violence; it is rather presence of something positive. The Rigveda daringly asserts: The winds waft sweets, The rivers pour sweets for the man, who keeps the Law, So may the plants be sweet for us.

Sweet be the night and sweet the dawns, Sweet the terrestrial atmosphere; Sweet be our Father in Heaven to us.

May the tall tree be full of sweets for us, And full of sweets the Sun: May our milch-cow be sweet for us.2

In other words, the Vedic idea of peace is that of something that brings sweetness and joy in every aspect of life. This includes a healthy environment—trees, jungles, winds and all of Nature. Indeed, the Vedas urge man to adopt such way of life that is conducive to the protection of our natural environment and habitat.

Now let us look what are the concrete counsels for peace that the Vedas outline.

A practicing lawyer of Calcutta High Court since 2003, the author is keenly interested in the study of Hindu scriptures and Vedantic approach to peace and harmony.

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The 1st Formula for Peace: Harmony and Fraternity What is the single most effective way to secure peace in society, peace in the world?

To develop a sense of oneness with one another. We are all essentially divine. When we remember this inherent divinity present in everyone, we begin to see others with respect and love and that is the end of all quarrels and dissentions. Elucidating that state of harmony, the hymn of the Rig Veda says: Assemble, speak together: let your minds be all of one accord, As ancient Gods unanimous sit down to their appointed share.

The place is common, common the assembly, common the mind, so be their thought united.

A common purpose do I lay before you, and worship with your general oblation.

One and the same be your resolve, and be your minds of one accord.

United be the thoughts of all that all may happily agree.3

The idea is, we should live in harmony and a spirit of cooperation. Social harmony comes when we discover our underlying unity.

There are various ways to unity but the best is to realize our divinity which is equally present in everyone. Feeling one with one another at the level of atman is what provides a solid foundation for lasting sense of solidarity and the resultant happiness.

The Atharva Veda further elucidates:

That charm which causes the gods not to disagree, and not to hate one another, that do we prepare in your house, as a means of agreement for your folk.

Following your leader, of (the same) mind, do ye not hold yourselves apart! Do ye come here, co-operating, going along the same wagon-pole, speaking agreeably to one another! I render you of the same aim, of the same mind.

Identical shall be your drink, in common shall be your share of food! I yoke you together in the same traces: do ye worship God Agni, joining together, as spokes around about the hub!

I render you of the same aim, of the same mind, all paying deference to One (God) through my harmonising charm. Like the gods that are guarding the ambrosia, may he (the leader) be well disposed towards you, night and day!4

The 2nd Formula for Peace: Cultivate the Power of Right Understanding Our Rishis valued wisdom or deep understanding of life. They rightly recognized that unless good sense prevails upon the people, peace and harmony will remain a distant dream. Hence they fervently prayed for proper intelligence, so that men may not resort to violence. True intelligence is that which leads to understanding the fact that coexistence and interdependence is the way of life.

The Atharva Veda prays for wisdom thus:

Unity of heart, and unity of mind, freedom from hatred, do I procure for you. Do ye take delight in one another, as a cow in her (new-) born calf!

The son shall be devoted to his father, be of the same mind with his mother; the wife shall speak honeyed, sweet, words to her husband!

The brother shall not hate the brother, and the sister not the sister! Harmonious, devoted to the same purpose, speak ye words in kindly spirit!

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Intelligence, come first to us with store of horses and of cows!

Thou with the rays of Surya art our worshipful and holy one.

The first, devout Intelligence, lauded by sages, sped by prayer, Drunk by Brahmacharis, for the favour of the Gods I call.

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Intelligence which sages know, we cause to enter into me.

Do thou, O Agni, make me wise this day with that Intelligence.

Which the creative rishis, which the men endowed with wisdom knew.

Intelligence at eve, at morn, Intelligence at noon of day, With the Sun’s beams, and by our speech we plant in us Intelligence.5

The 3rd Formula for Peace: Be a Seeker of Truth Upanishads, the essence of the Vedas, counsel all seekers of peace to be seekers of Truth. Untruth cannot bring peace. It can only add to our miseries and woes. Truth always makes man peaceful and strong. Truth, again, is of two types: the lower and the higher. Man travels from lower truth to higher truth. A seeker of truth is a traveller from lower truth to higher truth. Hence the Vedic Rishis tell us to pray for the higher truth thus: Lead Us from the Unreal to Real, Lead Us from Darkness to Light, Lead Us from Death to Immortality.6

The Upanishads say further: Righteousness is the controller of the Kings.

Therefore there is nothing higher than that. So even a weak man hopes to defeat a stronger man through righteousness, as one contending with the king. That righteousness is verily truth.

Therefore they say about a person speaking of truth, ‘He speaks of righteousness’, or about a person speaking of righteousness, ‘He speaks of truth’, for both these are but righteousness.7

The 4th Formula for Peace: Practice Nonviolence Why should one practice non-violence?

The simple reason which the Upanishads give is essentially we are all one. The Isha Upanishad explains,8 T h e

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He who sees all beings in the Self itself, and the Self in all beings, feels no hatred by virtue of that realisation.

Indeed when one sees the same self everywhere, in all beings, how can he hurt others? Hurting others is to hurt oneself.

The Chhandogya Upanishad discusses ahimsa or non-violence as one of the most profound principles essential for civil society.

It says: Austerity, almsgiving, uprightness, nonviolence and truthfulness—these are the gifts for the priests.9 The Upanishad also speaks of nonviolence against ‘all creatures’ (sarva bhuta) and the practitioner of ahimsa is said to escape from the cycle of reincarnation.10 The 5th Formula for Peace: Perform Five Yajnas or Sacrifices The Upanishads teach us to seek total peace. It is not just seeking peace of mind but peace with the rest of the creation. Only then can total peace be achieved. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says:11 ‘By giving shelter to men as well as food, he becomes an object of enjoyment to men.’

The Vedic way of life speaks of performance of five sacrifices (panch maha yajnas).

One should perform these sacrifices 1. To the gods; 2. To all beings; 3. To departed ancestors; 4. To the saints; and 5. To men An eminent authority on Hinduism describes these yajnas thus,

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Our Shastras prescribe five acts of sacrifice (yajnas) for all. These are Deva-yajna, Pitri-yajna, Rishi-yajna, Nri-yajna and Bhuta-yajna. We have to please the dwellers of the Devaloka and Pitriloka, the seers and makers of Shastras, M A Y

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mankind and all other creatures on earth by our acts of sacrifice. We have to give all others something out of what we have. This is the price of our happiness.

Prayer and worship please the deities (devas).

These deities are also creatures like ourselves.

Only they are more well-placed. Once they were men. As a reward for their good deeds on earth they have been born as gods in the Devaloka.

They have considerably more power than we have. They control the elemental forces of nature like light, heat, electricity, rain, wind, etc. When pleased by our offerings, they make these forces favourable to us and bless us with what we desire most.

Among the dwellers of the Pitriloka there may be many of our forefathers. They love us. If we remember them and offer them oblations (tarpana) they become pleased (tripta). They also wield much more power than we do. That is why when they are pleased they can bless us with the things of our desire.

The seers (rishis) do not want any material offering from us. They are pleased if we study the Scriptures regularly. Nitya-karma, like Sandhya-Vandana, also may go under this head.

For these we have to set apart a portion of our time. This is why this study (swadhyaya) is also an act of sacrifice. When pleased, the seers, like devas, see to our well-being.

Nri-yajna is the fourth in order. We have to serve our ailing brothers. We should try to remove the distress of our fellow-beings. One who does this really serves God. For God is here in so many forms. Pleased by such service, God grants one’s wishes.

The same thing may be said of Bhuta-yajna, which comes next. We should spare a portion of our food for the beasts, birds, insects, etc. This act of sacrifice also earns for us happiness.12

Conclusion We live surrounded by thousands of gadgets and scientific inventions. But they are of little help, if humans cannot stop fighting among themselves; for those very same gadgets, which are supposed to make life comfortable, are going to be used for fighting. For instance nuclear energy can be used to generate electricity in times of peace, but is used to make nuclear weapons. Bio-chemicals can be used to make medicines, but can also be used to make biological weapons during war.

Scientific and technological progress alone cannot bring peace in life. We need to have nobility of heart if we want peace of mind. It means cultivating a right approach towards life and a healthy attitude towards everyone. Peace, shanti, is the highest and greatest need of all times.

References 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Shukla Yajur Veda, 36/17 Rigveda, 1- 90, Mantras 6-8 Ibid, 10-191 Atharva Veda: III, 30 Ibid, Book 6 Hymn 108 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, I.3.27

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Ibid, I.4.14 Isha Upanishad, verse 6 Chhandogya Upanishad, III.17.4 Ibid, VIII.15.1 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, I.4.16 Hinduism at a Glance, p.49-50

If you can, love others, and then you will be blessed with peace and happiness.

—Swami Premananda T h e

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A Pilgrimage to Kalady— the Birthplace of Adi Shankara ‘ATMASHRADDHA’

Adi Shankaracharya Anyone acquainted with Hinduism would have heard of or read about Adi Shankara. Adi Shankara’s name is synonymous with Hinduism. His towering intellect and deep spiritual insights are an integral part of Santana Dharma, the Eternal Religion.

Adi Shankara1 is also known as Shankara Bhagavadpadacharya or Adi Shankaracharya.

He is particularly recognized for his luminous expositions of Advaita Vedanta. His writings, based on the unity of the soul and Brahman, are a timeless treasure for mankind and a guide for all spiritual seekers. As a tribute to his masterly commentaries on the principal Upanishads, he is also called Bhagavan Bhashyakar (‘God who took the form of a Commentator’).

Traditional accounts of Adi Shankara’s life can be found in the Shankara Vijayams, which are poetic Sanskrit works that contain a mix of biographical and legendary material, written in the epic style. The most important among these biographies are the Maadhaviya Shankara Vijaya (written by the sage Madhava, c.14th century), the Chidvilasiya Shankara Vijaya (of Chidvilasa, between 15th century and 17th century), and the Keraliya Shankara Vijaya (of the Kerala region, extant from c. 17th century).

Maadhaviya Shankara Digvijaya describes Kalady thus:

God Siva, the self-created and merciful Being, the destroyer of Cupid, manifested himself as His holy emblem, usually called Sivalingam, on a hill known as Vrishachala situated near the course of the river Purna in the Kerala country. Coming to know of the divinity and greatness of that Sivalingam through a dream, a king called Rajasekhara built a fine temple to house the Lingam and made arrangements for its worship. In that region there was a prosperous village settlement of Brahmanas known as Kaladi. In that village lived a learned and pious Brahmana by name Vidyadhiraja, as whose grandson the divine manifestation of the great God Siva, the resident of the temple of Vrishachala, was to take place in due time. As a fruition of the piety and good fortune of Vidyadhiraja, a son named Sivaguru was born to him. He did very well to justify his name, as he grew to be like Siva in knowledge and like Guru or Brihaspathi, the teacher of the Gods, in his power of speech.2

Adi Shankara was born in Kalady, a village located east of the Periyar [or Purna] river, in the Ernakulam district of central Kerala, in South India. He was born to Kaippilly Sivaguru Namboothiri and Aryamba Antharjanam. According to lore, it was after his parents, who had been childless for many years, prayed at the Vadakkunnathan temple [also called Vrishabhachalam, dedicated to Shiva] in Thrissur that Shankara was born. As

The author is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order.

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Govinda Bhagavatpada asked Shankara’s identity, he replied with an extempore verse that brought out the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Govinda Bhagavatpada was impressed and took Shankara as his disciple.

The guru instructed Shankara to write a commentary on the Brahma Sutras and propagate the Advaita philosophy. Shankara travelled to Kashi, where a young man named Sanandana, hailing from Chola territory in South India, became his first disciple. At Vadakkunnathan temple, Thrissur (70 km from Kalady) Badari he wrote his famous bhashyas (commentaries) on Upanishads and prakarana he was born through the grace of Lord Shiva, granthas (‘philosophical treatises’). One of the the young child was named Shankara. most famous debates of Adi Shankara was While Shankara was a young boy, his with the ritualist Mandana Mishra. After father passed away. Shankara’s upanayana, the debating for over fifteen days, with Mandana initiation into studenthood, was performed at Mishra‘s wife Ubhaya Bharati acting as referee, the age of five. As a child, Shankara showed Mandana Mishra accepted defeat. As per the remarkable scholarship, mastering the four condition laid down earlier, Mandana Mishra Vedas by the age of eight. accepted the sannyasa with the monastic name From a young age, Shankara was inclined Sureshvaracharya. towards sannyasa, but it was only after much Adi Shankara then travelled across India persuasion that his mother finally gave her to propagate his philosophy through disconsent. The story goes that once when he went to bathe in the river, his leg was caught by a crocodile. When Aryamba (or Arya Devi), Shankara’s mother, came to know of this, she came running to the river bank. Shankara told his mother that at least now she should allow him to take attur sannyasa (monastic vows taken in crises). Reluctantly but hapless, Arayamba agreed and miraculously, as soon as she told it, the crocodile released the young Shankara.

Shankara then left Kerala and travelled towards North India in search of a guru. On the banks of the Narmada river, he met Govinda Bhagavatpada, A traditional portrait of Adi Shankara the disciple of Gaudapada. When with his four disciples T h e

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courses and debates with other thinkers. He founded four Mathas (monastries) in four cardinal points of India to guide the Hindu religion. These are at Sringeri in Karnataka in the south, Dwaraka in Gujarat in the west, Puri in Orissa in the east, and Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in Uttarakhand in the north.

Hindu tradition states that he put in charge of these mathas his four main disciples: Sureshwaracharya, Hastamalakacharya, Padmapadacharya, and Totakacharya respectively. The heads of the Mathas trace their authority back to these figures. Each of the heads of these four Mathas takes the title of Jagadguru [‘teacher of the world’] Shankaracharya [‘the learned Shankara’] after the first Shankaracharya.

Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the dashanami [‘ten-named’] monastic order and the founder of the shanmata [‘six main deities’] tradition of worship. He also visited various temples and holy places in India, establishing the unity of India based on a strong spiritual and cultural foundation.

Towards the end of his life, Adi Shankara travelled to the Himalayan area of KedarnathBadrinath and attained videha mukti (‘freedom from embodiment’). There is a samadhi mandir dedicated to Adi Shankara behind the Kedarnath temple. However, there are variant traditions on the location of his last days.

Speaking of Adi Shankara, Swami Ranganathananda, the 13th President of the Ramakrishna Order, says, The life of Shankaracharya, in its merely outward bodily incidents, may be told in a paragraph.

But the quantity and quality of thought and achievement that he packed into the short span of his life of thirty-two years have earned for him a place among the world’s immortals. . .

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this country, we find Shankara, while yet a boy, leaving his home with a firm resolve to bend all his energies and resources towards that end. If we are to appreciate his work, we have to capture an understanding of the climate of thought in which he lived and functioned. He is a remarkable specimen of Indian humanity of those times. . . . Possessed of extraordinary powers, this young boy, highly intelligent and deeply conscious of his mission, has worked wonders in the cultural, philosophical, and religious fields of Indian life. Within a short period of 32 years he changed the mind of India. India is not a banana republic with a population of just two-hundred thousand. It is a huge continent, and to change the mind of a nation like this is not easy. But he had the power—intellectual power, spiritual strength and intense dynamism. . . . Today we are able to see and appreciate the immensity of his service for the cause of India and Hinduism.

That Hinduism could survive the onslaughts of the Mohammedan invasion was due in great part to the success of his mission as well as to that of many other reformers who came after him.

Indian culture bears the ineffaceable marks of his genius.3

Kalady—a Place of Pilgrimage Having heard of this great spiritual luminary, we, a group of young seekers, made a pilgrimage to Kalady earlier this year. We began our journey from Chennai by train.

Kalady, a village (now a semi-town), has a small railway station but considering the fewer number of passengers who alight or board from here, there are hardly any train stopping here. Hence one has to travel to Angamali, a small town, some 7 km from Kalady. Angamali is close to Ernakulam and takes some 11 hours’ from Chennai. [The Nedumbassery Cochin International Airport, the nearest airport, is 15 minutes’ drive from Kalady.] We reached Angamali by overnight train from Chennai.

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Entrance to Sri Krishna (Thri-kalady-appan ) Temple (left) and its front porch

Kalady, we learnt, remained obscure till the beginning of 20th century. Jagadguru Sri Sachidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharathi Swamigal, the 33rd Pithadhipati [abbot] of Sringeri Math, with the help of Sri Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma, the Maharaja of Thiruvitamcore, located Kalady.4 The Adi Shankara Janmabhumi Kshethram, as the Shankara’s birthplace is called now, has two temples— Goddess Sharadamba and one for Sri Shankara. The temples were consecrated in 1910.

We visited the following places: 1. Sri Krishna Temple (Thri-kaladyappan): Before visiting the Adi Shankara Janmabhumi Kshethram, we first visited the Krishna temple, located just a few metres from there. The story goes that once Aryamba, Shankara’s mother, swooned and fell on ground while going to the Purna river for her daily bath. Young Shankara was pained to see his mother’s condition and hence prayed to Sri Krishna, their family deity (kula-devata).

Sri Krishna is supposed to have blessed Shankara with the words, ‘the river will flow where you mark with your feet.’ Instantly, the innocent child marked with his feet on the ground and the river Purna (or Periyar) changed its course through the marking, thus saving Aryamba a kilometre of walking. This T h e

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incident also led to the changing of the name of the village from Sasalam to Kalady (‘emerged from kal, feet’). Sri Krishna was here called as the ‘Lord of Kalady’ (Thri-kalady-appan).

We visited the temple, built in traditional architecture of Kerala, and paid our respect to the Lord at the sanctum sanctorum. Temple architecture in Kerala, we may mention here, is different from that of other regions in India.

Largely dictated by the geography of the region that abounds in forests, blessed with the bounties of the monsoons, the structure of the temples in Kerala is distinctive. The roofs are steep and pointed, and covered with copper sheets.

2. Purna River: Close to the Krishna temple is the river Purna, flowing silently.

Thanks to several small hydro-electricity projects upstream, the river does not seem to have the force of the earlier times. The serenity of the place, with a vast riverfront, however, remains as charming as it must have been earlier. The river front has a few bathing ghats for the pilgrims and general public.

3. The Crocodile Ghat (Muthala Kadavu): As narrated above, while young Shankara was bathing here, his leg was caught by a crocodile and when his mother permitted him to take to sannyasa, the crocodile left him. This

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Purna river—a view from the 'crocodile ghat'

A recent photo of the ‘crocodile ghat’

incident is believed to have happened in this ghat. It is located close to Sri Krishna Temple and now has a flight of concrete steps.

Contrary to what some may conjure, there are no crocodiles in the 'Crocodile Ghat'!

We went down to the river, sprinkled some water on our head as a mark of respect and sat there for sometime, admiring the calmness and natural beauty of the place.

4. Adi Shankara Janmabhumi Kshethram: After visiting all these places, we came to the aesthetically designed Janmabhumi Kshethram of Adi Shankara. The whole place T h e

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was neat and well-kept, with an atmosphere of holiness radiating around it.

Unlike other temples in Kerala, we did not have to remove our upper garments while entering the temple complex which consists of temples of Goddess Sharadamba and Adi Shankara.

What attracted us most was Aryamba Samadhi Mandapam, dedicated to Aryamba, the mother of Adi Shankara. As promised to his mother, Adi Shankara was present in the last moments of his mother. After she passed away, he had to make arrangements for the cremation of her mortal remains. Only two of the ten Namboothiri families of Kalady, came forward to help him. Afterwards, one family, Kappilly Mana, honoured the location of the cremation with daily lamps for centuries. Recognizing this as an authentic mark to identify the place, the Sringeri Math accepted Kalady as birth place of Adi Shankara Acharya.

Aryamba Samadhi Mandapam is five feet-plus stone-mantapa, with a Tulsi plant above. A marble plaque at the side of the mantapa reads that it is the samadhi of Aryadevi, and is to be held in great reverence. A short stone pillar in front of the pillar has been fixed. We were told that this pillar is the place where or under which a lamp was kept burning for centuries by a Namboothiri family and it helped in spotting Adi Shankara’s place.

We felt elevated by the sacredness of the place. Paved with a shining and clean stone floor, the temple-samadhi complex has small lily pond in the centre. The purple-coloured lilies, moved as the gentle air blew in the early forenoon. Although it was hot, the atmosphere exuded a coolness of its own.

Adjacent to the temple-samadhi complex is a Veda Pathashala, established in 1927. We

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Entrance to Adi Shankara Janmabhumi Kshethram

saw the chanting of Rigveda Samhita being taught to a small number of students clad in white dhotis.

5. Adi Shankara Keerthi Sthambha Mandapam: It is an eight-storey memorial built by Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt. Located around 2 km from the Janmabhumi Kshethram, the memorial has two beautifully carved elephant statues, leading to the Paduka Mandapam [‘the enclosure enshrining sacred sandals’]. Two silver knobs represent the padukas, or wooden sandals of the Teacher.

The walls of the memorial feature framed relief paintings that tell the story of Adi Shankaracharya. Several large statues of Ganapati, Adi Shankara, and others, illustrating the shanmatas, are also housed in this memorial. We reviewed the life of Shankaracharya as we climbed to the top of the Sthambha and were delighted to recall the life of Shankara depicted in relief-style at different storeys.

We also saw the high school attached to the Sthambha Mandapam run by the Kanchi Mutt.

6. Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama, Kalady: Adjacent to Adi Shankara JanmaT h e

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Stone-Mantapa in memory of Aryamba

bhumi Kshethram, right on the banks of Purna river is our Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama.

Started in 1936, the Ashrama is situated on sprawling premises of several acres, with an impressive temple of Sri Ramakrishna occupying the central place. Regular puja and bhajans

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Temple at Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama, Kalady (left) and a view of the evening arati

are held in the temple. The serene atmosphere of the temple and the green ambience of the Ashrama are indeed elevating.

We also visited Ashrama’s Brahmanandodyam School, located right in front of the premises, with more than 1800 students on its rolls. A hostel (called Sri Ramakrishna Gurukul) for tribal students with 115-plus students and a computer centre nearby are the other activities of the Ashrama.

A Visit to Adi Shankara Nilayam, Veliyanad After visiting these sacred places, we proceeded to Veliyanad, a remote village, some 60 km from Kalady. We drove through the green country-side of Kerala, through winding roads, neatly kept houses surrounded by coconut and betelnut trees. It was a wonderful journey.

Veliyanad is a remote village, near Ernakulam, surrounded by lush green trees and shrubs. It is the birthplace of Arya Devi, Shankara’s mother. The local tradition has it that, since as per practice, Arya Devi would have come to her parental house for the birth of Shankara, most probably, Shankara would have been born here. But Kalady being Shankara’s father’s place, keeping in tune with T h e

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the custom, Kalady continues to be called as Shankara’s birthplace. The well-known Devi temple of Chottanikara Bhagavathy is some 30 minutes drive from Veliyanad.

Melpazhur Mana [Aryamba’s maternal house] is a traditional Namboothiri Illam or Mana (home of a Kerala Brahmin). Located in lush green countryside, amidst temple shrines and lotus and lily ponds, this house is the ancestral and maternal home of Adi Shankara.

Local tradition also has it that Adi Shankara’s vidyarambha and upanayana ceremonies5 were performed at Melpazhur Mana.

Within the Melpazhur Mana stands the quiet grandeur of the nalukettu (a building which has a four-winged architectural design) on an extensive compound of 8.3 acres. The Mana was originally an eight-winged structure (ettukettu). The outer four wings were dismantled, and the material was used to build a covered walkway in the famous Perum Trikkovil Temple in the nearby Pazhur village, over which the Mana had ownership rights.

The structural strength and design of this ageold house exquisitely blend utility and art, wood and granite, work and worship. The central courtyard is adorned with the holy chetti (ixora) and mulla (jasmine) plants.

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The northern wing of the house hosts the rooms wherein the daily agnihotra (fire rituals) and other forms of ritualistic worships were conducted. The western wing has an underground cellar as well as specially designed rooms where the household could store grains, temple ornaments and utensils.

The southern extension features the thekkini, where large family gatherings feasted on special occasions. And finally, in the eastern section is the sacred room where Adi Shankara is believed to have been born. Here a traditional lamp stays lit before the beautiful picture of Adi Shankara all the year round, without a break (nityajyoti), diffusing an aura of divinity.

Drawn by the quietness and meditative atmosphere of the place, we all sat there for meditation some time.

The Mana-complex has a number of family temples with a long history. These include temples dedicated to Sri Rama Temple, Vettakkoruvan [‘Kirata Siva’], Devi Nagayaksi and Devi Bhagavati. Lord Ayyappa Temple is

the largest of all the temples and the worship at the temple is even now carried out by the Namboothiri family (headed by Sri Shankar Namboothiri).

Melpazhur Mana was acquired by Chinmaya Mission in late 1980s and is now named ‘Adi Shankara Nilayam’, and it is the home of the Chinmaya International Foundation (CIF), the Chinmaya Mission’s institute for Sanskrit and Indology research.6 Conclusion There are many other small temples and places connected with Adi Shankara and his parents in and around Kalady and Veliyanad which we could not visit. It would have required almost a week of stay to leisurely visit them. There is, for instance, the house named Svarnata-mana where Adi Shankara, as a young boy, chanted the kankadhara-stotram, bringing a shower of golden gooseberry (amlaka). The place is not far from Veliyanad and the descendents of the original family are

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still living there but we had no time to visit all the places.

We were thrilled to visit the birthplace of the Great Acharya by taking whose name millions across India and even beyond feel blessed. Several centuries have passed but the Great Acharya lives in the collective consciousness of Indians.

Our Tirthayatra to the birthplace of Adi Shankara was a spiritually and culturally enriching experience. It was inspiring to visit the birthplace of one of our greatest Acharyas and derive inspiration from his life and teachings. Imbued with a sense of reverence and devotion, we recalled the well-known verse from sri shankara-deshikashtakam of Sri Totakacharya:

{d{XVm[IbemÛgwYmObYo _{hVmon{ZfÀH${WVmWm©{ZYoü& ˆX`o H$b`o {d_bß MaUß ^d eë>a Xo{eH$ _o eaU_≤ü&& A view of the side-varandah in the Melpazhur Mana

O teacher Shankara! Kindly be my refuge! You are the knower of all the scriptures which are indeed the ocean of nectar! You are the abode of

the supreme Truth revealed in the Upanishads.

I bear your pure feet in my heart.

Notes and References 1.

2.

3.

4.

There are at least two different dates proposed for Shankara’s life span: 788–820 CE: This is the mainstream scholarly opinion, based on records at the Sringeri Sharada Pitham, and 509–477 BCE: This dating, more than a millennium ahead of all others, is based on records of the heads of the Shankara Mathas at Dwaraka and Puri and the fifth Peetham at Kanchi Shankara Digvijayam by Madhava-Vidyaranya, translated by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai. p. 10. Also see, Sri Shankaracharya—Life and Philosophy, An Elucidative and Reconciliatroy Interpretation, by Swami Mukhyananda, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata The Message of Vivekachudamani, Swami Ranganathananda, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, p.1-4 Kalady, Birthplace of Adi Shankara, brochure published by Sri Sringeri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam, Kalady T h e

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5.

6.

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Vidyarambha is a traditional Hindu ceremony for initiating a child into education and knowledge.

On this day, the child gets introduced to writing by making him write the sacred symbole ‘Om’ on a plate of rice grains. Upanayana or the sacred thread ceremony marks the beginning of brahmacharya-ashrama or student life in the gurukula.

This is done by initiating the young boy into the gayatri-mantra. Both the ceremonies are part of the shodasha-samskaras, the sixteen rites, which an orthodox Hindu has to undergo. cf. Adi Sankara Nilayam, the abode of Chinmaya International Foundation, Adi Sankara Nilayam Veliyanad, Ernakulam District, Kerala - 682319.

First edition, February 2009. c.f. pp.9-18. Also see Kalady, edited KR Venkataraman, published by PS Narayanan on behalf of the Kerala Branches of Sri Sankara Seva Samiti, Sri Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam, 1966. p. 18 M A Y

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Golden Jubilee Celebration of Vedanta Society of Japan A Namaste India Festival was held in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park Event Square on September 26 and 27, 2009.

The Festival was organized by the Executive Committee for Namaste India Festival 2009, with support from Embassy of India in Japan, India Government Tourist Office in Tokyo, the Society to Promote India-Japan Cultural Relations (NPO-IJCR), Mithila Museum and many other organizations and businesses in India and Japan. The Vedanta Society of Japan, as part of its Golden Jubilee celebrations, took advantage of this year’s Namaste India Festival to organize an exhibit on the theme of ‘The Indo-Japanese Relationship’ sponsored by the Embassy of India and inaugurated by H.E. Sri H.K. Singh, Ambassador of India.

Billed as the first Indo-Japan Relation exhibition to be held in Japan to focus on the ‘bond of love, friendship and cooperation’ between these ‘two great Asiatic nations’, the exhibition featured the pioneers of this relationship, Okakura Tenshin and Swami Vivekananda. Statistical data on various aspects Indo-Japanese

Glimpses of Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Vedanta Society of Japan

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relations were presented along with publications in Japanese on India and Indians and highlighted with paintings, photos and copies of original documents all captioned in English and Japanese. Well-over the estimated 2, 00, 000 visitors crowded the Festival grounds.

Y As part of its third phase, the Vedanta Society of Japan held a Golden Jubilee event on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the Tenshin Hall of Osaka’s Chuo-ward. The chief guest speaker of the event was the Honorable Sri Vikas Swarup, Consul General of India, Osaka and author of the Oscar winning film, Slumdog Millionaire.

Additional speakers included Mr. Mukesh Punjabi, Chairman, Indian Chamber of Commerce, Japan, Mr. Keishin Kimura, President, Japan Yoga Therapy Association and PhD. Tomio Mizokami, Professor Emeritus, Osaka University of Foreign Studies and President, Kansai Japan-India Cultural Society.

The event was attended by nearly 500 guests. Copies of Swami Medhasananda’s book, Swami Vivekananda and Japan, both Japanese and English versions, along with the booklet, Inspirational Messages, were all sold out. The cultural event of the second half featured Bharatanatyam dance with Ms. Subha Kokubo Chakraborty and her troupe and a sitar performance by veteran Amit Roy with Takashi Komura on tabla. The event also featured a comprehensive historical exhibit on the pioneers of the modern Indo-Japan relationship, Swami Vivekananda and Tenshin Okakura.

Youth Retreat at Vishakapatnam Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Visakhapatnam, organized a Youth Retreat on March 7, 2010. About 200 students participated in this inspiring and invigorating session. With Prof. A. Prasanna Kumar, former Rector, Andhra University as the chief guest, the Retreat consisted of many short talks by senior monks and other invited speakers.

General News

Y Viveknagar centre organized an All Tripura Devotees’ Conference at the Ashrama on 14 March, which

was attended by 587 devotees.

Y Swami Gitanandaji inaugurated the renovated building for library and computer centre at the newly acquired premises of Kankurgachhi Math on 24 March, Ramanavami Day. Y The dining-hall-cum-kitchen block at Ootacamund centre was inaugurated on 26 March.

Y In the All India Essay Writing Competition 2009 conducted by United Nations Information Center for India & Bhutan, a student of Class XII of our Aalo school won the first prize in the northeast region.

Y Vidyamandira College (Saradapitha, Belur) has been identified as one of the 149 “colleges with potential for excellence (CPE)” from among the nearly 7000 colleges all over India under section 12(b) of University Grants Commission (UGC) Act. Winter Relief More than 20,000 blankets, shown in brackets, were distributed through the following centres to poor people affected by the severity of winter: Aalo – 1700, Almora – 300, Asansol – 980, Bankura – 865, Baranagar Mission – 1500, Belgharia – 475, Cherrapunji – 2800, Contai – 100, Deoghar – 2000, Ghatshila – 197, Jamshedpur – 154, Jayrambati – 1058, Kamarpukur – 1700, Kanpur – 523, Khetri – 61, Malda – 13, Narendrapur – 600, Purulia – 300, Ramharipur – 1603, Ranchi Morabadi – 416, Sargachhi – 800, Sikra Kulingram – 300, Taki – 71, Vrindaban – 1500. Besides, the following centres distributed various winter garments, shown in brackets, to the needy: Almora (100 used woollen sweaters), Kanpur (464 sweaters and 33 woollen chadars), Purulia (815 sweaters).

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For review in THE VEDANTA KESARI, publishers need to send us two copies of their latest publication.

SRI SARADA DEVI

edited and proofed in order to make for a troublefree reading experience.

By Dushyant Pandya

___________________________ PREMA RAGHUNATH, CHENNAI

Published by Readworthy Publications (P) Ltd. A-18 Mohan Garden, Near Nawada Metro Station, New Delhi - 110 059.

2008, paperback, pp.230, Rs.250.

Written by a devotee of many years’ standing, the book is a simple biography of the Holy Mother in an attractive and lucid style. It is a broad overview Mother’s life.

The book begins with Sri Sarada Devi’s concern at being left behind in Jayrambati and the societal criticism she had to face as a married girl who was seemingly abandoned by her husband.

Worse, there were reports trickling back that her husband was mad!

The journey of this young girl from rural Bengal to the hustle and bustle of the great city of Calcutta to meet and find out for herself who her husband really was, and the part he had determined she must play in establishing Vedanta, becoming Mother and spiritual preceptor after his passing, forms the content of this book.

The author has done well in evoking the confusion and sadness of the young Sarada, becoming transformed into a mature and sure Holy Mother who understood what her mission in life was. His description of Holy Mother’s patience and forbearance, her tolerance and universality has been very well brought out.

The language is at once clear and simple.

Writing about the Holy Mother can never be an easy task; her apparent simplicity was a complex combination of nobility and great divinity—that she could completely comprehend Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings clearly shows this. The book is sure to be popular and the only suggestion is: it has to be T h e

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA—THE KNOWN PHILOSOPHER THE UNKNOWN POET

By Radhika Nagarath Published by Meteor Books, Kolkata. Distributor: Advaita Ashrama, 5 Dehi Entally Road, Kolkata - 700 014. 2007, Hardback, pp.244, Rs.100.

‘The stars are blotted out, The clouds are covering clouds, It is darkness vibrant, sonant In the roaring wind’ [Kali the Mother] ‘The cloud puts forth its deluge strength When light cleaves its breast’ [The Song of the Free] ‘I look before and after And find that all is right, In my deepest sorrows There is a soul of light’ [Light] ‘The lakes are opening up wide in love, Their hundred thousand lotus eyes To welcome thee. . . Thou Lord of Light’ [To the Fourth of July]

All the above lines from Swami Vivekananda’s poems are packed with lyrical intensity in the same measure as the spiritual urge and echo some of the well-known lines in English poetry.

All great mystics have been great poets.

Swamiji says in his ‘Memoirs of European Travels’ that every good poet is a Vedantin e.g. Goethe, Schiller and Lamartine. The beauty in nature is only the partial expression of the real all-embracing divine beauty. His poetry is the symbolic and lyrical expression of the innate beauty of the individual and the Divine Self.

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Swamiji’s poems have been analysed by Radhika Nagarath more from the philosophic standpoint than from the poetic angle. Writing on the poem The Song of the Free, the author says that Swamiji explains the concept of immortality through mathematical reasoning that the sum total of energy that is displayed in the universe is the same throughout. She sees in the poem The Cup, the philosophy of suffering. In the chapter on ‘Advaitism and Classical Poetry’, the author draws a parallel among Byron, Shelley and Vivekananda as monists. In the same breath, the author compares Addison, a representative of the Age of Reason, with Vivekananda from the point of view of monism, which is rather intriguing. In some places, the arguments are rambling and digressive. The author’s dedication and scholarship, however, is evident throughout the book and cannot be questioned.

The claim that this approach towards analysing Swamiji’s poems is the first-ever one in the world is incorrect. The reviewer had read an article in the Prabuddha Bharata years ago by Carebanu Cooper on Swamiji’s poetry. In the Vedanta Kesari also, there were enlightening articles on the subject.

An M.Phil. degree was awarded by the University of Madras for a dissertation on the above subject.

The author has taken pains to consult numerous books. The wrapper design is attractive with Swamiji within a halo with the Himalayas above and the ocean below. Was not Swamiji as broad as the sky and as deep as the ocean?

Of course there are mistakes in printing which must be carefully looked into in the next edition. __________________________ K PANCHAPAGESAN, CHENNAI

SRIMAD BHAGAVATA

By Pandit A.M. Srinivasachariar Translated by Dr.V. Raghavan Published by The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, No.84, Thiru.Vi.Ka. Road, Mylapore, Chennai – 600 004. 2008, paperback, pp.444+xxx, Rs.200.

Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma abounds in many rich scriptural texts. Even one lifetime is not adequate to study all of them.

What one could do at best is to choose those that T h e

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are more popular and well known and concentrate on them.

The scriptural texts known as the prasthanatraya, Hinduism’s three foundational scriptures comprising of the Upanishads, the Brahmasutras and the Bhagavadgita, are meant for scholars and intellectuals. They need a deep understanding of the schools of philosophy for a proper appreciation.

However, there are other books meant basically for the common men or women, who can devote only a limited time of their busy life to the study of scriptures. Sanatana Dharma caters to their needs also through the epics, such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, and several Puranas, of whom the most popular is the Srimad Bhagavatam. These three texts have become the warp and the woof of the way of life of an Indian. Of late, they have become even more popular because of the TV serials.

The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute of Chennai has published condensed versions of these three voluminous texts for the use of the modern reader. They serve as a pleasant entry into the full text for those interested in a deeper study. The book under review is the condensed version of the Bhagavatam presented in the form of a small book of about 450 pages.

This kind of condensation of a large text into a small book faces several difficulties. The biggest problem is: what can be left out and what should not be left out. The judgement is mostly subjective and can attract criticism. Therefore, it is with a sense of satisfaction that one can say that Dr. Raghavan has done a commendable job in keeping the spirit of the text during the abridgement.

The Bhagavatam is basically the story of Sri Krishna, and has been the source of inspiration for fine arts like dance, drama, music and painting.

There is hardly a Hindu heart anywhere in the world that does not resonate to the name of Sri Krishna. Even though all the other incarnations of the Divine are covered in the text, it is the story of Sri Krishna that stands out. The translator has maintained a sense of proportion in the abridging it, so that nothing is omitted, at the same time preserving the lion’s share for the story of Sri Krishna.

The book was first published in 1937 and has seen three reprints. It is sure to see many more reprints, if only the publishers were to consider subsidising the price of the book. But the book is worth preserving, because it can be used to

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refurbish one’s memory occasionally. The book has been published in an attractive format and is sure to become popular and useful.

and overload of absolute luxury and the fire of impatience. A book worth ‘swallowing’! ______________________________ P. S. SUNDARAM, CHENNAI

______________________________ NVC SWAMY, BANGALORE

S WALLOW I RRITATION B EFORE IRRITATION SWALLOWS YOU

By J.P. Vaswani Published by Sterling Publishers Private Limited, A- 59, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi - 110 020, 2006, paperback, pp.176. Rs.125.

‘You are not fully dressed until your face wears a smile’; J.P.Vaswani quotes Mahatma Gandhi to highlight a fundamental nature a person should possess. Vaswani continues, ‘If you wish to be happy, make others happy’ and service to the poor is service to God. These words were earlier stressed by Swami Vivekananda.

A few years ago Sri Ramakrishna Math published an excellent book Overcoming Anger that served to counter the spreading disease in the present generation. Vaswani’s book Swallow Irritability Before Irritability Swallows You looks like a companion-volume and projects how and why people get irritated and their remedies.

Vaswani, discusses these issues in practical terms through anecdotes/stories and appropriately quotes Swami Vivekananda and Saint Thyagaraja.

‘The nature of the soul is bliss, peace, unchanging.

We have not to get it, we have it’, said Swamiji while, in one of his famous kritis Saint Thyagaraja asks, ‘Does happiness lie in wealth or in the repetition of the divine name of Sri Rama.’

Vaswani’s recipe include, developing a healthy self-image devoid of ego or dejection, keeping an open mind while making your own decisions, paying attention to apparently trivial matters in life (great people lead a simple life without flaunting their wealth, knowledge or power). Remember God is in you. Leave the rest to Him. When Thomas Edison lost his researched papers in a fire, he reacted saying there was value in disasters too; many mistakes had been burnt! A Buddhist technique of relaxation known as Tonglen has also been explained in depth.

In short, the book under review is valuable to members of a society in which many suffer from T h e

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SADGURU OMKAR—CONFESSIONS, UPADESH AND TALKS Published by Harish Chandra for Akshaya Prakashan, 208,M.G. House, 2 Community Centre, Wazirpur Industrial Area, Delhi 110 052. 2008, paperback, pp.

305 + xiv The author, Sadguru Omkar, known as Nilkantha Brahmachari in his pre-monastic life, was born on 4th December 1889 in Tanjore, South India. In his youth, he joined the revolutionary group which had contacts with Yugantar group of Sri Aurobindo. He was arrested in Kolkata in 1911 being the first accused in Ash Murder Case. He was released in August 1919 only to be rearrested in August 1922 to be sent to jail for 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

It was during these years in jail that he jotted down most of Confessions on the way towards Peace.

These confessions which record psychological journey of an aspirant towards perfection reveal the periods of light and darkness, faith and doubt that an aspirant necessarily must travel through.

Sri Aurobindo, having gone through these, had written few lines by way of a foreword.

On his release from jail, Sadguru Omkar left politics and established an Ashrama at the Nandi Hills. This is where he spent most of his life serving the villagers in his own personal capacity as also teaching individuals who came to him through his talks with them. The second and third sections of the book comprise these teachings and talks.

Sadguru Omkar’s teachings are teachings on life. Essentially these teachings are the teachings of the Sanatana Dharma as understood and realized by a sincere and enquiring mind free of dogmatic affiliations without the aid of any commentaries.

The ‘Atma-Vidya’ that he speaks of consists in discovering, affirming and realizing through sadhana the infinite potential of oneself thereby making life more joyous and meaningful. In author’s own words: ‘Atma-Vidya is not running away from life or relinquishing it; not at all. It is the art of getting better control on life and living it more positively

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and more powerfully with more success and cheer.’ (p. 266). These teachings are meant for individual’s progress, free of every trace of any ‘ism’ and independent of any dogma and creed making them universal in their appeal. Being teachings on Life, they also cover a range of subjects and hence all teachings may not appeal to everyone.

The book is not meant to be read cover to cover in one sitting. Few teachings a day should be read, thought over, understood and applied in life. ____________________________ SWAMI

ATMAPRANANANDA,

RKM ASHRAMA, BELGAUM

VOICE

OF THE

RISHIS

By Dr. Hazari Published by New Age Books, A44, Nariana Industrial Area Phase–I, New Delhi - 110 028.

2009, paperback, pp.257+xxv, Rs.325 Sa evam Veda—‘Thus speaks the Veda.’ And the Vedic stream which began with (the Vedic) Sanskrit has been a constant flow throughout India in different languages, enriching the nation in a million ways.

The latest language to join the assembly is English.

Two hundred years old or less, Indian writing in English that is associated with the Vedas as translation, creative writing and critical commentary has already become a significant guide to aspirants all over the world. It is through English that India’s spiritual treasures beginning with the Vedas have been revealed to the world outside starting with Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo.

Dr. Hazari became a disciple of Sri Aurobindo while in his teens and was a Homeopathic doctor in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry. He was also a thinker and writer. His mystic experiences were put down in an epic form by him.

Since the poem Devayana was bulky, he published Glimpses of Devayana and we learn that his epic was ‘a spiritual history from the Golden Age to the Iron Age and again to the Golden Age inaugurated by the descent of the higher consciousness, the supramental, to the earth to unfold the Vedic Truth.’

Living under the aegis of Sri Aurobindo, it was natural for Dr. Hazari to think and write in the

Aurobindonian terminology. Also to study the Vedas and search for answers to ultimate questions like ‘Who am I’ and ‘Where do I go from here’.

The result was Devayana composed in anushtubh metre. Dr. Hazari passed away in 1978. Amita Nathwani has done well to go to the Vedic verses which were provided as references to Dr. Hazari

by Rishis who, it is believed, appeared to him in his vision and assured him that the Golden Age on Earth was very near. What follows in the book is one long monologue of an inspired ecstatic, dotted with significant Vedic quotes. Vedic godheads jostle with one another in the chapters raising us to a higher consciousness, as it were. The rishis have continued their work for the earth by manifesting again, says Dr. Hazari, and Bengal is their chosen place for the manifestation of Truth. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Sri Aurobindo are such seers who have lighted ‘the Vitihotra, the psychic aspirant fire.’

The author has also given a chain of prayers from the Vedas for invoking safety, freedom from disease and fear. These outpourings in a state of trance will be read with interest by those who have a turn to the spiritual way of life. ___________________________ PREMA NANDAKUMAR, TRICHY

TO MY RABI’A

By Nileen Putatunda Published by Writers Workshop, 162/92 Lake Gardens, Kolkata 700 045. 2008, hardback, pp.63, (Rs.80 for paperback) Rs 100 for hard-back.

‘All that You have given me is Yours. . .’, so says the devotee in one of the poems in this elegantly published small book that has a spiritual flavour.

Thoughts such as these bring to the erring humanity the omniscient and omnipresent Divinity that is Reality, and the limitations of human endeavour.

The poems in the book remind us to get rid of egotism, cultivate a pure mind and ‘. . .meekly offer to the Divine all your talents.’

The ideas conveyed by the poems are simple that help in cultivating bhakti. ______________________________ P. S. SUNDARAM, CHENNAI

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