Vivekananda Way

issue 10 Issue 15

IN THIS ISSUE:

Message 3 Stand on your own feet

This is the third of the 9-part series on Swami Vivekananda's message to the youth (refer series schedule on the right).

In this issue, we explore what it means to stand on one's own feet and how we can become entrepreneurs in our own right.

Series 4: Swami Vivekananda's messages to the youth of India – a nine-part series

ISSUE 13: MESSAGE 1: It is the youth who will transform this nation

ISSUE 14: MESSAGE 2: Take up an ideal and give your whole life to it

ISSUE 15: MESSAGE 3: Stand on your own feet

ISSUE 16: MESSAGE 4: Awaken the spirit of ‘rajas’ within you

ISSUE 17: MESSAGE 5: Believe in yourself

ISSUE 18: MESSAGE 6: Be bold and fearless

ISSUE 19: MESSAGE 7: Expand your heart

ISSUE 20: MESSAGE 8: Be open to learning from anyone

ISSUE 21: MESSAGE 9: Develop a gigantic will

Do not care for anybody to help you “

- Swami Vivekananda CW:V:57.1

Designed & developed by ILLUMINE Knowledge Catalysts

Exploring Swami Vivekananda's vision: Six key principles for "standing on one's own feet"

PRINCIPLE 1:

Your power does not come from your degree or position, but from within you CASE EXAMPLE

“

Within you lies indomitable power. Only thinking, “I am nothing, I am nothing”, you have become powerless.

[CW:VII:144.5]

Prem Ganapathy started out as a teaboy and dishwasher in Mumbai. He soon became very popular with customers. Seeing his popularity, one of his customers decided to invest and set up a tea-stall in partnership with him. But when the tea-stall started making profits, the investor threw him out of the partnership. At this point, Ganapathy did not give up. He realized that his success did not come due to the money provided by the investor, but due to his own inner power. He set himself to do several things - opened his own tea stall, learnt how to make & sell 'idlis' and 'dosas' through trial & error, found the right spot to sell it, and so on. His dosas were a hit! Encouraged, he set up "Dosa Plaza". Though business was tough, his vision to grow and expand by providing better offerings & better customer service led him onward. Soon, he got a chance to set up outlets in malls. Today he has 26 outlets with over 150 employees and a turnover of 5 crores.

PRINCIPLE 2:

Don't be a job-seeker; be an opportunity creator

CASE EXAMPLE

Dilfaroze Qazi completed her Master’s in Education as well as got a degree in Law from the Kashmir University. Unable to land into a government job, she decided to start her own venture to earn a livelihood.

From her rented house in Rajbagh area of Srinagar, she started her journey with vocational courses for women in 1988. She taught girls cutting, cooking, stitching and shorthand. Eventually, she set up the SSM College of Engineering, the first private engineering college in all of Kashmir. What started as a livelihood turned into a life-changing journey. Extreme militant situations didn't deter her resolve, and today she is an avid human rights activist. She has also been nominated for the Nobel peace prize.

“

Even after learning so much, you go about the doors of others, crying, “Give me employment”. Trampled under others’ feet doing slavery for others, are you men any more?

[CW:VII:144-45]

Leverage the resources you already have “

People of foreign countries are turning out such golden results from the raw materials produced in your country, and you, like asses of burden, are only carrying their load [CW:VII:145.1] Shrikrishna Hegde Ullane, is the Founder of "Connect Farmer" - connecting rural farmers to the urban dweller. When visiting factories and companies for selling produce from his family farm, Shrikrishna realized that the middlemen and retailers were earning way more than the farmers, who were struggling to pay their debts because they were not wellequipped with marketing skills. Despite being busy with his CA articleship, he took up this problem as a research project to find a solution to this problem. He concluded that several farmers had value adding produce like squash, honey, etc., but didn’t realize the kind of market potential that they had. After speaking to various farmers and agricultural experts, he started ConnectFarmer – an online market place which helps farmers make their produce market-ready and sell it on the website. CASE EXAMPLE

Not only are they able to remove the involvement of middlemen, but also get the price their produce deserves.

PRINCIPLE 4:

Become innovators and create new types of value

CASE EXAMPLE

Mansukbhai Prajapati from Rajkot, Gujarat began as a simple potter. While working at Jagdamba Potteries and learning the ropes of the trade, a business idea sparked in his mind.

He decided to start an earthen plate manufacturing factory by deploying a tile press rather than the traditional potter’s wheel. He quit his job, borrowed 30,000 from a moneylender and bought a small piece of land to set up a workshop at Wankaner. His first innovation was a terracotta filter with a ceramic candle that bagged him an order worth Rs. 1 lakh. In the aftermath of the massive Gujarat earthquake of 2001, he decided to build a refrigerator from clay. It took him four years to get the combination right, and in 2005 he was credited for a ground-breaking green innovation - "Mitticool", a refrigerator that runs without electricity. In 2010, he found himself on the Forbes’ list of Top 7 Rural Entrepreneurs. His company, 'Mitticool' has now spread to more than 63 cities in India.

“Modern education has changed your fashion, but new avenues of wealth lie yet undiscovered for want of the inventive genius

[CW:VII: 148.2]

Think Global

CASE EXAMPLE

BKS Iyengar is one of the foremost yoga teachers responsible for popularizing yoga abroad.

Beginning as an obscure yoga teacher in India, his career trajectory changed when he took yoga abroad. As Iyengar advanced in yoga himself, the belief grew in him that yoga could be of benefit to all. One of his students suggested that Iyengar give yoga lessons in Europe and United States where he would find an accepting audience. Thus began 36-year old Iyengar's journey of giving yoga lecturedemonstrations on foreign land. As he saw the thirst of Westerners for yoga, he started systematizing his methods of teaching and gifted the world what is known as "Iyengar Yoga'. Now there are hundreds of Iyengar Yoga Centers across the world.

“Take Indian cloth, towels, bamboo-work, and other indigenous products, and peddle in the streets of

Europe and America; you will find how greatly Indian products are appreciated in foreign markets even now

[CW:VII.145.3]

PRINCIPLE 6:

Leverage your intelligence & thinking, and use the latest science

“

With the help of Western science set yourselves to dig the earth and produce foodstuffs – not by means of mean servitude of others – but by discovering new avenues to production, by your own exertions aided by Western science.

[CW:VII.183.1]

CASE EXAMPLE Dr. Reddy was inspired by Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon. He realized that man can achieve anything in the world of science, if he is not scared or hesitant to try. “This changed my life forever. That’s when I started dreaming of creating my own pharmaceutical company that would one day stand proud and tall.”

He decided to manufacture rare drugs, which no Indian company had tried before. E.g. He re-made an expensive foreign drug at a lower cost and of same quality, making it affordable for Indians. “I always wanted to start something where others had felt there was a barrier to tackle”. While other companies only manufactured drugs already invented, Dr. Reddy worked on discovering new drugs. Today DRL is one of the major companies in the global pharmaceutical industry. DRL’s new drugs (medicines) are bought by other companies across the world.

Two Poets: Hafiz and Vivekananda

SUMAN BHATTACHARYYA

An Exclusive Meeting The year was 1888 and Swami Vivekananda was travelling towards Hrishikesh. On the way he got down at Hathras Station whose station master was Saratchandra Gupta. Swamiji’s bright eyes and happy countenance attracted Gupta. He approached Swamiji and asked ‘Well Babaji, why are you sitting here? Won’t you go further?’ Swamiji answered, ‘Yes, surely I will go.’ Gupta came closer and said, ‘Babaji, would you like to have a smoke?’ In a detached way Swamiji replied, ‘Yes, if you offer me one.’ Gupta then requested with folded hands, ‘Maharaj, you seem to be hungry. Please come to my home. I stay there alone.’ Without spending another word Swamiji accepted his invitation. Reaching his home Swamiji asked, ‘Well, how are you going to entertain your guest?’ In reply the host recited some lines from Hafiz. ‘O my Beloved, you have come to my house. I shall prepare the most delicious dish for you with my heart’s blood.’ This selfless surrender of Gupta expressed in Hafiz’s words immediately won the heart of Swami Vivekananda; Gupta soon became the first monastic disciple of Swamiji. Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz (C. 1320- 1389) a Persian poet, considered by many as a literary wonder and the epitome of Persian literature has had a pervasive influence on mankind. His strong influence is seen even on some of the great minds of the West. Goethe declares, ‘Hafiz has no peer.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American Transcendentalist writing about Hafiz says: ‘He fears nothing. He sees too far, he sees throughout; such is the only man I wish to see or be.’ He calls Hafiz ‘a poet for poets’. After Emerson’s 1858 Atlantic monthly article, ‘Persian Poetry’, it was no longer intellectually respectable to be wholly ignorant of Hafiz. Emerson’s first volume of poems (1847) included two translations from Hafiz, one of them excerpted from his longest poem, the ‘Saqi-nama’. Hafiz‘s poems were also admired by such diverse personalities like Nietzsche and Arthur Conan Doyle; Doyle’s wonderful character Sherlock Holmes quotes Hafiz. Even Queen Victoria was said to have consulted Hafiz in times of need – which has been a custom in the Middle East for centuries. The Fal-e Hafiz, is an ancient tradition in which a reader asks Hafiz for advice when facing a difficulty or at an important juncture in life – treating his books as an oracle and opening them with a deep wish from the soul for guidance.

The Poems of Hafiz Hafiz was a rare master of ‘utility of light’ or ‘the Sun’, and ‘the utility of art’. His poetry has the ability to comfort, enliven and enrich those in need. Perhaps one of the greatest attributes and values of art is to capture a person’s attention, for when beauty does that, the witness always benefits. As Hafiz says:

The Mountain’s face lifted me higher than itself. A song’s wink aligned me with joy And a tune paradise hums I came to know The forest letting me walk amongst its naked limbs, had me on my knees again in silence Shouting – yes, yes my holy friend, let your splendour devour me. “ “ ” ”

Once a young woman came to Hafiz and said, ‘What is the sign of someone knowing

God?’ Hafiz stood in silence for nearly a minute, then lovingly looking deep into the young woman’s eye, softly asked, ‘My dear, they have dropped the knife. The person who knows God has dropped the cruel knife most so often used upon their tender self – and others.’ Hafiz and Narendranath Datta Narendranath Datta (later Swami Vivekananda) was introduced to Hafiz by his father Biswanath Datta, who was a linguist and knew Persian and Arabic. Biswanath took great delight in reciting Dewan–i–Hafiz. Hafiz, who ‘drew a circle in the ground and remained within that circle for forty days,’ 1 determined to become Awakened, attracted the young God-seeking Narendranath. After his awakening, for ‘the next nine years until his death, Hafiz wrote more than half of his total body of poetic work (these are the poems which are considered to be the true core of his teaching) and taught students of his own as a Sufi Master.’ 2 Narendranath’s sensitive mind is sure to have soaked in the multiple dimensions and depths of Hafiz’s poems. Two poems

It is interesting to read Swami Vivekananda’s poem ‘The Cup’ alongside Hafiz’s ‘Pass Around the Cups Fair Maiden’. Pass Around the Cup Fair Maiden Pass around the cup fair maiden, Because Love seemed easy at first, But now I see how difficult it is. The hearts of Lovers bleed, And will be doomed to break, When the scent of the Beloved blows away in the wind. “ Many of Hafiz’s poems are precisely about unfettering the senses and refining the will, so that we do more ‘wine–tasting of the sky’, and more tenderly holding – in thought or with arms – the things we most love and know as precious nourishment. Jason Espada in his Introduction to Daniel Ladinsky’s Selection of translations of Hafiz’s poems, declares that Hafiz’s ‘poetry outlines the stages of the mystic’s “path of love”; that journey of inner unfolding in which love dissolves personal boundaries and limitations to join l a rg e r p ro c e s se s o f g row t h a n d transformations. Through these processes human love becomes divine love and the lover merges ultimately with the source and goal of all love, which Hafiz calls the Divine Beloved.’ Every single line of Hafiz tries to light a candle in our heart, and support our perennial need to have fun, laugh and dance, ‘to lift the corners of your mouth’. Again, he writes:

If your knees have not buckled in ecstasy while standing when a veil parts. If a cherished tear of gratitude has not sung leaping from your eye. If anything your palm does touch cannot help reveal the Beloved. My words are full of golden secrets that are not too hard to crack and Will remedy one hundred fears and ills. 32 The Vedanta Kesari March 2019

How can the traveller stay safe When the clarion calls its sound of parting? The Master tells us: ‘Soak your prayer rug red with wine, my friend.’ Those who are still on the shore Feel they have peace of mind, They don’t know our storms and dark nights. But at last, I find the Secret, Hidden in street corners, Revealed before me. Hafiz, enjoy her Love And instruct her, ‘Suffer the darkness for the sake of the light.’ waves and risks, do not understand ‘the dark nights and storms’ a real practitioner has to go through in his spiritual journey. It reminds us that the path which leads to spiritual enlightenment is not at all smooth. But however tiring the journey, ultimately Hafiz discovers the ‘secret’ which was surprisingly hidden in street corners. So now an enlightened soul himself, he advises his friend to suffer the darkness with courage because that can only bring one at the feet of light. Swami Vivekananda: The Poet

As noted by his friends and peers, Swami Vivekananda had a poetic temperament and his poems, concurring with Mathew Arnold’s idea of true poetry, were conceived and composed in his soul. He was a spiritual dynamo who perceived the divinity around him. At the same time, he was acutely aware of the exultations and the tribulations of a human life. He has his own unique sense of mysticism, which sets him apart from other poets. He was a prophet and his poetic attempt to capture in words the ethereal flashes give his verses a majestic force. These poems are also a window to the struggles, hopes, and joys of this hero who yoked a life of renunciation with public service. The biography of Swamiji states: ‘Poetry, because it is the language of ideals, made a strong appeal to Naren. Wordsworth was the fixed star of his poetic firmament. He lived in a world of ideals, where history and philosophy, poetry and all the sciences, are recognized as phases of Reality. He possessed a prophetic vision of learning, wherein thought was seen as subservient to the real purpose of life, ideas and ideals being the fuel which the soul burned in its supreme effort to go beyond intellect, beyond thought.’’ 3 Mrs. Funke, one of Swami Vivekananda’s followers, recalls, ‘A bird, a flower, a butterfly, “ In the first part of the poem Hafiz clearly states that the love which once had seemed to be very ‘easy’, now appears quite difficult. So he doesn’t want to enjoy ‘wine’ from the cup of love anymore. Like the Buddha, the illumined soul, he realizes that lovers have to bleed a lot, ‘falling upon the thorns of life’. The Master demands more and more. He wants the Hafiz disciple to ‘soak his prayer rug red with wine.’ Those who are still on the shore and have not yet jumped into the sea, have not known its

painful and drear. Hafiz, we have already seen had his ‘storms and dark nights’. Swamiji’s God doesn’t hesitate to declare that ‘you’ have to go through this arduous path to reach Him, whereas others might be blessed with smooth serene ways of life. In Swamiji, one has no option but to accept the cup of life full of bitterness and poison. There’s no question of understanding it. The unknowing understanding would rather reveal His true identity before the seeker. Just a selfless, complete surrender is what Swamiji’s God expects from us. Hafiz too advises us in his poem to suffer the darkness for the sake of the light definitely following it. In both the poems, struggle and suffering is a common thing that a seeker has to bear throughout his life and the more sincerely he resigns to the Will of the Lord, the deeper is his vision and enlightenment. The Cup This is your cup-the cup assigned to you from the beginning. Nay, My child, I know how much of that dark drink is your own brew Of fault and passion, ages long ago, In the deep years of yesterday, I know. This is your road – a painful road and drear. I made the stones that never give you rest. I set your friend in pleasant ways and clear, And he shall come like you, unto My breast. But you, My child, must travel here. This is your task. It has no joy nor grace, But it is not meant for any other hand, And in My universe hath measured place, Take it. I do not bid you understand. I bid you close your eyes to see My face. “ ” Swami Vivekananda will start him off, and he will tell us stories from the Vedas or recite Indian poetry. I recall one poem started with the line “Her eyes are like the black bee on lotus”. He considered most of our (American) poetry to be obvious, banal, without the delicacy of that of his own country.’ His poems are vibrant and rhythmic and exude dynamism. R. C. Majumdar writes about Swamiji, ‘Some of his English poems have reached a sublimity of no mean order. The best and most famous of them is Kali The Mother’. 4 The poemappears fatalistic in that it says each person is allotted a ‘cup’ of dark brew that he alone must drink. Here the ‘cup’ and the ‘dark drink’ refer to fate and destiny, which is the result of the person’s own actions. Like the Buddha, Swami Vivekananda realizes that life is full of sorrow and declares the road to be 34 The Vedanta Kesari March 2019

References 1) Gates of Wisdom: The poems of Hafiz (A New Interpretation). Swami Anand Nisarg 2) Ibid. 3) The Life of Swami Vivekananda by His Eastern and Western Disciples. 1:105 4) Swami Vivekananda: A Historical Review R.C. Majumdar

Ramakrishna-Vivekananda in ‘The Land of Five Rivers’ An Overview of Ramakrishna Movement in Punjab and Haryana

SWAMI ATMASHRADDHANANDA

(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

Ramakrishna Mission Centres in the Punjab Region

Ramakrishna Mission was founded in 1897 by Swami Vivekananda and ever since it has been carrying on its activities according to the twofold ideal which Swamiji placed before it: atmano mokshartham Jagad hitaya cha, ‘For one’s own liberation and for the welfare of others.’ Service and spirituality is the main motto. The Math and Mission together have nearly 200 centres—150 across India and others in Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Germany, United States of America and some other countries. While discussing the Ramakrishna Movement in Punjab and Haryana, it is contextually necessary to know how the movement came into existence in these provinces. We have already stated the visits of Swami Vivekananda and some of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna to Undivided Punjab. Relief Work in 1947-48: In the wake of the massive migration from the just-formed Pakistan to India, a large number of Hindus and Sikhs were accommodated by the Government in a make-shift colony of tents in Kurukshetra in today’s Haryana. The Ramakrishna Mission started large-scale relief work for assuaging

their pain and helpless condition. The main requirement of the refugees which the Mission tried to address was the medical needs of refugees and supply of milk to them. A free milk canteen and two dispensaries were started under the supervision of monks and volunteers of the Ramakrishna Mission, a work that continued for months. The Mission also helped the Government of India in the distribution of clothes. Lady Mountbatten, who visited our

Camp, wrote a letter of appreciation for the Mission’s relief work. 19

The Lahore Centre As we survey and document the Ramakrishna Movement in Punjab and Haryana, we should remember that before partition of India in 1947, Lahore was the cultural and economic epicenter of the Undivided Punjab. The Ramakrishna Mission had a branch in Lahore for over ten years, but it was closed in 1947. Prior to Lahore centre, the Ramakrishna Mission opened a centre in Karachi which in fact had a greater influence on the local populace thanks to the head of the centre, Swami Ranganathananda, later the 13 th President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. The Karachi centre drew many eminent people of the city and became a flourishing place of preaching, service and pure living. In 1936 it celebrated the birth centenary of Sri Ramakrishna, with the main function presided over by Swami Madhavananda, later the 9 th President of the Ramakrishna Order. Prior to the opening of the official centre in Lahore, a ‘private’ centre was started in 1916 by a group of devotees who conducted some medical services and discourses. In 1919, as a report in the Vedanta Kesari shows, they ‘celebrated the birth-day of Swami Vivekananda under the auspices of Ramakrishna Sevashram, Lahore, in the compound of Bhai Nand Gopal’s temple. … Swami Sevananda read out his report of the work of the local Ashrama for the year 1918. The report gave an idea of the good work done by the Ashrama which was established in Lahore on the 17th April 1916, for administering medicines to the sick, of helping the famished stomachs with food and provisions, and of relieving the distress caused by epidemics.’ The first official centre of the Ramakrishna Mission, however, was opened in Lahore in 1936. At the request of some local devotees interested in the ideals and activities of the Ramakrishna Mission, the Governing Body of the Mission decided to open a branch at Lahore at the beginning of the year, and deputed Swami Adyananda for the purpose. The formal opening of the Centre took place on the 21 February 1939—the birthday of Sri Ramakrishna. There was Puja, Homa and Path (chanting of the scripture) at the rented house. In the evening a public meeting was held at the Sanatan Dharam College Hall. The Hon’ble Justice Mr. M. V. Bhide presided. There was a good gathering and prominent ladies and gentlemen attended. Swami Adyananda, Sir Gokul Chand Narang, Prof. S. N. Das Gupta, Principal T. N. Maulick, Dr. T. N. Sita Ram, Prof. Hiralal Chopra and Prof. Teja Singh addressed the meeting on the ideas, ideals and activities of the Mission in different parts of the world. The Ashrama was started in a rented house at 3A, Lodge Road, Lahore. To begin with it conducted classes and occasional lectures on Vedanta as lived and taught by Sri Ramakrishna. The local public gave an enthusiastic response to it. It was first located at 16/2, and later at 16/1, Lodge Road. It slowly began to conduct an outdoor dispensary, a

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Chandigarh

library, religious classes and occasional lectures outside. The centre also collected and sent to the Headquarters over Rs. 6,000/- towards Bengal Distress Relief—which was quite a large amount in those days! But in August 1947, owing to the violent outbreak of communal disturbances in the city and the province immediately after the partition of the country, the Swami in-charge and his assistants had to quit the premises leaving everything behind. Thus the activities of the centre came to a close.

Ramakrishna Mission in Chandigarh While both the centres (Karachi and Lahore) had to be closed in the wake of the Partition of India and the subsequent violence and prevailing tense atmosphere, Ramakrishna Mission in Lahore was sought to be revived at the newly under-construction capital of Punjab, Chandigarh. Swami Adyananda, the monk who headed the Lahore Centre, shifted to India, carrying with him a number of books from the Ramakrishna Mission, Lahore. A good number of these books (with the stamp of ‘Ramakrishna Mission, Lahore’ on them) are even now part of the small public library maintained by Ramakrishna Mission in Chandigarh. Ramakrishna Mission in Chandigarh was started in November 1956 in a rented house in Sector-9C and then moved to Sector-16D. In 1955, the Punjab Government allotted a plot of about three acres of land to the Mission at a concessional price in the well-situated Madhya Marg in its Sector 15-B, in the cultural zone near colleges and Panjab University. Swami Adyananda raised funds for the construction of the Ashrama buildings. After his demise in September 1957, Swami Vedananda took over and the Centre was moved to another rented house near the plot in Sector-15 B to facilitate supervision of construction work. The Governor of Punjab, Shri C. P. N. Singh, laid the foundation of the Ashrama in 1957. The next year, a small building was partly constructed and the Ashrama moved to its present premises. Later, additions were made to the building to accommodate a charitable homeopathic clinic and a free library. A hall was built where weekly Sunday Satsangs and other religious functions and lectures were held. Through the grant from the Central Rehabilitation Ministry, a building to house a Students’ Home was started with 18 students in 1960. It has now over 50 students. A new shrine and a meditation and a multipurpose hall was consecrated and commissioned in the Chandigarh Ashrama on 8 September 2018. The foundation for this building was laid in 1985 by Swami Gambhirananda, the 11 th President of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. For various reasons including the inordinate delay in obtaining permission from Chandigarh administration owing to its stringent rules regarding the design and construction of buildings, it took more than 30 years for the building to come up. Being the only centre of the Ramakrishna Mission in Punjab-Haryana region, Chandigarh Ashrama plays a crucial role in spreading the message of RamakrishnaVivekananda in north-west India.

Bhava Prachar Work Besides the Chandigarh Ashrama, there are some other centres run by devotees through which the message of the Holy Trio is propagated among the interested people. This activity is known as ‘Bhava Prachar’. Bhava Prachar (‘spreading the spirit of message’), in the context of Ramakrishna Math and Mission’s activities, means spreading the spirit of the message of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda. Besides the official centres of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, there are a number of groups, ashramas and study circles run

independently by devotees in different parts of India and outside India. Called ‘private centres’ or ‘unaffiliated centres’, these groups follow to a great extent the ideals and principles of Ramakrishna Mission. Owing to these common features, the need to bring these non-affiliated centres closer to the main stream represented by Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, an apex body, known as the Bhava Prachar Committee, was formed at the Headquarters of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, in 1980. This Committee consists of senior monks of the Ramakrishna Order, with the General Secretary as its exofficio chairman and another senior monk as its Convener. Under the overall guidance of this Committee, coordinating committees of lay devotees, called Bhava Prachar Parishads, were formed. They provide liaison between the Bhava Prachar Committee, consisting of monks of the Order at the Belur Math, and the Nonaffiliated member Ashramas in a particular area. They have been given ten-point guidelines with regard to their functioning.

In 2006 was formed Uttar Paschimanchal Ramakrishna Vivekananda Bhava Prachar Parishad ( N o r t h - we s t R a m a k r i s h n a Vivekananda Bhava Prachar Parishad). Its first conference was held in October 2006 at Amritsar. Presently it has nine centres under its guidance— two in Punjab, five in Haryana, one each in Chandigarh and Jammu. 20 These centres are duly registered bodies under the Registrar of Societies Act.

In Punjab Ramakrishna Seva Samiti, Amritsar (227 km from Chandigarh): Started in 1993, it is the oldest of all the private centres in Punjab. The Samiti members conduct Puja and Satsang in different devotees’ places. They also organize sale of books (on Ramakrishna Vivekananda tradition) in different places in Amritsar.

Ramakrishna Vivekanand Seva Samiti, Patiala (73 km from Chandigarh): The Seva Samiti conducts medical check-up camps, provides financial help to the poor and needy and arranges talks on the message of Sri Ramakrishna-Vivekananda by the Ramakrishna Mission monks in schools and colleges.

In Haryana St Vivekanand Millennium School, Pinjore (20 km from Chandigarh): Started in 2000, it is a senior secondary school with over 1000 students, promoting the ideal of ‘worship of God in man’ (shiva jnane, jiva seva). Vivekanand Manav Seva Society, Kalka (28 km from Chandigarh): Started in 1975, and registered in 1994, the Seva Society has over 200 members who regularly provide financial assistance to poor and needy patients and widows. Vivekanand Seva Samiti, Panchkula (4 km from Chandigarh): It organizes regular lectures by monks of the Ramakrishna Mission in and around Panchkula, and also helps the Chandigarh Ashrama in its medical camps. Ma Sarada Vidya Mandir, Basolan (6 km from Chandigarh): It focuses on physical, mental and intellectual development of children hailing from slums, lower-income households and villages, deprived of proper nutrition, medical care and education, where 60 children from surrounding brick kilns are given basic education and are taught higher values and good habits. Sri Ramakrishna Seva Samiti, Dubaldhan (283 km from Chandigarh): The Samiti organizes National Youth Day and other important anniversaries and distributes books published by Ramakrishna Mission to students.

In Chandigarh Sri Ma Trust, Chandigarh: It is housed in its own building named ‘Kathamrita Peeth’ in Sector-19 in Chandigarh. The Trust is named

after Mahendranath Gupta or ‘M’, the recorder of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The Trust has brought out its own English and Hindi translations of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita (in Bengali). It publishes and distributes 500 copies of its annual journal, Nupur. Celebration of birthdays of Swami Nityatmananda (its founder) and ‘M’ are its annual events.

In Uddhampur district (in Jammu and Kashmir)

Srimat Vivekanand Forum, Ghordi (a village, some 100 km from Jammu): Run by a group of youths, the Forum conducts a number of activities including skilldevelopment and spreading the message of Swami Vivekananda. As is evident from the above, the Bhava Prachar activity in Punjab and Haryana, as in also Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, has started albeit late—since the last three decades, but is progressing well. And considering the positive response of the people, it is set to gain momentum in days to come. In recent times, a number of devotees associated with these unaffiliated centres have received the mantra-diksha from the revered President or the Vice-presidents of the Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, and have been trying to imbibe and practice the message of the Holy Trio in their lives.

Swami Vivekananda Study Circle, Punjab Another significant contribution to the spread of the teachings of RamakrishnaVivekananda in Punjab is by Swami Vivekananda Study Circle (SVSC). A registered body of a group of devotees and admirers of Swamiji, though not under the umbrella of Bhava Prachar, it was started in 1994 in Ludhiana, an important town in Punjab. The Study Circle has the support and encouragement of the monks of the Ramakrishna Order. 21

SVSC has established ‘Vivekananda Shelves’ in more than 100 colleges and schools. Each Vivekananda Shelf consists of books on Swamiji’s life and teachings, costing about Rs. 2500. One of SVSC patrons runs Swami Vivekananda Sarvodya Sanskar Kendra for the children of rag-pickers at Bhucho Mandi. SVSC also conducts a ‘Faceto-Face with Professionals’ where ideas of Swamiji’s ‘man-making education’ are discussed with doctors, engineers and other professionals.

The Centre for Vivekananda Studies, Punjab University, Patiala

It is an important activity of the Punjab University in Patiala. The Centre for Vivekananda Studies was started in 2001- 02 with the help of the University Grants Commission with a purpose to ‘disseminate the knowledge about our great cultural heritage’. The Centre initiated various activities including holding lectures and seminars with a special focus on Swami Vivekananda ‘who was its luminary’. The Centre celebrates the National Youth Day every year and maintains a Counselling Cell that helps students to overcome their emotional and psychological problems.

Conclusion As we attempt to chronicle the Ramakrishna Movement in Punjab and Haryana, we realize that this ancient land has been blessed by the visits of Swami Vivekananda and some of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Swamiji gave some of his well-known Indian lectures in Punjab. The Movement made its inception in Lahore (in Undivided Punjab) in 1936, and despite many political and social upheavals that came its way, it continues to spread the message the Holy Trio. The committed efforts of numerous monks, devotees and admirers in spreading the

message of Man-making and Service deserve appreciation and encouragement. From the dawn of human civilisation, Punjab and Haryana have a shared history of numerous political and social t r i a l s . T h e y h ave f a c e d c o u n t l e s s challenges and crises and continue their march towards prosperity, nobility and individual and social fulfilment. Despite all the advancements in many fields, they have to deal with many issues such as poverty, moral degradation, drug abuse and emotional problems among the youth, as well as securitythreats from across the borders. They also have to wrestle with numerous cultural and emotional challenges that prosperity and the cross-cultural interactions of the Punjabis and the Haryanavis living abroad have given rise to. The message of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda has much to offer in this context especially in understanding and practicing India’s timeless spirituality and wisdom in contemporary times. The Ramakrishna Mission in Chandigarh which just celebrated its Diamond Jubilee (60 years) with its new Prayer hall and Multipurpose Hall will surely attract greater number of people. May the unique and timeless message of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda spread further in Punjab and Haryana, along with Himachal Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir, bringing greater peace, meaning and joy in the lives of the people! (Concluded)

References: 19) From the old records at the Headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math. 20) Based on the information provided by Shri Piyush Punj of Panchkula, a member of the Bhava Prachar Parishad. 21) Based on the information provided by Shri CS Talwar, the founder-secretary of SVSC.

Saiva Religion and Philosophy: A Glimpse (Continued from page 24. . .)

shrine) of Siva Himself (static shrine). Keeping this idea in mind as the criterion of livelihood, the saints deliberately abandon communal temperaments and adhere to the path of selfless service and sacrifice which attitude will pave the way for mutual integration and human solidarity. Saiva Siddhanta lays stress on the necessity of living in the company of holy men since their elegant presence will eliminate the onslaught of ego-centrism which can erupt even after enlightenment due to pride and prejudice. The characteristic features like non-attachment, freedom from delusion, steadfastness in devotion, and liberation from bondage, are made feasible and realized when the aspirant attaches himself to the sacred band of saintly souls. Company of saints and group worship paves the way for rescinding the residual effects of the impurities and ensures perfection in all respects. This attitude will culminate in the contemplative identification with the Lord and entry into his region with divine personality and everlasting wisdom. ‘Even if very slight gifts are made to Shivajnanins, these will increase like the earth into mountains, and the donors will be prevented from falling into the ocean of births and will enjoy supreme happiness in the higher worlds and losing their sin, they will get one more holy birth and will even without going through carya (physical service), kriya (devotional acts), and yoga, attain supreme knowledge and the lotus feet of the Lord.’ 5 The saints of Shiva develop universal brotherhood

in the real sense of the term, and neither regionalism nor nativism would be promoted by them. Their revelations indicate their global perspective in describing the relation between God and man, God and the world etc. This individual love of God and fellowmen, will pave the way for global affection, peaceful co-existence and prosperous living. The Thirumanthiram of Thirumular exemplifies the subsisting character of Shiva in His creation thus: vanish. On the contrary, if the elements are gleaned as themselves, then Shiva has no place there. The true message here is that an aspirant has to adore the Lord Supreme through His manifestations including the five elements. Another underlying truth is that if the elements are revered as the manifestation of Shiva, neither misuse nor abuse of the natural resources would happen. Thus in Saiva philosophy we come across a well-knit principle of the three categories known as Shiva, Soul and the Bond. The three impurities are responsible for the pathetic plight and everlasting suffering of the souls and only the redemptive power of the Lord saves them from falling into the unfathomable abyss. The moment the grace of Shiva falls upon them they are freed from all the delimiting adjuncts. Hence the whole spectrum of Saiva religion and philosophy centre round the soul. Hence it is proved beyond doubt that man is the maker of his own destiny. 1) Tiruvunthiyar. Trans. Dhavamony, Mariasusai. Love of

God According to Saiva Siddhanta. p.178 2) Saiva Siddhanta. Devasenapathi, V.A. p.187 3) Thiruvacakam. Trans. G.U.Pope. 51:9 4) Sivajnana Siddhiyar. Trans. Nallasamy Pillai, J.M. 12:2 5) Unmai Vilakkam. Trans. Nallasamy Pillai, J.M. 35 & 36 6) Thirumanthiram. 2251 References “ ” The tree was concealed in the mad elephant The tree concealed the mad elephant The Supreme was concealed in the world In the Supreme was concealed the world 6

An elephant has been carved out of wood. If one looks at it as a piece of wood, the elephant disappears. If it is visualised as an elephant, wood goes out of focus. In the same way the Siddhantin holds that if the universe comprising of the five elements is viewed as the manifestation of Shiva, the elements will PAGE SPONSOR : A DEVOTEE, VIDYARANYAPURA, BENGALURU

GLOSSARY

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Thirumuraigal—the devotional utterances of three main Saiva saints: Sambhandhar(1-3), Thirunavukkarasar or Appar (4-6) and Sundarar (7) Thiruvachakam—the 8 th Thirumurai by Manickavachakar for which Rev. G.U Pope had made an excellent translation and this work is full of mystic revelations. Periya Puranam or Thiruthondar Puranam by Arulmozhithevar popularly known as Sekkizhar, which deals with the biographies of 63 individual saints and 9 group devotees. The work depicts the nature of saintliness. Sivajnanabotham by Meikanda Dhevar is the foremost philosophical treatise in the Saiva tradition which systematically delineates the doctrinal expositions of Saiva faith. Sivajnana Siddhiyar by Arulnandhi Sivachariyar is an verse commentary to Sivajnanabotham with an addition of alavai iyal—logic and epistemology; parapakkam—presentation and refutation of 14 alien schools of thought and supakkam—philosophy of Saivism. Pati—philosophical term for Lord Siva Pasu—philosophical term for soul and Pasa—philosophical term for the bonds—anava, karma and maya Siddhantha—Accomplished end or end of ends with reference to Saivism.