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Sthita Prajna

Guru Vandana

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srigurum paramanandam vandehyananda vigrahamyasya sannidhyamatrena chidanandaya tenamaha

Guru Gita : 334

I bow to the guru preceptor who is supreme bliss andpersonification of joy: in his presence alone, does the mind assumethe form of pure consciousness and bliss.

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4

Sub Page No.

• GURU VANDANA 3

• EDITORIAL 5

• MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER 6

• PRAJNANAVANI – KARMA AND FREEDOM... 10

• PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDA 13

• GURUDEV’S BIRTHDAY 16

• TEACHINGS OF THE MASTERS 18

• MYTHS AND METAPHORS 19MAHABHARATA

• YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI 27

• DATES TO REMEMBER 28

• STORIES TO LIVE BY – THE BITTER TRUTH 29

• VALUABLE VOLUMES 31

• THE LAW OF KARMA 37

• 25TH YEAR OF JAGATPUR ASHRAM 45

• 125TH BIIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF... 47

Printed and Published by Swami Achalananda Giri on behalf ofPrajnana Mission, Printed at Graphic Art Offset Press,

at Nuapatna, Manglabag, Dist : Cuttack (Orissa) and published atPrajnana Mission at Nimpur, P.O. Jagatpur, Cuttack-754021, Orissa.

Editor : Swami Achalananda Giri

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FROM THE EDITORS :

“I will come again and again to evolve you all in thespiritual path and to lead you to the goal of realization.”

– Paramahamsa YoganandaGurudev talks of “Following the Guru” in Message from

the Master.

Prajnanavani gives a beautiful metaphor and innersignificance of the Rathayatra,quoting from the Upanishads andthe Bhagavad Gita.

We bring you more of Paramahamsa Yoganandaji’s lifeand teachings as we commemorate the 125th birth anniversary ofthe great Guru.

Our Myths and Metaphors series continues the story ofMahabharata. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali explains how samadhicomes through faith, vitality, memory, balanced mind, anddiscriminative knowledge.

Our series on Valuable Volumes starts the most thought-provoking book - The Law of Kama by Guruji.

The 125th Birth Anniversary celebrations honouringParamahamsaYoganandaji continued in many of our ashrams andcentres in the United States, South America, Canada, Australiaand New Zealand with discourses, seminars and cultural programsin the presence of Paramahamsa Prajnananandaji.

The birthday of Gurudev Baba Hariharanandaji wascelebrated in all ashrams and all centres around the world.

We bring you many messages of the Gurus, the news ofthe many activities of Prajnana Mission around the world.

We thank our readers and sponsors for their continuedsupport.

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MESSAGE FROM THE MASTERFOLLOW THE MASTER

Life is to learn. Peoplelearn how to earn money, butrarely do they learn how to livewith love, peace, and harmony.Earning money alone cannotgive real joy in life. One shouldbe constantly learning the realart of thinking and living. Forsuch orientation and training,one needs good company, andespecially the company of theteacher. Nowadays, it is not soeasy to have good company, orto find a teacher, but if you aresincere in your quest, and pray,you will find one. There is abeautiful saying in Sanskrit:

tyaja durjana samsargambhaja sadhusamagama

kuru punyam ahoratramsmara nityam anityatvam

“Avoid company of evilsand seek good companyintensely. Do noble work dayand night, and always rememberthe transience of life.”(Chanakya Niti)

Always feel thepossibility that you may die atany moment. Life is like a glassplate that you carry around thatcould fall and break into piecesat any time. Tyaja durjanasamsargam: avoid badcompany. Where is badcompany? Bad company iswithin you. You are your friend,and you are your foe. All evils,such as anger, pride,viciousness, cruelty, insincerity,suspicion, and doubt, are all badcompany. These were therelatives of Arjuna. Arjuna wasnot willing to fight with them inthe Mahabharata war. He keptsaying, “No, no, no, I will notkill my relatives.”

Krishna was teachinghim how to rise above

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weakness. Krishna meansgood company. That is yourindwelling Self. He knows goodand bad. Your consciencealways tells you what is goodand what is bad. Sometimes youtry your utmost to avoid the bad,but fail. However, if you are ingood company, and follow yourbest friend Krishna, then youcan succeed. Krish refers tocultivation of land, and narefers to the formless power ofGod. The combination of thetwo is Krishna. If the farmerhelps you to cultivate your landproperly, and you follow hisinstructions, then you can get agood harvest, but it dependsupon your deep desire.

You need a very strongand disciplined master. Everyteacher is a strong master.They teach how to control themind of their disciples, givingnew education to their brains.The teacher is good company.Through him, you can removeall your bad qualities. Arjunafailed in the beginning, and wealso fail often. Arjuna representsall worldly people. Lord Krishnahad to teach him the eighteenchapters of the Bhagavad Gitato remove his confusion. Namcha nirguna vachaka.Nirguna means “formless,”

represented by na. Theformless is conducting the body,gradually leading it from thelower to the upper centres.

tyajadurjanasamsargam

“Be free from badcompany.” (ChanakyaNiti)

Undoubtedly, outsideextrovert friends are alsodurjanasamsargam. Some ofyour friends may force you tosmoke or drink, and, in this way,you have learned smoking orintoxication. That isdurjanasamsargam (badcompany). Always remain ingood company and watch whoyou are. You are theimperishable soul. Krishnatalked about the imperishablelife and said to Arjuna, “Youare a warrior. It is your duty tofight. You have now become acoward.”

hatova prapsyasi svargamjitva vabhoksyase mahimtasmat uttishtha kaunteyayuddhaya kritanischayah

“If you die fighting, youcan go to heaven. If you win,you can get the kingdom. Eitherway, you are to fight. So get upand fight.” (Bhagavad Gita2:37)

Lord Krishna said to getup. Metaphorically, in the body,

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you have to come up from thelower centers to the upper.

In deep meditation onefeels as though the body hasno limits. The physical body isgone, and one can feel thecosmic form. The IshaUpanishad (mantra 17) says:

bhasmantam sariram.

“Ultimately the body isburned to ashes.”

In the eleventh chapterof the Bhagavad Gita, LordKrishna shows his cosmic formto Arjuna, which engulfs thewhole universe and beyond.When you are in meditation, ininfinity, then your breath is veryfeeble. You do not know whereyour body is. You are in theatom point.

yavad bindu na bhavatidradhah

“As long you do not goto the atom point you will notexperience the truth.” (HathaYoga Pradipika 4:114)

Arjuna followed LordKrishna through and through. Atthe end of the teaching, he said:“nashtomoha, my delusion hasdisappeared; smritirlabdha, Ihave regained my memory;sthito’smi, now I amestablished; gatasandehah, mydoubts have disappeared;

karisye vachanam tava, I willfollow what you say.”(Bhagavad Gita 18:73)

A realized teacherteaches from his experienceand realization. ShriRamakrishna Paramahamsawas not educated, yet he talkedabout the highest truths of theUpanishads, Vedas, BhagavadGita, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, andBrahmasutra. Vivekanandaonce asked him how he couldtalk about all these thingswithout ever studying thescriptures. Ramakrishna repliedthat what he spoke was theVedas, the Upanishads, YogaSutra of Patanjali, andBrahmasutra, and they were inhis realization.

If you touch electricity,your body will be electrified bythe current. Similarly, if youexperience the truth, you willbe in Truth. Follow the teacherand follow the teachings. Tryto be in the company of theteacher. I spent a good periodof time with my masters likeShri Bijoy Krishna,Shriyukteshwarji, SwamiSatyanandaji, and SanyalMahasaya. I did not miss theopportunity to be with greatspiritual masters like

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Anandamoyee Ma, NangaBaba, and Swami BharatiKrishna Teerthaji. Suchassociations gave me immensestrength in my spiritual life.They are like spiritual catalysts,helping to accelerate practice.

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As I have said repeatedly, goodcompany will make you good,and bad company, bad. Guru isthe good company, so try andbe near him as much as youcan.

Foundation Day Retreat in Australia

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PRAJNANAVANI - THE VOICE OF WISDOM

THE INNER SIGNIFICANCEOF THE CHARIOT FESTIVAL

As depicted in the KathaUpanishad (1:3:3-4):

atmanam rathinam viddisariram rathamevatu

buddhim tu sarathim viddimanah pragrahameva ca

indriyanihayanyahurvisayamstesu

gocaranatmendriyamanoyuktambhokteyahurmanishinah

“The soul is the realconductor or the lord of thebody chariot. The intellect is thechariot driver and the mind isthe bridle. The senses are thehorses and the sense objects

constitute the path of thehorses. Being connectedtogether, the soul, senses, andthe mind enjoy the senseobjects.”

The body is lifeless andinsignificant without the soul.The soul is the beauty of thephysical body. The soul is to berealized as the conductor withinthe body chariot. The KathaUpanishad (1:2:22) furtherstates :

asariram sariresu anavastetvavasititam

mahantam vibhumatmanammatva dhiro na socati

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“Knowing the Self whois the bodiless among bodies,the stable among the unstable,the great, the all-pervading, thewise man does not grieve.

In all bodily forms, thesoul exists as the disembodiedpure consciousness, and it ismanifested as eternal in allephemeral objects. Realizing thisomnipresent and supreme soul,the righteous saints and sagesbecome devoid of any sorrow.

Though Lord Jagannathis all-pervading andomnipresent, He is subtler thanthe atom. In a popular prayerto the Lord, it is said:

rathe tu vamanam drstvapunarjanma na vidyate

“Beholding Vamana inthe chariot of Lord Jagannath,one is free from the cycle ofbirth and death.”

In the scriptures, Vamanais described as one of theincarnations of Lord Vishnu. Heis said to be a dwarf brahminyouth. But here, the phrase“vamana on the chariot” refersto the subtle form of the Divinein the body of chariot.

It is said in the KathaUpanishad (1:2:20) and in theShvetashvatara Upanishad(3:20):

anoraniyanmahatomhiyanatmasya

jantornihito guhayamtamakratuh pasyati

vitasokodhatuhprasadamnahimanatmanaha

“Subtler than the subtlest,greater than the greatest, thissoul abides inside the craniumnear the pons gland.Transcending mind, intellect,ego, and senses, a desirelessperson can behold Him and bedevoid of sorrows.”

The Bhagavad Gita (8:9)says:

kavimpuranam-anusasitaramanoraniyam-sam-

anusmaredyahsarvasyadhataram-

acintyarupamaditya-varnam tamasha parastat

“He who meditates onthe Seer, will ultimately perceivethe ancient (ageless being), theruler of all, the subtler than thesubtlest, the universal sustainerWho possesses a form(formless form) beyond humanconception, and Who iseffulgent like the sun beyondthe darkness of ignorance.”

He Who is omniscientand eternal, Who rules over andsustains all, Who is subtler thanan atom, is of a forminconceivable, Who is radiantlike the sun, and is beyond all

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darkness, He should bemeditated on. The soul in theform of vamana is abidinginside every human being.Literally, vamana means onewho has a very subtle and smallbody. The Katha Upanishad(2:1:12) says:

angushthamatrah purusomadhya atmani tishthati

ishano bhutabhavyasya na tatovijugupsate etadvai tat

“The person of the sizeof a thumb resides in the middleof the body. After knowingHim, Who is the Lord of thepast and the future, one doesnot shrink (from Him). This,verily, is that.”

It is further corroboratedin the Katha Upanishad (2:3:17)and Shvetashvatara Upanishad(3:13):

angusthamatrahpurusontaratmasadajananamhrdayesamnivistah

“He Who is the size of afinger is all-perfect swarupaand abiding in the hearts of allhuman beings as the innerSelf.”

God manifests as the soulin all living beings. The body isa chariot and in this body chariot,Lord Jagannath is present as thesoul. The soul is vamana, andLord Jagannath appears as

vamana, in a miniature form.Eyes cannot see Him. Words failto describe Him. He is beyondbeing heard. The body in whichthe soul is present performsactions. The performance ofaction leads to accumulation ofknowledge and karma. ThoughHe is ever present in all, in theirbody chariot, as the vamana, asthe soul, human beings cannotknow or realize Him withoutearnest sadhana. He is the eyeof all eyes, the nose of all noses,the ear of all ears — He is theLord of the ever-changingcosmos. The Lord of theUniverse, or jagat, is Jagannath.

In the body chariot,realization and the darshan ofthe soul as Vamana-LordJagannath will lead to liberation,to freedom from the cycle ofbirth and death, and to freedomfrom all forms of sorrow.Without this realization, thishuman life chariot will be drivenastray by the extroverted sensehorses. The mind without abridle will surely be afflictedwith sorrows, sufferings,adversities, and despondency.

In every human being,Lord Jagannath is ever abiding.He is like the prana or lifeforce of every living being.

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PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDAA LIFE OF MEDITATION AND RIGHT ACTION

Yogananda and hisfriends started their ownspiritual group in Calcutta, withthe dream of eventually openinga brahmacharyavidyalayaorschool for strictly celibatestudents. They founded anashram in Dihika, in the stateof Bengal, and later on movedto Ranchi, in the state of Bihar.Together, Yogananda’s dreamlike vision and Satyananda’shard work made it possible tobuild and maintain this ashramand school. They were blessedwith a generous donation fromYogananda’s father and evenfrom the King MahendraChandra Nandhi ofKasimbazar, Bengal. Their mainactivity was caring for the sickand poor and helping childrenfrom extremely poor localitiesobtain their only chance foreducation, enriched withmeditation. It is remarkable thatwhen the great spiritual leaderof India, Mahatma Gandhi,visited the beautiful ashram andschool, he bestowed on it hisadmiration and highest esteem.

Messenger to the West

Swami Yoganandaalways dreamed of going to theWest. First of all, he received ascholarship and a job offer inJapan. He went to Japanwithout the consent ofShriyukteshwar. He did not staylong, he felt the need to returnto India. Shortly afterwords, helost his eldest brother, Ananta,who had been instrumental asa medium for testingYogananda’s trust in God invarious situations. In 1920,Yogananda was invited to attendthe Congress of Religions, inBoston. In this interlude hereceived the direct blessings ofShri Babaji to go to America.

In America, he travelledfar and wide, delivering lecturesand creating a receptiveenvironment for spiritual life. Atthat time, people in the Westwere not familiar withmeditation and the yogiclifestyle. Yogananda was one ofthe first pioneers from India whohelped to open people to a newconcept of spirituality. He was

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the first to introduce Kriya Yogaand to explain the yogic way oflife in such an accessible andbeautiful way that the reachedmany Westerners. His strongwill power, dynamic personality,divine love and high state ofspiritual experience enabled himto be a spiritual dynamo thatencouraged and inspired millionsof people. His work progressedat a galloping pace. It wasdifficult for him to work alone.He invited Swami Satyanandato come and join him in hisdivine mission, but SwamiSatyananda declined, his placewas in India.

Later on, SwamiDhirananda, formerlyBasukumar Bagchi, went toassist Yogananda. Yoganandaagain called on the help ofSatyananda to train newdisciples to be ready to help himin his work in the United States.In 1928, Brahmachari Jatin,who was later ordained asSwami Premamamda, went toAmerica. Eventually he foundthe Church of Self Realizationin Washington D.C., andbecame the author of manyspiritual books.

Yogananda’s belovedguru, Swami Shriyukteshwar,was always proud of the

success of his dearest disciplein the West, but often requestedYogananda to return to India.In 1935, after a decade and ahalf of tireless work,Yogananda made the trip backto India, stopping in Europe onthe way.

The joy of the reunionbetween Yogananda andShriyukteshwar and Yoganandaand his father, BhagavatiCharan, cannot be expressed inwords. While he was in Indiafor several months, he had theopportunity to visit manyspiritual leaders. He metMahatma Gandhi and initiatedhim and many of his followersinto the sacred technique ofKriya Yoga. He visited RamanaMaharshi, Anandamoyee Ma,and many disciples of ShriLahiriMahasaya includingKashimani Devi, the saintlywife of Shri LahiriMahasaya.

In many places, he wasreceived with great honour andrespect. It was during this period,that he also initiated our Gurudevinto second Kriya in Calcutta. InJanuary 1936, Yogananda visitedthe Kumbha Mela, the holygathering of monks, spiritualteachers and saints, in Allahabad,where the three sacred rivers,

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Ganga, Yamuna and invisibleSaraswati merge.

From Swami to Paramahams

Swami Shriyukteshwarhonoured Yogananda during hisstay by conferring on him thehighest monastic title ofParamahamsa. Paramahamsa,the “supreme swan”, is onewhose mind is alwaysengrossed in the Lord and Hisdivine play, being inwardlydetached from all occurrences.From that time onwards,Yogananda came to be knownas ParamahamsaYogananda.

Mahasamadhi ofShriyukteshwar

When Yogananda was atthe Kumbha Mela and later onin Calcutta participating in thefestival of Holi, the festival ofcolour celebrating Lord Krishna,he had several calls fromShriyukteshwar asking him toreturn to Puri. Yogananda wasplanning to combine his visit toPuri with the foundation-daycelebration of the Kararashram, on the day of vernalequinox, the 22nd of March. Thedivine plan was different,however. On the 9th of March,1936, Shriyukteshwar sent anurgent message to

Paramahamsa Yogananda tocome back to Puri and on thesame day, in the evening, heconsciously left his physicalbody.

The next morningYogananda reached Puri withthe intuitive knowledge ofShriyukteswar’smahasamadhi.It is difficult to describe thesorrow of the realized yogi, whomissed the physical companyand guidance of his belovedguru. According to tradition, amonk’s body is not burned, it isburied. Yogananda performedthe burial ceremony on theashram premises and in thetraditional way, calledbhandara, invited severalmonks of Puri and well-knownspiritual leaders to pay tributeto this great guru.

After a couple ofmonths, he decided to leaveIndia to fulfil his divine missionin the West. Before his returnon the 19th June, while he wasstaying in a room at the RegentHotel in Bombay, he had therare opportunity of experiencingthe actual materialization ofShriyukteshwar, who appearedto him in bodily form. This wasa beautiful and inspiringencounter with his loving guru.

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Loving and Divine Soul,

Let the choicest blessingsof God and the masters be uponall of you. I take this opportunityto pray for you and send mybest wishes as we celebrate thebirth anniversary of our belovedShri Gurudev.

Shri Gurudev’s birthday,according to the lunar calendar,falls on the full moon day in themonth of May (Vaishakha),which is also the birthday ofBuddha. But for easyremembrance we celebrate iton 27 May every year.

When we celebrate thebirthdays of great personalities,it is quite natural to remembertheir lives and teachings, theirvalues and ideals, so we canreflect upon the extent that ourown lives follow their advice.It was a great privilege for meto spend a good part of my lifewith Gurudev. Out of hiskindness and compassion hewould narrate stories from hislife, which I have narrated inhis biography as well as in otherdiscussions. I would like to

GURUDEV’S BIRTHDAYMessage of Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

May 27, 2017

narrate one story from hischildhood.

Gurudev’s eldest sister’sson was of his age, and hestayed with him during hisstudies. He was not very goodin academics, and he wasjealous of his uncle. Once, helost his temper and did nothesitate to hurt Gurudev with aknife. Gurudev was patient andforgiving. He neither made anycry, nor told anyone about theincident. His foot was bleeding.The nephew was scared andapprehensive about reproach orreprimand. RegardingGurudev’s kindness andforgiveness, as if nothing hashappened, his naturetransformed. This eventprovides a hint of Gurudev’snature since early childhood.

Gurudev often said thata spiritual seeker shouldcultivate the habit of forgivingothers. A Sanskrit expressionstates, kshamarupamtapashvinam: “Forgiveness isthe inner tenet for seekers ofTruth.” Tapas is the first aspect

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of Kriya Yoga as described bySage Patanjali. We should learnto live a life of sincerity, andwe should cultivate the art offorgiveness in daily life. It iseasy to punish, but difficult toforgive. Ordinarily, we speak ofjustice and want others to bepunished. If we do not have theability or strength to punishothers, we accept help fromothers. But where love andkindness fill the heart, there isa good element of forgiveness;we are not bothered with thedesire to retaliate.

We are all following thepath of spiritual life. We shouldlearn the art of forbearance andforgiveness from the lives of themasters. Great masters haveemphasized that we must bearinsult and injury. Patience and

perseverance can help usovercome a mountain ofdifficulties.

On the occasion of theauspicious birthday of ourbeloved Gurudev, let us reflectupon this incident in his life andhow he lovingly dealt with hisnephew without a bigcommotion. We should love andserve, learn to forgive, andstrive to dissolve pastimpressions a little bit from ourminds.

On the occasion of thisspecial day, I am praying toGod and Shri Gurudev to blesseach one of us with morestrength and stability in our livesand steadiness in our practice.Again, I offer my love and bestwishes to all of you.

With Love,

Prajnanananda

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“It is the duty of the guru and the disciple to be loyalto each other, not only in one life, but for many lives ifthese are necessary to reach God. Those who are onehundred percent loyal to a guru can be sure of ultimateliberation and ascension. One may have many teachers,but only one guru, who remains as one’s guru even inmany different lives, until the disciple reaches the finalgoal of emancipation in God.”

Paramahamsa Yogananda

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Teachings of the Masters

“One must constantly endeavour to be perfectin every thought, word and action.”

Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

“When your breath becomes very feeble, thenyou are really practising Kriya. You areestablished in truth.”

Paramahamsa Hariharananda

“Make an effort to study the scriptures relatedto self-knowledge and to discuss the teachingsof the Masters.”

Swami Satyananda

“By drawing and observing the graph of yourmind, your can see whether everyday you aremaking any progress in your life or not.”

Paramahamsa Yogananda

“Every day do regular swadhyaya coupled withmeditation and study of spiritual books andscriptures.” Swami Shriyukteshwar

“Forget your past suffering and troubles. If youset your mind on selfrealization and work towardsyour spiritual uliftment, you will receive immensebenefits.” Lahiri Mahasaya

“The door of Kriya Yoga is open only to earnestseekers and sadhakas.”

Mahavatara Babaji

“One who is blessed with the eye of wisdom isfree from all doubts, confusian and duality.”

Sanyal Mahasaya

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MYTHS AND METAPHORSMAHABHARATA

THE CHILDREN OF PANDU AND DHRITARASHTRA

Excellence of the Pandavas,the Cause of Envy of theKauravas

The Pandavas learnedeverything quickly while theKauravas lagged far behind.The Pandavas’ quick learningundoubtedly created jealousy.Usually, a teacher loves the onewho learns faster, whereas themother loves the one who isweaker. However, the mother-teacher, one with a motherlyheart, looks after all thestudents but gives more careand attention to the weakerones.

Hence, the teachersloved the better students (thePandavas) and always

appreciated them, which madethe Kauravas quite unhappy.Ultimately, this caused jealousy.When we are jealous ofsomebody, their clothing, theirhair, their walk, their talk, theirwork, everything createsjealously in our mind. Weultimately express this jealousyin our mind through ourconduct. Indeed, the Kauravasdid that many times. They oftentreated the Pandavas poorly.Now, as it was stated earlier,all the Pandavas were gracious,and the eldest one, Yudhishthira,was exceptionally calm andquiet. He loved his youngerbrothers intensely and theyounger brothers loved him the

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same. Constantly, his beautifulheart was forgiving. Love is sodivine. Love gives and forgives,whereas selfishness gets andforgets.

Beautiful Contrasts

One day, when the guruwas lecturing his students, hesaid, “There is one veryimportant thing that you all mustremember: you should neverbecome angry. Now, did you allhear what I just said?Absolutely under nocircumstances should you everbecome angry.” The followingday, before the guru began theclass, he asked, “Do youremember what I taught youyesterday? If there is anyonewho does not remember, pleaseraise your hand.” Yudhishthiraraised his hand. The otherchildren kept their hands down,indicating that they allremembered. The guru wasunhappy and said,“Yudhishthira, you are so dull!Are you telling me that youreally do not remember what Isaid yesterday?” Yudhishthirasaid “no.”

Next the guru called uponDuryodhana, “Tell me what Itold you yesterday.”

“You said never becomeangry,” replied Duryodhana.

The guru then looked atYudhishthira. “Yudhishthira! Doyou remember what he justsaid?” Again Yudhishthira said“no.” Upon hearingYudhishthira’s answer, the gurubecame extremely angry.Trembling with fury, he beganto shout, “You foolish child! Youdo not even remember what hesaid just now!”

Yudhishthira smiled withdelight. “Yes, yes, yes, Iremember now. He said thatyou told us never to becomeangry.”

What is the moral of thisincident? Yudhishthira was theeldest of all the children; he wasthe crown prince. He couldhave said, “My teacher, you area paid employee, and I am theprince; soon I am going to beking. Therefore, it would bewise not to show your red eyeto me.” Indeed, it is very easyto remember and repeat “don’tbe angry,” but Yudhishthirawanted to practice this in hislife. When somebody is angrywith us we should not becomeangry in turn; instead, we shouldstay inwardly cool, calm andquiet, balanced, then we canremember the lessons we weretaught. Think of your own life.You may know many things, but

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when you are tested, how muchof those teachings do youremember? How much do youpractice what you preach?Yudhishthira was the exampleof practical spiritual experiencewhile Duryodhana’s actionssymbolize book knowledge.

We may read and knowmany things, but how many ofthese things do we reallypractice? If we want to be likethe Pandavas, we should try topractice more. Knowing is thefirst step, but practicing it is thenext step. Those who practiceKriya have been taught towatch their breath. If you havetaught this, are you practicing itnow? If not, then you are likethe Kauravas. If yes, then youare like the Pandavas. If youare true seekers, then you willlove your every breath — thatis, you will watch your breathall the time.

There is another storyabout the Kaurava andPandava children, and it alsohas a beautiful moral. One day,the guru called Duryodhana andYudhishthira to his room andsaid, “My children, I am sendingyou both on special quest.Duryodhana, you must go to thecity and search everywhere fora good person. I am giving you

one month; this is your practicalwork. After the month is over,you are to return to the palacewith the good person that youhave found.” Next, he spoke toYudhishthira, “Yudhishthira, I amgiving you a similar mission.However, there is one bigdifference. Instead of finding agood person, you must go thecity and find a bad person, andthen come back after onemonth.”

After one month’s timehad elapsed, they both cameback to the palace, and theyboth came alone. The guru wascurious; thus, he askedDuryodhana, “Where is thegood person that you weresupposed to bring back?” Withgreat pride, Duryodhana puffedhis chest and declared, “MyMaster, I went to the city, asyou requested and carefullyexamined each one I saw.Unfortunately, I discovered thatevery person I encounteredwas bad. Everyone I met hadso many bad qualities. When Icompared myself to them, itwas easy to see that I was thebest person there. Among allpeople in the city, I was theonly good person, and the restof them were bad.”

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The guru said, “thankyou,” then he looked atYudhishthira. “Where is the badperson you were told to bringback?” Yudhishthira had tearsin his eyes. With humility, hesaid, “My Master, likeDuryodhana, I also went to thecity. However, every person Ifound had many good qualities.When I compared myself tothem, I saw that I had so manybad qualities, many more thanthem. Therefore, the worstperson in the city is standingbefore you. The worst person Icould find was me.”

While seeing the samepeople, one believed all werebad and the other believed allwere good. WE look at peopleand things thorough both oureyes and our minds. Dependingupon the condition of our mindand eyes, we see good or bad.Jesus said, “If therefore thineeye be single, thy whole bodyshall be full of light. But if youreye is bad, your whole body willbe full of darkness.” (Matthew6:22-23)

Duryodhana had evileyes, so wherever he looked,he saw evil. Yudhishthira had adivine eye, a spiritual eye, andwherever he looked, he sawgoodness. Because all that he

saw was good, naturally he washappy. However, when helooked within, he was able tofind his own weaknesses. Aspiritual person is one who looksat the good of others but verycarefully examines him orherself to see if there are anyweaknesses or not. If you wishto be more spiritual, moredivine, you should try to analyseyour life and your thoughts, andyou should earnestly strive toremove any weaknesses in you.Each day you should make avow to make your life strongerand more beautiful.

Test of Concentration

One day, the guruwanted to test the youngprinces’ concentration througharchery: how one uses one’sskill to reach the target. In atree, among dense leaves, wasa bird with one eye. The guruwanted to test his students’ pointof concentration. In thisconcentration test, one princesaid that he saw a tree, nothingmore. Another said that he sawthe tree and the branch. Yetanother said that he saw thetree, branch, and a bird. Amongall the students, only Arjunasaid, “I see nothing except theeye of a bird.” What does thismean?

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Gurudev always said d togo to the atom point: “Fix yourmind and concentration on theatom point.” Our body is a tree,this life is a bird, and the eyeof the bird is small in this dense,thick body-tree. And we are togo there, to that atom point, atthe top of the head. We are thestudents, the archers. With thebow of concentration, we look,closing the external eyes andsearching within. Arjuna wasthe successful student becausehe saw only the eye of the bird,the one point. Why didYudhishthira not see the eye?Yudhishthira was so calm andquiet that he was seeing God’spresence everywhere. For him,there was no bird’s eye; thebird’s eye was everywhere. SoYudhishthira did not requirespiritual training because he wasalready in the state of extremecalmness. On the other hand,Arjuna was trying to attain thisstate and was eventuallysuccessful. Hence, among allthe students, although the gurusand the parents lovedYudhishthira because he was sobalanced, calm, and quiet, it wasArjuna who was successfulwith his power of concentration.

Impartiality of a TeacherA teacher should teach

all students with equality.

However, because the king paidthese two teachers, they hadalso to take into account whothe king loved more. ThePandavas only had their mother;they were fatherless. TheKauravas had both a father andmother. So Acharya Dronabecame partial. The nameDrona is derived from thecharacteristics of a crow.Although a crow has two eyes,it does not look out of two eyes;instead it looks with one eye.Thus, it has partiality. You havetwo eyes; you must look withboth and be impartial. ButAcharya Drona developedpartiality; he favoured not onlythe king’s sons, but also his ownson, Ashwatthama, who studiedwith the princes. Among thechildren, the most intelligent andeager to learn was Arjuna.Ashwatthama was also smart.Being both a father and a guru,the father in him wanted toteach Ashwatthama more thanArjuna. Acharya Drona wouldsometimes give Arjuna a taskand tell him to come back afterit was finished. But Arjuna wasvery bright; he knew that histeacher would likely be teachingsomething more to his son. SoArjuna would finish theassigned task quickly, and then

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go to Acharya Drona while hewas in the middle of teachingAshwatthama. Arjuna was thenable to learn whatever wastaught to Ashwatthama becausehe was intelligent and eager tolearn,

Story of Ekalavya

There is a beautiful storyin the Mahabharata about ayoung tribal boy namedEkalavya, who lived in theforest. One day, Ekalavyaheard that Acharya Drona andAcharya Kripa were the mostreputed teachers of that time.He greatly desired to study withthem. But Acharya Dronarefused his request to beinitiated because he was theroyal teacher and could notteach a layperson.

Knowledge is free, andthe true spirit of teachership isjust like a mother feeding achild. Will a mother who hasmilk in her breast discriminatebetween twins? So also is theloving attitude of a true teacher.Ekalavya was very humble.Thus, he asked Acharya Drona,“Will you allow me some soilfrom below your feet? I willtake it and go.” With theconsent of the Acharya, he tookthe soil and with it he made aclay image of Acharya Drona

that he placed under the shadeof a tree. Every morningEkalavya offered flowers to hisguru, who was in the form ofclay. Sitting with eyes closed,he contemplated his guru andwhat he was teaching. Becausehe contemplated and meditatedso deeply, everything wasrevealed to him. In fact due tohis intense concentration, helearned more than those wholearned in person. Even whensitting in front of the teacher, itis easy to lose concentration fora brief moment. When thathappens some words may bemissed and the link may bemissing; thus, one may not learneverything the teacher hastaught. But when Ekalavya wassitting with full concentration,he learned everything perfectly.

One day, the guru tookthe young students to the forestto practice what they had beentaught. Their hunting dog ranahead and found this tribal boysitting with eyes closed,contemplating. Seeing hisstrange form and appearance,and unkempt hair, the dogbarked loudly. Because the dogwas barking so loudly, the tribalboy, with eyes closed, took hisarrow and hit the dog withouthurting it, in such a way that

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the dog was unable to bark. Thedog quickly ran with the arrowin its mouth back to its master.Acharya Drona was surprisedand thought that the one whohad done this must surely be amaster archer. Ekalavyawasable to do this while inmeditation. The dog showed theway to Ekalavya, and Acharyadrone asked him who he was.When Ekalavya opened his eyesand saw his guru standing there,he bowed down at his feet withextreme humility and said hewas Acharya Drona’s humbledisciple. Acharya Drona saidthat his only disciples were theroyal family‘s children, notanyone like him.

Who truly recognizes theguru? The guru may notrecognize the student, but if thestudent is devoted, he or sherecognizes the guru. The gurudoes not glorify himself; thedisciples glorify the guru. Theguru does not need anyrecognition, glorification, orreputation; rather, the disciplesdo this for their owndevelopment. Ekalavya said,“You are my beloved Gurudev.Don’t you remember the youngboy who once went to you tolearn but you said you wereunable to teach him? That day

I brought some soil from belowyour feet and mad this clay idolof you, and I have beenpracticing here ever since.”

This is the nature ofDrona. From that state, youmust learn to cultivateimpartiality, to cultivate love forall. This story is about devotion,contemplation, concentration,commitment, hard work,determination, and strongwillpower. Even if one is faraway from the teacher, one canbe realized. Gurudev wasinitiated by SwamiShriyukteshwarji, who fouryears later left his body.Gurudev received initiationfrom Yoganandaji, who soon leftfor the USA. With the physicaldeparture of these two masters,Gurudev did not stop hispractice. He learned from otherteachers, and although theteachers were not near him, hepursued his practice sincerelyand in a committed way. WhenGurudev first arrived at theashram, he felt weak andsleepy. Hence, he slept forsome time, and when he wokeup, he reminded himself that hedid not come there to sleep.Gurudev made a large mosquitonet to cover himself whilemeditating and even doing

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exercises. He needed morephysical flexibility so he couldsit longer in meditation; thus, heworked outside in the gardendoing physical work. The brainis the place of two qualities:sattvic and tamasic qualities.When you lie on a bed andconcentrate deeply, either youwill go into deep concentrationor feel sleepy. Gurudev said, “Ifsleep comes, stand up, walk,and then sit down. Open youreyes and meditate; do somephysical work every day. If youdo not do any physical work,the body will become lazy andlethargic, and thereby tamasicqualities will overpower you.”To overcome the tamasicquality, you need some rajasicquality; to overcome the rajasicquality, you need sattvic quality.The sattvic quality can gobeyond sattva, which is knownas shuddhasattva.

With extreme love andcalmness, look deeply into the

story of your life. In thekingdom of your life, you havea mind that is the blind king.Your younger brother is Pandu,knowledge. You have numeroustendencies and propensities ofthe mind (the Kauravas) knownas manovrittis, as well asbuddhivrittis, tendencies andpropensities of knowledge andintellect (the Pandavas), whichare only five. To be well trained,you need a teacher who canhelp you transform thesetendencies of nature. Thus,from the core of your heart,sincerely pray, “O God! I wantto be a better person. I wantthe story of my life to be ahappy story, one that is filledwith love, courage, and beauty.Let me find the strength totransform my life throughprayer and meditation, throughsincere, conscious rightactivities. O my Beloved, let mebe a successful hero in the storyof my life.”

***

“You should live in Truth, live for Truth and realize Truth.”Paramahamsa Hariharananda

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Sutra 20

The Means forAttaining AsamprajnataSamadhi

sraddha-virya-smrti-s a m a d h i - p r a j n a -purvakaitaresam

Word Meaning

sraddha – faith; virya –strength, vitality; smrti –memory; samadhi –concentration; prajna –intelligence, knowledge;purvaka – preceded by;itaresam – for others

Translation

To others [this samadhi,asamprajnata] comes throughfaith, vitality, memory, balancedmind, and discriminativeknowledge.

Commentary by Shri LahiriMahashaya

Others attain samadhithrough faith, vitality, memory,concentration (the limbs ofyoga), and discriminativeknowledge. Through regularpractice of Kriya, one developsfaith. Through sincerity, onegets strength and constantremembrance, a balanced state,and ultimately enters into

THE YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI

s a m p r a j n a t a s a m a d h i .Through this and continuousvairagya [dispassion,detachment], one achievesasamprajnata samadhi.

Metaphorical Explanation

In this sutra, the sageexplains upayapratyaya,another route toasamprajnatasamadhi. Thisis the path that bestows thestate of sadyamukti, completeor instant liberation. One canunderstand this in a beautifulsequence: shraddha (faith),virya (vitality), smrti (memory),samadhi (concentration), andprajna (contemplativeknowledge).

Shraddha (faith) — faithin words of the master and thecommandments of thescriptures. When one is notable to follow the inner meaningof the scriptures, one shouldlisten to its interpretation fromthe master.

Virya (vitality) — thestrength that arises from thepurity of the senses, control overthe mind, an elevating outlook,and forbearance of all pain andsuffering.

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***

Smriti (memory) — tohave constant remembrance ofahambrahmasmi: “I amBrahman.” (See the BhagavadGita 18:73.)

Samadhi (concentration)— mind concentrated andabsorbed in the object, the goal.

Prajna (contemplativeknowledge) – one’s ownexperiences attained throughdeep meditation, devoid ofimagination and hallucination.

When one proceeds inthis way, step-by-step, oneexperiences the Absolute. Thisis upayapratyayaasamprajnata samadhi: realizationarising out of all these meansof meditation. All the stagesdescribed come one after theother and help the seeker toreach the highest state.

Through deep desire andfaith, one develops inner urgesand encouragement leading toa meditative mind, deepconcentration, and realization.These five steps lead one toreach the cave of the cranium,ascending through the fivechakras, where one becomesmerged in the essential divinenature, the Self, Brahman.

O Seeker! Rememberthe mantra of the KathaUpanishad (1:3:14)

Uttisthatajagrataprapyavarannibodhata

“Arise, awake and reachthe supreme goal. Stop not untilthe goal is reached. Shun alldistracting ideas, slothfulness,and doubt. With faith and loveproceed and attain the supremestate.”

DATES TO REMEMBERJuly – September, 2017

July 9 : Guru Purnima

August 10 : Birthday of

Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

August 14 : Birthday of Lord Krishna

August 25 : Ganesh Chaturti

Sept 21 – 30 : Navaratri

***

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A bird trapper wascatching birds, putting them insmall cages, and selling them.A special bird had a gift. Whenit sang so beautifully, pearls,diamonds, and jewels emergedfrom its beak. The bird thought,“This poor man catches birdsfor money to maintain hisfamily. If I live with this man,I will provide him with pearlsand jewels so he won’t catchany more birds, then my fellowbirds will no longer suffer fromimprisonment.”

The singing bird sat onthe hunter’s hand and startedsinging. When it sang, a jewelappeared. The hunter saw thegem and immediately put thebird in a cage. The bird thoughtthe man was foolish. It hadcome to him of its own freewill and had sat on his hand.“Why is he putting me in acage?” the bird wondered.“This man is ignorant andgreedy; he doesn’t know that ifyou imprison those who arefree, they will not be happy.”

STORIES TO LIVE BYTHE VALUE OF FREEDOM

The bird trapper took thespecial bird, and thought heshould sell it for one millionrupees. He didn’t realize thathe would be a millionaire justby keeping the bird. The huntertook the cage outside and said,“Who wants this special bird?It costs one million rupees; theother birds cost one.” Peoplethought he was crazy. Soon thenews of this amazing birdreached the king, who promptlysent his messengers to bring thebird and the trapper to thepalace to verify whether thetrapper’s claim was true. Whilethe minister and the king weresitting together, they took thebird out of the cage and let itsit on their palms.

The bird thought, “Thereis no need to stay imprisoned inthe king’s cage. I should flyaway.” The bird flew near anopen window and startedsinging:

“I am the first fool whoallowed myself to be trapped.

The trapper is thesecond fool who didn’t

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believe in me and wanted tosell me.

The king and theminister are both fools tohave let me out and freed me.

Now I realize myfoolishness, I want to befree.” While singing the birdflew out the window.

***

Celebration of Yoganandaji’s Birthday at Kansas

“A guru preceptor will keep coming back to earthvoluntarily until all his disciples have found liberation.”

Paramahasa Yogananda

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VALUABLE VOLUMES

JNANA SANKALINI TANTRA

&THE LAW OF KARMA

BY PARAMAHAMSA PRAJNANANANDA

JNANA SANKALINITANTRA

Lord Shiva continues thatknowledge acquired from thescriptures must not remain onlyin the mouth, but should beinternalized as thoughts andfeelings.

Verse 52

ucchistamsarvasastranisarvavidyamukhemukhe

no‘cchistambrahmanojnanam

avyaktamcetanamayam

Translation

The mereintellectualization of theshastras is of no value. Thereal value of Self-knowledgecannot be expressed, as itis inexpressible pureawareness.

Metaphorical Interpretation

In this verse Lord Shivasays, ucchishtamsarvashastrani: “All scriptures arelike the left-overs on the plateand hence, considered impure.”Studying and interpreting thescriptures is commonly held inhigh regard, but the exercise isuseless unless Truth isexperienced. Shiva makesclear that knowledge acquiredfrom the scriptures must notremain only in the mouth, butshould be internalized asthoughts and feelings. Truthmust be realized, not just remainan intellectual activity.

Ucchista means ‘left-overs in the plate after a meal.’It is considered impure andunhygienic. True knowledge ofBrahman is never unclean;

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Self-knowledge is alwaysundefiled.

Spiritual experiencetranscends mental andintellectual interpretation. In adeep state of meditation, aseeker experiences the state ofreality. This is defined as pureawareness; God is felt ineverything at all times.

The Bhairava DamaraTantra describes such anomalyin these words,

tamtrarthasastravyutpatyajnatumgacchati yah

pumansaevandhovijaniya

tulukaivabhaskaram

“One who tries to knowthe meaning of the Tantras andthe origin of the scriptures, islike a blind person, such as anowl searching for the sun.”

The Kularnava Tantra(1:96) gives a similarinterpretation,

tattvamatmasthamajnatvamudhasastresuyujyate

gopahkuksagatamchagamkupepasyatidurmatih

“Without experiencing theTruth hidden in oneself, foolishpeople search for it in books;like a person holding a goat inhis hands, and (at the same time)looking at its image in the well.”

The direct experience ofSelf-knowledge is vital to thesupreme state of realization.Instead of studying thescriptures, a seeker should putthem in to practice. In theBible, it is described that thescriptures are the Breath ofGod, therefore with everybreath, a spiritual aspirantshould turn inwards and realizeone’s own real nature to befree.

Verse 53

natapahtapahityahubrahmacaryamtapottamam

urddhvaretabhavetyastusa devo natumanusah

Translation

Penance is notpenance as it is ordinarilythought of, andbrahmacharyam (celibacy) isthe best of all penances.One who is a perpetualcelibate is not an ordinaryhuman being, and attainsgodhood.

Metaphorical Interpretation

In this verse, Lord Shivaspeaks of the state of thebrahmacharya to beestablished in god withoutdeviation. To understand theinner meaning of this verse,three concepts need to be clear:

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tapas, brahmacharya, andurdhvareta.

Tapas means ‘burning,’‘warming,’ ‘consumed by heat,’‘causing pain,’ ‘penance,’ or‘religious austerity.’ In spiritualpractices, tapasis used aspenance to withstand heat andcold, hunger and thirst, withendurance, while rememberingGod. Tapa is also derived fromthe verb taapa, meaning ‘heat.’Body temperature is maintainedthrough the breath.Metaphorically, to love and beconstantly aware of god inevery breath is also consideredtapas.

Brahmacharya literallymeans ‘abstinence’ or‘perpetual celibacy.’ Yet amarried person, followingcertain rules and disciplineswithin married life, can also beconsidered a brahmachari.The inner meaning ofbrahmacharya isbrahmavicharana, i.e., ‘toroam’ or ‘to move in Brahman.’‘A brahmachari undertakes allactivities with love for god,without any deviation. Thus,brahmacharya has multiplemeanings: ‘religious studies,’ ‘alife of celibacy,’ or self-restraint’ but above all it means‘constant awareness of God,’

Urdhvareta meansurdhva or ‘higher’ and reta or‘engrossed,’ or the preservationof human magnetism in thebody.’ In the Hindu tradition itis believed that through hepractice of regular celibacy, aspiritual aspirant inwardlytransforms the life-energy intoojas, which is translated as‘human magnetism,’ orurdhvaeta. A state ofcontinuous cheerfulness, apeaceful countenance, andincreased vitality, are signs ofojas in a person. It is the stateof continuous awareness of thehigher purpose of life, and amind engrossed in God-consciousness. This state issynonymous with ‘perfectevolution.’

Verse 54

nadhyanamdhyanamityahudhyanamsunyagatammanah

tasya dhyana prasadenasaukhyammoksamnasamsayam

Translation

Dhyanam is notmeditation if the mind is notdevoid of all thoughts. Onlythrough such meditation,peace and liberation areobtained. There is no doubtabout this.

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Metaphorical Interpretation

Dhyana or meditation isthe seventh limb described inthe Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.Meditation is an art ofwithdrawing consciousnessfrom the mind and the sensesand turning it towards thesource of life, centered in thebrain very close to the pinealgland. Such concentrationenables the seeker toexperience a state of innerpeace and bliss. The highestlevel of such meditationultimately results in communionwith God, known as samadhi.According to the YamalaTantra,

dhyanamtudvividhaproktastulasuksmavbhedatahstulammantramayamvidd

hisuksmamscamantravarjitam

“Meditation is said to betwo types: gross and subtle.The gross art of meditation isbased on mantra while thesubtle is beyond mantra.

In the scriptures it is alsosaid,

snana mana malatyajyasaucaindriyanigraha

abhedadarsanamjnanamdhyanamnirvisayammanah

“A true bath is to purifyor cleanse the mind; true

purification is the control of thesenses; true knowledge is thestate of unity or experiencingGod everywhere; truemeditation is the state beyondthoughts and objects.”

Regular practice of Self-awareness focuses the mind onthe goal of life. The tendenciesof a restless nature disappear,and the state of innertranquillity, peace, and love isachieved. Lord Shiva teachesthat the true state of meditationis to be immersed innothingness, with the minddevoid of all thoughts.

Meditation bestows twomajor benefits:

i) Saukhyam is derivedfrom sukha; su means‘complete,’ ‘good,’ or ‘real,’kha means ‘space’ or ‘sky.’Sukha is therefore the ‘stateof happiness that can beexperienced in deep meditation.’At this juncture, there is a senseof real freedom from the nooseof ignorance and delusion.

ii) Moksha comes frommohakshaya — moha means‘delusion’ and ksha is‘elimination.’ Moksha signifies‘the elimination of delusion,illusion, and error.’

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Verse 55

nahomamhomamityahusamadhautattubhuyate

brahmagnauhuyatepranamhomakarmataducyate

Translation

Homam (sacrifice) isnot a homam in whichsamadhi (realization) isreached. Homa karma(sacrificial ceremony) is thatprocess in which prana(breath) is offered as anoblation into brahmagni (thesacred fire).Metaphorical Interpretation

Through constantpractice, devotion, and deepmeditation the devotee becomessaturated in spiritual experienceand enters the state of spiritualecstasy known as samadhi.Dhi means ‘intellect,’ and samameans ‘balance.’Metaphorically, samadhi is nota state of intellectualization,rather it is the experience ofbeing established in Truth; allduality disappears and onlycomplete oneness with Godremains. To go deeper inmeditation and eventually attainsamadhi, Lord Shiva teachesthe art of homa (sacrificicialfire ceremony)

In ritualistic practices,sadakas perform a fire

ceremony in the Vedic orTantric tradition, offeringoblations with ghee and othermaterials, into the blazing fire,accompanied by the chanting ofmantras.

Tantric practices can bedivided into two steps; thepreliminary step is the practiceof mantra and the ultimate stepis the practice of yoga ormeditation. Homa is both; theritualistic offering in the externalfire, and the inner offering calledpranayama, where the oblationof prana or breath is offeredto brahmagni or the sacred firein the soul center. In thiscontext the seven chakras aresymbolically believed to be theseven ceremonial fires.

Chakra Name of the fireSahasrara Visvarupamahaagni

Ajna Brahmagni

Vishuddha Samudbhava

Anahata Ahavaniya

Manipura Vaishvanara

Svadhisthana Grihapati

Muladhara Dakshinagni

By means of an inner fireceremony, a devotee practicespranayama or a specialbreathing technique learneddirectly from the guru, offeringevery breath as an oblation intothe brahmagni, i.e., the ajna

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chakra (soul center) and thesahasrara (the crown of thehead). The practice ofpranayama enables a sincereseeker to attain the state ofdeep meditation and ultimately,samadhi or realization.

Verse 56

papakarmabhavetbhavyampunyamcaivapravartatetasmatsarvaprayatnena

tad dravyam catyajetbudhah

Translation

By papakarma (sinfulactions) one acquires sin,and by virtuous acts, virtueis earned. Intelligent peoplemake every effort to discardboth.

Metaphorical Interpretation

Papa (vice) and punya(merit) represent duality: thecause of birth and death;happiness and unhappiness;disease and health. Papa isliterally translated as ‘sin,’‘demerit,’ ‘vice,’ or ‘wrong

action.’ Punya , on the otherhand is ‘merit,’ ‘virtue,’ or‘noble deed.’ It has alreadybeen mentioned, in the firstsection of this work, how papaand punya (vice and virtue)become the cause of bondage.

Any kind of chain ifdifficult to break, but eventhough sinful activities bringsuffering and should be shunned,virtuous deeds, which promotegoodness, also prevent a realstate of liberation.

In the Bhagavad Gita(9:21) it is said,ksinepunyemartyalokamvisanti:

“When the fruits of themeritorious deeds areexhausted, one suffers again inthe mortal plane.”

A sincere seeker, whoseultimate goal is liberation, shouldtry to be free from the clutchesof both vice and virtue.Sarvaprayatnena: ‘by allefforts’ — by careful andintelligent efforts it can beachieved.

***

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We reap what we sow.We are the makers of our ownfate. None else has theblame, none has the praise.

- Swami Vivekananda

“Karma, karma, karma”is a common cry everywherein the world. This concept, thisphilosophy, and this reality oflife was first revealed in Vediclore, but later was accepted byall religions developed in India,such as Buddhism, Jainism andSikhism. Subtle traces of thisprinciple are found in all otherfaiths. The idea of karma isnow found in English lexicons.In the Oxford Dictionary, itsmeaning as a noun is “the sumof a person’s actions in this andprevious states of existence,”which will affect future fate.Informally, it means good or badluck that is the result of ouractions. In Sanskrit, karma is“action, effect, and fate.”Currently people all over theworld use the word “karma,”but without understanding itsdeeper import. Let us try todive deeply into what karma isand what it means.

THE LAW OF KARMA

Two forces

All creation, all that weperceive and feel, is a playbetween two aspects, like wiresmaking an electric current orthe two poles of a magnet. Thetwo aspects are prakriti andpurusha — nature and theindwelling spirit. To understandthe law of karma we must lookclosely at the meanings of thesewords. Prakriti is a compoundword made from pra and kriti.Pra means “perfectly” or“beautifully” and kriti means“creation” or “manifestation.”Thus, prakriti is beautymanifested. Nature brings forthbeauty. The changing of theseasons is due to the play ofprakriti. Prakriti is definedas prakrstenakriyatekaryadikamanayaiti: “Onewho is efficiently active increativity and creating manythings.” It refers to that whichhas the ability to do things in aperfect, beautiful way. Prakritiis considered the feminineaspect of divinity, and purushathe masculine. Purusha’spresence is needed in all aspects

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of creation, during every stepof creation.

The work purusha isdefined as puryamsheteiti,which means “One who hidesor sleeps in the city” (insidecreation). Purusha is nevervisible and prakriti is never still.Prakriti is not only visible, butis also always in motion, everchanging. For example, thebody changes from childhood toyouth to old age. Purusha, onthe other hand, never changes.Hence, prakriti and purushaare much like a screen and amovie; the pictures on thescreen constantly change, butthe screen behind it does notmove. The body changes,thoughts in the mind change, andthe decisions of the intellectchange, but the soul behindthese processes never changes.Change occurs only in externalnature and the universe.

In the Bhagavad Gita(9:10), the Lord declaresm a y a d h y a k s e n a p r a k rt i h s u y a t e s a c a r a c a r a m :“Under My Lordship andpresence prakriti (divinenature) creates all that isvisible.” The bhagavad Gita(3:27) also says,p r a k r t e h k r i y a m a n a n i g unaihkarmanisarvasah: “All

activities are performed byprakriti.” Thus, every activityis the play of prakriti (nature),and whatever prakriti does iskriya, which means “function”in English.

Function and Action

The sun shines; this is thefunction of the sun. The moongives cool bright light; this isthe function of the moon. Theeyes see; this is the function ofthe eyes. The heart beats; thisis the function of the heart. Themouth speaks; this is thefunction of the mouth. Everyday the body digests food,which is also a function. Adelicious meal is assimilated inthe stomach and eventuallyevacuated. The entire processis the function of the digestivesystem. With impeccableprecision, nature functions dayand night. The body alsofunctions; the movement of thehands and the legs walking arefunctions of the body.

The function (kriya)becomes action (karma) whenthe purusha (the indwellingspirit) associates itself with thebody and considers itself anindividual doer. Eyes look, earshear, feet walk; as thesefunctions manifest in day-to-daylife, we use these instruments

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to fill our lives with activitiesand accomplishments and thensay, “I am walking, I amlooking, I am talking, I am going,I am hearing, I am eating, I amenjoying.” It is no longer afunction; it is now an action.Hence, by associating doershipwith action, which is ego,functions become actions –kriya becomes karma. Andwhen a function becomes anaction, it produces aconsequence. Sir IsaacNewton said, “Every action hasan equal and opposite reaction.”This law is true. But when itcomes to the law of karma,there is a much bigger story totell. Unlike Newton’s Law, itis not equal and opposite, it ismuch, much more.

Detachment, the Door toFreedom

Just as function becomesaction because we identify withnature and the body, likewise,karma can become akarma(inaction) if we detach ordissociate ourselves from natureand the body while performingany action. In the BhagavadGita (4:18), the Lord says,karmany-akarma yah pasyet-akarmani ca karma yah: “Onewho finds inaction in action, andaction in inaction, is wise among

all human beings”; that is, thewise observe everythingdispassionately, with innerdetachment. This teachingfrom the Bhagavad Gita usesthe beautiful word pashyet,which means “looking at.” Thissolves the problems of life. Butthe question arises: How dowe observe? We can observeas a witness or as an enjoyer.Witnessing is similar to watchinga movie or a television show;we are merely observing. Wesee everything but we are freefrom emotion and obsession,likes and dislikes, or in otherwords, disconnected from theobject.

Long ago when I wasteaching economics, thedepartment head and I wereworking together at her homepreparing questions for theuniversity examination.Suddenly I heard loud cryingcoming from another room, andI was informed that it was heryoung daughter crying whilewatching a sad television show.So the truth is, much of whatwe usually do or experience iswith attachment, withassociation – even whilewatching television.

Happiness and Unhappiness

The Bhagavad Gita(13:20) says, purusahsukha-

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duhkhanambhoktrtvehetur-ucyate: “When purusha, theindwelling spirit, becomesassociated with nature or thebody, it considers itself anindividual, and it experiencessukha and duhkha (pleasureand pain).” We become happyor unhappy, excited ordepressed because ofattachment, strong association,and the bond of identity. Asimple example is whathappens to us when we seedelicious food on a table. First,there is hunger. Then, the eyeslook at the food; the nose smellsthe food; the mind says, “Eat!You are hungry.” The handstouch and hold the food, bringingit to the mouth; the mouth eats;the teeth bite and chew thefood; the tongue brings salivato mix with the food and liquefyit so that is easy to swallow;the mouth swallows the food;the mind helps us recognizewhether the food is sweet, sour,bitter, salty, or hot. Next thefood slowly goes through theesophagus to the stomach, andso on. The key is to silentlyobserve who is truly workingwhen we eat. If we are eatingfood as the witness, we watchthe hands and mouth do theirwork; we are like a mother

observing her children as theyplay with toys. In theexamination hall the professorsilently stands while the studentstake a test. The professor isnot personally involved in thetest; rather, the professorwitnesses the activity in theroom. In all action there aretwo approaches: be the witness,or identify with the action.Whenever we identify with anaction or anything in nature, weexperience pleasure and pain.

The Mundaka Upanishad(3:1:1) describes two birds in atree. One bird visits the tree toeat the fruit. When the fruit issweet, the bird is happy,cheerful. When the fruit is sour,unhappiness and sorrow arise.Occasionally the unhappy birdlooks up at the other bird thatis sitting at the top of the tree,observing. Similarly, we canidentify, associate, or attach tothe body and nature, or we canbe a witness to everything –observing, watching. The mindis thinking. The mouth isspeaking. The eyes are looking.But who is looking through theeyes? If we identify with thebody and nature, we cratekarma and experience pleasureand pain. On the other hand, ifwe maintain the posture of a

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witness unaffected by events,whether it is sweet, sour, orbitter, whether there is pleasureor pain, our action becomesinaction. However, make nomistake, inaction does not meaninertia, because activitycontinues. The difference isthat we perform an action, butwe remain free and detached.When we observe a functionwithout the attitude of doership,we are not bound. Conversely,if we taste the fruit of anyaction, we are bound by karma.

The Bhagavad Gita(13:21) says:

purusahprakrtistho hibhunkteprakrtijan-gunan

k a r a n a m g u n a -sangosya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

“The soul abiding innature enjoys the qualities bornof nature. Attachment to thequalities causes birth in goodand evil bodies.”

The acceptance ofdoeship causes identification.When purusha identifies withprakriti, we will experience theresult of karma at differenttimes in different phases.

What is Karma?

The simple meaning ofkarma is “action” or “duty.”

When any karma is performed,intelligence and freedom ofchoice are engaged. Karmacan be explained by anexample: Imagine a vast fieldwhere a cow is tied to a postwith a long, one-hundred-meterrope so it can graze. How farcan the cow move? It canmove in a circle with a one-hundred-meter radius.However, what did the cow do?It went round and round thepost so often that instead of aone-hundred-meter rope, it hadonly a five-meter rope. Thecow is experiencing the law ofkarma. At one time there wasthe freedom of a one-hundred-meter radius, but the karmafrom the cow walking aroundthe post created a five meterrope. As with this cow, ouractions create a result.

Because we haveentered this world, we shouldlearn how to live here, how toact in daily life, and how to befree from bondage. It is solepurpose of this book to providethe skills and knowledge to doso. We will elaborately discussthe secret of karma, the causeand effect relationship, and thekey to being free from karma’sbondage, in effect free frompleasure and pain.

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Thus far we havediscussed kriya (the function),karma (the action), and akarma(inaction). What we are todayis the result of all that we havedone until now. In theBhagavad Gita (3:5), the Lordsays, na hi kascit-ksanam-apijatutisthaty-akarmakrt :“Not for a single moment cana living being exist without anyfunction or action.” When canwe say that we are not doinganything? Even when we sitquietly, we are doing something— our eyes are working, ourears are working, our brains areworking, our minds are working,many things proceed. To saythat we lie down on a bed tosleep, not doing anything, is notcorrect. the brain continues toproduce dreams, the heart ispumping, the stomach isfunctioning, food is digesting,and circulation and breathingcontinue. In every singlemoment of life there is activity.Thus, life flows in a series ofactions.

Whether it is a function,an action, or inaction, somethingis continuously going on. Arealized person and an ordinaryperson might both be eating, forinstance. However, the ordinaryperson reacts to the taste of

food while the realized persondoes not. When an ordinaryperson eats, if there is notenough salt, the tongue reacts;if there is too much salt in thefood, the mind is unhappy. Arealized person experienceseverything, enjoys everything,but does not react, TheBhagavad Gita (5:11) says,yoginah karma kurvantisangamtyaktvatma-suddhaye:“ A yogi works in a detachedway to achieve self-purification.” Being inwardlydetached for the sake ofspiritual evolution, the yogi(spiritual seeker) performsactions, but is not bound.

Prakriti (nature)functions. When purushaidentifies with prakriti with theattitude of doership, then afunction becomes an action,But who is purusha? If it isthe indwelling spirit, the soul, isit associating itself with ego?And if it identifies with ego, itcannot be the soul. Let uscontemplate our own identities,our own “self.” Who are wereferring to when we say“myself” or “ourselves?”

Theoretically, we mayknow that we are souls.Theoretically, we may knowthat we inhabit a human body.

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Theoretically, we may realizethat we are not the body.Theoretically, we mayunderstand that the soul is everdetached. Yes, we may knowthe theory very well, but arewe practicing it? In practice,in our day-to-day lives, whenwe behave, who do we thinkwe are? When purushaassociates with prakriti, howdoes this association take place?This kind of self-inquiry willsolve many inner conflicts andconfusion.

Example is better thanprecept. Let us consider thesun and sunlight. Think ofsunlight as prakriti and the sunas purusha. Light emanatesfrom the sun; creating light andheat is the function of the sun;it is natural. However, if thesun is thinking, “I am shining,”its creation of light becomeskarma. Thus, there is sunlight,kriya, the function, but if thesun identifies with that kriya,this kriya becomes karma. Inthe course of the journey of thesoul, the soul, out of apparentignorance, identifies with ego.It should be understood that theignorance is only “apparent,”because, in truth, ignorance cannever touch the soul. Whenapparent ignorance covers the

soul, it veils the knowledge that“I am pure consciousness.”Through ego and ignorance webelieve: “I am the individual, Iam young, I am old.” Ego andignorance create the bondagethat imprisons us. Although weare individual spirits andessentially free, we are not free,because we cannot remain inour original state. We cannotthink of our existence withoutbelieving that we are bodies andminds. Our bondage is theresult of associating purushawith ego and ignorance anaction. The scriptures say,avidyakamakarmetihrdayagranthih:“Ignorance, ego, and action arethe bonds that bind the heart.”

The Bhagavad Gita(13:22) says:

upadrastanumanta cabhartabhoktamahesvarah

paramatmeticapyuktodehesmin-purusahparah

“The Supreme Soul inthis body is called the Witness,the True Guide, the Sustainerof All, the Experiencer, theGreat Lord, and the Absolute.”

In this verse,bhartabhoktamaheshvarah isthe same as purusha. Bhartameans “helping to enjoy” andbhokta means “enjoying.”

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Maheshvarah is the Supremelord or the divinity within, andupadrastaanumanta means“being in the state of witnessingawareness.” It is the state of“I am witnessing, but I am notdoing. Nature is doing, I amobserving.” Such is the stateof the realized being.

Sometimes there isconfusion about the soulcarrying prior life karma into thenext birth, thinking that thismeans the soul is not ever freeand is ever attached. Let uscompare the soul to space.Suppose you have an emptybasket with only space and airinside it. When you carry thebasket from one room toanother, what are you carrying?Space and air. Is the space

and air in the basket attachedto the basket? When you carrya basket from Chicago toLondon, are you carrying thespace of Chicago to London?

In a similar way, weconclude that living beings areconstantly doing something dueto their apparent doership.Their actions constitute karmabecause there is an expectationof a fruit (result) from theactions. We become attachedto actions as we constantlyseek their results. Some resultsarise instantly and some taketime. Karma and its fruitsalways accompany an individualfrom one time to another, fromone place to another, andsometimes from one life toanother.

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Guruji with Monks at Miami Ashram

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Loving and Divine Soul,

Let the choicest blessingsof God and the masters be uponall of you. I take this opportunityto pray for you. I send my bestwishes to you as we celebratethe 24th anniversary of ourashram at Jagatpur, Odisha. Itis entering its 25th year.

From a small and humblebeginning, it has become thecentre of activities for themaster’s work in India andabroad. A few college studentsworked very hard to create thissmall plantation that honours ourGurudev. In the beginning ofJanuary 1993, we acquired asmall piece of property; inFebruary, we had the ground-breaking ceremony, and on May17th we had the openingceremony. All those involved inthis work know how muchhardship allowed this humblework to be accomplished insuch a short time.

We received much moralsupport from countless well-wishers. This small plantationhas grown and will celebrate

25TH YEAR OF JAGATPUR ASHRAMMessage of Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

its 25th year of servicededicated to humanity.

No great work isaccomplished withoutcommitment, sacrifice, hardwork, and ultimately the graceof the Divine. It is my feelingthat divine grace is alwayspresent so we must prepare toreceive it with sincere effortand endeavor. Those who werethere from the beginning knowvery well how hard work andsimple living brought much joyand happiness to a small teamof residents. Whether workingin the garden or carrying stones,no one was reluctant to workwith love and devotion. Workingtogether, especially while doingphysical work like gardening,created joy and happiness thatcannot be described withwords. Although we had to passthrough a great deal of financialhardship, the joy of livingtogether while sharing andcaring helped us transcend alldifficulties.

During this special year,I humbly request all residentsand visitors at our ashrams to

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serve with love and do a littlephysical work in a garden or acowshed. Whatever seva isdone by anyone will make thatperson more active anddynamic. We need to be goodexamples of practical spiritualityin this changing world.

Let our amity, unity, andsimplicity create a loving andcaring atmosphere of humilityand love. Let’s create a newpositive change in the hearts ofall who visit our ashram.

With Love,

Prajnanananda

***

Gurudev’s Birthday Celebrations in Australia

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P a r a m a h a m s aPrajnanananda had a hecticschedule visiting several centresand ashrams in US celebratingthe 125th Birth Anniversary ofParamahamsa Yogananda. Theprograms ended with thecelebrations in Miamiconcluding with Gurudev BabaHariharanandaji’s 110th BirthAnniversary on the 27th of Mayat the Mother Centre. Guruji’stravels took him to Temple ofPeace – The Denver Ashram,Temple of Harmony – TheMidwest Ashram, Temple ofDivine Love…- The BrazilAshram, Temple ofCompassion – The TexasAshram and Kriya YogaInstitute – our Florida Ashram.Centres included Kansas, StLouis, Cleveland, Detroit,Boston, Rochester. Every placewas a celebration of love andjoy and a revival and reminderof the yogic way of life ofpeace, harmony, joy and unitybeyond the barriers of country,religion, culture and gender anda great tribute to the Kriya YogaGurus.

125TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OFPARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDA IN USA

Below are details ofsome of the places.

Kriya Vedanta Gurukulam –Temple of Harmony

May 11- May 14

A 4-day celebration washeld beginning with a discourseand meditation at the ashramon the 11th. On May 12th, apublic discourse was held at theFourth Presbyterian Church.

on May 13th was a grandcelebration held at the HinduTemple of Greater Chicago,with panel discussions, talks,cultural program and photoexhibition. The chief guest wasthe consul General of India Ms.Neeta Bhushan and the keynote speaker Mr. CraigMarshall. Panellists werereputed Yoga instructors andEditor of Yoga -Chicago.Cultural offering included a fluteperformance and ParamahamsaYogananda’s favourite bhajansand chants.

Sunday, May 14th was aspecial celebration of Mother’sDay at the ashram

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A Report from the KansasCentre

Kansas, USA wasblessed to have ParamahamsaParajnanananda for a one dayvisit.

Guruji arrived at theairport at 11:20 am and wastaken directly to theRajarsiJanakananda’s crypt. Itwas a pleasant surprise forGuruji when 25 kriyavans werewaiting to receive him at thecrypt. He then offered theprayers at the crypt and enteredhis name in the visitor’s register.He explained the Rajarsi’sachievements in the both thematerialistic world and inspirituality

After the visit to thecrypt, we came to the KriyaYoga centre where nearly 50Kriyavans were waiting toreceive Guruji and had lunchwith him.

The evening was themain event with a public talk atthe Hindu Temple auditoriumwhere about three hundredpeople assembled on a workday evening to attend thecelebration. The topic was –“The linking of East and West”.Guruji was offered a traditionalwelcome by the temple priestwith Vedic chanting and

presenting of a shawl. Theevent started with devotionalsongs invoking Lord Ganeshaand the Guru preceptor. In histalk Guruji related how SwamiVivekananda predicted thearrival of Yogananda in futureto become a Guru for anAmerican disciple who wantedto be a disciple of SwamiVivekananda. It was anabsorbing talk and the audiencelistened with rapt attention andinterest.

Another special featurewas the bhajans in English,performed by the SRF bhajangroup. Which was somethingnew for most who had notheard bhajans in English.

Blessings from guruji,was the high point of theprogram when each and everyone had the opportunity toreceive a fruit from him. Eachfamily was given a book mark,a special issue of Sthita Prajnaour quarterly magazine featuring125th Birth Anniversary Year ofParamahamsa Yogananda anda card with a picture ofYogananda and his quote ‘Readlittle, meditate more. Think ofGod all the time’.

The day ended with adinner prepared by Kriyavansand served by them with loveand enthusiasm.

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It was a celebration ofgreat love and joy.

Mother CenterUSA, May24-27

A beautiful celebration ofBaba Hariharanandaji’sBirthday was held at theMother centre with a Seminarat the ashram in Homestead,Florida.

The seminar featured thefollowing a two-day workshopon Raja Yoga and Health, wasgiven by Sri N.V. Raghuramon May 24th and 25th.Yogashree N.V. Raghram is theChairman and Spiritual Founderof Yoga Bharati and Professorof Yoga Philosophy in SwamiVivekananda Yoga ResearchFoundation (SVYASA), inBangalore India.

Roy Eugene Davis –founder and director ofCenterFor Spiritual Awareness,and who was ordained byParamahamsa Yogananda in1951, visited the Mother Centerand gave a talk.

Celebrating the 125th

Birthday of ParamahamsaYogananda.

On the 24th of May, apublic talk was held at FIU’sGraham Center. The theme ofthe night was - Yoga Health and

Well-Being – Celebrating the125thBirthday of ParamahamsaYogananda. This event featuredseveral speakers, including SriN.V. Raghuram, Roy EugeneDavis, and Dr.Akhilesh Sharma,who is one of the nation’sforemost Ayurvedic doctors.There was also a performanceby Marisa Ma, the gifted-singerfrom Germany who recordedan album of songs byYoganandaji titled O Life isSweet.

Birthday of Gurudev BabaHariharananda

On 27th May the birthdayof Gurudev was celebrated withspecial worship, fire ceremony, discourses and guidedmeditations in the divinepresence of ParamahamsaPrajnanananda.

Celebrations in Australiaand New Zealand

Sydney

Australia ashram –Sydney, was blessed to haveParamahamsa Prajnanananda fora four-day retreat at the end ofApril from 24- 28, assisted bySwami Gurupriyananda Giri andSwami Sarvatmananda Giri.Disciples from all over Australiaand also from Tasmania and NewZealand attended the retreat.

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Visit our web site:

www. prajnanamission.orgFor current information.

E-mail : seva@prajnanamission.org / missionprajnana@gmail.com

Foundation day of theashram- April 29th coincidedwith the 1st Foundation day ofthe ashram as per the lunarcalendar and was celebrated inGuruji’s divine presence in theashram with Guru Paduka pujaand special worship followed bylunch.

P a r a m a h a m s aYogananda’s 125th BirthAnniversary was

commemorated on the eveningof 29thApril at the SydneyUniversity auditorium.

New Zealand

The 125th BirthAnniversary of ParamahamsaYogananda was celebrated atAuckland. with a sat sang,guided meditation, a discourseof ParamahamsaPrajnanananda and songs ofParamahamsa Yoganandaji .

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Gurudev’s Birthday Seminar at Miami Ashram