Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

Year 20 Issue 1July 2013

He, by whose light the unreal world appears real,

teaches the truth of Brahman, to those who want to know the

Atman through the Vedic statement Tattvamasi (Thou Art

That) and He, who puts an end to the samsaric cycle, to that

Bhagwan Sri Dakshinamurti , who is present as my Guru, I

offer this humble salutations.

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

July 201 3 : Year 20 / Issue 1

Editor: Swamini Samatananda Saraswati

Published by

International Vedanta Mission

http: //www.vmission.org. in

vmission@gmail .com

In This Issue

1 . Message of P. Guruj i - 5

2. Atma Bodha - 6-7

4. Letter - 9

5. Gita Reflections - 1 0-11

6. Jivanmukta - 1 3

7. Yoga Vasistha - 1 4-1 5

7. Story Section - 1 7

8. VM News - 1 8

9. VM Activities - 1 9

1 0. Album - 20-21

11 . VM Programs - 23

from Poojya Guruji

Devastation in Uttarakhand

The tragedy in Uttarakhand has been unimaginable for al l . Al l the Char-Dham bore the brunt, with

Kedarnath being the epicenter. Our condolences to thousands of pilgrims and local residents who died in

the process. Some of video clips remind us of the tsunamis which come with such a terrible magnitude,

force and suddeness. We are pained badly. While natural calamities keep happening, but the rel igious

people always connect prakriti with God, and thus all cordial situations are seen as his blessings, while al l

such disasters are seen as anger of Gods. The Gods are indeed angry and we need to seriously introspect

if our deeds and ways need to be corrected. Nobody should ever have the arrogance that they can ever

control nature, we just need to invoke its blessings and need to humbly l ive in accordance with the laws of

nature, and its possible occasional extremes. Obviously we were unprepared for various things and were

arrogantly complacent, and were most importantly compromising very badly on various fronts.

Everyone needs to introspect in their fields as to what can be corrected; we as sadhus too realize

the shortcomings in the rel igious beliefs & values of the people at large. Ages back when these pilgrimages

were started, the Himalayas must have been much more inaccessible as compared to what they are today,

yet the masters made the various inaccessible & literal ly god-forsaken places as the pilgrim centers. Why?

The reason for this was that the real objective of a pilgrimage is not final ly being in the presence of some

idol, but it was the journey which made all the difference. Today this has gone. Commercial ization and

ignorance of our traditions have converted these pilgrim centers into tourist spots, bereft of al l the piousness

and austerities which were associated with these places and traditions. Our priorities are now earning

money, so that the locals can make a living etc. While al l this is fine but we need to remember that if we do

not stick to the basic objectives of pilgrimages then they wil l slowly die, and this wil l be far more detrimental

to the money-makers. We need to keep the sanctity of pilgrim centers at al l cost. Anyone who has visited

any pilgrim centers in Himalayas are sad to see the clutter, dirt, unplanned development, mushrooming

buildings in any possible places, degradation of eco-system etc - al l because of our changed priorities of

money-making. However unpleasant this may be but this indeed is a fact. Al l our visitors need to come out

more purified, blessed & charged. We need to keep these places clean, pure, inspiring. For this it is

important that we keep these visits a bit difficult, because then alone we wil l have to depend on God to

undertake the journey. This is a very important aspect of al l such Yatras. Compromising on these wil l

tantamount to playing with our rel igion. No body can dare to play with the traditions of other rel igions, so

why should we let this happen in our rel igion. We need to protect our systems ourselves. Our over secure

l ife tends to make God irrelevant and this only increases our ego & arrogance, and these alone are the

thorns which are aimed to be removed by such yatras etc. Every pilgrimage was a package wherein there

was an amazing misxture of Yagna, Daan & Tapas, the three things which Bhagwad Gita tel ls us never to

let go. Let us not di lute the tapas componenet just for the sake of some old people or business community

etc. When old people also dare & resolve to undertake such journies then we wil l help to carve out truly

good human beings - more humble, pious & blessed. Making money alone is not enough, it is the making of

good human beings which matters more. Hindus need to wake up fast, there are many elements who are

playing with and exploiting our traditions blindly. We cannot remain an uninvolved spectator. All this is a

wake up call . Let us not miss this cal l and humbly go back to the basics & roots. After al l we all know that

the prevalent values are making a terrible mess of man and also the world.

- 5 -

Swamini Samatananda

56

Brahman is All-Pervading

- 7 -Vedanta Sandesh

In the previous sloka the Acharya glorified Self knowledge as the culmination of al l that is seen, al l

that one has experienced by becoming something or the other in relationships, in society, at the financial

level etc, and all that which one has learnt at the level of worldly knowledge and righteousness. In the

fol lowing sloka the Acharya gives us some more pointers which reveal the l imitless, bl issful and self

effulgent nature of the Self, as Brahman.

Vedanta Sandesh

Tiryagoordhvamadhah poornam:

One which is al l pervading and all

permeating, know that to be Brahman. One who is

al l around, who is above and who is below. In

Mundakopanishad it is said -All this that is in front

is but Brahman, the immortal. Brahman is at the

back, as also on the right and the left. I t is

extended above and below, too. This world is

nothing but Brahman, the highest. As the scriptures

thus reveal the all-pervasiveness of Brahman one

must understand that the all pervasiveness is only

spoken with reference to the fragmentations in the

world. I f the divisibi l ity in the world appears to be

existent and real for us then the need arises to say

that Brahman is everywhere. For a knowledgeable

person in whose vision fragmentation ceases to

exist where is the need to say brahman is al l-

pervasive. For a man of wisdom Brahman 'is'. it is

pure existence. That Brahman is Poornam

-Complete within itself. For that matter I am

Poornam.

Poornam:The nature of the Self is

contented by itself. In the Gita Sri Krishna reveals

the nature of a a man of complete wisdom as one

who is fulfi l led by himself and within himself. A

person who has discovered this nature of the Self

has nothing to be attained from the extranious

world. Only the ungratified ones who see

themselves as limited beings move into the outside

world to gratify the vaccum within.

Sachidaanandam: Sachidaananda is the

swaroopa lakshana of the self. Sat is that pure

existence because of which everything exists. I t is

the very substratum of the universe, just as gold is

Tiryagoordhvamadhah poornam sachidaanandam advaiyam

Anantam nityamekam yattadbrahmetyavadhaarayet

Tiryag: around, across; oordhvam: above; adhah: below; poornam: complete;

sachidaanandam: infinite bl iss; advaiyam: without a second; anantam: l imitless; nityam:

eternal; ekam: the one; yat: which; tad brahma: that is Brahman; iti : thus; avadhaarayet:

should understand.

That One is to be understood as Brahman, which is al l pervading, across, above, and

below, which is existence, consciousness and bliss, one without a second, l imitless, eternal

and the only one.

Swamini Samatananda

- 7 -

In the previous sloka the Acharya glorified Self knowledge as the culmination of al l that is seen, al l

that one has experienced by becoming something or the other in relationships, in society, at the financial

level etc, and all that which one has learnt at the level of worldly knowledge and righteousness. In the

fol lowing sloka the Acharya gives us some more pointers which reveal the l imitless, bl issful and self

effulgent nature of the Self, as Brahman.

the substratum of various ornaments with different

names, forms and uti l i ty. This principle of existence

is experienced in the world as 'isness' of an object

such as the phone 'is', the car 'is' etc. Within the self

this pure existence is experienced as 'I am'.

Chit: or Consciousness is the Self-i l lumining

knowledge principle. The light of consciousness

il lumines the objective world through the means of

the senses, mind and intel lect. I i l lumine all the

senses, the body, mind and intel lect and yet I am

that l ight which cannot be il lumined by any other

source of l ight. I am self effulgent.

Anandam: I am of the nature of absolute

bl iss. Bl iss that is not because of something but my

very nature is bi lssful. Everything moves towards its

basic nature, I too desire happiness because it is my

basic nature. Sorrow is an artificial phase which is

experienced when desire veils my very own natural

state of bl iss. Removal of ignorance is the only

means to awaken unto this state of sachidaananda.

Advaiyam : That which is non-dual, one

without a second. That alone is. The real existence

of something depends on the fact that it exists at al l

time, that which is unaffected by the realm of time &

space. All that comes into existence at a particular

point of time, undergoes changes and which passes

away with time is unreal. In this sense all that we

see in the objective world including our body, our

emotions, our thoughts, values and experiences

everthing under that spectrum is l imited in time and

space. Brahman alone is eternal, veri ly the

substratum of the entire spectrum of change, of time

space and objectives. The entire spectrum of

plural ity is an il lusory experience as a dream world.

Brahman alone is the truth and one without a

second.

The Acharya gives us some more pointers to

indicate the state of Brahman.

Anantam: Brahman is anantam implies,

Brahman is al l pervading, eternal and non dual. I t is

free from the three limitations of time, space and

object. Brahman is not l imited to a space and you

can never perceive a locus for it. I t is al l pervading.

Just as the sky is l imitless. I t is an existencial

platform for al l manifested beings yet it remains

indivisible, and unchanged.

Brahman is beyond the limitation of time. I

exist first and then the existence of time comes into

being. I t was never such that I was not there before,

nor wil l I ever cease to exist. Any object enjoys

temporary existence while Brahman being the

subject, is there in al l the three periods of time. I t is

eternal. Brahman is not l imited by another object.

Each object is l imited by its own attributes. A

computer, wil l function as a computer and not a car.

Each object is l imited and separated from others on

the basis of certain qualities. While Brahman means

that which is 'Big'. General ly big is used as an

adjective a big car, a big house etc where big is

used to describe another noun. Here the word 'Big'

itself is a noun implying the l imitlessness of

Brahman.

Nityam: The Self is eternal. What comes and

goes is the manifested form. Anything born of the

three gunas of Maya is anitya and goes through

birth, change and decay.

Ekam: The Self is one without a second.

Nothing exists other than this truth alone. All the

multipl icity is a beautiful dream in the mind of this

one ultimate truth. Just as there is a variety in the

names and forms of mud products as a pot, toys,

utensils but the substratum of al l the products is

mud alone so also the source of the entire play of

the universe is one substratum where in al l is

created, sustained and destroyed. Hence it does not

admit any differences nor can undergo any

changes. All the differences are at the level of

adjuncts which is a play of maya and its three

gunas.

Tadbrahmetyavdhaarayet:

Realise that to be Brahman as the nature

under discussion and have a firm conviction. As of

now our conviction about the Self is that of a the

body, mind and intel lect. I t is as that of the jiva who

is bound by a sense of doership and enjoyership.

Come to question this conviction of the self, enquire

upon the deep sense of reality that we have

imposed upon the self as a limited and seeking

being. Come to see that al l the suffering is only due

to the ignorance of the real nature of the self as

Brahman and seeing it as a fragmented, l imited

being. Enquire and see that thou art.

Letter ofthe Month

Vedanta Sandesh - 9 -

Once upon a time, in a small vi l lage in Kenya, there l ived a

young boy with his step family. Due to the scarcity of water in the vil lage,

the young boy awoke early every morning, carried his pot and headed

for the stream with the aim of fetching water for himself and his step

family. Sadly for him, he alone had this task as a routine every morning

and evening to fetch water froma distant stream while his step sibl ings

were given other lenient tasks or even none. Yet, the young boy bore no

grudge against his step family, loved them and carried out his task,

di l igently.

On his way back from the stream, he met an old man resting

under a tree who beggedfor water to quench his thirst and he gave the

old man. He met an elderly woman who begged for water and he gave

the woman. This happens almost every time as he comes back from the

stream; meeting peoplewho beg for thirst, yet he gave them despite his

step mother’s torture on him for fetching half-fi l led pots that wouldn’t

even be enough for the family.

One day, he couldn’t bear the torture from his step mum, so

heswore never to give anyone water, but on his way back, he met a

strange looking man who begged him for water. The strange man lay by

the road sidewith an injury. The young boy remembered his vow – never

to give anyone water – but contemplated for a moment and then gave

the strange man some water.

When he got home, his step mum noticed the half-fi l led pots, and

again pounced on him – this time with more cruelty. As she was beating

this young boy, there was a knock on the door. I t was the wounded

strange man – a mail del iverer. Apparently, he came from the town with

a letterfor the young boy. A letter containing a scholarship with additional

cash gift for the young boy and would have died on the way if not for the

boy’s help.

A Compassionate Boy

Vedanta Sandesh

Power of Love

Letter ofthe Month

Hari om! Aashirwad!

I am happy that you were ‘offered’ a job which you loved. For me the good news

is not the job, but good news is ‘that which you love’ is now coming to you by

itself. Lets keep our perceptions clear. Love not only gives meaning to l ife &

generates enthusiasm, but it also attracts things of its kind & class by itself.

Things wil l just happen and come to you by themself. The people in the west

cal l this Law of Attraction, while we call it Power of Love.

When we study creation in our Upanishads then we realize that real ly speaking,

creation is not an independent entity, but is a projection of our minds. That

which we see, feel, dream & think, is al l the manifestation of our values &

aspirations. The clearer & deeper it is, clearer is the dream which you see –

yes, the world is just your dream :). Basical ly world is just ‘grossification’ of our

thoughts. While we all apparently l ive in one world but real ly speaking we all l ive

in our own different worlds, a world of our making – as per our individual values

& perceptions, attracting appropriate things. You sincerely believe in something,

then it ‘alone’ is ‘seen’ around, you truly wish & love something, and it shal l

come to you. So it is al l about your love. That is why I have been saying that let

it al l be just ‘Project Love’, and everything wil l fal l into right place – job,

satisfaction, right people, mentors, friends, relationships, money, respect,

position, and the most elusive of it al l – joy in the heart of your teachers. I am

indeed very happy to see that now what matters to you is just doing what you

just love to do, let everything be like shadows, which just fol lows – helplessly.

This is a fundamental and profound shift which changes our l ives completely

and for the better. Just continue to be true to it and forget everything else. No

doubts whatsoever, sincerely believe that if you really & passionately love some

thing or even a person then it or they have to come to you.

Love is too pure & divine a thing to be made a means for some petty worldly

ends. Just dream to do your best, not for any fruits but because you are made &

born to do this – with your heart & soul. Then all the artha’s wil l become siddha.

Lots of love & om,

Guruji

‘‘Basically world

is just ‘grossification’

of our thoughts. While

we all apparently live in

one world but really

speaking we all live in

our own different

worlds, a world of our

making – as per our

individual values &

perceptions, attracting

appropriate things.’

­ Poojya Guruji

- 9 -

by

SwaminiSamatananda

Vedanta Sandesh

In Gita chapter 2 Sri Krishna brings up an analysation about how the

graph of a person's mindset goes downwards when he or she is completely

overtaken by senses and their desires. There is a perfect psychological pattern

of desire explained, how a desire originates, how the persuit of it begins, how it

takes away the capacity of a person to think objectively and how anger takes

over slowly hypnotising a person to a mental suicide.

Meditating upon objects:

All objects have their own attributes and useful lness. But not al l the

objects and people are desired by us. An object, person or situation is not

desired for itself, but it is desired because we see it as desirable. This desire

may sprout due to some past impression, due to an impact created by a

particular object or we may see the usefulness of it. Whatever the reason

certain objects and people, having seen it once, come back to our mind again

and again. Dwell ing upon these objects is what Sri Krishna calls as meditation

here. This kind of meditation may not appear to be a problem as such. We may

like something about a person's looks, his dressing, his mannersims, his

mindset etc and we may open the doors of our mind allowing it to make its

home. What happens however is that this kind of meditation or dwell ing upon

an object brings about a l iking towards that object and gives birth to its

desirabil ity which again may not be a problem. Desiring something itself is not a

problem, however if a desire leads to a downfal l of human righteousness and

the spirit of self contentment, then it is a problem, as we wil l see in the fol lowing

discussion.

Meditation leading to attachment:

Once a person starts dwell ing or meditating on something, affection and

attachment is developed. Attachment or sanga to any person or object brings

about a smile of elation. One cannot develop affection without dwell ing upon it.

A pet owner develops love and affection merely by caring for it and thinking

about it. Attachment can also come about when one sees an object or person

fulfi l l ing a vaccum in one's l ife. This kind of attachment can be for anything,

money, house, car, or any person who is nice to me. Affection to something is

not a problem by itself. The problem is that when we start l iking something we

want to possess it. In the Gita, Bhagwan Kishna says that desire is born of

attachment. To add to it, a person is then natural ly not satisfied with one thing.

Given an entire mutipl icity of the world of objects and people in front of him, he

then has umpteen number of desires. The world of advertisements understands

this psychology of bringing about attachment by continuous bombardment of a

thought of an object and then developing it into a desire. A company launches a

One needs

to see how an

innocent self-

centered desire

can create

havoc in l ife if it

is not handled

inteel igently

and factual ly. .

DhyayatoVishayan

Punsah

(Con

sequ

ence

sof

drea

mingab

outan

Objec

t)

Vedanta Sandesh

- 1 1 -

In Gita chapter 2 Sri Krishna brings up an analysation about how the

graph of a person's mindset goes downwards when he or she is completely

overtaken by senses and their desires. There is a perfect psychological pattern

of desire explained, how a desire originates, how the persuit of it begins, how it

takes away the capacity of a person to think objectively and how anger takes

over slowly hypnotising a person to a mental suicide.

Meditating upon objects:

All objects have their own attributes and useful lness. But not al l the

objects and people are desired by us. An object, person or situation is not

desired for itself, but it is desired because we see it as desirable. This desire

may sprout due to some past impression, due to an impact created by a

particular object or we may see the usefulness of it. Whatever the reason

certain objects and people, having seen it once, come back to our mind again

and again. Dwell ing upon these objects is what Sri Krishna calls as meditation

here. This kind of meditation may not appear to be a problem as such. We may

like something about a person's looks, his dressing, his mannersims, his

mindset etc and we may open the doors of our mind allowing it to make its

home. What happens however is that this kind of meditation or dwell ing upon

an object brings about a l iking towards that object and gives birth to its

desirabil ity which again may not be a problem. Desiring something itself is not a

problem, however if a desire leads to a downfal l of human righteousness and

the spirit of self contentment, then it is a problem, as we wil l see in the fol lowing

discussion.

Meditation leading to attachment:

Once a person starts dwell ing or meditating on something, affection and

attachment is developed. Attachment or sanga to any person or object brings

about a smile of elation. One cannot develop affection without dwell ing upon it.

A pet owner develops love and affection merely by caring for it and thinking

about it. Attachment can also come about when one sees an object or person

fulfi l l ing a vaccum in one's l ife. This kind of attachment can be for anything,

money, house, car, or any person who is nice to me. Affection to something is

not a problem by itself. The problem is that when we start l iking something we

want to possess it. In the Gita, Bhagwan Kishna says that desire is born of

attachment. To add to it, a person is then natural ly not satisfied with one thing.

Given an entire mutipl icity of the world of objects and people in front of him, he

then has umpteen number of desires. The world of advertisements understands

this psychology of bringing about attachment by continuous bombardment of a

thought of an object and then developing it into a desire. A company launches a

new soap which is asolutely new for us and we have no desire to buy it. But one

thought of the soap bringing about fairness of the skin is bombarded on our

senses and mind so many times in half an hours program that a simple thought

about the soap leads to its meditation and then a desire to buy it. In this manner

a desire is created.

Unfulfil led desire leads to anger:

I f a desire is fulfi l led then it's not a problem. But not every desire can be

fulfi l led. When the desire is not fulfi l led one gets angry. Anger again depends

upon the intensity of the desire. I f the desire to achieve something is not very

strong then it wil l not bother much, but if the desire is real ly intense then

anything or person instrumental in the unfulfi l lment of the desire wil l become the

target of my anger. The point to understand here is not avoid a desire or control

anger by suppression, but one needs to be realistic in one's expectations.

Unrealistic expectations from a person or object are due to individual l ikes and

disl ikes (raag-dvesha) which need to be handled by right knowledge.

Anger leads to delusion and loss of memory:

I t is well experienced that any person overpowered by anger is deluded

and loses his sense of reasoning and intel l igence, thus leading to loss of

memory. In this case loss of memory refers to the loss of al l that knowledge a

person has gained from the study of the scriptures, one's elders, and one's own

experiences. Once we lose this kind of wisdom of past experiences and

learning, the mind is incapacitated. The intel lect is no more capable of seeing

objectively that which is right or that which is wrong. in such a situation a

person does not act but he is swayed

away by his anger helplessly total ly

under the control of his mental

impressions and impulses.

Intellect overtaken by impulse:

The intel lect is available only when

wisdom is available. When wisdom is lost

the freedom to think is also lost and what

takes over is impulsiveness. A

human being is a human being only due

to the uniqueness of of a mind that is

sensitive and an intel lect that can think.

When impulses take over it means the capacity to think and discrimiate as a

human being is lost. In such a situation a person does not act, he only reacts. A

person no more has any control over a situation. Once anger is born, delusion,

loss of wisdom and ultimately destruction of the person is inevitable. A person

has freedom unti l he comes at the level of control l ing his anger, but if anger

takes over then rest wil l fol low suit.

One needs to see how an innocent self-centered desire can create

havoc in l ife if it is not handled intel l igently and factual ly.

One needs

to see how an

innocent self-

centered desire

can create

havoc in l ife if it

is not handled

inteel igently

and factual ly. .

- 1 3 -

Quotes

Vedanta Sandesh

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgementthat something else is more important than fear.”

“Those who wish to sing, always find a song.”

“He who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of thepower to love. ”

“Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in theabil ity to stick to one thing ti l l i t gets there.”

“The difference between try and triumph is a l ittle umph. ”

“For happiness is anyone and anything at al l that's loved byyou.”

“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”

“Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable. ”

“I wil l offer a choice, not an echo.”

“The greatest power is often simple patience.”

“There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy

everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go.”

Vedanta Sandesh

- 1 3 -

Wanderingin Himalayas

Heritageof a

Golden Past

Excerpts fromthe

Travel Memoirsof

Param PoojyaSwami Tapovanji

Maharaj

The Heritage of a Golden Past

In the increasing worldl iness that encompasses man in our time, he

finds l ittle time to look into himself and discover the Inner Spirit. People

dominated by rajoguna can hardly pass a day without seeing other people

and mixing themselves with worldly things. They cannot spend a few days in

solitude. In our time little value is attached to qualities l ike peace (shanti) and

dispassion (vairagya). Love, hate, greed, egotism and avidity for sensual

pleasures are the rul ing passions of our age. There are but few people who

can discern and appreciate sattwik qualities. I f spiritual elavation was the

objective of our ancestors, material happiness is the goal of our generation.

Thus the aims of our ancestors and of ourselves appear poles apart.

We can only console ourselves with the thought that the Wheel of time wil l go

ful l round. Good and evil , prosperity and adversity come up by turns and

disappear by turns. However that may, I must confess, I can hardly pass

through the solitary plains in the lovely Himalayan region without casting a

longing, l ingering look at the past and without being saddened by the

changes that have come over our motherland. I bel ieve that no man who

loves his native land and who has some power of thought sti l l left in him can

traverse these regions without feel ing a touch of melancholy.

Conquest of Illusion

I f enjoyment is the body, suffering is its head. Nobody can live without

his head. Sti l l , man forgets the more he enjoys the more he wil suffer.

Even in extreme old age, when the body is in a state of dissolution,

man clings to it as if it was sti l l young and healthy and ful l of vigour. Thus

aiming at pleasure and eagerly longing for the prolongation of l ife, man goes

on revolving within the endless circle of samsara.

Man is l ike a caged lion. he cannot get out of the l imitation of his

senses. He does not recollect that he has fal len from a high state of freedom

into abject slavery. Every book on rel igeon refers to man's sad fal l .

12

- 1 5 -Vedanta Sandesh

contd from last issue. . .

Everything in this world is dependent upon the mind, upon one’s mental

attitude. On examination, the mind itself appears to be unreal? But, we are

bewitched by it. We seem to be running after a mirage in the desert to slake our

thirst! . . . What is this world? What comes into being, grows, and dies? How does

this suffering come to an end? My heart bleeds with sorrow. . . Only he lives who

strives to gain self-knowledge, which alone is worth gaining in this world,

thereby putting an end to future births; others exist here l ike donkeys. . . Pray,

enl ighten me. . . ” Rama goes on and on, pointing the shortcomings of various

objects and states of l ife, - everything is fleeting and not able to give a lasting

joy, beauty fades, youth passes, love is transient and l ife is spent uselessly in

running after desires. Not everyone is able to see so clearly the shortcomings of

the world in al l its stages and manifestations, and its inabil ity to give the

complete satisfaction. Everything the worldly pleasures and states can offer is of

a fleeting nature, always changing, never giving complete satisfaction, its’ joys

are always fol lowed by sorrows, and they desert you when you least expect it.

And this is inevitable, because whatever has a beginning, wil l have its end, too,

and putting your hopes and affections in the changing objects of the samsara,

you are bound to become disheartened some time sooner or later. Children wil l

grow, friends and relatives are bound to die and go away, best food spoils and

turns waste once you eat it, the best and the finest clothes and jewelry become

boring and go out of fashion, your attitudes change with time and the most

desired things become non-wanted or even the objects of hate and can be seen

as the source of many future problems. Such is the nature of the worldly things,

- they change, and happiness they bring is only momentary. Once we have the

desired and longed for the objects in our possessions, we enjoy them for a

moment, and next moment another desire arises, which drags us again to catch

it, requests efforts and exertion to reach. Once we reach it and see it as not so

desirable, the new circle of a new desire starts, which requires new actions, new

goals and new running in a seemingly endless circle of desire and action. Yet, if

we stop and think, we discover what in every desire our real goal is not to reach

an object, but a short moment of bl iss and joy upon reaching, when we feel

completely ful l and satisfied, when we feel completely at home, when we don’t

desire to change or to reach something else, when everything seem perfect as

it is and new desires do not exist yet. What everyone desires in reality is this

state of no desire when nothing drags a man out of the joy and balance, keeping

AdhyatmicTeachings

ofGuru

Vashistato

Sri Ramji

8Part-2

by

SwaminiVidyananda

- 1 5 -

Chan

ging

worldgive

sgrea

tlesson

s

him in the running. Once we see that our goal is just to stay in ourselves not

running somewhere else, our whole approach about how to get where changes.

We see the desired state as not running after something, not becoming

someone else, but just being happy with what is, not dependent on the changing

objects of the world, not dependent on desires or actions, our innate state of

l imitless blissfulness and completeness.

Rama sees right here that is no satisfaction in the changing objects and

states. But he is yet to make the next step of deducing what the desired state of

completeness is his own nature. He feels the pain of the state he is in and

eagerly desires to find a way out. He makes an inspired speech on the

shortcomings of the world and humbly request help from the assembly of sages,

understanding his inabil ity to solve the riddle himself. And only after such a

whole-hearted submission and request for knowledge from a qualified student,

teaching can begin.

Sri Ram at the feet of Sage Vasistha

Vedanta Sandesh - 1 7 -

Message of Bhagwad Gita

4. Consequences of Ego

The lives of self-centric people,

who are always driven by their

personal l ikes and disl ikes, is very

isolating, l imiting and above all

choking. They live a highly stressed

life, with indecisiveness glaring at them

at every crossroad. Success binds

these ignorant ones as much as their

fai lures do, and the tragedy is that

irrespective of what they achieve and

experience they continue to remain

condemn as a seeker.

- 1 7 -

StorySection

Kirat: The Hunter

Onceupon

a time...

This is the only form of Lord Shiva in which He appeared black

in color. Arjuna wanted to get the peerless weapon Pashupatastram

from Lord Shiva for the battle of Mahabharata. He left the other four

Pandavas, went to the forest and did austere tapas for getting the

boon of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was satisfied with his prayer, wanted

to give the pashupatastram to him, but wanted to play a bit too. He

took the form of a Hunter with Shakthi as Huntress. That time a

demon by name Mukasura, who was in the form of a wild pig came

to kil l Arjuna. To kil l the wild pig Arjuna fired an arrow from the front,

at the same time the Hunter, Who is none other than God Himself,

attacked it from the back and kil led the pig.

Arjuna mocked at the Hunter for firing the arrow from the back.

Having great pride of his valour, he was also angry at the Hunter

because He aimed at his prey. The Hunter responded that attacking

an animal from the back is not against the rules of hunting. An

argument broke out. They decided to fight deciding who was more

valourous between them. The Hunter cut the string in Arjuna's bow

with His arrow in the fight! Angered and excited, Arjuna started

wrestl ing. He couldn't match the Lord, and the Lord enjoyed his

fighting. At one point of time in wrestl ing Arjuna held the foot of the

Hunter. As the Lord is pleased when somebody catches His holy

feet, He stopped wrestl ing appeared with Parvati revealing who He

is. Shocked Arjuna pleaded for forgiveness, as he was trying to fight

with the Supreme out of his ignorance. However the God, Who was

pleased by his devotion, blessed him and gave him the invincible

Pashupatastra. (In some books it is told that arjuna couldn't fight with

the Hunter, he started worshipping the Shiva Lingam. To his

astonishment he found the flowers he offered to the Lingam on the

head of the Hunter. Then he prostrated before the Hunter and the

Lord revealed Himself). This can be found in detai l in Kirat-Arjuniyam

of Bharavi and Mahabharata.

Vedanta Sandesh- 1 9 -

- 1 9 -

The present phase of Renovation at Vedanta Ashram was over just before the

monsoons - by mid-june. Now we have a nice parikrama around the giant Shiv-Linga

on the roof, a RCC roof in our Dining Area in place of the tin-shed earl ier, this gives us

a bigger roof area too. The re-painting of the giant Shiv-Linga has also been

completed satisfactori ly. We have used texture finish which was done by Asian Paints

certified people under their supervision. Now our Shivj i is having a bule pearl mettal ic

hue. On the roof we now have an additional temple in the shape of a small mount,

which we call it as Ganga-Parvat, because we have put Gangaji 's statue on the snow-

capped mountain peaks. She represents the glaciers, and below is the old Shiv-Linga

which was earl ier established in the mount below. After 7 odd years that Shiv-Linga is

being re-established, in an appropriate place. The whole structure has come out

beautiful ly and gives a great ambiance to the whole area there. On 1 6th June evening

this place was inaugurated and opened for select visitors at Ashram by Poojya Guruji

amdist chanting of prayers. Then everyone did the Aarti .

On 1 6th June itself before the inauguration of the Ganga-Parvat, we started a

new program at Vedanta Ashram - a monthly Satsang for our various Indore devotees.

Poojya Guruji has started discourses on Hanuman Chalisa in this program. The

program started with chanting of Hanuman Chalisa, fol lowed by discourse on the first

l ine of the first doha of the chalisa. Then everyone went for the inaugural Aarti of the

Ganga-Parvat, and then there was Samashti Bhandara. There were very heavy rains

on that evening, yet there was a good attendance for the program.

Due to extremely inclement weather in Uttarakhand fol lowed by devastating

floods etc, the proposed Vedanta Camp had to be cancelled over there. Water even

entered the Sw Dayananda Ashram. In l iu of that we have now proposed to have a

Camp at Vedanta Ashram instead from Guru Poornima (22nd to 27th July). Please

contact Ashram for more details. Advance wil l be refunded to those who cannot come.

A seven days Bal Samskar Shivir was organized at Vedanta Ashram from 23rd

to 29th June. More than 20 children attended the Camp.

- 21 -Vedanta Sandesh

- 21 -

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Checkoutthedetaile

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Albumsofthevariousfunctionson

VM

NewsBlogat:http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/

Vedanta Sandesh- 23 -

Vedanta Mission had started a new program of Weekly

Online Satsang in Sept 201 2, which will conclude on 2nd June

201 3. In this program Pujya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji gave

elaborate discourses on the first shloka of Sadhana Panchakam,

a text written by Sri Adi Sankaracharyaji .

In this series of 35 discourses, which were a commentary

of the first eight sutras of the text, the initial preparatory journey of

a spiritual aspirant has been discussed, the last stage of which

was the natural manifestation of the inquisitiveness for Atma-

Gyana. Vedanta shastra reveals the science behind this Jignyasa,

and once this is there then the journey thereafter is relatively

easy, and so these shlokas and the commentary are of great

importance.

While so many sadhakas sincerely do so many sadhanas,

but very rarely al l this culminates in such an inquisitiveness, they

obviously miss out on few subtle facts, which have been

elaborated in these discourses.

This series is a 'must l isten' for al l such aspirants who wish

prepare the right foundation for the journey within and we would

highly recommend all Hindi speaking sadhakas to regularly and

very sincerely l isten on them. Preferably small groups can be

formed and these Video Pravachans should be shown to all such

people for the well-being of al l .

Desirous sadhakas can either l isten to them online, or can

even download them for uninterrupted telecast. Pl visit the

Vedanta Mission Web Site for l inks of these discourses.

Sadhana Panchakam Discourses

Rishikesh Camp rescheduled to Indore:

A 'Vedanta Camp' by Poojya Guruji which was to be organized at Sw Dayananda

Ashram, at Rishikesh from 24th to 29th June has been rescheduled to Indore because of

the devastating floods there. New dates are 23rd to 27th July.

Guru Poornima, Indore:

This year Guru Poornima is on the 22nd of July. As every year special programs wil l

be organized on that day. Respects wil l be paid to the entire Guru Parampara by Poojya

Guruji , and Poojan of Bhagwan Sri Sankaracharya wil l be done. Thereafter devotees wil l

offer their respects to Poojya Guruji . Bhandara wil l be organized for al l .

Monthly Hanuman Chalisa Satsang:

The second Satsang of the monthly Hanuman Chalisa wil l be held on the evening of

22nd July, Guru Poornima - as announced earl ier. The program wil l begin with the chanting

of Hanuman Chalisa by everyone, fol lowed by pravachan by Poojya Guruji .

Forthcoming

- 23 -- 23 -

Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow:

A Gita Gyana Yagna is being organized at Hari om Mandir, Lal Bag, Lucknow by

Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji from 23rd to 30th Sept. The subject matter of the discourse

series wil l be: Gita Chapter-6, and Laghu Vakya Vritti .

Janmashtami Camp, Indore:

A unique first ever 'Pancha-Kosha-Viveka Camp' wil l be organized at Vedanta

Ashram, Indore, from 23rd to 27th Aug. On 28th Aug is the Janmashtami, and all devotees

wil l participate in the celebrations.

Visit

International Vedanta Mission at:

http: //www.vmission.org. in/

Vedanta Mission News Blog:

http: //vmissionews.blogspot.com/

VM Online Satsang Page:

http: //www.vmission.org. in/mission/ols/

Om Tat Sat