Vivekananda Way

ISSUE 10 ISSUE 22

focus in this issue:

India – the giant awakens

Series 5: Understanding India - through Swami Vivekananda's eyes

This issue of Vivekananda Way is based on the lecture "Reply to address of welcome at Ramnad" in the book, Lectures from Colombo to Almora. (Complete Works Vol. 3)

This will be useful to gain an introduction to Swami Vivekananda's vision, but we recommend that you read the original lecture, if you seek deeper inspiration.

The longest night seems to be passing away,

the sorest trouble seems to be coming to an

end at last, the seeming corpse appears to

be awaking and a voice is coming to us —

away back where history and even tradition

fails to peep into the gloom of the past, coming down

from there, reflected as it were from peak to peak of the

infinite Himalaya of knowledge, and of love, and of work,

India, this motherland of ours — a voice is coming unto

us, gentle, firm, and yet unmistakable in its utterances,

and is gaining volume as days pass by, and behold, the

sleeper is awakening! Like a breeze from the Himalayas,

it is bringing life into the almost dead bones and muscles,

the lethargy is passing away, and only the blind cannot

see, or the perverted will not see, that she is awakening,

this motherland of ours, from her deep long sleep. None

can desist her any more; never is she going to sleep any more; no outward powers can hold her back any more; for the infinite giant is rising to her feet.

Designed & developed by ILLUMINE Knowledge Catalysts

Here are nine memes that will helps us understand the key messages that Swami Vivekananda delivered in this lecture:

1

Religion is India's foundation

"Religion and religion alone is the life of India, and when that goes India will die, in spite of Kubera's wealth poured upon the head of every one of her children"

"This is the motherland of philosophy, of spirituality, and of ethics, of sweetness, gentleness, and love"

2

The Hindu mind is tuned to religious ideas, not necessarily material ones

"Let others talk of politics, of the glory of acquisition of immense wealth poured in by trade, of the power and spread of commercialism, of the glorious fountain of physical liberty; but these the Hindu mind does not understand and does not want to understand"

I am carrying out my dharma...

3

Renunciation is the central theme within the diversity of Hindu thought

Shaktism

Buddhism Shaivism

Kabir panthi

Jainism

"Touch him on spirituality, on religion, on God, on the soul, on the Infinite, on spiritual freedom, and I assure you, the lowest peasant in India is better informed on these subjects than many a socalled philosopher in other lands"

Vaishnavism Varkaris Sikhism The Idea of Renunciation Smartism Nath Dashanami

"From out of many voices, consonant and dissentient, from out of the medley of sounds filling the Indian atmosphere, rises up supreme, striking, and full, one note, and that is renunciation. Give up! That is the watchword of the Indian religions"

India's greatest minds have boldly ventured into the farthest boundaries of religion

"The characteristic of my nation is this transcendentalism, this struggle to go beyond, this daring to tear the veil off the face of nature and have at any risk, at any price, a glimpse of the beyond"

5

Yet, we need to learn from the West, its power of organization

Soul of religion

Time

Space

Material World Universe

"We have, perhaps, to gain a little in material knowledge, in the power of organisation, in the ability to handle powers, organising powers, in bringing the best results out of the smallest of causes"

6

Furthermore, we may need to provide Hindus with 'grades of renunciation + enjoyment' and help them gradually climb to the highest

"Yet, perhaps, some sort of materialism, toned down to our own requirements, would be a blessing to many of our brothers who are not yet ripe for the highest truths"

highest truths

Toned down materialism grades of renunciation + enjoyment

"We know that this is the ideal - to give up after seeing and experiencing the vanity of things.

But that ideal can only be realised after a certain amount of experience"

Thus, we need to build a new vision of the Hindu, rooted in our national ideals & global in outlook

"There are two great obstacles on our path in India, the Scylla of old orthodoxy and the Charybdis of modern European civlisation. Of these two, I vote for the old orthodoxy, and not for the Europeanised system; for the old orthodox man may be ignorant, he may be crude, but he is a man, he has a faith, he has strength, he stands on his own feet; while the Europeanised man has no backbone, he is a mass of heterogeneous ideas picked up at random from every source - and these ideas are unassimilated, undigested, unharmonised"

Europeanised Hindu (mass of undigested ideas)

Orthodox Hindu (rooted in tradition) Ideal of a Modern Hindu

Learns from every nation

But with the foundation of our national ideals

"Stand on your own feet, and assimilate what you can; learn from every nation, take what is of use to you. But remember that as Hindus everything else must be subordinated to our own national ideals"

8

As a nation, we must learn from everywhere and yet integrate/ subordinate it all to our spiritual core

"... whether you believe in spirituality or not, for the sake of the national life, you have to get a hold on spirituality and keep to it. Then stretch the other hand out and gain all you can from other races, but everything must be subordinated to that one ideal of life; and out of that a wonderful, glorious, future India will come…"

Protect your roots

9

This is the time to awaken — individually & collectively as a nation

"Let us all work hard, my brethren; this is no time for sleep. On our work depends the coming of the India of the future. She is there ready waiting. She is only sleeping.

Arise and awake and see her seated here on her eternal throne, rejuvenated, more glorious than she ever was - this motherland of ours"

M a g i c , M i r a c l e s a n d t h e M y s t i c a l T w e l v e

LAKSHMI DEVNATH

Roots in the Air and Shoots in the Soil The Story of Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar (Continued from previous issue. . .) “I ’m falling – no, moving back!” Poorva shouted. She was totally shaken. “Swami Thaatha! Where is everybody? Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar, Pey Aazhvaar and …?”

Poorva’s voice trailed off when she discovered that the Swami was gone. She found herself in yet another new place. There was deep silence all around.

But the next moment her scream rent the air. Something had stung her arm. She looked down and saw a fat black insect crawling away. Poorva was about to crush it with a vengeance, when her glance fell on her dress. “Wu-hoo!” she whooped with delight. She was all spruced up, wearing a brand new set of clothes. Excited, she set about examining herself; and the offender, grateful for his six legs, used them all to scurry to safety. Once she finished admiring her pretty new dress, Poorva calmly surveyed her surroundings. What was that in front of her? She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Lying in the midst of a bamboo thicket was an infant!

“Poor thing,” Poorva clucked, as she moved towards the baby. She heard the sound of footsteps and was alarmed to see a hunter approaching. She stepped back hastily.

Only then did she remember that she was invisible here. Feeling sheepish, Poorva relaxed.

Predictably, the hunter saw the baby and stopped. From his amazed expression, Poorva deduced that he was not the father. If so, whose child could this be? Angry with the bad parents, she kicked the ground furiously.

Much to her alarm, she saw the man happily pick up the infant and walk away. What did he plan to do with the baby? Poorva ran frantically behind him.

At the front door of a small house, the hunter stopped and shouted excitedly, “Pangayachelvi! Look what I’ve brought you!”

A woman came running out of the house. “A baby boy!” she exclaimed. “How I’ve always longed for one! At last, we’ll have a child in this house. Where and how did you find him?”

Poorva smiled wryly. All her fears had been unfounded. It was an abandoned child that would now be adopted. Nevertheless, she could not for the life of her understand all this excitement over a mere baby. She looked around for a comfortable place to rest, when days and nights started alternating in quick succession before her very eyes! To Poorva, it seemed as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button on a DVD player. Not quite so, she corrected herself – the movements may be fast, but she could still see both husband and wife lovingly cuddle their baby and attend to his needs.

By and large, the child neither cried nor seemed to feel hungry. Poorva remembered her baby brother – eternally crying and perennially hungry – and felt sorry for her poor mother. Trying hard to control a giggle, she wondered whether there was some way she could exchange her brat of a brother for this baby. She was completely absorbed in working out the logistics of this brilliant idea when, once again, her attention was caught by what was happening in front of her. The baby had grown into a little boy! Poorva was flustered when she realized that many years had passed. Had she become older too? Worried, she ran to the water-pot and looked at her reflection. The next moment she heaved a sigh of relief. “I look the same … then how come …?”

Before Poorva could solve this mystery, a voice called out, “Thiruvaalan!” An old man and his wife were knocking on the door of the hunter’s house. Thiruvaalan and Pangayachelvi came out. The old man handed over a glass of milk to the child and told the parents, “Here is our daily offering for your little boy. As I’ve been repeatedly telling you, this is no ordinary child. He is divine.”

The boy drank some of the milk and fondly offered what was left to the old couple. Smart boy, thought Poorva. Obviously, he doesn’t like that yucky stuff either!

When the couple finished the milk and placed the glass down, Poorva’s eyes almost popped out in surprise – the aged couple had turned young! Poorva revised her opinion about ‘that yucky stuff ’ and marvelled silently at the magical qualities of milk. (To be continued. . .) This story book is available through www.lakshmidevnath.com

An Ancient Vedic Institution

DR. CHITHRA MADHAVAN

This section presents less known but enlightening nuggets of information about our ancient culture as revealed in our temples, images, symbols, and inscriptions.

Tribhuvanai, a small and historical village, is located about 23 km from

Pondicherry on the Villupuram road. Inscriptions mention that it was known in the Chola times as Tribhuvana Mahadevi Chaturvedimangalam, named so after the queen of Parantaka Chola I (10 th C.E) who was the great-grandfather of Rajaraja Chola I. The word Chaturvedimangalam indicates that it was a place peopled by scholars of the four Vedas. An old temple for Vishnu, dating back to the reign of Parantaka Chola I originally called Sentangi Vinnagar and now known as the Varadaraja Perumal temple is located in Tribhuvanai. The epigraphs in this temple, state that the original name of the deity in this temple was Naduvil Sri Viranarayana Vinnagar Azhvar.

This temple of the early Chola times, is small in structure but rich in epigraphs and minute carvings. On the outer walls of the main sanctum are miniature sculptures of various incarnations of Vishnu and episodes from the Srimad Ramayanam and the Bhagavata Puranam. The minute details of the sculptures, seen clearly even after many centuries, despite being exposed to sun, wind and rain, are a tribute to the talented sculptors of the Chola times.

A large number of inscriptions etched on the outer walls of the main garbha-griha or sanctum sanctorum belong to the Chola times. These precious epigraphs are in the Tamil language and etched in the Tamil script of this era. The most important and probably the longest inscription in this temple, refers to an educational institution which functioned in its premises. This epigraph is of the reign of Rajadhiraja Chola I (1018- 1054 C.E.), the grandson of Rajaraja Chola I and son of Rajendra Chola I. It is etched on the north and west outer walls of the garbha-griha.

T h i s g r e a t centre of learning had 260 students and 12 teachers. The subjects

The author is a historian focussing on temple architecture, iconography and epigraphy. She is a recipient of two post-doctoral fellowships, and author of nine books and several research papers. She lives in Chennai. drchithra@gmail.com

Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Tribhuvanai

taught here were Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Chhandogasama, Talavakara Sama, Apurva, Vajasaneya, Bodhayaniya, Satyashadhasutra, Vedanta, Vyakarana, Rupavatara, Sri Bharata (Mahabharata), Ramayana, Manu-Sastra and Vaikhanasa Sastra. The number of teachers and students for each subject is also clearly given. Provision was made for feeding Srivaishnavas in the temple and for the recitation of the Tiruvaimozhi (a composition of Nammazhvar, one of the twelve Azhvars—the preeminent devotees of Vishnu). The daily allowances of the students and the remuneration of the teachers was in measures of paddy. It is interesting to note that an earlier epigraph of the time of Rajendra Chola I found in the Alagiya Narasimha temple in Ennayiram (near Villupuram) has similar contents as also a later inscription of the time of Vira-Rajendra (another son of Rajendra Chola I) etched in the Appan Venkatesa Perumal temple in Tirumukkudal (near Pazhaiya Seevaram) enroute from Chennai to Kanchipuram via Chengalpet. These two epigraphs refer to the existence of large educational centres in the premises of the temples in the ancient Tamil country.

The Varadaraja Perumal temple in Tribhuvanai is a protected monument of national importance under the care of the Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.).

After this Swamiji asked him to build a ghat and an embankment on the bank of the Ganga. Vijnananandaji immediately plunged into the work braving a hot summer. He would supervise the work of the labourers standing the whole day in the blazing sun. One day while Vijnananandaji was supervising the work braving the intense heat, Swamiji was sitting in his upstairs room sipping a glass of juice chilled with ice. Just then Swamiji happened to see Vijnananandaji. Feeling sorry for his brotherdisciple, he wanted to share with him the chilled juice. But by then the glass was almost empty. Still Swamiji sent that glass to Vijnananandaji asking him to drink from it. Vijnananandaji’s happiness at receiving a glass of juice from Swamiji, turned into disappointment when he found only a few drops of juice in it. Nevertheless, he obeyed Swamiji’s order and drank those few drops as prasad. Miraculously, the next moment his thirst was quenched and all his weariness vanished!

In 1900 Swamiji sent him to Prayag (Allahabad) to start a centre. Vijnananandaji first put up in a friend’s house and later, on the request of some young men shifted to the Brahmavadin Club wh i c h t h ey h a d founded. Once while in the West, Swamiji had told his brother-disciple Swami Turiyanandaji, ‘Wherever you go, a centre (branch of the Order) will come up there.’ This was Swamiji’s faith in the spiritual power of his brother-disciples. This came true with Vijnananandaji at Prayag. With his presence, Brahmavadin Club turned into an ashrama. From morning till afternoon he would be immersed in meditation and study. He lived on (Continued from previous issue)

Swami Vijnanananda and the Ramakrishna Order

SWAMI BALABHADRANANDA

The article introduces the life and work of one of the architects of the Ramakrishna Movement who was also a blessed directdisciple of Sri Ramakrishna. The Vedanta Kesari pays homage to this great Brahmajnani on his 151 st birthday.

simple, meagre food and did the daily chores himself. In the afternoon he would meet visitors, answer their spiritual queries, and conduct a class on Bhagavad Gita for young boys. Again from evening he would sit for long hours in meditation. Thus all through the ten years of his stay at the Club, he was everyday engaged for over fifteen hours in meditation and studies. Gradually, his exemplary life

created in Prayag a group of sincere followers of Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji. In 1910 he bought a house and a vacant plot at Muthigunj, and a branch centre of Ramakrishna Math came into existence there in October 1910. Thenceforth, Ramakrishna Math, Allahabad became his home until his end. When required, especially in connection with construction of buildings, he would visit the branch centres and Belur Math.

Sri Ramakrishna had cautioned Hariprasanna to keep distance from women saying, ‘You belong to the Divine Mother, and you will have to do a lot of work for Her. A pecked fruit cannot be offered to the Mother.’ Therefore, when Swami Vivekananda in the course of his work in the West interacted with women, young Vijnananandaji wondered if Swamiji was not violating one of the basic instructions of the Master to his monastic disciples. One day he expressed this doubt to Swamiji. Swamiji replied, ‘Do you think that what you have understood about the Master is all that he is? What do you know about the Master? Do you know that the Master has eradicated the idea of difference between male and female from my mind? Is there any distinction of sex in the Atman? Moreover, the Master came for the good of entire world. Did he come to liberate only men? He will save all —both men and women.’ Vijnananandaji was embarrassed. But Swamiji in a kind voice continued, ‘Whatever the Master told you is true; you follow that implicitly. But to me his instructions were different. He not only gave me instructions, he clearly showed me everything. He holds my hands—whatever he makes me do, I do.’

Due to such interactions and experiences with Swamiji, Vijnananandaji’s attitude towards him was one of spiritual awe mixed with childlike behaviour. When Swamiji would be in a serious mood, Vijnananandaji would not go to him even when called for. He would send word through someone saying, ‘I am now busy with some work, I will see you later.’ Even after Swamiji’s passing away, he said he could see Swamiji in his room. Therefore, he would always tiptoe by Swamiji’s room fearing that his footsteps would disturb Swamiji. After Swamiji’s mahasamadhi, Swami Brahmanandaji entrusted Vijnananandaji with the construction of Swamiji’s temple. During the construction work from 1919 to 1920, he would go to the site after breakfast and but for a little lunch-break at around 1 pm he would work till the evening. He would tell the labourers, ‘Work carefully! You are building the temple of Lord Shiva!’

Vijnananandaji’s immortal contribution to the Ramakrishna Order and to the devotees and admirers of Sri Ramakrishna the world over, is the grand temple of Sri Ramakrishna at Belur Math. When at Swami Vivekananda’s call Hariprasanna visited Ambala in October 1897, he had accompanied Swamiji to many ancient Hindu temples of Rajputana. Swamiji had then explained to Hariprasanna his ideas about the art and architecture of the future Ramakrishna Temple. Again, when the monastery was shifted to Nilambar Mukherjee’s Garden house, (which is just adjacent to Belur Math) Swamiji again elaborately discussed with Vijnananandaji his plans for the future Ramakrishna temple and even selected the site where he wished the temple to come up. He asked Vijnananandaji to draw a sketch according to his ideas. Accordingly, Vijnananandaji prepared two or three sketches. Swamiji approved one of them, and the temple was later built based on that plan. After approving the drawing Swamiji said, ‘This temple will certainly come up, but I may not live to see it. ... I will see it from above.’ Swami Shivanandaji laid the foundation stone of the temple in 1929. But later it was felt necessary to shift the temple site farther from the Ganga. Therefore, in July 1935, Vijnananandaji re-laid the same stone onehundred feet south. From the very beginning of

the temple construction, Vijnananandaji was watchful so that every phase of the construction work was carried out meticulously. It took four years to complete the temple. As the work was nearing the end, Vijnananandaji grew restless for its early completion. First it was contemplated that the temple would be consecrated on the Jagaddhatri Puja Day in 1937. He, too, had reached Belur Math well in advance. But the idea had to be dropped as the final work of the sanctum sanctorum was not complete. He was a little upset at this development and said, ‘You are being exceedingly late! Finish the task of consecration as early as possible. Do not delay any more. Swamiji made the plan of the temple, but the temple did not come up then. Raja Maharaj tried, he also could not initiate it. Mahapurushji laid the foundation stone, but could not proceed further. They all left one by one. That is why I am telling you, finish the work as soon as possible, do not delay.’ The hint was alarming. The sadhus therefore, decided not to wait for the completion of the natamandira and instead consecrate the temple as soon as the sanctum sanctorum was ready. The day selected for this was 14 January 1938, the last day of the Bengali month, Pousha.

That day Vijnananandaji got up early in the morning and put on a new ochre cloth. As his health was not good, a car was arranged to take him from the Math building to the new temple. Swami Omkaranandaji brought the relics of the Master from the old shrine and handed them to Vijnananandaji who was waiting in the car. The car then started to move, following a procession of sadhus and brahmacharins ahead, amidst singing, blowing of conchs and ringing of bells. On reaching the temple, Vijnananandaji entered the inner sanctum, placed the relics of Sri Ramakrishna on the altar and offered flowers. When the worship was over, he returned to his room and told his attendant, ‘I said to Swamiji, “You told me that you would watch from above. Please see now that the Master is seated in the new temple.” Then I vividly saw Swamiji, Rakhal

Maharaj, Mahapurush Maharaj, Sharat

Maharaj, Hari Maharaj, Gangadhar Maharaj and others standing in the southwest corner watching the consecration ceremony.’ After a pause he said, ‘Now my work is over. Today I am relieved of the responsibility that Swamii entrusted to me.’ After this event he came to Belur Math for the last time on 26 February 1938 to attend the birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna. He returned to Prayag on 8 March 1938 and entered into mahasamadhi on 25 April 1938.

All through his life Vijnananandaji preferred a secluded life and spoke only to selected individuals on spiritual matters. But this changed remarkably during the last five years of his life and he attributed this to the last blessings that he received from his brotherdisciple Swami Shivananda. In April 1933 Shivanandaji had a stroke, which left his right hand paralysed and he also lost his speech. Vijnananandaji came from Prayag to see him. While taking leave, Vijnananandaji had a unique experience when Shivanandaji blessed him placing his left hand on his head. Describing the experience, he later said, ‘… his touch changed my mental attitude. He passed on to me his great desire to help people spiritually and to assume responsibility for them. I now feel that as long as I live and have the least strength in my body I shall do the same and give the Master’s name to all.’ From then onward Vijnananandaji was found to mingle more freely with people and

give initiation to anyone who sought spiritual refuge.

Referring to his irresistible urge to shower grace on all, Shivanandaji used to say, ‘I h ave n o w b e c o m e M o t h e r G a n g a .’ Vijnananandaji too became so, though outwardly he maintained a grave demeanour. We may mention in this connection the experience of Swami Atmasthanandaji, the 15 th president of the Ramakrishna Order. Hearing from others about the greatness of Swami Shivanandaji, as a teenage boy Atmasthanandaji had developed great devotion towards him. But before he could even see him once, Shivanandaji attained mahasamadhi. Atmasthanandaji then went to Vijnananandaji; but he was terribly disappointed to find him sitting totally oblivious of who came or left. He decided not to see him again. But that night he had a strange dream; Vijnananandaji was merging into Shivanandaji and then Shivanandaji was revealing himself as Vijnananandaji. This continued the whole night. The next day Atmasthanandaji rushed to meet Vijnananandaji. The aloof sannyasi of the previous day, now welcomed him with great warmth calling him eso bhai eso ‘Come, brother come!’ And Atmasthanandaji took eternal spiritual refuge at his feet!

Swami Brahmanandaji once said that Vijnananandaji was a gupta brahmajnani, ‘a hidden knower of Brahman.’ The Bhagavata says that ‘an illumined soul can play like a child, though he is wise; he can behave like a fool, though he is actually highly intelligent; he may speak like one who is mad, though he is learned; and though established in the Truth taught by the Vedas, he may still roam like cattle defying all codes of conduct.’ This verse of the Bhagavata applied perfectly to Swami Vijnananandaji. His behaviour and attire were very unusual. Usually he would wear a long flowing robe with many pockets. Irrespective of whether it was a hot, cold or rainy season, he would wear a cap that would cover his ears. When he was at the Allahabad ashrama, three beds had to be kept ready for him: one in the courtyard, one in the verandah and one in his room; and it was forbidden to move the beds in the verandah or courtyard even when it rained. The room where he actually stayed was extremely disorderly, and he disapproved any attempt to tidy it. But this apparently whimsical sadhu had regular visions of gods and goddesses; such visions were as natural to him as the visible nature. When he would visit a pilgrim centre, the presiding deities would come alive to him. In Prayag, Mother Triveni, remaining true to Her name, revealed herself to him in the form of a girl having three braids. Once in Varanasi, when he was having a high fever, Lord Viswanath Himself appeared before him and embraced him to heal his sufferings. He had a sharp, rational brain, but when it came to travelling by train, his rationality would depart. He would be present at the railway station five or six hours before the train’s scheduled departure. No appeal to his common sense would then work. ‘I cannot trust this machine of the British. I am not sure if it will not leave without me’, he would say.

Once Vijnananandaji expressed his desire to visit the Khidirpur dock of Kolkata Port. Swami Gangeshanandaji made all the necessary arrangements according to which they would leave for Baghbazar from Belur Math at 12 noon by a steamer and from there go in a devotee’s car to the dock. Some officials of the dock had agreed to receive Vijnananandaji and show him around. On the stipulated day, from 9 A.M. itself Vijnananandaji started asking for his lunch and finally had it at 10 A.M. But when Gangeshanandaji came just before noon, Vijnananandaji was not to be found anywhere! The sadhus searched everywhere, asked everyone concerned, but to no avail. They finally found him in the evening returning from his dock visit! He explained that after his 10

Swami Vijnanananda with his sevak Beni

A.M. lunch he went to the jetty and found a Baghbazar-bound steamer ready to leave. So, he boarded the steamer and from Baghbazar took a tram to the Khidirpur dock. After seeing the things of interest there he came back contented.

When a sannyasi asked Vijnananandaji why he had not waited for others before leaving for the dock, Vijnananandaji kept silent for a while and then replied, ‘We have seen that if the Master (Sri Ramakrishna) said he would do something, he would be restless till it was done. If he was to go anywhere, every now and then he would come out of his room and see if the carriage had arrived. When the carriage arrived, he would not even wait to change his wearing cloth. With the cloth under his armpit, he would climb into the carriage! One day, when the carriage had arrived, he immediately got into it along with Latu and Baburam (two of his disciples), and asked the coachman to start. But the coachman had gone somewhere. When he was informed, the Master said, ‘Then you drive the carriage.’

Swami Bhuteshanandaji, the 12 th president of the Ramakrishna Order, who has recorded the above mentioned reminiscences explains such behaviour: ‘When any resolve arises in the mind of a Knower of Brahman, his mind gets concentrated on that resolve. He cannot feel any relief until that is done.’

Nobody can claim to have fully or correctly understood such great souls. One can only meditate on them and their life’s message, which is an unfailing spiritual practice. (Concluded)

1) Pouranik Abhidhan. Compiled by Sudhirchandra

Sarkar. Kolkata: M. C. Sarkar & Sons, 2005 2) God Lived with Them. Swami Chetanananda. Kolkata:

Advaita Ashrama, 2011 3) Shri Ramakrishna-Bhaktamalika. Swami

Gambhirananda. Kolkata: Udbodhan, 2005 4) Swami Vijnananander Smritikatha. Compiled by

Swami Chetanananda. Kolkata: Udbodhan, 2014 5) Pratyakshadarshir Smritipate Swami Vijnanananda.

Compiled by Sureshchandra Das & Jyotirmoy Basuroy. Kolkata: General Printers and Publishers, 1977 6) Patravali (Swami Vivekananda’s letters in Bengali)

Kolkata: Udbodhan 7) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Vol.8 Sources Swami Vijnanananda Jayanti on 11 Nov 2019

If any one asked for advice, Swami Vijnanananda would say, ‘Practise what you studied in the primary book in your childhood days: Always speak the truth and do not steal or covet others’ things. Follow these two moral principles, and then everything else will take care of itself.’

SWAMI ATMASTHANANDA BIRTH CENTENARY COMMITTEE 91/1, SOUTHERN AVENUE, KOLKATA - 700029, W.B. Email: swabcc2020@gmail.com Visit us: www.atmasthanandacentenary.com Mobile: +91 9433654275, 8617023976, 9804984939, 9836463887

AN APPEAL Dear Devotees, Swami Atmasthananda Birth Centenary Committee is going to organise a Memorial Programme to celebrate the Centenary of Srimat Swami Atmasthananda Ji Maharaj, the 15 th President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday, 10 May 2020. The Committee is extremely glad to announce that two Commemorative Volumes— one compiling the writings, lectures, interviews, & letters of Revered Maharaj in Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati and English and the other comprising the reminiscences of Revered Maharaj by sannyasis of the Ramakrishna Math, sannyasinis of Sri Sarada Math, devotees and eminent personalities— will be released on that day. A pictorial biography and a documentary DVD based on the life and teachings of Revered Maharaj will also be released in the function. Most Revered President Maharaj and the VicePresidents of the Ramakrishna Order would grace the occasion. The Committee requests devotees and admirers of Revered Maharaj to share from their personal collections the photographs and letters of Revered Maharaj via email for the Commemorative Volumes. The Committee cordially invites you to become a Delegate Member and to attend the programme. Limited numbers of Delegate Membership cards on a first-come-first-served basis will be issued. The delegate charge is Rs. 1,500/- per person. Each Delegate Member will get a complimentary gift of the documentary DVD and 30% discount on the Commemorative Volumes and the pictorial biography. The Committee appeals to the devotees, admirers and well-wishers of Revered Maharaj to support us with financial contribution for this noble cause. All donations (cash/ cheque) and registration charges should be made in favour of: “SWAMI ATMASTHANANDA BIRTH CENTENARY COMMITTEE”.

Bank Details: Bank name: State Bank of India Calcutta University Branch; A/c Name.: Swami Atmasthananda Birth Centenary Committee; A/c No.: 38782094486, IFSC Code: SBIN0007766.

After money transfer, please intimate us by email or phone about your registration/donation. The registration for the Delegate Membership will begin from mid-Nov. 2019 at the following branch Centres of the Ramakrishna Order: Institute of Culture, Golpark; Udbodhan Office, Bagbazar; Saradapitha (Belur Math); Ramakrishna Math (Yogodyan), Kankurgaachi; Advaita Ashrama, Entally; and Swamiji’s Ancestral House, Kolkata. Entry card for the Programme will be available to the Delegate Members from the above mentioned Centres from Feb. 2020. Thanking you, S. K. Roy, President, Centenary Committee