Vol. 34 No.7 Magha 5108 February 2007 Founder Editor CONTENTS Mananeeya Eknathji Ranade Editorial 4 - Satish Chowkulkar Editor Is Saffronisation a Stigma? 9 Mananeeya P. Parameswaran - Dr.K.Subrahmanyam My Vivekananda 15 Editorial Office - Mannava Gangadhar Prasad 5, Singarachari Street Triplicane, The Bravest of Indians 19 Chennai - 600 005 Ph: (044) 28440042 - Mukesh Advani email:[email protected] Sri Ramakrishna and His Unique 23 web: www.vkendra.org Method of Training - A Compilation SingleCopy Rs. 7/- Annual Rs. 75/- Letter - Youth and Ecology 27 For 3 yrs Rs. 200/- - Preetee Life(20Yrs) Rs. 800/- (Plus Rs. 30/- for outstation Maasaanaam Margashirshoham.. 31 Cheques) - Satish Chowkulkar V.K.Samachar 39 VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PRAKASHAN VIVEKANANDA KENDRA3 PRAKASHANYUVA BHARATI - Feb 2007 yae devana< àÉvíaeщví ivñaixpae éÔae mhi;R> , ihr{ygÉeR jnyamas pUveR s nae buXya zuÉya s<yun´… .41. May He, the creator and supporter of the gods, the lord of all, the destroyer of evil, the great seer, He who brought the cosmic Soul into being, endow us with good thoughts. --Svetasvataropanishad, III,4. Editorial Dynamics of Sankalpa d) What I must do to strengthen my capacities to meet these challenges. Almost everyone of us, at some time or other, take a Sankalpa or make a resolution So, before venturing for any Karya, in our – vow, to do something. Quite a few of these tradition, we make a Sankalpa. In this resolutions are not fulfilled. It is a practice to Sankalpa Mantrana, we remind ourselves as make resolution or take a Sankalpa for doing to in what time span we are i.e. in which something on important days and occasions. Kalpa, Manvantar, Yuga, Year, Rutu, and We do want to fulfil these Sankalpas but we Paksha. This is done basically to verify and fail because we have not done the needed assure ourselves that what I planned to do is preparatory work. Certain things are needed in tune with the Dharma of the Yuga; whether to be ensured before we make a vow. it will face up to the challenges thrown by the circumstances, environment and a) Whether I am competent to fulfil the limitations imposed on the performer. It is also vow. to be verified and assured by referring to the b) Whether my work will be useful to astronomical position of Stars, planets and sustain Dharma. yoga bala as per Panchanga. (Tithi, Vasar, c) Whether I am aware of the Nakshatra Karana and Yoga). This helps us challenges which I am likely to face to prepare against Adhi Deivik obstacles. in the process. YUVA BHARATI - Feb 2007 4 Then we focus and identify in which part specific, its purpose and process—for of creation--Srushti, geographical location, example, welfare of the Kutumba through we wish to perform our work. What we want stability, long and healthy life, fearlessness, to do should go in tune with the place. Our material and spiritual welfare, and maintain work should be compatible with the place Purusharthas – Dharma, Artha, Kama and and people, flora and fauna of the land. If Moksha, through the grace of the Ishta any special precautions are to be taken in Devata. One also determines the way of view of the possible obstacles or difficulties, worship, process, and extensity. One should by virtue of our being in a particular location, do this Sankalpa as a part of daily routine to we can prepare ourselves for that. This will discipline oneself and equip himself to look help us to avoid Adhi-Bhautik or Adhi before he leaps. Bhaumik challenges. Next comes the dynamics of identifying ourselves, our lineage This discipline will ensure that we know and capabilities and unique specialities. This what we are resolving. We will ensure that is done by remembering the name of the Rishi our resolutions are not opposed to Dharma – i.e. Gotra to whom we belong, our – Yuga Dharma, Varna Dharma, Jati Dharma specialities, task taken and fulfilled by them and, of course, Rashtra Dharma. in the past. We recall proudly the name of our parents and Star--Nakshatra under which We will also be able to focus on our we are born. Everyone of us will have certain capabilities as to whether we are fit to make unique capabilities by virtue of being born a particular resolution, understand the in a particular Star-configuration--Graha intensity and extensity of the consequences Dasha. We consolidate ourselves and of our action, and to take care of the eventual reassure that “I have a remarkable lineage challenges. and I am destined to perform remarkably well”. This thought expunges our lethargy, The Sankalpa will help us to become ignorance, and self-degrading tendencies. effective, successful, useful and meaningful. This will also result in our adhering to the This helps us to combat Adhi-Atmic task taken and not leaving it in mid-way. obstacles. After having settled with peace on these three frontiers, namely, Adhi-Deivik, Ganga Putra Devavrata came to be Adhi-Bhautik and Adhi-Atmic, (that is why we known as Bheeshma because, the Sankalpa chant Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi three times, he took, the Pratijna he made, was Intensive after invocation) one can focus on the task and Extensive in space and time i.e. 5 YUVA BHARATI - Feb 2007 Bheeshma. The day after Ratha Saptani is capabilities so that the tasks will be observed as Bheeshmashtami, as a tribute successfully fulfilled. Vivekananda Kendra to the Hero of the Mahabharata. Prarthana has all the ingredients of the dynamics of making a Sankalpa. Reciting the All of us should make our resolutions by Kendra Prarthana daily is therefore the best making a Sankalpa in Time, Space and way to make the firm resolution, Dridha Karya, recalling our strength and unique Sankalpa, again and again. Satish Chowkulkar THUS SPAKE SRI RAMAKRISHNA Once a man went into a wood and saw a beautiful creature on a tree. Later he told a friend about it and said, ‘Brother, on a certain tree in wood I saw a red-coloured creature.’ The friend answered: ‘I have seen it too. Why do you call it red? It is green.’ A third man said: ‘Oh no, no! why do you call it green? It is yellow.’ Then other persons began to describe the animal variously as violet, blue, or black. Soon they were quarrelling about the colour. At last they went to the tree and found a man sitting under it. In answer to their questions he said: ‘I live under this tree and know the creature very well. What each of you has said about it is true. Sometimes it is red, sometimes green, sometimes yellow, sometimes blue and so forth and so on. It is a chameleon. Again sometimes I see that it has no colour whatsoever’. In like manner, one who constantly thinks of God can know His forms and aspects. God has attributes; then again He has none. Only the man who lives under the tree knows that the chameleon can appear in various colours, and he knows, further, that the animal at times has no colour at all. Others not knowing the whole truth, quarrel among themselves and suffer. Fire itself has no definite shape, but as glowing embers it assumes different forms. Thus the formless fire is seen endowed with forms. Similarly, the formless God sometimes invests Himself with definite forms. YUVA BHARATI - Feb 2007 6 Is Saffronisation A Stigma? Dr. K.Subrahmanyam I had once an opportunity to visit an small child dying for want of medical aid. Officer’s house in Chennai. He and his wife Such things should not happen again. It is to are employed. They have one girl-child. I was serve the humanity that I want to become a with the family on a Sunday. The tutored baby doctor”. This is the spiritual dimension of was asked by the parents to tell me what she education. It is the dream of Swami would like to become in future. The baby told Vivekananda “aatmano mokshaartham jagad me “Uncle, when I grow up I would like to hitaaya cha”. Symbolically speaking, the be a doctor”. Then I asked the child why she service for self-realization is saffronisation. wanted to be a doctor. The question was Why should anybody consider service to unexpected even to the parents. Concealing humanity as a stigma or crime? the embarrassment, the parents coaxed the child to give me a reply. And the child replied, Materialism is opposed to spirituality. “Uncle, I want to become a doctor because I When the God-given talent is encashed for can wear a stethoscope round my neck and selfishness, for selfish goals such as bodily put on rich clothes. Also, I can buy an A.C. comfort, luxurious indulgence, then it is car and live in a posh bungalow. I can make materialism. If on the other hand, the God- my life luxurious and can make even foreign given gift is utilized for the service of trips”. If this is the purpose for which a humanity as worship of the Almighty, then it person wants to become a doctor or a lawyer is spirituality. Do we want our students to be or an engineer, the very goal of education is robots and men and women of self- lost. If, on the other hand, the child (or an aggrandizement without any thought of adult) is able to reply in the following way it human values, social responsibilities, is laudable. The better reply would be: nationalism and spirituality? We do want our “Uncle, somehow I feel I have a taste for students to be of service-mindedness, medical knowledge.