Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission Year 17
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Issue 1
In This Issue
1.
Vedanta Section:
Atma Bodha - Shloka-32
2.
Letter Section:
Self-Knowledge Beginner
3.
Festival Related:
Guru-Shishya
4.
Story Section:
Five Kinds Of Lights
5.
VM Programs:
Mission / Ashram Progs
From Poojya Guruji
Vedanta Sandesh
Hari om!
Spreading Love & Light
Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission Sharing the message of Vedanta and Sanatan Dharma
July 2011 On the Net since 1995
Started by:
Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji
Editor:
Swamini Samatananda
Published from:
Vedanta Ashram E/2948-50, Sudama Nagar Indore-452 009, India
Web:
www.vmission.org.in Email:
vmission@gmail.com
Liberation is all about being really free - in all respects, outside and also inside. Free to live, eat, spend, enjoy etc, as per our wishes. We all basically like freedom. A person is blessed indeed who has freedom to live as per his or her convictions & aspirations. However, there are two kinds of freedom, one, in the world outside, and two, within our minds. While we do need necesssary freedom in the world outside, yet what is more important is the freedom in our minds; all the freedom outside comes to a naught if we are not free within. Most of the time what we think as freedom is only in living as per our likes & dislikes, which were consciously or unconsciously impressed in our minds in the process of our upbringing & education. Real freedom of mind not only incorporates the freedom to do anything, but also the freedom of 'not doing' anything, however deep, habitual or impulsive it is. We need to have the freedom to press the accelerator as well as the brakes. The incapacity to do anything otherwise is certainly a helpless situation. The factors which incapacitate us to not-do what we like; or our utter helplessness to do something which we normally dislike, are all 'conditionings'. Free responses do not imply absence of freedom to do otherwise, but need to show a voluntary free choice to respond in a particular way, even when we could have very well done anything otherwise, without any fear or problems. Very rarely we find such a freedom in any individual, most of us are terribly & helplessly conditioned & programmed. This is what bondage is; and living in such a helpless state within, all external freedom really becomes meaningless. It is like being a bird in a golden cage. Very rarely people act, most of the time they helplessly react. Conditioned people are predictable, while a really free person is never predictable. Today we are free to think about so many things, the thoughts keep flowing on & on. If we are really in command, then we should have the freedom to quieten all our thoughts, to just switch off? If not, then obviously flow of thoughts is not a matter of choice, we are just conditioned to helplessly think. Real freedom is borne out of our wisdom to go deep into all our likes & dislikes, appreciate their cause, effect & implications and thus live freely & thoughtfully. A habitual response is always a half-hearted one, because somewhere deep within we are neither sure nor really involved. Let us also understand that the so called 'good programming' is not synonymous with true freedom, because it is not an expression of free-will - borne out of wisdom & knowledge. Conditionings are conditionings because they constrain our freedom of response, and the moment we resolve to be really free, then that very moment conditionings are no more conditionings, and we are free. As the Kathopanishad says, let us awake & arise. Let us redeem our true subjective freedom, because that alone truly matters, and not just our freedom to follow a life of our likes & dislikes. Love & om,
Swami Atmananda
Atma Bodha - Shloka 32 Vedanta Section
I am not the Body or Indriyas So far it has been revealed that the technique of negation is the door to unfolding the true nature of the Self. The Atman being ever existent and revelling in its own glory does not need to be created so the discovery of the Real Self is basically negating all the veils of the Anatman. That is the identification with the limited adjuncts like the Body, Mind and Intellect as ‘I’. I am none of these manifested adjuncts which are limited on the level of time, space and object, seeing this truth and negating is the way of unfolding the glorious Self. This has been the subject matter of the previous two slokas and the technique of such negation is further being discussed in the following sloka.
32 Dehanyatvanna me janma jarakarshyalayadayah Shabdadivishayaissango nirindriyataya na cha Dehanyatvat: being distinct from the body; na me janma jarakarshyalayadayah: I have no birth, old age, decay, death and the like; Shabdadivishayaih: with the objects of sense like sound etc; sangah: connection; nirindriyataya: being not of the senses; na cha: and have not. Distinct from the body that I am, I have no birth, decay, death or the like. Distinct from the senses, I have no connection with the objects of the senses like sound and so forth.
Deha anyatvat: Our personality is made up of the physical and the subtle body. Even though made of Maya it is also true that our body is a great blessing, a gift from God which we use to experience life, gain the knowledge of the Self and live it to the fullest. Infact the scriptures say that it is due to great merits that one is blessed by a human body. So as much as we need to discover the true nature of the ‘Self’ and the body we also need to take proper care to keep the mind and the body healthy so as to make the most of it. Coming to think of it our manifested body is not a problem by itself. The error lies in coming to take this manifestation as the Real ‘I’. We pay an unimaginable price of this error by imposing the limitations of this body on our Self, and take its limitaVedanta Sandesh - July 2011
tions as our own limitations. Once the ‘I’ is erroneously & baselessly taken as limited, the innings of our life thereafter starts with a sense of limitation. Subsequently the goal of our life then becomes to overcome this deep sense of limitation within and we get started on an endless trip of seeking. It is indeed a funny game which is going on in life, first we erroneously take this limited physical body as our self, and thereafter we work to remove this sense of limitation. The fact is that there is no real limitation, it is just an error borne out of ignorance of our true self. To remove this ignorance the scriptures reveal that the Atman is distinct from the body. It is indeed the consciousness which enlivens the body, mind and intellect and brings about the awarenes of the world around but yet it is unaffected by any
modifications and limitations of the body. The scriptures logically prove that the Atman is distinct from the body. The body is an ‘object’ of our consciousness. We as a ‘subject’ objectify our body, so we are naturally something different from it. We all know that subject is always different from object. Secondly when a person dies, the body remains here and we say that the person is dead & gone. Something which was present in a body a short time ago is no more. So it is evident that there is some ‘I’ which is different from this body. It alone takes up this body, and the body exists till that ‘I’ resides in & manifests from it. That which always is, that which is not taken up & left, that which is not an ‘object’, but exists as a knower of all objects; it alone can be called as the ‘subject, or ‘I – the Atma’. Na me janm jara karshya layadayah: Having understood that the Atman is distinct from the body it then becomes logical for us to understand that modifications like birth, decay, death etc do not belong to the Atman. These are modifications of the body alone. As a consequence of our ignorance we come to identify with the body and hence we come to believe that I am fat or thin, I am white or black, I am young or old, I am man or a woman, I am healthy or sick, I was born & will die etc. In the Gita Lord Sri Krishna compares the body to robes that we wear. Just as we change our old clothing and put on new ones so also our physical body is our wardrobe in our journey of life which changes as we take a new birth. Shabdadivishayaissango: The five sense organs of perception are the capacity to hear, feel, see, taste and smell. Through these we perceive the entire world of sound, touch, form, taste and smell respectively. With this each sense organ has it’s respective sense object. Again from the worldly point of view all our sense organs are a great blessing as they are our doorways to
the world outside. Life becomes extremely difficult even if one of the sense organs does not function. But at the same time one must come to see the fact that ultimately these sense organs and their respective objects are made from panchamahabhutas or the five elements which are basically inert by nature. Ultimately the sense organs come to enliven the objective world with the blessing of the light of consciousness and the bliss experienced in the sense objects too is a reflection of our very own blissful nature. Being inert in nature the sense organs too can be objectified. Infact just as for the the physical body we say ‘my eyes, my nose etc, which means these are my instruments which help me interact with the world but this is not ‘Me’. I am the master of these instruments and therefore fundamentally have no attachment with the sense organs and their objects of experience. Nirindriyataya na cha: When we realize the truth of our self as something other than this Annamaya Kosha, then none of these things are thereafter associated with ‘I’. They may remain a fact at a particular level of our personality, but will not be seen as ‘my’ definition, and this makes all the difference. Knowledge of the truth of our self gives us an altogether new identity, a new birth & life. The various social & other problems connected with us being young & old, white & black, man or women etc attain unmanageable proportions & complexities only because of our erroneous association with this particular layer of our personality, and become petty things if we are not these things, but something which is a common denominator of all. The lesson we learn from knowing that the Annamaya is a Kosha, is that we are prompted to redefine our relationship with our body. It is extremely necessary that we drop this error that ‘I am this body’ before we enter the portals of the realization of our true Self. In fact this negation is the very process of Self-Knowledge.
Agyan timir-andhasya Gyananjan Shalakaya. Chakshur-oonmeelitam yena tasmai Shri Gurave Namah. My Salutations to that reverential teacher, who opened my eyes, by applying the divine collyrium of self-knowledge in my eyes, which had got blinded by the cataract of ignorance.
Greetings to all on the pious occassion of Guru Poornima Page # 5
The Precious Stone A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a very unique and precious stone in a small river. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her pack to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the special stone in the wise woman's bag, appreciated it, and asked the wise woman to give it to him. The wise woman did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good luck. He knew the stone was worth enough to live peacefully for the rest of his life. But a few days later he came back, searching for the wise woman. When he found her, he returned the stone and said, I have been thinking. I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back to you in the hope that you can give me something much more precious. If you can, give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.
Vedanta Sandesh - July 2011
Letter of the Month
Self-Knowledge Beginner
Namaste Santhosh, Knowledge is all about being aware of the truth of what is, while Yoga and It will be Bhakti aim to great if you out change thefind mind for better, so a the teacher of technically they fall Vedanta there in the category of itself with whom karma, working to you can have onechange something. t For o knowledge - o n even e i na tsankalpa e r a c t itoo n s . change anything is Vedanta alone is an impediment, the answer all because thenofour your priorities queries. change from knowing what - Poojya Guruji is to working for what should be. - Poojya Guruji
Hari om! Nice to know that you are interested in Self-Knowledge. This is indeed the best of all knowledges. However, in such matters distant learning systems are not the most effective ones, yet I can give you some tips to begin: 1. Live a life of simplicity, selfless-service & truthfulness in your day to day life. 2. See the whole life as a profound blessing of God. 3. Aim to know the 'knower' of each experience, rather than just focussing on the known objects. 4. Sit down daily for Meditation, quieten your mind, and learn to be the witness or the Sakshi of your mind & life. 5. Study Bhagwad Gita regularly for greater in-depth guidance & insights. It will be great if you find out a teacher of Vedanta there itself with whom you can have one-to-one interactions. Vedanta alone is the answer of all your queries. I am sure there should be no dearth of such teachers there in Kerala, which iss the land of Sri Adi Sankara, Swami Tapovanam and Swami Chinmayananda. Blessings & Best Wishes, Swami Atmananda
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A Divine Relationship
Guru-Shishya
A teacher is a light house in any person’s life. At any point of time in life, in any field, it is a teacher alone who lights up the dark tunnel of ignorance of an unknown world. In this sense any person who brings such direction of light, relieving one from the fear of darkness, can be called our teacher. It could be our parents, our well wishers, our school teachers, some relative or even a situation and nature. A saint called Dattatreya is known to have 24 teachers. He payed respects to all those who opened the doors of knowledge for him in some way or the other. It included humans, animals, nature and even non-living things like bangles on a ladies wrist. Although it may be easy to give the name of a student-teacher relationship, but in essence the dignity, depth and glory of this realtionhip in the study of Selfknowledge or Vedanta is far more higher than any other relationship. A relationship easier said than done. Infact a very popular sloka in ‘Guru stotram’ discribes the glory of a Guru by enveloping all the relationships we look up to for intimacy and guidance like parents, friend and sibling. Not only this but the sloka also says that all sources of security like wealth and knowledge are my Guru. Ultimately a humble disciple puts his hands up only to say that no relationhip, no words can envelop you, you are everything to me Oh! Revered Master. In today’s times what we often know of a teacher is a learned person who is hired by the school or institute, who comes to the class, professes to a number of a students from a platform and then leaves. A teacher who may be available to give some guidance on a particular subject, who may be available to give special coaching in coaching classes, a professor in college who speaks from a pedestal and leaves and one who rarely even knows his students personally. Such a relationship truly lacks the fragrance and spirit of a student teacher relation. The real fragrance of this relationship is invoked by a very intimate bond of faith, desire to learn and the desire of the teacher to give the best of himself. For the study of Vedanta some very unique qualities are prescribed by the Scriptures which make up for an ideal student and an ideal teacher. The study of the nature of the Self in Vedanta is a very serious, indepth and tricky path. When we gain knowledge of worldly sciences we try and understand that which can be objectified by our body, our senses, mind and intellect. We can see and understand the objective world. The knowledge of Vedanta is knowing the ‘knower’ himself. The self is the knower of everything, the objects, the senses, pranas, the mind, the intellect. This knower is that who lights up everything into awareness but does it does not have another knower, because it is the ultimate source of light. It is like the battery in a torch. The batteries enable the torch to bring outside things into light, but the battery itself cannot be seen by the torch light. How then can such a knower be known. Knowing the Self who is the knower of all and that
VedantaSandesh Sandesh- -July April2011 2009 Vedanta
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which cannot be objectified is indeed a tricky thing. It therefore needs a Master who can reveal the self which is beyond words and objectification. The process of Self-knowledge is a science, it is an art which can be brought about by the union of a highly proficent teacher and an extremely desirous and dedicated student. The Scriptures give out some very unique qualities of an eligible student of Vedanta and a Vedantic Acharya. Qualities of a deserving student: The scriptures speak of some very specific four fold qualities like discrimintaion between the Real & Unreal, dispassion towards worldly pleasures, the six fold qualities like control of the senses and mind etc, intense desire for liberation. Amongst these one very significant attribute of a deserving student has been discussed as faith towards the Guru and the scriptures. The Teacher alone is the lighthouse who can open the doors of this indepth knowledge. There is absolutely no other way out. If at all a student aspires to learn by himself, firstly it will not be possible for an ignorant mind to unfold the implications of the scripitural mantras, secondly even if a person does intellectually understand the scriptures it will only result in intellectual information and a bloated ego of having learned by oneself. Whereas the sole objective of this knowledge is to dissolve the individual ego. And this is brought about only by humble surrender at the feet of the Master. Faith towards the teacher is the first step to knowledge. A Sadguru: The scriptures also reveal about the nature of a Sadguru. It is not that we can judge a Man of wisdom. We ourselves are in ignorance, what pottential do we have to judge a Sadguru. But the scriptures humbly throw light on the authentic place of knowldege. An Acharya who genuinely can give us knowledge is one who is a ‘Shrotriya Brahmanishtha’. These are two features we can see in a Man of wisdom. ‘Shrotriya’ means when the Master himself has gained his knowedge from an authentic lineage of Saints and wise Men. He has sat at their feet and systematically studied the Vedas. ‘Brahmanishtham’ is one who having gained Self knowledge also revels in his own glory of Brahman. He lives with steady knowledge reflecting himself as a Man of wisdom. As a person who has transcended all sense of limitations and reflects a blissful nature. Loving Sewa bonds the two: An extremely significant feature that invokes the blessings of knowledge is selfless & dedicated service of the Sadguru. This is the most important feature which creates a strong bond of love, faith & respect thereby building a firm platform for learning. Sewa is that glorious means that not only brings about humility in a student but also enables the student & teacher to know each other more closely. When a disciple serves his guru he unfolds himself more & more thereby bringing out all the positive & negative qualities in us. Not only this our sincere, dedicated and selflessness alone shows our intense desire to gain this knowledge. In the process we also get to know the compassionate and subtle nature of our teacher. Sewa alone invokes the desire in a teacher’s heart to bless us with this divine knowledge. Page # 9
Growing Good Corn There was a Nebraska farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon... One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. "How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked. "Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn." He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves. So it is in other dimensions. Those who choose to be at peace must help their neighbors to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all. The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn.
Vedanta Sandesh - July 2011
Stories by Sages
Five Kinds of Lights King Janaka once asked a revered sage, "Revered Sir, What lights a man's way in this world? What is the real source of light?"
on p u e Onc me ... a ti
"Why, that is easy, O King," the Venerable Sage replied, "the sun lights a man, of course. For, with the sun alone as light, a person sits, goes out, does the day's work, and returns." "True, Sir! But when the sun has set, what lights one's way in this world?" "Why, then, O King, the moon is one's light. For, by moonlight, one can sit, or go out, do one's work, and return." "That is true, O Sage," agreed Janaka. "But," he added, "when the moon also has set, what then?" "Then fire is one's light, O King. For, by the light of fire, one sits, or goes out, does one's work, and returns." Again Janaka agreed. "That is true, Sir, but when the sun and moon have set, and the fire has gone out, then what lights one's way in the world?" "O King," answered the sage, "at that time, voice alone is one's light. By the sound of voices, one can sit, or go out, do one's work, and return. For, when it is so dark that one cannot even see one's hand in front, one can still hear sounds, and move toward them." "That, too, is true, Sir. But when the sun and moon have set, and the fire has gone out, and all sound has stopped, what then lights one's way in the world?" "Then the Self, alone, is one's light, Your Majesty. For then one must sit, or go out, do one's work, and return, all with the help of the Self alone." Janaka happened to know quite a lot about the Self already, but he urged the Venerable Sage to explain more about it. He hoped he could add further to his own spiritual knowledge, so he continued to question the Venerable Sage. "Which is the Self?" Janaka asked. "The Self, Your Majesty, is the Knowing One, here among our various parts -- the Inner Light within the heart. It is He who sees this world of our waking state. It is He who sees the world of dream. And, in the dreamless sleep, when we think that we are not seeing, the Self is there, seeing. "In the space within your heart lies this One Controller of All, the Master of All. It cannot be destroyed. It does not attach Itself to anything. It is not bound, does not suffer, is not injured. Good and evil do not affect It. "When a person clearly sees this Self inside as God, the Lord of the past and the future, then he has nothing to fear. This is the undying, fearless Brahman. Fearless, indeed, is Brahman, and he who knows this too becomes the fearless."
Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009
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June’11 VM / VA Programs Sadhana Camp, Rishikesh:
Vedanta Mission / Ashram Programs
A Sadhana Camp was organized at Swami Dayananda Ashram, Rishikesh from 6th to 11th June 2011. The camp was conducted by Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji and Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji.
Vedanta Sandesh - July 2011
The camp was attended by more than 60 devotees from different parts of the country, which included Lucknow, Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Indore, Gwalior etc. A typical day during the camp started at 5.30 AM with a Vedantic Meditation by Poojya Guruji. This was open only to old students. Then followed two sessions of discourses on Ishavasya Upanishad by Poojya Guruji, with a breakfast break in between. Then there was a chanting class by Poojya Swaminiji. Later after lunch and some rest, at 3.30 PM there was another session of (Upasana) Meditation for Beginners by Poojya Swaminiji. Then there was the Gita class and finally the cultural programs.
Discourses during Camp: The main discourse series were on Ishavasya Upanishad and Gita Chapter 12 by Poojya Guruji and Poojya Swaminji respectively. There were overall 13 sessions of Ishavaasya Upanishad, which thus helped a relatively more elaborate discussion on the text. The Upanishad begins with a bang, divinizing everything in the creation, by its famous 1st mantra ‘Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam’. P.Guruji explained that when everything is Isha, then it implies that every Jiva is also basically that. The main objective of the mantra is not merely to have the bhavana of the presence of Isha everywhere, but to negate the a-brahmatvam of Jiva. The Upanishad also deals nicely with the topic of Karma & Upasana, and suggests a balanced & holistic approach in sadhana. Gita Chapter 12 deals with Bhakti, specially the steps of Saguna Bhakti.
Cultural Programs during Camp: Everyday after dinner there were some cultural programs. FIrst two days there were Bhajans & Q & A sessions, and after that there was a sessions of bhajans, shlokas & chaupayi based Antakshari. Campers were divided into two groups, Ganga & Narmada, and there was a very active participation. The hesitation of opening up was all gone, and we discovered tons of stock in both the sides, and this included various regional languages, including Hindi, Avadhi, Gujrati and even Punjabi. Lot of Ramayana chaupayis came to the rescue of the participants. Even after 90 minutes of play both the teams stood equal, and fianlly Poojya Guruji declared both of them equally competent & thus winners. One of the other days there was a Quiz Program amongst the same teams. This had various rounds, like Shloka chanting, Bhajans, Q&A, Dumb Shiraz and Acting rounds. It was both fun & enlightening.
June’11 VM / VA Programs
Vedanta Mission / Ashram Programs
Ganga Snana, Rishikesh: The famous festival of Ganga Dasshera was during the camp. On this day Gangaji is said to have descended down on the earth, so this is a big festival in the whole area. Roads from Delhi were fully blocked with huge traffic, however at Ashram it was all cool. A day before we had Ganga-Snana with Poojya Guruji and P.Swaminiji. Last year flash floods had broken the path which took the devotees almost mid-stream, so the bathing spots were nearer Ashram. Luckily we had lovely sunshine on that day, even though most of the days it was cloudy & even raining. Same day in the evening the devotees organized materials for doing Deepa-Daana in the evening. So accordingly paper-dona’s were brought, they were filled up with flowers, a deepa & karpoor (camphor). We all did Ganga Aarti and then just after sunset these lamps were offered to Ganga Mata. It looked very beautiful, like descended stars.
Garba during Camp, Rishikesh: On the second last day of the camp, the Gujrati group offered to do Garba Dance. This has beccome so common all over the country that people from other parts also love to do garba. Some devotees sang garba numbers & bhajans wile others were dancing going round & round. SLowly others were also pulled in, and we had a nice session. Even Poojya Swaminiji sang few gujrati bhajans. Later we had some other bhajans also. Sardar Surinder Singh, a first timer in the camp from Jaipur, presented some lovely punjabi bhajans. Later few devotees who had to leave a day early shared their camp experiences, and it was a matter of great joy to see all the campers making the best of the six days at Arsha Vidya Peetha, as the Swami Dayananda Ashram is called. On the last day the camp concluded with Pada Puja of Poojya Guruji.
Camp Conclusion with Pada-Puja: On 11th June, the last day of the camp, all the proposed texts were satisfactorily concluded, and a Pada Pooja was planned after tea in the evening. This year the privilege of Pada Pooja went to Sh Rajesh Kumar & Smt Sangeeta Kumar from Lucknow, which they both conducted with great love & devotion. Rajesh video recorded the entire Ishavasya Upanishad discourses, A flowery path was made from the gate of the Hall to the Vyasa Peetha, everyone sprinkled flowers on Poojya Guruji when he entered the Hall, and then Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji gave all the necessary directions for the puja to the couple, who represented everyone for this special puja. Later the next dates of Camp at Rishikesh were announced by Poojya Guruji - 15th June 2012 onwards. Check out the detailed Photo Albums of the various functions on VM News Blog at : http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/ Page # 13
Where the mind is without fear by Rabindranath Tagore
Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic wars; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Vedanta Sandesh - July 2011
Forthcoming Programs
Guru Poornima, Indore: Guru Poornima will be celebrated at Vedanta Ashram on the 15th of July. As earlier, first there will be a pujan of Bhagwan Sri Sankaracharya and Poojya Gurudev by Poojya Guruji. There after a Pada Pooja of Poojya Guruji will be done. Later there will be a Bhandara.
Tattva Bodha Camp, Indore: Right after Guru Poornima, there will be a 15 days Tattva Bodha Camp. This camp has been designed for devotees who wish to take up systematic study of Vedanta. T.Bodha is the first text which a student of Vedanta should study, because it gives definitions & overview.
Gita Gyana Yagna, Wellingborough: A Gita Gyana Yagna will be organized at the Hindu Temple at Wellingborough from 23rd July by Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji. The subject matters of the English language discourse series will be Gita Chapter 2 and Tattva Bodha.
Gita Talks, Reading Hindu Temple, UK: A pravachan of Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji has been organized at Hindu Temple at Reading on 2nd Aug. The temple committee has kindly arranged the prog even as the temple is still undergoing a major renovation.
Satsang, Laxminarayan Mandir, Bradford: Laxminarayan Mandir at Bradford is one of the temples in UK which is not only very nicely made, but even the pujas are offered very nicely. They always make their premises available for the satsang of VM Mahatmas. A satsang of Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji is being organized there on 7th Aug.
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Hari om !
Web Site of the International Vedanta Mission: http://www.vmission.org.in/
International Vedanta Mission News Blog: http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/
Checkout the new ‘Gita Section’ of VMission Web Site at: http://www.vmission.org.in/vedanta/shastras/gita/index.htm
This is a Net Publication of the International Vedanta Mission
Om Tat Sat