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Samskruti Jan 2016 Newsletter E Version SAMSKRUTI January 2016 January Refining Young Minds FROM THE Our Master’s Voice EDITORS The Preceptor May the entire universe be By Poornimaji blessed with peace and hope. May everyone who is driven Sixteen year old Sadhanawas sitting in the backyard seriously trying to mould some clay. by envy and enmity become Kirtana, Sadhana’sMother, came up to her and asked, “Sadhana! What are you trying to do?” pacified and reconciled. “Ma! I saw Archanaaunty mould some clay into Hanumanji! Am trying too… But it seems so tough! She did it effortlessly.” May all living beings become “Sadhana! Come along with me, let me tell you.” calm by taking the path of Both of them came and sat in the hall and Kirtanacontinued, Bhakti, for by accepting seva “Sadhana, just as you go to a school to learn your subjects, any art has to be learnt from some teacher. It’s the teacher who they will think of each would know the nuances of an art and it is in his guidance and with his blessings that we attain perfection in any art.” other’s welfare. Sadhananodded and asked, May our own hearts and “Is this the same reason why we seek the blessings of a Guru before doing any spiritual activity too ma?” minds be filled with purity Kirtana smilingly nodded and continued, and serenity. May all the above blessings “Yes dear! It is at the Feet of a Guru, that spiritual knowledge dawns. A Guru, tells you the way. Not stopping at it, he warns flow naturally from The you on the pitfalls and saves you from them. Let me sing a beautiful song composed by the great SantKabir. He depicts the Supreme Lord Krishna! Samsara in this kirtanand emphasizes the need for a guru..." May our attention become KaunbatAvEBHAtGuru bin spontaneously absorbed in the badAvikatyamaghAt (Guru bin ) rapture of pure love unto Kabirsays,“Whocan show us the way to eternal bliss other than a Satguru? It’s a path filled with so many obstacles!” Krishna. “Sadhana! The scriptures depict the world as an ocean with unfathomable depth where we might have to face innumerable ~ SB Canto 5 Chapter 18 storms and whirlpools. World is also shown as a forest filled with many perils. Kabirsays, ‘It is a terrible valley of death! Wishing you all a year of Beware and don’t try to walk alone in this path! It is wise to have a leader who knows the way to reach the destination. A health, happiness and Guru knows the way. He serves as a boatman to take us across the ocean of Samsara. He is the guide who can show us the universal peace and way out of this forest of life.’” brotherhood. May the force In Srimad BhagavataMahapurana, King Muchukundasays of Sadguru be with us! “BhavApavargobhramathoyada bhavEjjanasyatarhiachyutasatsamAgamaha Satsangamoyarhi tadaivasadgathau……… “Oh Lord! Its only when you decide to take one across this Ocean of Samsara (transmigration), that you give him the company of Saints!” And the Lord Himself says that it is the Guru who serves as the boatman to sail one across this ocean of What’s Inside? transmigration." Page 2 BhrAntikipahADinadhiyAnbheechmoahankArkilAt Lord Chaitanya NEW MadamatsarkIdharabarasatmAyApavanaghanadhAt (Guru bin) Page 3 Ancient Indian Astronomy “Many are the obstacles in this path. There is a huge mountain in the form of illusion which would misguide you. Your ego Page 4 would not let you understand the wrong steps you are taking and would lead you to a downfall. Rain showers in the form of GOD Around the Globe pride and jealousy pour incessantly during this journey through the valley and they are supported by the winds of Maya!” Page 5 Guru bin….With such gory obstacles how can we tread this path without a guru? Swami Vivekananda Jayanthi Page 6 Ramayana Series NEW By Global Organisation for Divinity India Trust No part of this pamphlet may be reproduced, reprinted or utilised in any form without permission in writing from the editors. Views expressed in articles are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization. 1 SAMSKRUTI Jan 2016 Our Master “Sadhana! The mountainof illusion blinds usfrom seeing the right path. Itcould easily take us to a path which is seeminglyright but could take us astray. The ego would not let us accept that we have chosen a wrong path! Pride and jealousy will only fan our ego. They would further blind the path. A guru would lovingly show the right path and that too the best suited one. He would check our ego and not let it raise its hood. He would make us understand the higher truths andthusfreeus ofprideandjealousy.” kAmakrodhado parvatTADElobhchorsanGAt kehatkabirsunobhAisAdokyonkarnavobhAt(Guru Bin) There are two hillocks in the form of desire and anger. The path is infested with thieves in the form of greed. Say Kabir, Oh pious souls! Give ears! Why would youwanttotreadthispathwithoutaguru? “Sadhana! The two hillocks of desire and anger are not easy to climb over! Every step up would mean three steps down at times. Greed would loot us on our way and we would be bankrupt of spiritual wealth. But with the helping hand of a guru, the climb uphill and the walk through the thieves infested forest would bea safe one.In his lovingpresence,all desires would bedirected towards the highest purpose.He would showus the dangers ofthe lovelyscenes seen ’ byus andwouldcutgreed anddesireattheirroot.” s Voices ‘Sadhana!’Kabirsays, ‘Whytry totakethis pathwithoutthehelpofa guru?’ Comelet’s sing this song together! KaunbatAvEBHAtGuru bin badAvikatyamaghAt (Guru bin) BhrAntikipahADinadhiyAnbheechmoahankArkilAt MadamatsarkIdharabarasatmAyApavanaghanadhAt (Guru bin) kAmakrodhado parvatTADElobhchorsanGAt kehatkabirsunobhAisAdokyonkarnavobhAt (Guru bin) Illustrated by: Balamurali Life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu - Illustrated Compiled by: Sindhu In Puri Kshetra, the 3 prominent idols are Lord Krishna with his siblings Lord Balaram and Lordess Subadra. Once, in Narada said that Radha Rani, the epitome of one pointed Dwapara Yuga, when Lord Krishna was ruling Dwarka, He, At Puri, Sage Narada came to meet Lord Krishna.. devotion thought of Krishna only and none else and was along with Balarama and Subhadra went to meet their aunt unconcerned about worldly pleasures. Srutha Devi in Puri. Narada! What Narayana! news do you Narayana! bring?! ‘Jagan Mata’ the mother of The Lord Himself universe?!! Please bless shall descend Do you think she onto this world to How dare that someone enjoys when you should show show the right you kill goats who are the real path of devotion. disrespect her children too. Satvik bhakthi the to the world! Goddess?? Seeing Radha rani’s devotion, bhagavan wished to take an Meanwhile, in Kali yuga, worshipping God by sacrificing animals After 10 years, Kamalakshan who was known as avatar to experience the same joy that Radha rani was came into practice. this kind of worship saddened a lot of Advaitacharya(scholar in Advaitha philosophy) met a sage relishing and was waiting for the right time… Vedic scholars. named “Madhavendrapuri”. 2 SAMSKRUTI Jan 2016 Wondrous Whispers from Ancient India India - The Pioneer in Astronomy Ancient India's contributions in the field of astronomy are well known and well documented. The earliest references to astronomy are found in the Rig Veda, which are dated 2000 BC. Aryabhata wrote that 1,582,237,500 rotations of the Earth equal 57,753,336 lunar orbits. This is an extremely accurate ratio of a fundamental astronomical ratio (1,582,237,500/57,753,336 = 27.3964693572), and is perhaps the oldest astronomical constant calculated to such accuracy. Brahmagupta (598-668) was the head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain and during his tenure there wrote a text on astronomy, the Brahmasphutasiddhanta in 628. Bhaskara (1114-1185) was the head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain, continuing the mathematical tradition of Brahmagupta. He wrote the Siddhantasiromani which consists of two parts: Goladhyaya (sphere) and Grahaganita (mathematics of the planets). The other important names of historical astronomers from India are Madhava and Nilakantha. Bhaskara (1114-1185) calculated the time taken for the Earth to orbit the sun to 9 decimal places. Yajnavalkya (perhaps 1800 BC) described the motions of the Sun and the Moon in his book Shatapatha Brahmana, and also advanced a 95-year cycle to synchronize the motions of the Sun and the Moon. The Vedanga Jyotisha, a text on Vedic astrology that has been dated to 1350 BC, was written by Lagadha. It describes rules for tracking the motions of the Sun and the Moon, and also develops the use of geometry and trigonometry for astronomical uses. Around 500 BCE, Aryabhata presented a mathematical system that took the Earth to spin on its axis and considered the motions of the planets with respect to the Sun. He also made an accurate approximation of the Earth's circumference and diameter, and also discovered how the lunar eclipse and solar eclipse happen for the first time. He gives the radius of the planetary orbits in terms of the radius of the Earth/Sun orbit as essentially their periods of rotation around the Sun. He was also the earliest to discover that the orbits of the planets around the Sun are ellipses. He is the first known astronomer on that continent to have used a continuous system of counting solar days. His book, The Aryabhatiya, published in 498 AD described numerical and geometric rules for eclipse calculations. Indian astronomy at that time was taking much of its lead from cyclic Hindu cosmology in which nature operated in cycles, setting the stage for searching for numerical patterns in the expected time frames for eclipses. He also propounded the Heliocentric theory of gravitation, thus predating Copernicus by almost one thousand years. Aryabhatta's Magnum Opus, the Aryabhattiya was translated into Latin in the 13th century.
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