Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission Year 19

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Issue 1

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission Year 19 / Issue 1 Editor: Swamini Samatananda Saraswati

Published by International Vedanta Mission http://www.vmission.org.in vmission@gmail.com

In This Issue

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Message of P. Guruji Atma Bodha Letter Gita Reflections Jivanmukta Story Section VM News VM Activities Album VM Programs

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from Poojya Guruji

Is Guru Necessary?

So many people wonder as to why is a Guru so necessary on our spiritual path? Cant we just read the scriptures ourselves and get going. Afterall we are well-educated people of the modern world. Even Gita says that you alone are your friend and you alone are your foe, so let us just be our true friends and awake to the truth. So many saints too have just worked hard and have evolved, so why all this injunctive terminology that everyone should definitely go to a Guru and then alone we can get knowledge? Moreover the all-pervasive Brahman is already present in our hearts, so we just need to follow our conscience to follow the path of truth & love. Are there two schools of thoughts in this regards, or worse still have some unscrupulous Guru's just assured for themselves an assured following for their own ego-fulfillment and worldly gains. Lets go into this issue on the eve of Guru Poornima.

Firstly there are no two schools of thought about the matter. All the scriptures have unanimously said that a lamp can be lighted by another lighted one alone, we all must have a Guru in our life. Someone who not only represents the truth but can also unfold the truth to us in a language which we can understand & appreciate. Of course there are many unscrupulous elements masquerading as spiritual masters, like in any other specialized field, and no free society can ever stop all this, we alone have to use our discretion to find the right specialist in any field. If the Self was some perceptible object, then we could have known it by our faculties, but it is not so. Neither is inferential deductive knowledge of any help. In fact the world of thought is such that the moment a thought arises, there is the world of imagination and fragmentation, and if we dont use our minds then also there is no knowledge. So it is indeed like a Catch 22 situatiton. Ultimately we require a highly intelligent, compassionate & enlightened teacher who can 'help us' negate just everything, even our very identity, the very doer too. It almosts amounts to hara-kiri.

When the very existence of individuality is because of ignorance, then how can the individual negate this very individuality oneself, except with the help of someone who knows its truth. Mind you this negation has to be by the very individual him/her self, and Guru is just a guide.

Having a Guru in our life is one of the greatest blessings, and we wonder why do some people have problems about the issue. One, they have not yet been blessed by the presence of a teacher in their lives, and two, the ego of all these people is too strong to even go to someone, confess their ignorance and pray for knowledge. In fact the very going to a teacher is a step in making this ego a non-issue. Never think that you can get the knowledge by following your 'Guru within'. Conscience is just another word for conditionings. The non-dual self never prompts anyone, it is the conditiongs alone which prompt, and we know that the conscience of a Hindu or a Christian prompts the person perfectly as per their traditions. So all this is just self-deception. If the Guru within is our true guide, then what has the guru been doing till now when we were suffering so badly. Was he sleeping all along or just watching the show. Such a sadistic Guru is not worth a dime. So one should thorughly understand the necessity of a Guru, understand who the right Guru should be, and what exactly is the role of Guru, then we shall be definitely blessed in the most amazing way. Our pranams to our great godly Gurudev and also the entire lineage of Gurus who have helped bring this knowledge to us. They are the most amazing manifestation of God himself, who have come down just to bless the mankind. Jai Gurudev.

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Swamini Samatananda

Self-Knowledge is Revelatory In the previous sloka the Acharya clarified an implied question whether the awakening in the Real Self takes place as soon as knowledge is brought about or after having gained complete knowlege? It was thus explained how the Supreme manifests itself as soon as ignorance is swept away by knowledge.

In the following sloka it is revealed that although the Atman ever exists as the very Self, yet it appears nonexistent due to ignorance. When the ignorance is destroyed it is as though attained. It also implies the discrimination between the means and the goal. The Atman being ever-existent only needs to be reveiled by bringing about its awareness in its true essence. It is not to be attained as an object by performing any actions or other sadhanas.

44 Atma tu satatam praptah api apraptavat avidyaya Tannashe praptavat bhaati swa kanthaabharanam yatha Atma tu:The Atman; satatam: always; praptah api: though attained; apraptavat: as if not attained; avidyaya: by ignorance; tannashe: at its destruction; praptavat: as attained; bhati: appears; swakanthabharanam yatha: like the ornaments on one’s own neck.

Atman is an ever-present Reality. Yet, because of ignorance it is not realised. On the destruction of ignorance Atman is realised. It is like the missing ornament of one’s neck.

Atma tu satatam praptah api: Atman is ever present and eternal, but it is the glory of ignorance due to which, the Atman which is not only ever existent but is the substratum of all material existence appears to be non-existent.

If I were in a dark room and someone asked, “Are you there?” I wouldn’t say, “Please put on the light and then I can tell you if I am there ir not.” I the Self exists and I always know I exist. Self awareness never ceases to exist.

Worldly darkness can veil the presence of any physical objects that exist seperately from the Self. But the awareness of the Self is there at all times, be it in the presence of light or darkness. Infact, that darkness which veils the existence of worldly objects itself is an object of knowledge for the Self. I not only know the presence of light but

I-the Self is the light which iluminates darkness too. I am that source of light which illuminates darkness and light too. A classic example explains the ever-existent nature of the Atman. In the morning after waking up from deep sleep I am able to say that I slept very well.

I am able to say this even though the mind was asleep.

How did this happen? This is because inspite of the mental facultie gliding into sleep there is a very subtle presence of that light which not only illuminates our Waking State where the world exists but it aso illuminates the Deep Sleep State where nothing of the objective world exists.

Various changes take place at the level of our body, mind and intellect from childhood to old age, but ‘I’ the experiencer of all these changes from childhood

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

to adulthood and then to old age is one and the same. The Self who is aware of all the changes taking place is an ever existent, changeless witness to all the changes. All these experiences point out to the existence of the Self which is free from changes.

Apraptavat avidyaya: The Atman being ever-existent & Self effulgent appears to be unknown and unaquired. This is due to Ignorance. Our philosophical thinkers who have dived deep into the truths of the Self have diagnosed the very problem of the Jiva, being that of ignorance. The problem is not the absence of the Blissful, Self-effulgent and eternal nature of the self, that the Atman verily is, the problem is not knowing such a nature of the Self. Infact the situation is not just about being totaly ignorant of the Self. We have some understanding of the Self, but this understanding of the Self is a misapprehension. Today we know ourself as what as though appears to be the Self i.e. the Body, Mind, and Intellect and the various roles associated with it, which is far from being the Real Self.

The Body and the mind are the instrumental robes that the Self adorns to experience the world. Due to ignorance of the Basic nature of the Self we then misunderstand the Body and the mind to be the Self. The misapprehension of the Self does not end with bringing about a false identity of the Self but we pay a very heavy price for this disease. Once we identify with the Self as the BMI, the body and the mind being limited we take up an endless trip of seeking happiness and security from the outside objective world. This journey comes with all its side effects of pain, insecurity, vices and an endless journey of Samsara.

Tannase praaptavat bhaati: The Acharya further explains that once ignorance is destroyed the Atman is as though achieved. As it has been explained earlier that the Atman is ever existent so the implication of acquiring the Atman is achieving the unachieved, but it implies the revelation of that which was already there but I was’nt aware of it.

Since the Self is already existent and only its realisation has to be brought about the nature of it’s revelation is just negatig the clouds that veil it. The clouds of ignorance, the clouds of identifcation with the body, mind and intellect these are negated. This alone is the process of realizing the Atman, the real naure of the Self.

It is important to understand that since ignorance and misapprehension is the cause of a sense of limitation and seeking therefore only gaining the right knowledge is the solution. Knowledge alone liberates. There is no role of action or upasana. No amount of pious actions, tapas, worship or rituals are means to awaken into the Real Self. Knowledge alone is the means.

Swa kanthaabharanam Yathaa: Having gained the right knowledge the Atman is revealed just as the missing ornaments of one’s neck.

The Acharya once again hits the point with a perfect example. Just as sometimes a lady may forget the whereabouts of her necklace and look for it at all places and then come to realise that the necklace was no where outside but it was around her neck all the time. Her realisation of this fact itself is acquiring the necklace.

She did not have to make a new necklace, nor get it from anywhere. That which was already there is as though achieved by simply bringing about the awareness of it.

Hvsv!Qppsojnb!Hsffujoht!up!bmm Guru Poornima is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Maharshi Veda Vyasa, who not only compiled the Vedas, but also wrote Brahma Sutras, all the Puranas, and last but not the least the famous Mahabharata, which has the amazing gem of Bhagwad Gita in it. As a mark of respect to that great sage, this day is celebrated as the ‘Spiritual Teachers Day’, and the seat on which our teachers sit and teach is called as Vyasa Peetha. This year this special Poornima is on 3rd of July.

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The Goldfish Bowl There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened.

It’s never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop, he puts his head down and prays — “Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat.”

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, “Thank

you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!”

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful.

But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else – Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. “You’ve done enough, you klutz!”

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Susie whispers back, “I wet my pants once too.”

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

Dharma & Vedanta

Letter of the Month

Que of a Chinese desiring to convert to Hinduism. He was advised to go ahead with the practice of Dharma and study of Vedanta without any formal conversion. This mail was a further clarification on the subject.

-------------------------------------------------------Hari om !

Certainly read & practice about Vedanta and Sanatan Dharma without any problems.

When something goes into your heart it becomes yours. That’s real conversion.

‘Graduation into this phase implies giving up all karmas completely, so that we can give our heart & soul for the self-knowledge, without

any

distractions of social obligations

or

responsibilities.

- Poojya Guruji

Vedanta or any of the tenets of Sanatan Dharma are not mine, nor of any other individual. No intellectual copyrights here :). These revelations have not been made by any individual, therefore we don’t have any ‘father’ of all this heritage – just great masters. It is all so universal, it is timeless. It is a common heritage of all humanity. It is a compendium of facts of life, just as science is of the ‘objective’ world. So consider Vedanta to be yours, and study it with your heart & soul, and you shall be blessed with it.

Pl note that there are two things: Sanatan Dharma and Vedanta. Both are unique and also amazing. Both are apaurusheya, i.e. not given by any individual. In the former we have to ‘do’ something, and in the latter to ‘know’ the timeless truth. They don’t go together but have to be resorted to sequentially. First Dharma and then Vedanta. The first prepares us and the second enlightens us. In the first the priority is Karma, and in the latter the priority is Gyana. Karma is a world of its own. It requires exclusive & complete attention – basically to live ‘fully, intelligently & also selflessly’.

Once this is made effortless & natural, then we say that the person is ready for the knowledge of Vedanta. Effortlessness in the qualities of Dharma is the sign of maturity for the knowledge of Vedanta. We don’t oblige the family or the world with our good karmas, but basically make our minds ready for the subjective journey & awakening.

When we have learnt & inculcated the basic lessons of Dharma, then our teachers make us formally free of all doerships, that is what we call Sanyas, and such a person alone is ready & qualified for the knowledge of Vedanta. In other words a student of Vedanta has no responsibility towards any Dharma, because anyway all that beauty & goodness has become natural & effortless in the person. Graduation into this phase implies giving up all karmas completely, so that we can give our heart & soul for the self-knowledge, without any distractions of social obligations or responsibilities.

So first focus on preparing a nice beautiful mind by practice of Dharma, make it effortless & natural to you, thereafter give up ‘all sense of doership’ about anything whatsoever, and turn to the knowledge of Vedanta in the same dedicated way. That’s the way to go about into your – Self.

Love & om, Swami Atmananda

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‘I am Thy Student’

Shishyasteham

Swamini Samatananda

Shishyasteham Walking the path of life and facing it’s up’s and down’s, at some point of time or the other each one of us feels the need to have a guiding light which reveals to us the secrets of life and also paves the path of a smooth, secure and happy journey, removing the obstacles of ignorance, pain, indecisiveness and insecurity. An extreme situation of grief and indecisiveness often opens the doors to enquiry and knowledge. At such times one can indeed say that grief is a great blessing which compels us to think, enquire and look for a Master who becomes the light house for the ship of our life. This shows the necessity of a Guru in our life who guides us from darkness to light.

Acceptance of ignorance invokes the desire to learn and seek a Guru: Arjuna in his mind reflects a state of confusion and his frantic search for an answer to his mental indecisiveness comes to realise his state of ignorance and helplessness. Arjuna a great and famous warrior of his times who is known for his physical and mental strength shows a similar strength of humility to accept his ignorance and has the fire in him to surrender and learn at the Feet of a Master. He comes to see that guiding light in Sri Krishna and surrenders unto His Holy Feet. Arjuna’s surrender becomes a turning point in his life because Sri Krishna not only brings him out of the mental confusion in that particular situation alone, but reveals unto him that fundamental philosophy of life which teaches him to discriminate between Right and Wrong, reveals to him the fundamental goal of life and the means to attain it. Like Arjuna we too are often faced with such trying situations in life where we come on crossroads of indecisiveness and face a shattering mental agony. Such situations can become a blessing when we realise the bondage of ignorance and have the courage to accept our ignorance and seek a Master who can reveal to us the truth of life. Masters of knowledge are like the sunshine who comassionately embrace everything that comes forth. All we need to do is humbly accept our ignorance, having a burning desire to learn and have the mighty courage to surrender at the Feet of the Master. To such people the doors of knowledge open graciously liberating them from all bondages of darkness.

Who is a Spiritual Guru: ‘Guru’ means one who removes the darkness of ignorance and takes us to the light of knowledge. A Spiritual Guru is a Shrotriya Brahmanishtha i.e. one who has systematically acquired knowledge of Vedanta at the Feet of His Master and is equally capable of passing on the knowledge to his disciple. Unlike worldly teacher a spiritual Guru is very special and unique.The teaching that I am basically fulfilled and free from limitations of time and space is the basic vision given to us by our Masters.

There is a method of teaching, a method of communication by which this vision of the whole can be imparted to the other. This method or system of communication has always been the same and has not and cannot undergo any change, because it deals with timeless and universal knowledge that cannot be falsified by change of time,

VedantaSandesh Sandesh- Mar - April 2009 Vedanta 2012

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

place and people. The laws of physics can change from one generation to the other but the law of truth does not change or stand any contradiction. The Vedas are the valid means of knowledge revealed to us by the Rishis.

A Guru gives us a vision & goal in life: The vision of life given to us by our great masters is to see the self as a totally liberated being. Liberation from a sense of lack, a sense of insecurity & fear. Today the conclusion of oneself is that one is small, bound, inadequate and insecure. And on account of this conclussion life for us has become a journey of removing this inadequacy by means of constantly become something and acquiring something. The achievement of something makes us forget our limitation for a while and again we rise for yet another trip of extraneous fullfillemnt, thus on a constant ride. This erroneous conclusion of the self is not true and one can be liberated from this sense of lack only by seeing the reality of the self as limitless and blissful. You are basically self effulgent blissful self is the Vision given to us by our Rishis and Guru.

The bond of a Guru and shishya is also one of a devotee and a friend as Lord Krishna speaks of in the Gita- ‘Bhaktosi me sakha cheti’ It is a relationship of reverance, worship, transparency, loyalty and total surrender.

Bonding with the Guru: This vision and way of life is indeed the blessing of our Guru. But an important question is: How are we blessed in this manner by our Guru? There is no doubt about the fact that the blessings of our great Rishis and present Guru are impartially the same for everyone, but their blessings are indeed like the rays of the sun. The sunlight is the same for one and all, but that person is blessed by the sunlight who keeps the windows of his room open. If unfortunately one shuts the windows one cannot blame the sun for darkness in their room. Similarly one has to invoke the blessings and desire of the Guru to shower us with his compassion and unfold the secrets of self realisation. Knowledge imparted by the teacher is a fruit of one to one relationship, tuning and dialogue between the teacher and student. A communication must take place, and such communication is possible with fine tuning of the minds and the knowledge goes from one heart to the other.

This kind of a bond with the Guru is brought about by selfless service of the Guru. A service where the student brushes aside all his personal likes and dislikes and totally dedicates himself to the service of the master.

Such a selfless service is actually a bridge to connect the heart of the teacher and student where both in this process get to know each other. On one hand if the student gives everything of himself at the Holy Feet of the Master the Guru too creates a relaxed atmosphere wherein the student can without any hesitation open up his heart, be himself and ask questions. If the student is sincere the Guru will go to any length of compassion to explain things in as many ways and as many times untill the student has clear knowledge of the subject. The bond of a Guru and shishya is also one of a devotee and a friend as Lord Krishna speaks of in the Gita- ‘Bhaktosi me sakha cheti’ It is a relationship of reverance, worship, transparency, loyalty and total surrender.

If the relationship is nurtured in this manner the doors to self knowledge will indeed open for such a fortunate student. Such a bond naturally creates the platform for one to one dialogue for the very subtle study of Self Realisation.

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A Minor Bird

I have wished a bird would fly away, And not sing by my house all day; Have clapped my hands at him from the door When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me.

The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong In wanting to silence any song.

Robert Frost

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

Wandering in Himalayas Vision of a Jivanmukta

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions will determine the phenomenal world observed and experienced. The Botanist viewing a flower will see it differently from a poet viewing the same flower. each one of us interprets the objects that he sees in terms of his existing knowlege. The man of God -vision sees Him and His play everywhere.

Wandering in the Himalayas consists of poetic descriptions of places of importance in the Himalayas, sacred in their cultural lore and in the tradional faith of the Hindus. They are the many captured pictures framed by Shree Swami Tapovanji’s mighty pen.

Excerpts from the Travel Memoirs of Param Poojya Swami Tapovanji Maharaj

When we used to move from Uttarkashi to Gangotri, Shree Gurudev Tapovanji Maharaj often stopped abruptly in the trek, alert and thrilled, tense and silent, now lost in wonder at the snow-peaks, now aghast at the thundering laughter of the Ganga rushing down to serve mankind in the plains below, and I had watched him. Even a long-tailedtiny bir fluttering across the bridle path was sufficient to make him stand still, bathed in joy, whispering silently his homage to the Creator.

In the following page you can read how the Man of Divine Vision beholds the truth everywhere-be it in lifeless trees or among singing birds; in the cruel roar of animals, in the silent womb of the jungle, or in the bright expanse of the summer sky; in the rise of the sun, in the crescent moon, or in the tiny stars, in the whispering darkness, in dancing peacocks, in jumping monkeys, or in tender cows; be it at the sight of some poor villages of Himalayan hamlets sitting ans smoking their native pipes, or on beholding the vigorous hill-maidens working in the fields.

In the early years of my study at His Feet, Shree Swamiji once stopped in the middle of a walk to point out to me a spot in the distant sky where the golden color had suddenly changed, in a mighty stroke of inscrutable inspirations, into a blue splash!

On another occasion he cried, “Why can’t man see the Divinity behind that mad Painter who has painted this inspired beauty?”

Who has said that the Lord is formless? They are blind-blind to his Presence.

They are deaf-deaf to His Song which throbs everywhere. Those who read Wanderings in the Himalayas will develop in themselves the true vision to see the Unseen and Hear the Unheard. Wanderings in the Himalayas can open both your eyes and ears.

Vedanta does its miracle in every student; makes the blind see and the deaf here.

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Holistic Living To live in Tune with the Totality Fragmented & isolated existence is the way to a life of disaster, baseless burden, incapacities, repulsive relationships and unending diseases. It is the root cause of all the psychosomatic diseases, and is also the play ground for the ego to exist and bring about an eternally seeking and an abhorent personality. In fact this alone is one of the singularly most important cause for all of our failures & pains.

On the other hand to live in tune with totality implies to not only enjoy but be a part of a divine and grand cosmic orchestra, or be a privileged member of a Cosmic Organization. This magnanimous outlook not only unburdens us of all the inevitable effects of a fragmented existence but makes our very living a great blessing.

Such a person is never alone, but is rather with a constant awareness of that which is truly beautiful, lovely and inspiring.

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

Varaha Avatar Story Section

Varaha Avatar is the third avatar of Lord Vishnu, where He came in the form of a Boar. Lord Brahma created the first human being called Kashyap, who is a great sage. He had four wives, Diti, Aditi, Vinita, and Kudroo. Diti gave birth to the demons, and from Aditi were born the Devatas, or gods. Out of the demons born of Diti, two had terrific powers. These two brothers were named Hiranyaksha and

on p u e Onc me ... a ti

Hiranyakashyapu. Both of them performed so many religious practices and austerities so that in the course of time they gained limitless powers. Once Hiranyaksha did a lot of austerities so that Lord Brahma would give him a boon. He asked and received a boon that no god, demon, beast or human could ever kill him.

Hiranyaksha fueled with his limitless power attacked Heaven, the kingdom of devatas. At his very sight the gods were struck so much with fear that they hid themselves. Hiranyaksha challenged Varuna, the Lord of the 4 Ocean, to a fight. But Varuna answered, O great hero, I live like a hermit. I do not wish to fight. Besides, who can fight with you? Only God can do it.Then Hiranyaksha went in search of Hari (Lord Vishnu). He searched the whole universe for Lord Vishnu, but couldn’t find him. In the frustration, Hiranyaksha snatched the earth, and carried it to the bottom of the ocean, what is described as the cosmic ocean. The gods were alarmed and rushed to Lord Vishnu for rescue. Vishnu remembered that Brahma had forgotten to grant Hiranyaksha immortality against Varaha, the two tusked wild boar.Vishnu changed himself into a Varaha and dived into the ocean. Seeing Hiranyaksha under the cosmic ocean, He challenged him to a fight. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to have lasted for a thousand years, which Vishnu finally won. Varaha carried the Earth out of the ocean between his tusks and restored it to its place in the universe. Lord Vishnu married goddess Prithvi (Bhudevi, or Mother Earth) in this avatar.

Thus in his third incarnation, Lord Vishnu as Varaha saved the earth from demon Hiranyaksha, thus saving the mankind.

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Wfeboub!Njttjpo ' Wfeboub!Btisbn Ofxt

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

Wfeboub!Dbnq!bu!Sjtijlfti; A six days ‘Vedanta Camp’ was organized at Swami Dayananda Ashram, Rishikesh from 11th to 16th June 2012 by Poojya Guruji and Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji. The subject matter of the discourse series were Drig-Drishya Viveka and Gita Chapter 14. There were around 50 campers from Lucknow, Dehradun, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and even Secunderabad. It was an overall great & sincere group, with lots of great singers too. As such there was no other cultural program in this camp apart from daily bhajans. One of the days we had Ganga Puja and Deep-Daan.

Poojya Swaminiji took the Meditation class early in the morning, followed by a chanting class of Hastamalaka Stotram. After brekfast Poojya Guruji took two continuous sessions of Drig-Drishya Viveka with a short break, till lunch time. Later after tea there was Gita.

On the last day, after the Guru Pujan, the campers narrated their experiences of the camp, and it was great to see everyone go back highly inspired & enlightened.

Wfeboub!Btisbn!Ofxt; A six days ‘Balvihar Camp’ was organized at Vedanta Ashram from 11th to 16th June by Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji. Various children of the locality joined the camp.

They were taught shlokas, bhajans and inspiring stories. They played various games and even learnt to make paper crafts.

Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji conducted special classes on Purusha Suktam for the regular Ashram visitor students.

The Mundakopanishad was again started by Poojya Guruji after his return from Rishikesh for the Ashram inmates. Right now after the Sambandha Bhashya, the first mantra has been started. Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji is continuing her classes of Kathopanishad.

Indore people desparately wait for the monsoon to arrive. It is expected that after Guru Poornima the advent of monsoons will be there, which iss late everywhere this year.

Xfc!Bdujwjujft; 1. Drig-Drishya Viveka Discourses: The discourses given by Poojya Guruji on DrigDrishya Viveka have been upladed on the net for free downloads by any student of Vedanta.

These discourses are in Hindi, and the link can be got from VM News Blog or Gurujis Facebook / Twitter account.

2. eBook of Drig-Drishya Viveka: An ebook of Drig-Drishya Viveka has been published

by VM, and uploaded on Issuu. It is a free book with original sanskrit shlokas, along with English & Hindi translations.

3. eMagazines of VM: The web edition of Vedanta Piyush is being re-started from this month after a break. The Vedanta Sandesh also has been given a fresh look, with various new sections.

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Wfeboub!Dbnq-!Sjtijlfti

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

Check out the detailed Photo Albums of the various functions on VM News Blog at : http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/

June 2012

Cbmwjibs!Dbnq-!Joepsf

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20 Years of Vedanta Mission Vedanta Mission started in Mumbai in 1992 with a grand Gita Gyana Yagna at Patwardhan Park. The organizer wwas an old devotee of Poojya Guruji Sh Mangaram Wadhwani, who has since expired. Thereafter there were series of GGY at Arya Vidya Mandir, and it was at that time the foundation of Vedanta Mission was laid.

Its been a long journey since and many Gita Gyana Yagnas, Sadhana Camps, Seminars, Workshops, Study Groups, Cultural Programs etc have been organized since then. Two Charitable Trusts were formed. Ancient Indian Cultural Trust and then the Indian Cultural Foundation. A core group of devotees have been managing the activities with great devotion & enthusiasm.

VM Mumbai has decided to ceelebrate the occaion with all enthusiasm it deserves. In Dec 2012 special celebrations are being organized, which include: 1. Organizing a grand cultural event ‘Sufiyana’ at Maniksabha Gruh 2. Organizing a grand Gita Gyana Yagna at Vivekananda Auditorium at Ramkrishna Mission Ashram Complex.

3. Releasing of a Souvenir Special fund drives are being organized, special brochures are being published and effforts are being made to involve as many people as possible. For more information pl contact: Mr Mohan Lala c/o Elite Builders, 12th Road Khar (W), Mumbai Email: indcul.foundation@gmail.com / Mb: 9820027141

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2012

Forthcoming Guru Poornima Celebrations, Indore: This year Guru Poornima, the Jayanti of Bhagwan Sri Veda Vyasaji will be celebrated at Vedanta Ashram on 3rd July 2012. This day is dedicated to our spiritual teachers. Puja of the paduka of Sri Sankaracharya will bo done at 9:30 AM at Ashram.

Holistic Living Seminar, Ahmedabad: Poojya Guruji will visit Ahmedabad for three days from 27th to 30th July for conducting a three days program on Holistic Living. On 29th evening there will be a discourse in Hindi on Mukti: Karma se ya Karma me at Samutkarsha Academy.

Vedanta Camp, Indore: A week-long Vedanta Camp is being organized at Vedanta Ashram, Indore from 11th to 17th Aug, just after Sri Krishna Janmashtami on 10th Aug. The subject matter of the discourse series will be Sri Ram Gita of Adhyatma Ramayana.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow: A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will be conducted at Hari om Mandir, Lucknow from 16th to 22nd Oct 2012. The evening discourse will conclude on 22nd evening, and the morning one on 23rd.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow: A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji will be conducted at Hanuman Setu Mandir, Lucknow from 17th to 23rd Nov 2012.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai: A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji will be conducted at Ramkrishna Mission Hall, Khar, Mumbai from 10th to 16th Dec 2012. On 9th Dec a big Cultural Event will be orgnaized at Manik Sabhagruh Hall, Bandra.

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Om Tat Sat