Vicharasethu – August – 2012 2
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1 Geeta Tattva Sameeksha 2012 : Poojya Swamiji arriving at the venue Vicharasethu – August – 2012 2 Devotional pursuit is easy and exhilarating, provided you understand what constitutes true devotion. As the fondness for the Lord grows, you should feel dispassion (viraktiÅ) towards the worldly allurements. When both bhaktiÅ and viraktiÅ grace the heart, experience of the Supreme (bhagavat-prabodhaÅ) will dawn irresistibly. If devotion does not bestow such realization, it is due to the lack of complementary qualities like viveka (truthful discrimination) and vair¡gya (dispassion). – Swamiji Contents Gurupoor¸im¡ Message Make Brahmavidy¡ Your Supreme Treasure 03 Science of Inner Redemption – 39 Mystery of Creation 08 Spiritual S¡dhan¡ in a Nutshell – Swami Nirviseshananda Tirtha 18 Gurupoor¸im¡ & Service in Gurusannidhi – Sooraj 24 Gurupoor¸im¡ in other Centres – Devotees 28 Back to Eternity Shashi Gupta 32 News & Notes 33 Narayanashrama Tapovanam Venginissery, P.O. Ammadam, B.O. Paralam,Thrissur. Kerala 680 563, India. Tel. (0487) 2277963/2278302/2278363 email: [email protected] Website: http://www.SwamiBhoomanandaTirtha.org Vicharasethu – August – 2012 3 Make Brahmavidy¡ Your Supreme Treasure [Essence of Poojya Swamiji’s Gurupoor¸im¡ Message sent out to different Centres in India and abroad.] Dear and blessed devotees, disciples and seekers: HariÅ Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. The sacred Gurupoor¸im¡ has come again. In the Indian cultural almanac, this is the most holy, austere and benedictory day. There is nothing to compare with its holy and auspicious nature. Our country has a great cultural treasure. It goes back to pre-historic times. The sacred literature our ancient thinkers evolved has been preserved ever since. The eternal Vedas are there before us, with their undimmed glory and significance. Vedas have 4 sections: Samhit¡s, consisting of hymns in honour of higher powers. The next section called br¡hma¸as contains rituals and ceremonies. From there is the transition into the 3rd phase consisting of ¡ra¸yakas – relating to a contemplative life, concomitant with forest environment. Finally we have the Upanishads, marking the culmination of the entire Vedic life in exclusive pursuit of knowledge of the supreme Reality. In our eternal cultural treasure, the Upanishads have great significance. Throughout the Vedic texts, param¡tma-tattva (the truth of the supreme Self) is clearly exposed in its final form and purpose. But these thoughts are lying scattered and distributed in many places. They were collected and presented by Vy¡sadeva, like beads in a garland. This string is called Brahmas£tras, consisting of nearly 545 aphoristic statements, cryptic and profound. Then we have the Bhagavadgeet¡, which has been widely read the world over. Bhagavadgeet¡ forms part of Mah¡bh¡ratam, authored by Vicharasethu – August – 2012 4 Vy¡sadeva himself. In this epic text, consisting of 1,25,000 verses, Bhagavadgeet¡ has an extremely important place. It is an enlightening commentary by Krishna on the Upanishads, in the form of a dialogue. These three – the Upanishads, the Brahmas£tras and the Bhagavadgeet¡ – together are called prasth¡na-trayam. It is an eternal record of the cultural treasure of our country. It delineates values, ideals and disciplines to refine and enrich our life, bestowing elevation, expansion and enlightenment. Prasth¡na-trayam is clearly before us in the form of writing, proclaiming its veracity, relevance or benefit. We cannot doubt its authenticity. Everyone of you should be proud that generation after generation, your predecessors have successfully pursued, imbibed, and disseminated this treasure effectively and successfully. They did not have printing and publishing technology as we have now – and yet, the texts were preserved intact. It is amazing indeed that our ancestors could preserve such a splendid treasure for countless millennia only through the power of memory and systematic recitation. Whoever came to know of this treasure found the message so relevant and enriching, that they strove to imbibe it and impart it to others. Every generation did it unfailingly, and you, of this generation, also must have the fondness, proper evaluation, and sense of belonging to do what your predecessors have done from times immemorial. Everyone of you should think of this great legacy and do whatever is necessary to preserve and perpetuate this inestimable treasure for the welfare of humanity. The activities and mission of Narayanashrama Tapovanam have to be evaluated in this background. I have been disseminating Brahmavidy¡ for 56 years as an ascetic, with austere dedication. Obviously, it is not a short period. I have been a Vicharasethu – August – 2012 5 ‘Moving University’, explaining to people what Brahmavidy¡ is – its content, message and relevance. Jamshedpur was the first place I visited to conduct the Jµ¡na Yajµa in English. When I was invited there, some listeners felt inspired and wanted to get initiated into spiritual s¡dhan¡. Perhaps they did not know that the deekÀ¡ I would give was into Brahmavidy¡, the core of our spiritual culture. I asked those Brahmavidy¡ initiates to assemble in one of their houses every week and have satsang. I gave them a programme for the purpose, in which some of the important Bhagavadgeet¡ verses featured. Very soon, such Brahmavidy¡ Centres came up in many other cities. These centres have become the backbone of my disseminational life. I would like you to understand the meaning of the word ‘Brahmavidy¡’. In Bhagavadgeet¡, at the end of every chapter, you will find the words “brahmavidy¡y¡Æ yoga¿¡stre”. This clearly reveals that the whole of Bhagavadgeet¡ discusses and delineates Brahmavidy¡ alone. ‘Brahmavidy¡’ emphasizes the supreme quality and refinement as well as the insight called sanny¡sa, renunciation. The entire Bhagavadgeet¡ discusses renunciation and that alone. True renunciation results from the knowledge of Brahman, the supreme Truth. It is not just a physical renunciation, which too has its unique place. Actual renunciation is of possessiveness, desires and ego. Renunciation will make the mind free of desires, liberating it from their clutches. The 18th chapter of Bhagavadgeet¡ commences with an enquiry from Arjuna, wanting to know the principle or truth about ty¡ga and sanny¡sa. My dear souls, I would like you to read Bhagavadgeet¡. I am setting a goal for you: before the next Gurupoor¸im¡ everyone of you must have sufficiently read Bhagavadgeet¡. You should particularly learn to recite it with correct pronunciation. Call your family members Vicharasethu – August – 2012 6 and let them at least hear the great holy dialogue. Let the words and phrases fall on their eardrums and sink into their hearts. The message of Bhagavadgeet¡ is that of ty¡ga and sanny¡sa. Don’t miss it. You can have these embellishments only through spiritual enlightenment. Krishna was not a sanny¡sin, nor was Arjuna. But the discussion in Kurukshetra was only on renunciation. Krishna told Arjuna: “Renounce your ego, renounce your possessiveness, renounce your desires. Be liberated, be free, be enlightened and then fight the war. Then the war will be a holy pilgrimage for you”. Remember this cardinal message of Bhagavadgeet¡. Let Bhagavadgeet¡ become part and parcel of you and your family. Now and then, discuss it with your friends and well-wishers. Whenever you get an opportunity, tell the youngsters about it. This year, as usual, we will have our holy assembly in the Ashram. The day will be observed in many of our Centres also. I would like everyone of you to participate in this important function either in the Ashram or in the other places. Bring your friends and well-wishers along with you. Tell them: “We are going for the Gurupoor¸im¡ function. Please come with us. It is greatly benedictory, much more than going to a temple for worship or a holy river for bath. Come and have a dip in the Brahmavidy¡ treasure of the land.” Invite them heartily. My fond blessings for all of you. I wish you all more and more of spiritual involvement, dedication and enlightenment. May there be good, devoted, dedicated children in the land, who will love the family, have faith in God, and will also be able to make valuable contributions to the society. We should also have some children, who will be devoted to Brahmavidy¡, its pursuit and dissemination. — Swamiji Vicharasethu – August – 2012 7 Brahmavit ¡pnoti param – One who realizes Brahman, attains the Supreme. Remember this declaration of the sacred Upanishads. Human life will find its true elevation and fulfillment only by gaining spiritual wisdom – the knowledge of the Self, the ‘Subject’ in you, which is the substratum of the entire universe. Let this truth ring in your mind and inspire your heart ever and ever. — Swamiji * * * Vicharasethu – August – 2012 8 Science of Inner Redemption – 39 (Series on Yoga-v¡siÀ¶ha, Nirv¡¸a-prakara¸a) Mystery of Creation Practising the truth of Oneness Sage VasiÀ¶ha said: BEÚi…k¥…P…x……¶™……∫…: |……h……x……∆ ¥…±…™…∫i…l…… * ®…x……‰ ¥… x…O…Ω˛∂S…‰ i… ®……‰I…∂…§n˘…l…«∫…∆O…Ω˛: ** (6p.69.27) Intense practice of ‘the truth of absolute Oneness’ (i), leading the breathing process to near-still absorption (ii), and restraining fully the mind process (iii) – these are indeed the epitome of mokÀa, liberation. This is one of the rare verses uttered by VasiÀ¶hadeva, elucidating the entire spiritual s¡dhan¡. The first proposition the Sage delineates is that of activating and enlightening the intelligence with the singular nature of the ultimate Truth. In fact, Ka¶hopanishad (2.3.10) too emphasizes the supreme state as that, wherein all the organs of perception, outer and inner, remain still, resting on their own source within. Practise the principle and truth of Oneness, considering it to be the Supreme. Pursue Oneness in the mind as well as intelligence. Do not swing or swerve from it any time, due to any attraction or repulsion.