AUGUST 2009 1 2 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

PRACTISE SADHANA AS IN THE PRASTHANATRAYI

(H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj) Sri Veda has done unfor get t able ser - eration the dif ferent as pects of ac tion, emo- vice to all human ity for all times by edit ing the tion, will and under st anding of which man is four , writing the , the an embodi ment. It is Brahmavidya and Mahabharata and the Brahma . We Sastra—theory as well as its prac tice. It is can at tempt to rep ay this debt of grati tude we KrishnarjunaSamv ada, the meeting of the in- owe him only by con stant study of his works di vidual and the Supreme. The Gita is not a and prac tice of his teach ings imp arted for the book of metaphys i cal the ory, but is a guide for regen er a tion of human ity in this Iron Age or the spir i tual man in his daily life of conscious Kali Yuga. In honour of this divine person age self-ef fort for at tain ing Per fec tion. While the all Sadhakas and devo tees perform Vyasa path of pure knowledge is pos si ble only for Puja on the full-moon day in the month of the highly cultured man, the method of the Ashadha (July-August). Hence the day is Gita is simple, which is within the reach of all, called Vyasa Purnima or Guru Purnima. Mark i.e., devo tion to God. fully the deep signif i cance of this great day. The Gita aims at the perfec tion of man in Ashadha Purnima heralds the Chaturmas order to become the Divine. The life of and the setting in of the eagerly awaited Krishna Himself is the best exam ple of the rains. The water drawn up and stored as Gita Ideal of Life. His life it self is the best and clouds in the hot summer now mani fests in the most sat is fac tory com men tary on the plen tiful showers that usher in the advent of Gita. To be like Krishna is to be a per fect man fresh life every where. Even so, do you all be- of the Gita Ideal. To be like Him, one has not gin se riously to get into actual working all the got to choose to be a devo tee, a philos opher , theory and philos ophy that you have stored a mystic or a man of action. One has to be all up in you through patient study. Commence these at once. He may start by becom ing any prac tical spir i tual Sadhana right from this day one of them in accor dance with his predom i - as de scribed in the Prasthanatrayi, viz., the nant nature, but af ter sometime he will realise Bhagavadgita, the and the that advance ment on any one of the so-called Brahma Sutras. paths needs a paral lel ad vancement along all others. There cannot be a one-sided exp an - THE BHAGAVADGITA sion of the in di vidual. Perfec tion in order to be The Bhagavadgita is a textbook of prac - real and last ing should be all-round. To real- tical Sadhana for one and all down from the ise the Abso lute is to be come the Abso lute peas ant ploughing his fields right up to the which is the All. One has to be Infi nite, for phi los opher of the Advaita . It dis- which he has to de velop the entire being. cards no as pect of man. It takes into con sid - Our minds are the arenas, the in ner AUGUST 2009 PRACTISE SADHANA AS IN THE PRASTHANATRAYI 3 battlefields of the daily Mahabharata war, tion of fruits. This is the es sence of where at every moment we are in a war-sit ua - Yoga. tion where one set of ideas fights against the The Lord is seated in the hearts of all be - other. We all, therefore, need the Light, the ings. He is the Inner Ruler, the immor t al. Run wisdom and the advice which Lord Krishna to Him alone and take shel ter in Him. There is bestowed on Arjuna. The Supreme Lord, no other way for lib era tion. All your duties will while dis cuss ing with Arjuna the vit al is sues perish, all sins will be burnt and all doubts will of life, went to the very root of the rid dle of the be cleared when you have unself ish sur ren- uni verse, and revealed such truths as are of der to the Lord. uni ver sal ap pli ca tion. Krishna spoke to the Control the fluctu a tions of the mind. Sit whole of human ity through Arjuna on the in a se cluded place and con cen trate on the eter nal ver i ties of ex is tence. Krishna typ i fies Self. Wisdom will then dawn and destroy all the Eternal and Arjuna typi fies man with his ig no rance. The ef fect is Im mor tal ity. Su preme im per fec tions. The in struc tions of the Gita Bliss without decay is the fruit. Eternal sat is - are meant for man in gen eral and not to a par- fac tion is the Goal of all aspi rations. This is tic u lar in di vid ual. achieved through the Yoga of Synthe sis ex- Be in the world. Serve human ity . Love all plained above. This is what the Gita has to equally. But be not att ached to it. Be de- say to the human world. tached. Live in the Self. Rest contented in the Self. Have no binding ambi tions in life. Serve, THE UPANISHADS love, give, purify , medi tate and realise. Sur- The Upanishads con sti tute the central render yourself to God. This is the gist of the ba sis of Hindu Re li gion. and Phi los o phy. Gita. They are the Vedanta or the end of the Act with the conscious ness that all is the Vedas, the cul mina tion of Knowledge. Noth- Self, all is God. God is man and woman, and ing can be a match to the wondrous sug ges - the old man totter ing on the road. There is no tiveness of the Upanishads. They have reason for att ach ment to object s. All is merely sat is fied the greatest think ers of the world, the Self. See yourself in every being. Love and they have pac i fied the greatest spir i tual others as you love your own self. Do not see men here. Nothing that went before or af ter has been able to sur pass the Upanishads in dif ferences of body. See the common es- the depth of Wisdom and the message of sence in side. Have Akartri-Bhava, Sat is fac tion and Peace. Dadhyanch, Narayana-Bhava when you do ac tions. Ac - Uddalaka, Sanatkumara, Sandilya and tion has to be done so long as you know that are some of the out standing phi - you possess a body. It is the very nature of los ophers and sages of the Upanishads, who the body to act. Mind will compel you to act. have lit up the torch to the path of Perfec tion. Na ture is pow er ful. Even in tel li gent men are The Upanishads mainly preach Knowledge her victims. Surren der to the Lord is the only through philoso phis ing. They are the text- way to get rid of the bondage of Prakriti (Na- books for the seeker af ter the Self. They are ture) or Maya (il lu sion). styled by dif ferent names: Brahma-, Be a witness to all events in life. Do your Adhyatma-Sastra, Vedanta, Jnana. One who own prescribed duty. Serve without expec ta - prac tises the teach ings of the Upanishads at - 4 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009 tains to the Supreme. Let us see some of the things of the world. Whatever is here, that is es sen tial teach ings of the Upanishads: there; whatever is there, that is here. He ob- Life is not a misery . One should live for a tains death af ter death who perceives diver - hundred years by perform ing ac tion without sity in the world. There are not many things att ach ment. Life is not a bondage when it is here ac tually . The One Supreme Subst ance looked under the proper light. Such a man of appears as many things, clothed in dif ferent proper knowledge looks on all be ings as his names, forms and actions. own Self and his Self as all beings. To him ev- The goodness, the light, the plea sure erything is his own Self, and he is not af fected and the beauty of the world are not to be by grief, delu sion or sor row of any kind. found there even in name. Even the splen- Mort al things are ephemeral and so are dour of the sun and the grandeur of the cre- not worth pursu ing. Even a whole life of many ator are super seded by the Abso lute. That years is only very slight. It is nothing. There is State is expe ri enced when the senses cease no use of en joying ob jects. Man is not satis - to work together with the mind, when the in- fied with wealth. He craves to be come Im- tellect does not move, and when there is mort al even against his own conscience. mere conscious ness. When all de sires that Unfor tu nately he runs af ter the pleasant as are lodged in the heart fall off, then the mort al much as against the really good. The good is becomes Immor t al. Herein he att ains Brah- one thing and the pleas ant another . The one man. lib erates and the other binds. One should not The state of becom ing the Abso lute is catch the pleas ant though it is tempting for a not a loss of all that we love, but is the perfect mo ment. fulfilment of all our aspi rations. Our finitude is The mind and the senses always run bro ken, im per fec tions de stroyed and we are outwards. Only the man of self-disci pline and in stalled in the blessed State of Eternal Satis - per se ver ance can gaze in ward and ex pe ri- fac tion. All our desires are ful filled at once ence the State of the Atman as it really is. The and the same time. We become the Source child ish ones who have no knowledge of the of Infi nite Joy and Bliss. We expe ri ence Truth, run af ter exter nal plea sures and they birthlesness and death less ness. None is su - fall into the widespread net of Death. Only the perior to us. wise, knowing the state of Immor t al ity, seek The Infi nite Full ness (Ple num) alone is the stable among things which are Bliss. There is no Bliss in the small fi nite im per ma nent here. things. Only the Infi nite is Bliss. Where one The Atman or the Brahman has no con- sees noth ing else, hears noth ing else, un der- nec tion with the world of change. As the sun stands noth ing else—That is the In finite. But is not sul lied by the faults of the eyes, the when one sees something else, hears some- Antaratman is not sullied by the defect s of the thing else, un derst ands something else— world. As one fire has entered the world and that is the small finite. The Infi nite Full ness is becomes corre spond ing in form to ev ery the Immor t al and the small finite is mort al. form, so the one Antaratman of all things cor- That Infi nite Full ness alone is ev erywhere. It responds in form to every form and yet is out - is all this. side all these. The Self is an ocean without a shore and One need not be anxious to pos sess a sur face. It is mere Ex is tence, Conscious - AUGUST 2009 PRACTISE SADHANA AS IN THE PRASTHANATRAYI 5 ness and Bliss. Where there is du al ity, as it which you will att ain on ac count of your were, one can speak to the other, see the virtu ous deeds are transient. If you know other and under st and the other, but where Brahman you will en joy ever last ing Bliss and every thing is just one’s own Self, then who Immor t al ity. That is the reason why you must can speak to whom, who can see whom, who start the quest of Brahman—the Abso lute can un derst and whom? That is the Supreme Truth or the Ulti mate Real ity. End. That is the Supreme Blessing. That is A time comes when a person be comes the Supreme Bliss. On a part of this Bliss in dif ferent to . He knows that Kar mas other creatures are living. can not give him ev er last ing, un al loyed hap pi - Feel that the whole world is your body, ness which is not mixed with pain, sor row and your own home. Melt or destroy all barri ers fear. Therefore, natu rally a desire arises in that sep arate man from man. Idea of supe ri - him for the knowledge of Brahman—the or ity is ig no rance or de lu sion. De velop all-pervad ing, eternal Soul—which is above Viswaprem—all-em brac ing love. Unite with Karmas, which is the source of eternal hap pi - all. Sep ara tion is death. Unity is eternal life. ness. Feel that the whole world is Visvabrindavan. The third chapter of the Brahma-Sutras, Feel that this body is a mov ing temple of God. enti tled Sadhana-Adhyaya, deals with practi - Wherever you are, whether at home, of fice, cal methods for att ain ing the realisa tion of rail way station or market, feel you are in the Brah man. This chap ter de ter mines those temple. Conse crate every act as an of fering methods or Sadhanas which are the means unto the Lord. Trans mute every work into for att ain ing the high est Real ity or the Infi nite. Yoga by of fering its fruits to God. Have In the first and the second Padas of this chap - Akarta, Bhava (at ti tude of ter are taught two things, viz., a strong yearn- non-doership and of being a mere witness) if ing or burning de sire (Mumukshutva) to you are a student of Vedanta. Have re al ize Brah man or the Fi nal Eman ci pa tion Nimitta-Bhava (atti tude of being a mere in- and an equally strong disgust (Vairagya) to - strument) if you are a student of Bhakti wards all object s other than Brahman; be- Marga. Feel that all beings are images of cause these are the two funda men t al things God. Isavasyamidam Sarvam—this world is among all Sadhanas. in dwelt by the Lord. Feel that one power or In order to induce Vairagya or God works through all hands, sees through dispassion, the Sutras show in the first Pada all eyes, hears through all ears. You will be- the im per fec tions of all mun dane ex is tence. come a changed being. You will enjoy the This they base on the Panchagni Vidya or the high est peace and bliss. doc trine of five fires of the Chhandogya Upanishad in which is taught how the soul THE BRAHMA-SUTRAS passes af ter death from one condi tion to an- The Brahma Sutras deal with the en- other. This is done in or der to create Vairagya quiry into the nature of Brahman. Why should or in dif fer ence to sen sual en joy ments herein you enquire about Brahman? Because the and hereaf ter. In the sec ond Pada are de- fruits ob tained by sacri fices, etc., are ephem- scribed all the glo rious at tributes of the Su- eral, whereas the knowledge of Brahman is preme Brah man—His Om ni science, Omni- eternal. Life in this earth and life in heaven potence, Loveli ness, etc., in or der to attract 6 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009 the soul to wards Him, so that He may be the con sider yourself as an en tity distinct from sole ob ject of quest. In the third Pada, the au- Brahman. This is a funda men t al or vit al point. thor of the Brahma-Sutras sets himself the A proper under st anding of the Vedantic task of as cer tain ing the end and aim of the texts leads to the fi nal emanci pation of man. It Vidyas or Upasanas (medi tations) as pre - is not nec es sary for him to exert or do any su- scribed in the Srutis. Sruti teaches us to med- perhu man feat or action. It is only mere un- i tate on Brahman either directly or through derst anding that it is a rope and not a snake the medium of some Pratikas or symbols, that helps to de stroy one’s fear of the snake such as the sun, ether, food, mind, vi tal force, in the rope-snake anal ogy. Knowledge of the resid ing in the eye, the empty Brahman cannot come through mere reason - space (Daharakasha) within the heart, Om or ing. You can at tain this knowl edge through in- Pranava and the like. These dif ferent meth- tu ition or rev e la tion. In tu ition is the fi nal re sult ods of ap proach ing the Im per sonal Ab so lute of the enquiry into Brahman. The object of are known as Vidyas or Upasanas. This sec - enquiry is an exist ing sub stance. You will tion dis cusses these var i ous Vidyas by have to know this only through intu ition or di- means of which the Supreme Soul is att ained rect cog ni tion (Aparoksha-anubhuti or by the indi vidual. The aim of all these Vidyas Anubhava—Ex pe ri ence), Sravana (hear ing is the re al isa tion of Brahman. The Vidyas ap- of the Srutis), Manana (reflec tion on what you pear to be dif ferent only from the viewpoint of have heard) and (profound dif ference in the symbols, but the goal every - medi tation on Brahman) lead to Brahmakara- where is the same. Remem ber this point al - Vritti (contin u ous flow of the thought of Brah- ways. Bear this in mind con stantly. You will man) which destroys the Mula Avidya or have to search Brahman and adore Him in prim i tive ig no rance—the root-cause of all and through the sym bols; but these symbols bondage, births and deaths. When the igno - must not usurp His place. You must concen - rance or veil is removed, Brahman which is trate and fix the mind on these symbols and self-ef fulgence re veals It self or shines by It - think of His attrib utes such as Omnip otence, self in Its pris tine glory and inef fable splen - Om ni science, Om ni pres ence. Sat-Chit- dour. Ananda, Pu rity, Per fec tion, Free dom, etc. May the blessings of Sage Vyasa and all Some attrib utes of Brahman are found com- the precep tors of the world be ever upon you mon in some of the Vidyas. You should not all!

IN MEMORIAM It is with great sor row that we report the sudden pass ing away of Sri Swami Ramacharanananda of the Headquar ters Ashram at 2.30 a.m. on Tues day 14th July 2009 at Pashupatinath Temple Hos pit al Kathmandu, Ne pal. Sri Swamiji went on Kailas Yatra and it is un- der stood that he had a stroke during the Yatra. He was rushed to Om Hos pit al Kathmandu and was admit ted on 8th July, 2009 for treat ment. He was subse quently shifted to Pashupatinath Hospi t al. His con dition did not improve and he att ained the feet of Lord on 14th July, 2009. He was doing Seva in the Mandir De partment initially . For the last few years he was do ing Seva at the Kartikeya Temple at Bhajan Hall in the Ashram. We pray to Wor ship ful Gurudev to bless the dep arted soul of Sri Swami Ramacharananandaji with Sadgati and Paramashanti. —The Di vine Life Soci ety AUGUST 2009 BE DIVINE 7

BE DIVINE

(Sri Swami Chidananda) The ba sis of eter nal be at i tude, life ev er last- will bear hardship but will be peace ful and ing and the king dom of Heaven, the basis of joyous and sleep well. He will have no fears. God-realisa tion, the basis of and The evil-doer—the one who does not Superconscious Self-reali sa tion, the basis of follow the good life—may app arently have Cosmic Conscious ness, the ba sis of Nir- ease and comfort s, but he will be restless. He vana, the basis of all this is right con duct, no- will be troubled at heart and will have no ble char ac ter, virtue, purity , truth, kindness, peace of mind. He will not have real happi - com pas sion, sim plic ity in life, self-con trol, hu - ness. Hap pi ness is in de pend ent of out ward mil ity, con quest of de sires, mod er a tion in all con di tions. Trou bles and hard ships can things and refrain ing from wasting time, from co-exist with happi ness. This is cer tain. Com- gos sip ing, from mis cel la neous thoughts, forts, con veniences and plea sures co-exist from useless pur suits and from unspir i tual with misery , restless ness, a great deal of in - desires. In short, it is a God-oriented life, a life ner dis turbance, much discon tent and dis sat - di vinely lived with a charac ter filled with di- is fac tion. vine quali ties and di vine virtues. This is the The Supreme Law is that, happi ness eternal founda tion. This can never be ignored and peace fol low in the wake of . The in spir i tual life. One who wants peace and eternal law of life is that joy is to him who is true happi ness, must be good in life, must fol- virtu ous and peace is to him who is good. low the path of good, for happi ness co mes Happi ness and bless edness come to one out of good life, the life-pure, the life-virtu ous. who is virtu ous. The life-virtu ous may be hard and unpleas - Righteous ness is the path to supreme ant, may bring upon one great dif ficul ties, suf - bless edness, su preme joy and supreme ferings and much pain, but it will surely confer peace. This is the truth, the basis of un told, in de scrib able and im mea sur able hap - God-reali sa tion—the high est hap pi ness. Di- pi ness. vine bliss and eternal peace are from good- Happi ness is the power to overcome all ness in life and the path of virtue. The way of pain, suf fer ing, dif fi cul ties and hard ships. It is Divine Life, which leads to the progress of in - sometimes said that a man, who is seen to be ner spiri tual unfoldment is the way of self less - good, seems to suf fer hardship s, and a man ness and ser vice, devo tion and worship, who is seen not good, seems to be very withdrawal of the mind from exter nals, con - happy. This is a cu rious con fusion of thought cen tration and medi tation. It is the way of and fail ure to perceive that which is beneath cease less in quiry “Who am I?” and “What am the surface. One who is good may endure I?” It is the way of af firming: “I am not this much hardship, but he will be very happy and body, I am not this mind, I am not this intel - there will be peace and joy in his heart. He lect, I am that inner most Being, the su preme 8 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

Self, the Atman, nameless, formless, un born, der all cir cumst ances. Even if I am clad in undecaying, death less, Im per ish able, eter nal rags, even if I am in the roll of unem ploy ment, one. I am That, That I am,––Sat-Chit-Ananda even if some disease has af fected me, even if am I.” so ci ety has spurned me, even if my fam ily has cast me out, and I am friendless and I So, based upon a life of truth, purity and have no one to look af ter me, yet I am good ness, sim plic ity and hu mil ity, good con - Sat-Chit-Ananda––Existentce-Con scious ness- duct and char ac ter, self-restraint and free- Bliss-Ab so lute. These outer cir cum stances can - dom from desires, the life spir i tual, having not touch and tarnish the shin ing Real ity of my God as the sole goal in the midst of all activ i - true Self, my es sen tial Being.” ties and du ties du tifully done, ever keep ing in mind the great goal, remem ber ing God con- That ex pe ri ence, which tri umphs over stantly with love and faith, seeing His pres - all things, is the su preme, ulti mate, vic tori ous ence in all things and do ing all things in a ex pe ri ence, at tain ing which one is fil led with spirit of worship, progress through self less - joy. “Anandoham, Anandoham, Brahma ness and ser vice, devo tion and worship, con - Anandoham—I am bliss, I am bliss, I am Su- cen tra tion and med i ta tion and cease less preme bliss”—one exclaims. Att ain ing this, Atmic enquiry and att ain the su preme one is vic to ri ous over all cir cum s tances, all blessed state of God-conscious ness, of Di- sit u a tions, all du al i ties and tri umphs over ev- vine ex pe ri ence and Self-reali sa tion. ery thing. That state will bestow upon you the ex - What is that won der ful ex pe ri ence? peri ence, the con scious ness: “I am the Su- Master Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj was preme, I am the Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman, I very fond of a cert ain song which he called am Ex is tence-Con scious ness-Bliss-Ab so- “The Divine Injec tion.” Even a single utter - lute, I have no old age, I have no death, I have ance of this song of Di vine Injec tion imme di - no restless ness or motion, I have no fears, I ately raises you from the gross physi cal level have no sorrows, I am the Im mort al One, I am to the radi ant con scious ness of your true na- bliss, I am peace. That I am in all condi tions, ture. It brings back to you the remem brance whether I am young or old, male or female, of your ‘birthright’ and in spires you to claim man or woman, weak or strong, tall or short, that birthright here and now. That Divine In- rich or poor. It does not matter what condi tion jec tion is the song of your real nature. People the body is in, and what condi tion the mind is used to call it “The Song of Chidananda”, and in—depressed or elated. I can nei ther be de- urge Gurudev to sing it on all spe cial oc ca - pressed nor elated, for I am the same, I am sions when he stood be fore an audi ence. He the One Sat-Chit-Ananda. In all condi tions, sang it all over India in 1950 during his all-In - there fore, I am Con scious ness-Bliss-Ab so - dia tour. lute. Whether the body is well or ill, com fort - The Song of Chidananda, many of you able or un com fort able, in what ever con di tion know. Chidananda is not my name. It is your it is, and whether the mind is satis fied or dis - real name; my real name also. ‘Chit’ means sat is fied, whether it is in an exp anded or a Conscious ness, and ‘Ananda’ means Bliss. con tracted condi tion, I am the Real ity in all In the lan guage, when the word con di tions, in all places, in all times, and un - ‘Chit’ joins with the word ‘Ananda’ the ‘t’ in AUGUST 2009 BE DIVINE 9

Chit becomes ‘d’ and the combined word be- are. You are ever-pure and spotless. Well, comes ‘Chidananda’, and it means Con- express that ever-pure, spotless na ture in scious ness-Bliss. You must be able to your thoughts, words, in the pattern of your expe ri ence this and exclaim “I am Know l - desires and in ner motives in your daily life. edge-Bliss-Abso lute, without death and old Practise that, live that, radi ate that—that is age, without fear and worry, without bond- Sadhana. You are the Truth, the supre me Re- age, ever-perfect, I am Knowl edge-Bliss -Ab- al ity. Express this Truth. Root out falsehood so lute.” Do not think you have al ready risen from your heart. Become an embodi ment of to that expe ri ence, but al ways be aware that Truth. Be what you are. Let not your life be a this is the goal and it is there in seed form. It is con tradic tion of what you are. This is the es - there in a latent or dormant form slumber ing, sen tial Sadhana. It is the direct path to live a as it were. Therefore, Awake! Come! Arise! di vine life, to be divine in thought, word and and move towards this great expe ri ence. Do deed. all that is nec es sary to unfold the flower that “Truth is my God" declared Mahatma is within. Let the bud that is closed blos som to Gandhi. God is Truth. Truth is God. He was a make the seed spin up into life and rise up great man—a great and heroic fig ure in the into the tree of Divine expe ri ence. You must pages of Indian his tory. He gained Darsan of work for it. Divin ity through Truth. That is Sadhana. You This reali sa tion is al ready within you. It can also gain it. At tain to this great realisa tion is there. It is like a locked box in which there is through a God-oriented life—a life filled with a price less di a mond of un par al leled beauty the spir i tual qual ity in every thing that you do and the key is not to be found. You have to and in every inner most thought. Step by step, open the box to possess the di amond. Even brick by brick, a great structure, an edi fice is so, this eternal Perfec tion is dor mant within raised. Spiri tual exer tion is joy. The mere liv - you. You are That already . Even as I talk and ing of a life towards the great att ain ment it self you listen, you are Ex is tence-Knowl- is glo rious. What can you hold as more wor - edge-Bliss-Abso lute. You are the ever-per - thy than the ex pres sion of Divin ity? Do not fect Atman. You are Sat-Chit-Ananda make your life a poor and despi ca ble con tra- Conscious ness. That is your true conscious - dic tion of your true nature. If you go on con- ness. The con scious ness you feel such as: tradict ing your true nature at every step, who “My knee is pain ing, I have sat for so long, my can save you? Who can give you lib era tion? back is ach ing, etc.,” is physi cal con scious - You are barring yourself by your own acts and ness or body-conscious ness. by your own life. You are for ever robbing We have to face facts. We can not put yourself of true happi ness, true joy, true bliss the cart before the horse. We can not avoid is- and peace by contra dict ing your own divine sues that have to be dealt with. So Sadhana nature in your life. is in dis pens able. Self-reali sa tion co mes The su preme Sadhana is a life lived through Sadhana. What is Sadhana? divinely where every act, thought and word is Sadhana means right living—liv ing a perme ated with the divine quality . Through a God-Ori ented life, living a life where you start di vinely lived life, express ing your inner most man i fest ing and ex press ing That which you di vinity in all aspect s of your life, att ain this 10 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009 divine ex pe ri ence and re joice. De clare thus stop climbing. Climb up and up, step by step. with supreme joy; “Chidanand, Chidanand, This is the se cret of Sadhana. Chidanand Hun—I am Exis tence, Con- May God bless you! May His Grace scious ness, Bliss, in all con di tions, I am shower upon you in abundance. May the spir- Bliss-Ab so lute, Ex is tence-Ab so lute.” Strive i tual benedic tions of the Holy Mas ter Swami for this and claim your birthright. No ef fort is Sivanandaji Maharaj, whose birthday we are too much. With joy and hope, patiently work cel ebrat ing, ever follow you, all the days of towards this goal. Even when you are work- your life and enable you to success fully live ing, do not leave this inner con scious ness, and awareness. As sert it at every moment in this Divine Life and shine with Virtue. May all things. Be victo ri ous over circum st ances. you develop noble char ac ter and walk the Be the conqueror of your mind, the sub duer path of the good and the pure, the path of of your desires, and a master of your destiny , Turth, purity and goodness, and move to- for you are the Mas ter. wards that glori ous goal which awaits you. Again I say, you must work for it. You This is your birthright, which you can claim must climb up if you want to reach the peak, and expe ri ence in this very body. Do not post- and when once you are on the pinna cle, all pone it. Be up and doing. The prayers of this la bour seems as mere child’s play. Until then, ser vant will always be with you, that you may you must be able to labo ri ously climb up, step arise victo ri ous, and att ain full suc cess in this by step. Hold on to the Awareness and feel life. May you abound with the glory of that you are already on the peak, but don’t God-Con scious ness.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT Kindly send all remit t ances by Indian Postal Order (IPO), Bank Drafts or Cheques in favour of “The Divine Life Soci ety ,” Shivanandanagar, Uttarakhand. The Bank Drafts/Banker cheques, shall be payable at the follow ing Sched uled Banks of “Rishikesh”: “State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Union Bank of India, State Bank of Patiala, Orien t al Bank of Commerce, Canara Bank, In- dian Overseas Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda.” * Please al ways write the purpose of remit t ance, full postal ad dress and Tele phone Number . * Personal Cheque can be sent, if the remit t ance is more than Rs. 200/-. * As far as possi ble try to avoid remit t ances through Money Order . The Money Orders are forwarded electron i cally and does not cont ain purpose of remit t ance made by dev otees or any other mes sages. There fore if the remit t ances are made by Money Order , please send a sep arate letter indi cat ing M.O. num ber and the purpose of remit t ance. —THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY AUGUST 2009 SRI KRISHNA—THE GURU OF ALL GURUS 11

SRI KRISHNA—THE GURU OF ALL GURUS

(Sri Swami Krishnananda) This day happens to be the most blessed We do not under st and that these Avataras and adorable day of the advent of Bhagavan are the indi ca tions and symbols of the de vel- Sri Krishna, which goes by the name of Sri opment of divine conscious ness. There is a Krishna Janmashtami. Sri Krishna is consid - gradational as cent through the evolu tionary ered as Jagatguru; He is the teacher of all process of con scious ness, into greater and teach ers, the Guru of all Gurus —Krishnam greater perfections. Rama was not supposed vande jagadguru. There is no Guru equal to to have behaved in any other way than He did him. We con sider Bhagavan Sri Krishna as behave. It was one stage in the evolu tion of an in car nation of the Supreme Being. You the incar nation. He was Maryada-Purusho- may have heard through your studies that ttam, an ideal human being, with all the quali - there have been many incar nation s of ties that we can find in a human being. We Vishnu, Narayana: Mastya, Kurma, Varaha, can not, and should not, expect qual i ties Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama, Sri which are not in a human being, because He Ramachandra, and Bhagavan Sri Krishna. is Maryada-Purushottam, a perfected human be ing—God mani fested as a gen tleman. One of the traits of the human being is to ob serve and eval u ate ev ery thing from the Here we have Sri Krishna Avatara, viewpoint of the human being only. We judge which is sup posed to be a symbolic rep re- even God from our point of view. “Where is sen tation of the manner in which God Him self the goodness of God,” we ask, “when He has works. Nobody can know how God works, cre ated a world of evil—tem pests, tor na does, and whatever idea we may have of the man- earthquakes, suf ferings, drought and flood? ner in which God works, it is not appre cia ble What kind of God has created this world? to us be cause He devas tates our ideas of God could have created milk and honey pro pri ety, ethicality, ne ces sity, hu man-ness, through the waters of the Gan ga, instead of and so cial values. Every thing is put up side giving plain water . He could have created a down. round earth, without ups and downs, so that We have systems of obser vation psy- we may not fall down and break our legs. cho log i cally, hu manly and so cially. These are Why did God not do that, in all His ca pac ity?” turned up side down by God. Ac tually , God is This is how we think. nothing but the tot al topsy-turvy oper a tion of So, the object that we think remains the human way of think ing. It is a what it is, and it refuses to get into the yard- Shirshasana of the conscious ness of man stick of com prehen sion of the hu man being. that is required to under st and what God is. People find fault with Rama and Krishna, We should not stand on the foot stool of our also. “What kind of Rama is He? He killed con scious ness, but on the brain of our con- Vali, and ban ished Sita, and so many things.” scious ness. 12 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

The uni ver sal com pre hen sive ness and psyche. Whatever He did from child hood till adjust abil ity in a perfected order is something the end of His life is a his tori cal in com pre hen si ble to a hu man be ing. We can - incomprehensiveness for us. There is noth- not think the whole universe in our minds; ing that we can compre hend meaning fully in and God is supposed to think only in that His ac tions. Every thing looks funny, strange, manner . God’s thought is uni versal thought, and out of the way. whereas our thought is social thought, family Read the Bhagavadgita, which He thought, commu nity thought, national spoke. Every thing is dif ficult. One Sloka thought, polit i cal thought, army thought, po- seems to be contra dict ing an other. One thing lice thought, court case thought, and any is said, then an other thing is said. Every thing other thoughts we have in our minds. is said in the seven hundred verses of the There is al ways something that we grab Bhagavadgita; but what is said, finally? We and something that we exclude in our per cep - can not make it out, due to the mul tifar i ous tion, which is the oppo site of God’s way of in- and mul ti fac eted in struc tion that has been clu siveness. There is noth ing that God can given to us through the multi-faced Univer sal exclude from His thought, whereas in a hu - Be ing, the Vishvarupa. The one brain, and man being, it is impos si ble not to exclude two eyes, and one thought of the human be- something. We seem to be the oppo site of ing can not compre hend it. We must have as God in our way of think ing. We can not grab many heads as the Vishvarupa has in or der the whole world into our compre hen sion at to under st and what the Gita said—as many any time. Our way of thinking is only of our eyes, as many mouths, as many processes family , our of fice, our sal ary, our commu nity , of think ing, and as wide a con scious ness. our rela tions, our property , and whatever be- The neces sity to portray the advent and longs to us. When we say we are concerned ac tions of these in car nations is pre cisely to with whatever belongs to us, we are not con- pres ent before us a pic ture of the divine way cerned with that which does not belong to us. of oper a tion tak ing place in the world. We do So, to whom does the other thing belong? It is not like floods overflow ing, destroy ing vil- not our concern. lages and kill ing peo ple. We do not like cy- Here is the dif ference be tween God clones break ing ev ery thing, throw ing off think ing and a hu man being think ing. Inclu - roof tops and cut ting off trees. We do not like siveness is the na ture of God’s op era tion; ex- torna does nor drought. What is it that we clu siveness is the na ture of the human way of like? Sri Krishna’s compre hen sive ness is it - think ing. Whenever we think something, we self an in struc tion. We do not require any have to ex clude something from the purview commen t ary for the Bhagavadgita. The life of of our thought. That is to say, tot al thought is Krishna is a commen t ary on what He has something unknown to a human being; and said. As in tri cate as the mul ti fac eted ac tiv ity God is nothing but tot al thought. of Sri Krishna is, so intri cate is also the mul ti- I am refer ring partic ularly to the great in- fac eted teaching of the Bhagavadgita. If we car nation of Bhagavan Sri Krishna today on can un derst and who Krishna was, we can the oc ca sion of this spir i tual advent. What- also un derst and what the Gita is. ever He said and whatever He did was tot ally Suf fice it to say that Sri Krishna is con - beyond the compre hen sion of the hu man sid ered as the ray of the Abso lute, something AUGUST 2009 SRI KRISHNA—THE GURU OF ALL GURUS 13 like to tal com pre hen sive ness and in fi nite ca - di vine law, which we have beauti fully quoted pac ity, om nip o tent in be hav iour, with noth ing in what is known as his Sermon on the Mount. impos si ble. He can set right anything in one The Sermon on the Mount in the New Tes ta - minute, and if the neces sity arises, He can ment is something like a coun terp art of the dis mantle the whole parlia ment of the cos- Bhagavadgita teach ings. mos and take up the reins in His own hands, Great men think alike, and they perform which He did sometimes in his own career . ac tions in a simi lar way. They belong to a dif - Rules and regu la tions He did follow , but He fer ent fra ter nity al to gether. God-men are could break any rule if the neces sity arose, God-men ev erywhere, and there is no such just as we can do anything to our own body thing as an Eastern God-man or a West ern for the sake of its sus tenance. God-man. And we should not use the word We can have surgery performed on the ‘men’, also. They are not men; they are not limbs of our body. We can lose half the body women—they are persons. We have no lan- by surgery . It is a very unfor tu nate thing, yet guage to use. A woman can be a God-man, we may go to a doc tor, pay lakhs of rupees as but because of the lin guis tic limi tations we do fee, and remove half of the body so that we not want to use words like ‘woman’ and ‘man’. may be happy. Where is the happi ness when So, we have to coin some new word. These we have lost half of the body? This los ing of days we say it is a ‘person’, a God-intox i cated half the body is neces sary in order that we person. It can be what is called a man or a may ex ist as a complete human being. A woman, but at that time they cease to be hu - complete human being is not the whole body. man beings, and are nei ther men nor women. Even a half body can be a whole human be- Sri Krishna and Jesus Christ were nei- ing. We can ask any person who has lost ev- ther men nor women. They were androg y - erything below his thighs, with only the other nous perfections, standing for the word of the half remain ing, “Are you a half man?” “No, no! Almighty , who Himself is not a man nor a I am a full man,” he will say. That means the woman. We may say “God, the Father in person is not the body. In a like manner , im- heaven.” It is a hu man, pater nal way of ad- pos si ble it is to un derst and this di vinity oper - dress ing God. It is a psy cho log i cal ne ces sity. ating; and it is fu tile on the part of anyone to But God is impersonality—not human in na- under st and ei ther Krishna or Jesus. ture. Another exam ple be fore us is Je sus That was portrayed dramat i cally, as if in Christ. He never behaved like a human be- a the at ri cal per for mance, in the pic tur esque ing. He behaved like God Him self. All that he drama of the life of Bhagavan Sri Krishna. said is be yond the compre hen sion of the This wonder ful day we are observ ing it, and it world. The way in which he be haved is not is up to us to in voke the great blessings of this the behav iour of an ordi nary human being. master so that He may enter into us. Mighty He toppled the existing laws, and broke the we may become. A mighty per son was Je sus norms. The ste reotyped procrus tean bed of Christ; mighty was Bhagavan Sri Krishna. ethics was bro ken to pieces and he brought a May you all be mighty people!

Har mony is nothing but your adjust ment with the cos mos. (Swami Krishnananda) 14 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

WHAT YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM CHIDANANDA’S LIFE

(H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj) [Speech delivered on the 39th Birthday of Sri Swami Chidanandaji] Cel ebra tion of Swami Chidanandaji’s Birth- do not put it into practice! You have no faith in day is really worship of God. There is nothing the Lord’s Name; you have faith only in in this world, but God. Ev erything is Brah- money. It is cel ebra tion of these Birthdays man. You worship an idol. The idol is only an that makes you const antly dwell upon the extremely minor part of the Virat. But all the thoughts and ac tions of saints. You then get same God is pleased, though you have an impe tus and stimu lus to at tain the Goal touched only a small part of the Virat. He which they have reached. blesses the devo tee and the devo tee att ains Fre quent Birth day cel e bra tions are nec - purity of heart which is so es sen tial for es sary! Con stantly ham mer ing of sub lime God-reali sa tion ideas on the mind is nec es sary. Your mind During the cel ebra tions of the Birthdays will other wise run in its own old grooves. of great men you hear of their actions, their Through daily Japa you will have to bring it thoughts and their in struc tions; and the way un der con trol. Reg u lar ity is a very im por tant in which they led their life. You imbibe several thing. Again and again study books written by good qual i ties from their glo ri ous ex am ple. saints of Self-realisa tion. Study Viveka- You try to em ulate them. You put those qual i - Chudamani, Atma-Bodha, Tattwa-Bodha. ties into prac tice in your daily life. Life here is a great battle; but if you have faith You have heard so much today about in God it is a great song of love. Again and Swami Chidanandaji. He who has made a again ap proach the saints. Keep spiri tual di - deter mi na tion now “I will try to become ary. Find out how far you have evolved, how like Chidanandaji” and he alone will be many virtues you have devel oped, how many bene fited. vi cious qual i ties you have erad i cated, are But, Maya is very pow erful. You wil think you selfless, are you doing self less ser vice? that you are all ele vated now; but as soon as These are the things nec es sary. you get up in the morning, the mind will run in But you always forget these impor t ant its own grooves. He who keeps con stant things of life. You don’t forget the minute Satsanga and stud ies books on Vairagya— items of your food; but you forget God. An books like “Ne ces sity for Sannyasa,” “Lives ounce of prac tice is better than tons of theory . of Saints” and “Il lu mi nat ing Sto ries”—will Practise. Then only you will know how dif ficult keep up the cur rent; and he alone can lead a it is. A harsh word up sets you. That is due to virtu ous life. Lec tures you have heard. Every - the force of previ ous vicious Samskaras. body knows the power of Ram-Nam. But, you Your task now is to take the waters of the AUGUST 2009 WHAT YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM CHIDANANDA’S LIFE 15

Ganges to their own source. So dif ficult it is. daily is the richest man in this world. The Yet, with God’s Grace, with deter mi na tion, whole wealth of the Lord belongs to him. you will succeed. You must be an embodi ment of pa - Do not bestow much thought on body tience, tol erance and forgive ness. Even if and food. These are all the product s of ig no- people abuse you, you must stand like the rance. Remove this igno rance through yonder Hima la yas. You must always have a knowledge of the Self, by culti vat ing cool mind, not perturbed by any thing. How Sadhana Chatushtaya Sampath, and att ain very weak in mind you have become! Keep a the goal of life. Repeat the names of the Lord. bal anced mind always. That is spiri tual Do Japa, Kirtan. Do selfless ser vice. Knowl- strength; that is wisdom. edge will come by it self. Jnana will come as You have heard much. Try to practise the fruit of Bhakti. now. Watch the mind and see what you have Const ant remem brance of the Lord; that done to improve yourself. How far have you is most essen tial. Let the mind run if it will. prac tised the Sadhana? Be good and do The spir i tual power of the Lord’s Name will good. check this out going tendency of the mind, Culti vate your will-power through Japa. and will make it turn inward. Never for get this. Samadhi will come by it self. God has given you a good Buddhi or intel lect. Culti vate virtues. Of all virtues, comp as - Uti lise it prop erly and dis crim i nate. sion and hu mility are most impor t ant virtues, which a saint al ways possesses. You have a Com pas sion and hu mil ity Swami sin-hardened heart that commit s vari ous mis- Chidanandaji has got in abun dance. In the deeds. It has to be made soft as butter , by the previ ous birth it self he was a Sannyasi; from prac tice of comp as sion. A man may deliver the way in which he behaves we can find that out. Shanti was a Sannyasi; Swami lec tures for hours together; but, if you don’t Krishnanandaji was a Sannyasi; they must find comp as sion and hu mility in him, shun have been Sannyasins in their pre vious birth him. Not this pretended humil ity! You may it self. It is the wealth of previ ous Samskaras pretend to be humble in front of a person and that has enabled them to take to this path of then criticise him at his back. That is not hu - Divine Life at such an early age. If you don’t mility . Humil ity must become your sec- have them, you must gener ate them now, ond-nature. Anyone will be able to dis cover through fasting, prayer and service, so that in this by your actions. Humil ity must become the next birth you will be born a saint. Then part of your very nature. Amanitwam of all vir - you will become a good teacher, and you wil tues is given the foremost place among the evolve quickly. It is not too late. Make a re- virtues in the Gita. solve to day. Cul ti vate vir tues. Always have the ideal of a saint be fore People have described Swami you. Culti vate dispassion. The wealth of the Chidanandaji. He is a doctor of doctors. He is whole world is nothing when comp ared to a doc tor of lepers. He is full of mercy. You dispassion. Vairagya makes a man most must culti vate mercy. If any man is lying on wealthy; he gains the inex haust ible spir i tual the road, you don’t go to help him; you say “It wealth. He who has discrim i nation is the only is his Prarabdha.” Even if you are starving, rich man in this world. He who does Japa you must give your cup of milk to that man; in 16 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009 this way your heart will exp and. Conscious - whole world is in dis tress and af flic tion. ness of Unity will come only through these Remove them and you will grow in spiri tual ity. ways. Break all barri ers that sep arate man All these saints have become saints— from man, through selfless ser vice. Cosmic Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus, etc,—and su per- Con scious ness you can not at tain through men, by serv ing every body . Cramming of M.A., Ph.D., degrees. They will only fatten Vedantic texts will not do. These Pandits—If your egoism. Selfless ser vice alone will en- they are not given a seat of honour at a public meeting, they will be up set. That is not able you to att ain Cosmic Conscious ness. the mark of a saint. Again and again Share what you have with others. Give. Give. hammer the mind with ideals like “I am the Give. You will unite at heart with the whole Self of all creatures.” Practise comp as sion, world. This is the se cret of abundance. Do ser vice, hu mil ity and other vir tues. Then not try to accu mulate. God takes care of all shine like our Chidanandaji. This is my His chil dren. Spend every thing in char ity. The fervent prayer!

MIND—THE HELPER AND THE BAR

(Sri Swami Chidananda) Even though modern psychol ogy sponsors and the body, as we normally under st and it. It pos i tive rela tionship, it leaves the soul un- is the dis crimi nation between the Self and all touched. Modern psychol ogy leaves the spirit that is not-Self, not only the body but all that is being un touched. There is no con cept of it at not-Self. And, ev erything that is other than all. They say that body and psychic be ing are the Self is cate go rized by as closely related, but it does not at all af fect the Prakriti. So, ulti mately , what you realise in Vedantic viewpoint. Even though you know your ex peri ence of Samadhi is the dis tinc tion that they are insep ara bly connected, what is between Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha it to the soul? Because it is even dif ferent means the Self and Prakriti means every - from the psychic be ing and the as tral being. thing that is not-Self. Thus in Prakriti are in- Soul is dis tinct from all the things that make cluded the body, five senses, five sheaths, up this hu man persona lity. It is dis tinct from five , Antahkarana, all the Vasanas ev erything, except its Svarupa, that is, spiri - and all the Samskaras and all the world-pro- tual nature. Its Svarupa is pure Being, which cess, all phe nomena, all percep tion, etc. So, has no be gin ning and no end, which has no every changing mode of the psyche, in fact, change, which is pure con scious ness. So, ul- every thing that is made up of the senses, timately , you must know this as pure con - , mind and even the ego, and all their scious ness, Suddha Chaitanya, Chinmaya, dif fer ent mod i fi ca tions, the im pres sions, the Satchidananda. in cli na tions, ten den cies is in cluded in Now, could there be the dis crimi nation Prakriti. And once you know the dif feren ti a - between the Self and the body, without los ing tion, you are no more af flicted by the one’s in di vidu al ity. It is not so simple as that. world-process. So, there is a dis tinc tion be- It is not the dis crimi nation between the Self tween Purusha and Prakriti. And as long as AUGUST 2009 MIND—THE HELPER AND THE BAR 17 the mind is there, this distinc tion can not be blemish to pure Conscious ness. So, this loss brought into actual expe ri ence in one’s life, of in di vid u al ity is the great est gain. because it is the mind that causes the muddle Now, a doubt may arise as to why we between the Purusha and Prakriti. Loss of in- should de stroy the prin ci ple of in di vid u al ity, di vid u al ity or de struc tion of the mind has, since the high est stage of evolu tion is con sid - therefore, to be ef fected and, it should not ered to be reached only in the human level. worry the as pi rant be cause this in di vid u al ity, Let us con sider the answer . Why should you the false in di vidu al ity, has no proper exis - want to stick to this hu man level? No doubt it tence within it self. This false in di vid u al ity is is a high stage comp ara tively , comp ared to all due to the conscious ness get ting ent angled these sub human species, from the amoeba on ac count of its proxim ity to Prakriti. When onwards,—the amoeba, and then the inver te - this proxim ity is severed, what remains is the brate, worms and in sects, fishes and rep tiles, real entity . So, loss of a false thing is no loss birds and beasts, and all that, and finally the at all. When we under st and that this in di vid- human. All right, but it does not mean that you ual con scious ness is part of Prakriti and is not should get stuck in that state. Suppos ing part of our real entity , this loss or an ni hi la tion there are ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ class pris oners. ‘C’ has no sig nifi cance, no meaning. Hence, it is class pris oners get whipping every day, and not merely con trol of the mind that Raja Yoga have to break stones in the sun for 12 hours aims at. In the begin ning stages it is con trol of and have only dry bread and cold water , and the mind, so that a cert ain state may be sleep on the ground. ‘B’ class pris oners per- reached through the exer cise of the con trol of haps get one extra dish of vege t able and are the con cen trated mind, in which state mind given a cot so that bugs and worms and rats tot ally ceases to be. Nirodha, in Raja Yoga, is may not nibble at their body, and perhap s 10 said to con sti tute Yoga. Nirodha is only upto a hours work. And ‘A’ class pris oners may be cer tain point, in order to achieve a state of given a nice cott age and al lowed to cook their medi tation where you leave the entire plane own food and all that. They are given a bed- of the mind and ego to go into super-con- ding and no work to do. They can get news - scious ness. So, there the mind becomes ex- papers, get maga zines, per haps can have an tinct. In that realm of superconsciousness oc ca sional smoke also. Once a week visi tors where you realise the Purusha, the mind are allowed inside the Jail. Now, should you ceases to be. So, unless you reach a plane think ‘Once I have reached the ‘A’ class, i.e., where there is no mind, you can not know the become an ‘A’ class pris oner, why should I Self.Thus mindless state is ab so lutely indis - want to get out of the prison?’ Simi larly, the pens able for expe ri ence of the Self. There- human state, comp ared to all the other fore, to reach that state, abso lute con trol, stages, is the high est stage in evolu tion, but ab so lute ces sa tion of all ac tiv i ties of the mind this is still bond age. So, freedom of the soul is becomes a neces sary step, a neces sary dis- something so un imagin ably grand and glori - ci pline, and Raja Yoga gives that much of dis- ous, that even this stage of evolu tion, this hu - ci pline. Af terwards, you transcend the mind. man level, is hell. It becomes hell. So, When this dis ci pline is per fected, you tran- comp ared to all other states, it is heaven and scend the mind and los ing of in di vidu al ity glory of God’s cre ation because man is made should not be be yond the Sadhaka. This indi - in the image of God. But a human being also vidu al ity is the most perni cious thing; it is a can be very, very rotten. He may do things great dis ease upon Conscious ness. It is a which even ani mals would be ashamed of do- 18 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009 ing, and sometimes ani mals will be inca pable ing. You are not human. You are Divine. Es- of doing. What ani mals will not do that a hu- sen tially, you are God. Therefore, you have to man will do. And these are the defect s and shed this hu man nature, and the essen tial imper fec tions of hu man life. Or, even suppos - power of the human nature is the think ing fac - ing that human life is very nice, all good, all ulty. As long as you go on thinking, you will be joy, all wonder , all per fec tion and all beauty, bound up to the human plane only. So, a time who will simply want to stick to this if there is a co mes where the mind be comes a bar. stage a hundred times better than that? That Aurobindo has very nicely described it, “In the stage is that of Divin ity . So, even if human life begin ning the mind is the instru ment, the is a very high stage of evolu tion, when there mind is the path, the mind is a help, and a is a still higher, grander and more glori ous stage co mes when the mind be comes a bar.” state, it is not wise to want to perpet u ate this And when that stage co mes, the mind has to stage. be dis carded. This is very homely illus trated How can we anni hi late the mind, since thus. Suppos ing your idea is to climb up to the think ing power is the very es sence of the this terrace. You want to go into the open ter- hu man be ing? “Cogito ergo sum,” says Des- race. You are on the floor now and the ladder cartes. We can deny every thing, doubt every - is your greatest friend and without it you can- thing, but we cannot doubt the doubter. not go up. So, rung by rung you climb, up and “Cogito ergo sum”—“I think, therefore, I am.” up, and reach the last rung of the ladder . Sup- But, then, Descartes left it at that. Who is this pose you fall in love with the ladder , saying ‘I’? Who is the ‘I’ that says “Cogito ergo sum”, “O, it has got me up till here,” and you do not and what is the real nature of ‘I’? That is the want to leave the ladder , then what will hap- sub ject of phi los ophy , the theme of philos o - pen? You will not reach the terrace. And so a phy. The real nature of this ‘I’ is beau tifully time will come when you are standing on the given in the Upanishads. The Upanishads high est rung of the ladder , and you have to are the intuitional outpour ing of the highest decide: “No doubt it has helped me to come stage reached in reali sa tion, the decla ration up so high. Now, if I continue staying on the of the realisa tion which they reached through lad der, I will be deprived of the pleasure of great flights into spir i tual realms in deep med- being on the terrace and so, if I want to go to i tation and in tuition. So, they realised that this the terrace, I will have to leave the ladder and being, this ‘I’ who says, “I think, therefore, I go to the terrace, jump up on the terrace.” So, am” is a supramental be ing. This is be yond upto that height where the ladder and the ter- the mind. He transcends the mind. He real- race meet, the ladder becomes indis pens - ises the true ‘I’, who transcends the mind. able, most essen tial, most help ful, but when Therefore you see the need to get rid of this that stage is reached, to stay on the ladder think ing power, which is a bar. How can we becomes a great obst acle, a great mist ake. anni hi late the mind as long as the thinking So the ladder has to be dis carded if you want power is the very es sence of the hu man be- to go to the terrace. That is the posi tion of the ing? Yes, the think ing power is the very es - mind in terms of spiri tual expe ri ence. The sence of the hu man being, but your essen tial high est expe ri ence is that stage where mind nature is not human nature. You are not a hu- becomes a bar, and to approach that level man being, es sen tially. So do not continue mind becomes the greatest help, an in dis - the error of thinking that you are a human be- pens able in stru ment. AUGUST 2009 THE GURU 19

THE GURU

(Sri Swami Atmaswarupananda) During this part of the year, as seek ers of where that the Guru is not. They say that the the Divine or the undi vided, our minds are on Guru and God and the Self are one, but we a key factor in our seek ing: the Guru, the need to remem ber that that means that not teacher, the guide, the saviour . We, of only is there nothing that is not the Guru but course, are of ten reminded that the Guru is that the Guru is always fully alive. not his body, and one morning here, many If we can get over the need to person al - years ago, Pujya Swami Chidanandaji said ise the Guru, to have the Guru in one mani - that when the Guru goes, then willy-nilly, fes tation or another , then all of life becomes whether we want to or not, we have to dis - the Guru for us. Lov ing as Pujya Swami cover who the Guru really is. Chidanandaji was, and as much as he We say that the Guru is God, but every - seemed to care about us person ally, at the thing within us wants to person al ise the Guru, same time there was no hang ing on. He did- to have something that our mind can concen - n’t feel that the presence of his body was es- trate on, can visu al ize. Some say that they sen tial for our spiri tual advance ment. He had can feel the Guru in their heart, and that is a duty as long as he was needed, but his their con so la tion; but told prime duty was to teach us to rely on our own us that whatever has a begin ning, will have under st anding, to recog nize the Guru as he an end. Therefore, our need of a Guru de- rec og nized the Guru. mands that we search beyond the Guru’s In one sense, to do this we need to be body and, beyond any inner feeling we may abso lutely still, not seeking the Guru any- have of the Guru’s pres ence. where until we real ise that the Guru is ever The ac tual truth is that the Guru was pres ent—more than that, that he is omni pres - never his body, never a feeling in our heart, ent, om nip o tent and om ni scient. We are al though the Guru can mani fest as both. The never away from the Guru, and surely this is Guru is ac tu ally co-ex ten sive with ev ery thing what Gurudev and Pujya Swamiji would like that is. You can not find the Guru. There is no- to remind us of during this sacred period.

If you allow the sun’s rays to pass through a lens, they can burn cotton at once. Even so, if you collect the dissi pated rays of the mind and focus it on Atma, you will achieve very great spiri - tual light, spiri tual force and Atmic Knowledge and eternal bliss. * * * If you keep wa ter in an unbaked earthen pot, the pot will be broken at once. But, if you keep wa ter in a baked pot, it will remain for a long time. Even so, this unbaked body will perish at any time. But, if the body is backed by the fire of Yoga, it will be healthy, strong and will remain as long as the Yogi likes. —Swami Sivananda 20 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

LUST AND PASSION

(H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj)

[Con tin ued from the pre vi ous is sue]

IMPORTANCE OF PROPER FOOD AND follow ing morning. This will keep the bowels EVACUATION reg u lar. Sometimes, the discharges take place Most of the diseases take their ori gin in on ac count of excess of heat in the body, ex- over eat ing. Ob serve mod er a tion in diet. cess of walk ing or travel, eating a large quan- Avoid late suppers. The evening meal should tity of sweetmeat s or chil lies and salt. Give up be light and eaten before 6 or 7 p.m. If pos si - tea, cof fee, chil lies, excess of sweets and ex- ble, take milk and fruits only at night. No solid cess of salt. Avoid dainty dishes, sauces, sa- or liq uid should be taken af ter sunset. When vouries and past ries. Have occa sional fasts, you take milk, mix ginger es sence in it. Or boil say, once a week. Do not drink even water on crushed gin ger with milk before tak ing the milk. Give up hot chutneys, garlic, on ion and those fast ing days. Do not ride too much on pungent foodstuf fs. Hot curries, chil lies and the bi cy cle. chutneys make the semen watery and lead to Chew pieces of the yellow vari ety of frequent wet dreams. Take bland, sooth ing, Harad or my robalan very of ten. When there is non-irri t ating simple food. Give up smok ing, frequent dis charge, dis solve two pinches of li quor, tea, cof fee, meat and fish. camphor in a cup of milk and take it oc ca sion - When there is any incli nation for ally at night. Take half a seer of milk in the micturition at night, imme di ately get up to early morning and half a seer at night. empty the blad der. A loaded blad der is the cause for wet dreams. Before retir ing to bed, GET UP BEFORE 4 A.M. answer the calls of na ture. If there is severe Night pol lu tion gen er ally oc curs in the con sti pation and the bowels are loaded, they fourth quarter of the night. Those who are in will press the vesiculae seminalis, and con - the habit of getting up from bed between 3 se quently, there will be discharges at night. and 4 a.m. and doing Japa and Dhyana can To relieve consti pation, the use of the never fall a victim to noctur nal pollutions. enema is most essen tial. The use of laxa tives Make it a point to get up at least at 4 a.m. reg- is not of much bene fit as it cre ates heat in the ularly . Sleep on a coarse bed. Use rough body. mats. Never stop the urge to answer calls of Sleep on the left side. Allow the Solar nature. If worms are pres ent in the bowels, Nadi, Pingala, to work throughout the night remove them by a dose of worm powder in through the right nostril. In acute cases, sleep the night and take a pur gative of castor oil the on the back un til recov ery . AUGUST 2009 LUST AND PASSION 21

If you are a married man, sleep in a sep - namah. Pushne namah. Hiranyagarbhaya arate room. You should never allow your wife namah. Marichaye namah. Savitre namah. to massage your legs at night. This is a dan- Adityaya namah. Bhaskaraya namah. ger ous prac tice. Arkaya namah.” Bask in the Sun. For protect ing the se men, it is essen tial to wear always a strip of cloth over the private THE BENEFITS OF A HIP BATH part; for, there will be no night emission and Take cold hip baths by sit ting in a tub of growth of testi cles. There fore, always wear a water and keeping the legs out side the tub. Langoti or Kaupin or loin cloth. You will not This is very invig o rat ing and energising. A get inflam ma tion or any other disease of the cold hip bath tones and soothes the nerves of tes ticles. This will help you in keep ing up the genito-urinary system and stops noc tur- Brahmacharya. Wear a wet Kaupin at night nal dis charges in an ef fica cious manner . This when you go to bed, if the disease is very is a gen eral nervine tonic as well, as all the trou ble some. nerves are braced up. It is be fitting for a celi bate to wear al- The hip bath can be con veniently man- ways wooden sandals as thereby the semen aged at home in a big zinc tub. Aged persons will be con served, eyes will be bene fited, life and con vales cents can use luke warm water . prolonged and ho li ness and lus tre increased. Wipe the parts with a dry towel and put on warm clothing. TAKE TO THE NAME OF THE LORD Or stand up to your navel in a river, lake Practise Japa and medi tation in the or tank for half an hour. Repeat ‘Om’ or the morning, as soon as you get up, for an hour Gayatri or any other Mantra. Rub the lower or two. Also, do this before sleeping at 10 part of the abdo men or belly with a coarse p.m. This is a great puri fier . This will Turk ish towel or a piece of Khadi cloth sev- strengthen the mind and the nerves. This is eral times. This can be practised twice daily, the best remedy . If you get wet-dreams, have morning and evening, in the summer season. a plunge-bath in the morning. Do twenty Cold douches, spi nal douches and cold Pranayamas. Repeat the Gayatri Mantra 108 shower bath are of immense use in the prac- times. Pray to the Sun, “Punarmamaitu tice of Brahmacharya. Shower baths can be indriyam. O Sun! Let my lost strength be re- eas ily inst alled at home by fix ing the spray stored.” ap pa ra tus to the tap. Pray to the Sun in the early morning be - Sirshasana, Sarvangasana, Siddha- fore sunrise: “O Lord Suryanarayana, the eye sana, Sukha-Purvak Pranayama and of the world, the eye of the Virat Purusha! Uddiyana Bandha are all very ef fec tive in Give me health, strength, vigour and vit al ity.” erad i cat ing spermatorrhoea. Prac tise them Do Suryanamaskara in the early morning. and real ise the in cal cu la ble ben e fits. Prac tise Repeat the twelve Names of the Sun at sun- deep-breathing and Bhastrika Pranayama. shine: “Mitraya namah. Ravaye namah. Take long walks. Take part in sports. Suryaya namah. Bhanave namah. Khagaya (To be con tinued)

The love of the Self is the basis of all other loves. (Swami Krishnananda) 22 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

Sivananda’s Gospel of Divine FOUNDATION OF YOGA AND REALISATION

CLAIMING DIVINE ANCESTRY and you will shine as a true descen dant of Appayya.” Sri Shankara Narayana lyer of Nagpur came in and prostrated to the Master . SERVICE, THE MASTER’S SALVATION “Om Namo Narayanaya! What has hap- pened now? You want to leave today?” “Sastriji, I think I will never att ain sal va- tion. You see, worldly people are att ached to “I am leav ing tomor row , Swamiji.” their wives, children, fami lies and prop erties, “When you go back you must make a but I am att ached to ser vice and dissem i na - firm resolve to spread the message of di vine tion of spiri tual knowledge. Even if the life. You must become a dynamic worker in thought of running away into the forest co mes the divine field.” to me, it leaves the next inst ant. The desire in “With your holy bless ings I will, Swamiji.” me to work, work and work while this body Turning to those pres ent, the Master lasts, to serve aspi rants in every way I can, said, “He belongs to the family of Appayya smothers in a trice such a de sire for se clu - Dikshitar. It is not a joke to belong to the line sion. What can I do? I think I will never get out of this great saint.” of this cir cle. I will be born again and again in this world to serve the aspi rants every time.” To Sri Shankara Narayana the Master said, “You must show by your own actions “But, Swamiji, this thought very rarely co mes even to saints. They are concerned that you are wor thy of this descent. There is only about themselves, and feel that even an- no use merely claiming an ces try of a spiri tual swer ing the let ters of spir i tual as pi rants and hero; you must de serve it.” writing books on spir i tual matters based on “Yes, Swamiji, I shall try my best.” their own expe ri ences, go against their sal va- “Study Sanskrit, then study the Gita, the tion. The spirit of service that liter ally pos- Upanishads and Appayya Dikshitar’s works sesses you is rarely found in anyone else.” also. Now start spreading his message. Be “But what about my salva tion? All right, I humble and simple. Some people go on should be con tent to wait till I have served tomtoming their ances try to earn their liveli - you all to my sat is fac tion and till you have all hood. When people see you, they should re- att ained sal vation. Yes, that is right, I do not cog nise Appayya Dikshitar’s blood run ning want to get salva tion myself un til every one through your veins. You should pos sess such lead ing the di vine life gets it. Till then I shall an ex em plary char ac ter. Noth ing is im pos si - take any number of births and join the Divine ble. If you try then God’s Grace also will come Life So ci ety.”

Yoga is search for Truth in its ulti mate reaches and above its rel a tive util ity. (Swami Krishnananda) AUGUST 2009 THIS IS SERVICE! 23

Childr en’s Page THIS IS SERVICE!

(Sri Swami Ramarajyam) This in ci dent is related to those olden days while. Finally he took a bold deci sion—what- when the outbreak of the pl ague epi demic ever might happen, he would save Lalaji, was not an uncom mon occur rence. Nodules even at the risk of his own life. would appear on the body of the plague rid- Panditji cleaned the nod ule with spirit. den patient and if he was not treated in time, he would die. Then he bent down to do something. He hesi - tated, but he bent again. He brought his Once the plague broke out in Multan. mouth near the nodule. He hesi tated again, And, there lived a Panditji. He was looking af - ter the patient s with great readiness. He was but he plucked up his cour age and cut the not a medico, but he knew a little about how nodule with his teeth—endan ger ing his life to to treat the patient s suf fering from the plague. save Lalaji’s. One night he got the infor ma tion that a man Lalaji’s life was saved. What happened called Lalaji was stricken with plague. to Panditji, is not known, but his noble ser vice Panditji went to Lalaji’s house imme di - enabled Lalaji to sur vive the at tack of plague. ately. With tears in his eyes, Lalaji said to him Only he really serves who, like Panditji, with folded hands, “Panditji, please save my is ready to put his life at risk to save the lives life.” Panditji noticed that one nodule in the of others. Such a person is re ally great! body of Lalaji was full of pus. He realised very soon that if that nodule was not removed im - Dear children, even if you have to face medi ately, he would not survive. misfor tunes or put your life at risk, you must It was midnight. No doctor or Jarrah (an act like Panditji. You can call yourself a hu - old sub sti tute for a surgeon) was available man being only when you serve others like nearby. He was lost in thought for a little him.

SIKSHA GURUS AND DIKSHA GURU Man has a twofold duty here on earth—to preserve his life, and to realise his Self. To preserve his life, he has to learn to work for his daily bread. To realise his Self, he has to serve, love and medi tate. The Guru who teaches him the knowledge of worldly arts is the Siksha Guru. The Guru who shows him the path of Realisa tion is the Diksha Guru. Siksha Gurus can be many—as many as the things he wishes to learn. The Diksha Guru can be only one—the one who leads him to . —Swami Sivananda 24 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

NEWS AND REPORTS

NEWS FROM THE HEADQUARTERS

SEVA THROUGH SIVANANDA HOME The Di vine Life So ci ety Head quar ters extrem i ties co mes at a much later stage than con tin ues ren der ing its hum ble ser vice in the case of a healthy person. Where there through Sivananda Home, situ ated in is no pain, atten tion is not given and careless - Tapovan near Laxman Jhula. It is a Home ness takes the up per hand. Every person with med i cal fa cil i ties for sick des ti tute who has been diag nosed with leprosy needs people. to check up every day his or her hands and Though the rainy season had not fully feet for in ju ries, to rec og nize and im me di ately com menced, many a patient was admit ted arrange treatment of dam aged skin and to completely drenched, wet-through, shiv ering pre vent fur ther in fec tions. up to the bones with fever—pil grims, Be sides TB and lep rosy patient s, others Sadhu’s, on their way to wherever the Al- were admit ted too, with var i ous dis eases, mighty’s des tiny might be, walk ing from Holy from those with minor ab dom i nal in fec tions Kedarnath, trav el ling to wards Nilakant, but to patient s who were, af ter in ves ti ga tions, in terrupted by a sudden relap se of a hid den, found suf fering from cancer in dif ferent parts si lent and prolonged dis ease. Not less than of the body, and a youngster with both his four pa tients with pos i tive pul mo nary tu ber- legs para lysed. Guru’s Kripa brought them, cu lo sis were admit ted this month, two of them Guru’s Kripa sus tains then, and pray, Guru’s also tested HIV pos i tive. All of them imme di - Kripa embrace them, and all of us, here, now ately started with anti-tu ber cu lo sis-ther apy and al ways. and are grad u ally im prov ing. “There is no sav iour in the entire world Lep rosy pa tients were ad mit ted with more real than God. When every body fails, chronic non-heal ing foot ulcers, a common God never fails. When failure and desp air ail ment and also requir ing a long-term treat- stare you in the face, one heal ing thought of ment among the people who suf fer from God, His unbounded mercy and grace, can at Hansen’s dis ease. Where a non-leprosy per- once bring you tran quil lity, sun shine and son quickly recov ers af ter an inno cent in jury, cheer and thereby make your life blessed a person with leprosy more easily devel op s and glo rious. God is the great help. He is the wounds, due to dryness of the skin, and a one refuge in all mom ents of cri sis. This is simple heel crack might unfold into an in fec - true of the life of every in di vid ual and hu man- tive ulcer , since the sen sa tion of pain in the ity as a whole." (Papa Ramdas)

Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Serve the sick. This is Di vine Life. (Swami Sivananda) AUGUST 2009 NEWS AND REPORTS 25

SRI GURUPURNIMA, SADHANA WEEK AND PUNYATITHI ARADHANA CELEBRATIONS AT HEADQUARTERS ASHRAM The Holy Gurupurnima fell on 7th July General Secre t ary gave a brief talk and read 2009 and the 46th Punyatithi Aradhana of out se lected Brahma Sutras and thereby for- Most Worship ful Gurudev Sri Swami mally invoked Sri Bhagavan Vyasa and Sivanandaji Maharaj on 16th July 2009. The Guruparampara and sought their bless ings. Ashram cele brated these twin functions and In the Af ternoon there were discourses the period from 8th to 14th of July was ob- on the life and teach ings of Sri Swami served as Sadhana Week on a grand scale. Sivanandaji Maharaj by senior Swamijis and The venue of the cele bra tions was Swami dev o tees. Sivananda Satsanga Bhavan (Audi torium). In the night Satsanga, fol lowing the The Audi torium was full to its ca pac ity as usual Ashram prayers and chantings, there large number of devo tees had gathered for was a cul tural programme “Ras Leela” by these programmes. Nikunj Vihari Rasleela Mandali, Vrindavana The Gurupurnima cel e bra tions started of Sri Swami Sriram Sharmaji. with Brahma Muhurta prayers followed by From 8th July to 14th July Sadhana med i ta tion. Sri Swami Yogaswarupanandaji Saptah was observed, report of which will be Maharaj, Vice-Presi dent and Sri Swami given in the follow ing is sues. Atmaswarupanandaji Maharaj spoke on the On 16th July 2009, 46th Punyatithi impor t ance of Guru and Guru Purnima. Soon Aradhana of Most Worship ful Gurudev Sri af ter the morning Satsanga there was Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj was cele brated. Prabhat Pheri. A spe cial Havan was also per- The cel ebra tions started with Brahma formed at Yajnashala for welfare and peace Muhurta medi tations and prayers at Sri for all. Swami Sivananda Satsanga Bhavan. It was In the forenoon, a grand worship was of - followed by Prabhat Pheri with chanting of Di- fered to Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji vine Name. A Havan for wel fare of all and Maharaj at the Holy Samadhi Mandir. Af ter world peace was conducted at Yajnashala. At this the devo tees as sembled at the audi to- Samadhi Shrine and at Audi torium, Paduka rium and performed Paduka Puja. Follow ing Puja was performed on a grand scale. All the Paduka Puja, a brief Satsanga was held. dev o tees par tic i pated in the Paduka Puja. Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, Pres i dent, Ganga Arati was performed in the evening at Divine Life Soci ety, did the opening Jai Vishwanath Ghat. At night Satsanga, along Ganesh Prayer. Sri Swami Dharmanishtha- with Bhajans and Kirtans, a vari ety of nandaji, Sri Swami Bhaktibhavanandaji and programmes were conducted. Sri Br. Atmanistha Chaitanyaji sang soul These func tions were attended by a stirring Kirtans. large number of devo tees from all over the Sri Swami Padmanabhanandaji Maharaj, coun try. 26 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

VEDA PARAYANA AT THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY HEADQUARTERS On 6th July 2009 a very wonder ful Shukla , portions of the Isavasya Satsanga took place in the Au di torium of Upanishad and Shanti Mantras. Sri Swami Sivananda Ashram as a pre lude to the an- Padmanabhananda in tro duced the dif fer ent nual Guru Purnima Func tions and as part of sec tions with short expla nations to the audi - the first Aradhana Cele bra tions of Worship ful ence. Ev ery one en joyed the tra di tional and Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj. de vout rec i ta tions of the sa cred Veda Two Pandits from Andhra Pradesh had Mantras and the atmo sphere was charged been in vited for Vedic Chanting—Sri L. with holy vi brations of an cient times. Ramakrishna Prasad Avadhani of The Pandits were honoured by Sri Bhadrachalam and Sri Purneya Shastri of Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, Pres i dent, Rajahmundry. The Veda Parayana included and Sri Swami Padmanabhanandaji impor t ant Suktas from Kanva Shakha of the Maharaj, Gen eral Sec re tary.

REPORT OF THE VALEDICTORY FUNCTION OF THE 62ND BASIC YOGA-VEDANTA COURSE The vale dic tory function of the 62nd Ba- Maharaj in his bless ing ad dress told the stu - sic Yoga-Vedanta Course (May-June, 2009) dents that they are blessed to be in the Holy was held on Monday , 29th June, 2009, in the Ashram for the two months and to attend the Academy’ s Lec ture Hall. Af ter the invoca tory course. Citing from Srimad , prayer, Sri Swami Yogavedantanandaji Swamiji said that the ‘Divinity’ pres ent in Maharaj, Regis trar of the Academy , wel- them, guides them from within to tread the comed all those present on the occa sion. path of spiri tual ity. This is known as Prof. Rajinder Kumar Bhardwajji, Asst. Reg - ‘Adhi-’ and they have to be aware of the is trar, read the report of the course. Thereaf - spir i tual awaken ing in them and kindle the ter some of the student s expressed their fire of aspi ration. Swamiji also referred to im pres sions about the course which they ‘Sikshavalli’ of the Taittiriya. Upanisad’, attended in the Academy . where the teacher tells the out going stu dents H.H. Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, how to lead a purpose ful life. Swamiji said, Pres i dent and H.H. Sri Swami Padmanabha- Gurudev’s saying ‘Be good and Do good’ is nandaji Maharaj, General Secre t ary of the Di- the es sence of spir i tual life. vine Life Soci ety Headquar ters graced the H.H. Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, func tion. H.H. Sri Swami Padmanabha- in his val e dic tory ad dress to the student s, nandaji Maharaj awarded the certif i cates to stressed the need for cert ain ba sic re quire- the student s and H.H. Sri Swami ments to make their life meaning ful. Swamiji Vimalanandaji Maharaj gave Jnanaprasad advised the student s that the spiri tual seek - book pack ets to the stu dents and hon oured ers should al ways remain simple and hum ble the members of the faculty . and should not de pend on servant s. They H.H. Sri Swami Padmanabhanandaji should do all their per sonal work themselves. AUGUST 2009 NEWS AND REPORTS 27

Swamiji cited exam ples from the life of Wor- learnt during their two months stay in the ship ful Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Ashram, they should practise. Swamiji con - Maharaj and Param Pujya Sri Swami cluded his talk by invok ing the bless ings of Chidanandaji Maharaj. The seekers should also see that pu rity is maint ained in their in - Worship ful Gurudev upon them. ner and outer life. Swamiji ad vised the stu- The Func tion ended with Saraswati dents that whatever good things they have Puja and Prasad dis tri bu tion.

CULTURAL TOUR OF SRI SWAMI YOGASWARUPANANDA Hon. Trustee & Vice-Pres ident, DLS Headquarters In response to in vit ations of several Selvanizza and Mrs. Antonietta Rozzi Yoga groups and devo tees of Worship ful Selvanizza. They also invited several speak - Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, Sri ers from dif ferent univer si ties in In dia and reli - Swami Yogaswarupanandaji visited the gious in sti tutions. H.H. Sri Swami Neth er lands, It aly, Ger many, South Af rica Atmapriyanandaji, Vice-Chancel lor of Swami and Portu gal from 12th April to 30th June, Vivekananda Univer sity , Sri Ramakrishna 2009. Mission, Belurmath, Calcutt a; H.H. Sri Swami Swamiji attended spe cial Satsanga Chidananda Saraswatiji, Presi dent, prayers, Bhajans and Kirtans on Rev. H.H. Paramarth Niketan, Rishikesh; H.H. Sri Sri Swami Hridayananda Mataji’s Birthday on Swamini Umanandaji of Chinmaya Mission, 18th April, 2009, conducted Pranayama Mumbai; Mrs. Rita Sinha Dasgupta of Cal- classes, partic i pated in study group classes cutta Univer sity and many others attended on Srimad Bhagavadgita and Supreme Yoga the Confer ence, spoke on vari ous as pects of (Yoga Vasishtha) classes, dur ing his stay at Yoga and medi tation. Sri Swami The Hague (Nether lands). The classes were Yogaswarupanandaji spoke about “Yoga attended daily from Mondays to Fridays from Past and Future”, the theme of the Confer - 7 to 8 a.m. Partic i pants expressed their grati - ence, quoting the teach ings of the tude and said that their way of think ing and Mahabharata with stories and teach ings of at ti tude to wards of fi cial and house hold du ties the Bhagavadgita as well as “Yoga of synthe - have changed completely by attend ing these sis” of Worship ful Gurudev Sri Swami classes and be stowed peace and harmony in Sivanandaji Maharaj. their re la tion ships. Mr. Eros and Mrs. Antonietta From 3rd week of April to end of May, Sri Selvanizza have an in ti mate re la tion ship with Swami Yogaswarupanandaji par tic i pated in Gurudev’s Ashram and abundant bless ings Yoga semi nars orga nized by Ms. Alexandra of our worship ful H.H. Sri Swami Van Oosterumn and Ms. Annagrazia Sola Chidanandaji Maharaj to commence their no- near Milan and Genova( It aly). ble work through the Ital ian Yoga Feder a tion. From 30th April to 3rd May, Swamiji par- As in previ ous an nual con ferences, this time tic i pated in the 35th Annual Confer ence of also they gave begin ning and con clud ing the Ital ian Yoga Feder a tion at Jesola (Near talks to Sri Swami Yogaswarupanandaji. Ms. Venice, It aly) orga nized by Mr. Eros Annagrazia Sola very ably translated the 28 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009 talks into Ital ian to the appre ci ation of all par- tee; announce ments were done by Sri Balan tic i pants. The au di ence lis tened to him with Nadesan, Secre t ary. On this special oc ca - rapt at ten tion. The or ga niz ers con veyed their sion the new Sahajananda Dia mond Jubi lee grat i tude to Swamiji for par tic i pat ing in this Centre was of ficially opened by the Chief annual con ference as they got very good re- Guest of Honour Sri Swami Yogaswarupa- sponse and ap pre ci a tion from the par tic i - nandaji, Vice-Presi dent of DLS Headquar - pants. Swamiji also attended programmes ters, Sri Swami Saradaprabhanandaji, orga nized by Mr. Stefano Moriggi, Istituto Vice-Presi dent of Sri Ramakrishna cen tre of Yoga Universale, Rome and Mr. Georgio South Africa was also pres ent. Furlan of Aca de mia Yoga, Rome and others. Sri Swami Yogaswarupanandaji was re- From 29th May to 1st June, 2009 quested to release the lat est pub li ca tion, Swamiji went to Germany to at tend annual “Practice of Karma Yoga” which was the first Penticote week programmes or ganized by book that Sri Swami Sahajanandaji Maharaj, Sri Sukadevji of Yoga Vidya House, Horn Founder-Presi dent of DLS South Africa read Bad Mainberg (Germany) , in which about in 1948. By reading this book he met his Di- 400 Germans with their fam i lies at tended vine Master Worship ful Gurudev Sri Swami morning and evening Satsangs. Swamiji Sivanandaji Maharaj, who inspired him to made them repeat Panchakshari and start DLS of South Africa, sixty years ago. Sri Ashthakshari Mantras af ter explain ing to Swami Yogaswarupanandaji and Sri Swami them in det ail the impor t ance of glory of Di- Saradaprabhanandaji glori fied the noble vine Name, quoting the teach ings of Gurudev work done by DLS of South Africa un der able Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj with several guid ance of H.H. Sri Swami Sahajanandaji sto ries to in crease their faith about ef ficacy of Maharaj in the spirit of Karma Yoga, liter ally Japa Yoga. For selected peo ple there was a fol low ing the teach ings of Wor ship ful spe cial sem i nar on the phi los o phy of Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj as Bhagavadgita. Swamiji answered many an ideal exam ple for others to emu late. ques tions and removed wrong notions about the phi los o phy of Bhagavadgita. Swamiji said that ideal Guru-dis ci ple de - votion, spirit of sac rifice was glo rified in great From 4th June to 9th June, 2009 Sri epic Mahabharata with the story of Guru Swami Yogaswarupanandaji went to South Dronacharya and Ekalavya. Dis ci ple Africa from Am sterdam to attend the Dia - Ekalavaya of fered his right thumb to his mond Ju bi lee cel e bra tions of Di vine Life So- ci ety of South Africa. The main functions Guru, as Guru Dakshina, whereas Sri Swami were held from the 5th to 7th June at two Sahajanandaji Maharaj not only of fered his places, i.e. Sivanandashram, Res ervoir Hills, entire life to Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Durban and Sivananda Inter na tional Cultural Maharaj, but also made all dev otees of South Centre, Sivananda Nagar, La Mercy located Africa do the same, which is beauti fully seen at a dis tance of 40 km from the main Ashram. by all today during this Di amond Jubi lee cel e - Sivananda Di a mond Ju bi lee Con fer ence of bra tions. D.L.S. South Africa was commenced on 5th Under the guidance of Revered Swami June, 2009 with Havan and Ganga Arati fol- Sahajanandaji, the DLS of South Africa has lowed by special Satsanga. The welcome ad- com pleted many pro jects in volv ing con struc - dress was given by Sri Rajen Reddy, tion of schools, clin ics and homes for the sick, Vice-Chairman of DLS South Africa Commit - poor and needy citi zens of South Africa. AUGUST 2009 NEWS AND REPORTS 29

Parivrajika Ishtaprana of Sri Sarada Devi Truth-God-Real ity is One and all faiths tell the Ashram and Rev. Father Michaelson, a Je- same Truth in vari ous ways. These children suit monk, who had a long standing as so ci a- in vari ous forms of gods, like Rama, Krishna, tion with Pujya Sri Swami Sahajanandaji Buddha, Hanu man, saints and sages stood Maharaj, graced the occa sion. in well dec orated cars in the form of big ele - The Di a mond Ju bi lee cel e bra tions con - phants float ing in space. They came to the al- tinued for the next two days at Sivananda In- tar of Gurudev, repeated the Divine teachings ter na tional Cul tural Cen tre (SICC), of Gurudev with their melo di ous, in nocent Sivananda Nagar, La Mercy. Nearly six thou- voices touching the hearts of the audi ence, sand peo ple attended the programmes along number ing about six thousand. with the del e gates rep re sent ing var i ous prov- inces from all over South Africa. In addi tion, there were instruc tive dis- Commit tee Members and the Board of courses on health matters, domes tic har - Manage ment requested the chief guest Sri mony based upon the teachings of Gurudev Swami Yogaswarupanandaji to con duct Sivanandaji Maharaj and Sri Swami guided medi tation ses sions in the mornings Sahajanandaji. The one spiri tual theme that af ter chanting Gurustotras and Shanti ran throughout all programmes was the voice Mantras. Swamiji also was asked to give key- of Gurudev’s songs and teach ings. Cultural note address and con clud ing remarks for ev- items featured renowned South Afri can art- ery session as the devo tees lis tened to his ists like Sri Karthiegasen Pillay, Smt words of wisdom and spiri tual guid ance with Mahenthri Pillay, Sri Tansen Nepaul, Sri rapt at ten tion. Other im por tant dig ni tar ies like Shanjeet Teeluck and Sri Manesh Maharaj. H.H. Sri Swami Vimokshanandaji Maharaj, Alongside this, Gurudev’s devo tees from var- Presi dent of Ramakrishna Centre of South i ous DLS Branches of South Africa with their Africa, Durban, Honour able Sri H.V. Shringla, youth wings presented de light ful perfor - I.F.S, Consul General of India in Durban, mances. H. E. Prince M.G. Buthelezi, M.P and Hon. The Vice-Chairman expressed su preme Dep uty Mayor (Ethekwini Mu nic i pal ity) and sat is fac tion and thank ful ness to Head quar- Councilor Mr. Logie Naidoo spoke about the ters Ashram for deput ing Sri Swami noble work to serve the poor and needy peo- Yogaswarupanandaji who brought spiri tual ple in the form of selfless ser vice rendered by harmony and divine presence not only of Di vine Life So ci ety un der per sonal guid ance Gurudev but also of Pujya Sri Swami of H.H. Sri Swami Sahajanandaji Maharaj as Sahajanandaji Maharaj during each and ev- per the teachings of his Gurudev, Sri Swami ery min ute of these three days Dia mond Jubi - Sivanandaji Maharaj, for the past sixty years. lee cel ebra tions. Sri Swami Yogaswarupa- There was march-past by all DLS nandaji left for Europe on 8th June, 2009 af - Branches of South Africa with their Branch ter of fering prayers at ‘Sahaja Kutir’ along banners and sing ing of Gurudev’s songs, with some of the Rishikumars and members Maha Mantra and divine songs in the open of Board of Manage ment. Audi torium. Small chil dren from 4 to 10 years In response to the kind in vit ation of Mas- of age dressed in the form of great incar na- ter Jorge Veiga e Castro, Founder-Presi dent tions of God, saints and sages of dif ferent re- of Yoga –Associacao Lusa do li gions to sig nify the teaching of Gurudev that Yoga, Yoga Lusa Fed er a tion, Por tu guese 30 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

Yoga Con fed er a tion, Lis bon (Por tu gal), Sri tended by H.E. the Ambas sa dor of India to Swami Yogaswarupanandaji reached Lis bon Portu gal, Shri D.R. Kaarthikeyan, ex-Direc tor on 20th June, 2009. He visited Belem Tower, of CBI, Govt. of India and Direc tor General of Dis cover Mon u ments, Edu ar do VII Park and Na tional Hu man Rights Com mis sion and went to Yoga Samkyha Centre. There, he sat Yoga teach ers. Heads of many Hindu tem- and medi tated with Mr.Jorge Veiga e Castro ples and re li gious or ga ni za tions of In dia at and others for some time. The main programme of “Yoga World’s Day” was orga - Portu gal also at tended. They spoke on the nized on 21st June, 2009 at INATEL sta dium glory of Yoga which alone can bring unity, from 11.30am onwards. They orga nized harmony and univer sal peace. Sri Swami Bhajans, Kirtans and Yogasanas demon stra - Yogaswarupanandaji spoke about Yoga of tion. Synthe sis of Swami Sivananda, besides Yoga Samkhya As so ci a tion in vited spir i - chant ing the Shanti Mantra and Univer sal tual, cul tural, re li gious and po lit i cal dig ni tar- Prayer of Gurudev. Finally , Swamiji took ies of In dia to attend “World’s Yoga Day” leave from the orga niz ers and proceeded to programme on 21st June, 2009. It was at- Amster dam, from where he returned to India. AN ANNOUNCEMENT 3RD STATE LEVEL CONFERENCE-CHHATTISGARH AND SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATION OF DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY, NANDINI NAGAR BRANCH, 12TH TO 14TH DECEMBER, 2009 By the grace of Most Worship ful H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, the Divine Life Soci ety Branches of Chhattisgarh are cel ebrat ing the 3rd State Level Con fer ence and the Sil ver Ju bi lee of Divine Life Soci ety, Nandini Nagar Branch, from 12th to 14th Decem ber , 2009. Senior Swamijis from the Divine Life Soci ety Headquar ters will be partic i pating and guid ing the Sadhaks. All devo tees are cordially invited to partic i pate in the Confer ence. For en rol ment and in for ma tion please con tact: 1. Sri K.S. Thakur, Presi dent, The Divine Life Soci ety Branch, Nandini Nagar - 490 036, Dist. Durg, Chattishgarh Tel: 09300544907 2. Sri Swami Vishuddhanandaji Tel: 09406093744 3. Sri Swami Sivadasanandaji Tel: 09424284349 4. Sri Pankaj Chowbey Tel: 07712425095 5. Sri K.L. Bareth Tel: 09425567941 —The Divine Life Soci ety AUGUST 2009 NEWS AND REPORTS 31

DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY, SOUTH AFRICA (1949—2009) The Sivananda Di a mond Ju bi lee Con- in struc tive discourses on health matters and ference of Divine Life Soci ety of South Africa domes tic har mony based on the teachings of was held during 5-7 June, 2009. On Friday , 5 Sri Swami Sivananda and Sri Swami June, the mo men tous oc ca sion be gan at Sahajananda. A youth forum session con - Reser voir Hills with Havan. Ganga Arati pre- ducted by DLS youth dis cussed press ing is - ceded the evening Satsanga, attended by sues re lating to lead ing a spir i tual life in about 1400 devo tees. On this special oc ca - modern times and highlighted guide lines sion, the newly built Sahajananda Dia mond given by Pujya Swamiji. The one spir i tual Ju bi lee Centre was of ficially opened by the theme that ran throughout the confer ence Chief Guest of Honour , H.H. Sri Swami was the repe ti tion of the Divine Name and its Yogaswarupananda, Vice-Presi dent of the poten cies for cur ing all al i ments and af flic - Divine Life Soci ety, Rishikesh, In dia. The So- tions, bringing one peace and tak ing one to ci ety’s lat est pub li ca tion, “Prac tice of Karma God. Yoga”, which was the first book Sri Swami Cul tural items fea tur ing re nowned art- Sahajananda read in 1948 (thus meeting his ists Karthiegasen Pillay, Mahendri Pillay, Master Sri Swami Sivananda and mark ing Tansen Nepaul, and Shanjeet Teeluck de - the start of Divine Life Soci ety of South Af- rica) was of ficially released by Sri Swami lighted devo tees across the board. Expert Yogaswarupananda. Sri Swami Sarada- dance per formances by highly-ac claimed prabhananda, Vice-Presi dent of the Manesh Maharaj, Shivohum School of Dance Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and (Gauteng) and Sivananda Dance Academy Pravrajika Ishtaprana of the Sarada Devi had the audi ence en thralled. The highlight of Ashram also graced the auspi cious oc ca - the con ference was the enact ment of the sion. play, “Learn to Type and to Make Tea”, which depicted Pujya Swami Sahajanada’s life just The cel e bra tions con tin ued for the next before meeting the Divine Master , Sri Swami two days at Sivananda Inter na tional Cultural Sivananda, up to the time that he met the Centre (SICC), Sivananda Nagar, La Mercy. Mas ter and there af ter re ceived ini ti a tion from Over 5800 dev otees attended the three day him. Addresses were presented by Sri H.V. cel e bra tions, with del e gates rep re sent ing provinces from all over the country . Over the Sringla, Consul-Gen eral of India, Prince M.G. three days, soul-inspir ing ad dresses, in clud - Buthelezi and Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo at ing the spir i tually charged morning Sadhana the Sivananda Stadium. Highlight s were a ses sions with guided medi tation, were pre- mass gym nas tic drill dis play set to devo tional sented by Swami Yogaswarupananda, music and a Chil dren’s Float, bearing the Swami Vimokshananda and Swami very young devo tees who recited se lected Saradaprabhananda (Pres i dent and verses from the writings of Swami Vice-Presi dents of the Ramakrishna Centre Sahajananda, who spearheaded the work of of S.A., respec tively). Father Michealson, a the Soci ety for 58 years be fore he left his Je suit monk, who had a long standing as so ci - body in Decem ber 2007. ation with Pujya Swami Sahajanada also de- The fif teen Branches of the Soci ety and livered an address. In addi tion, there were the Youth presented excel lent cul tural items 32 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009 in clud ing hi lar i ous plays, mu si cal items, i tation of the Sri Hanu man Chalisa and Gan- dances and an in forma tive youth forum. ga Arati lifted all atten dees to great spiri tual About 1500 devo tees be long ing to the vari - heights. ous branches of Di vine Life Soci ety of South Africa took part in a his toric march-past, a lap The me tic u lous or gani sa tion that went of honour around the stadium to pay homage into this mammoth function is a trib ute to the and grati tude to Sri Swami Sivananda and Sri lead ership of Sri Swami Sahajananda. The Swami Sahajanada. Soci ety expresses its deep grati tude to our Almost all who attended the Confer ence Divine Master Sri Swami Sivananda and Sri felt that it was the best they had at tended as it Swami Sahajananda as well as the hun dreds was not only aca demic and cultural but spiri - of donors and volun teers who rendered self - tual as well. The morning medi tation, mass less ser vice to make the Confer ence an over- Likhit Japa, chanting of the Divine Name, rec- whelm ing suc cess.

REPORTS FROM THE D.L.S. BRANCHES

INLAND BRANCHES ganised a 5-day cere mony of Chidananda Ashram Pratishtha Mahotsava from April 27 Ambala (Haryana): During the month of to May 1 with Nama Yajna, Anna Yajna, June 2009, the Branch held daily Satsanga, Jnana Yajna, Ghrita Yajna and Bhoota Yajna. daily Yogasana Class for women, and the Many dev otees from the surround ing villages monthly video Satsanga. Ho me op a thy Seva partic i pated. Food was served to 5000 partic - through two dis pen sa ries was con tin ued. i pants daily. The Ashram was inau gu rated by Aska (Orissa): The Branch conducted Revered Swami Sivananda Guruseva- weekly Satsanga at the Ashram on Sundays, nandaji. Daily morning Yogasana class and and mobile Satsanga at the resi dence of the dis courses in the evening were the addi tional devo tees on Thurs days. It orga nized with the fea tures. kind help of pro fes sors of Berhampur Medi cal Bangalore, Taskar Town (Karnataka): College a free medi cal camp in April and an- The Branch held H.H. Swami Chidananda other for dia betic check-up in June. It dis trib- Me mo rial Talks on 6th June. The Gover nor uted utensils and cloth ing to the inhab it ants had agreed to inau gu rate the function, but as of a leprosy colony on the Shodashi day of a he had to go to New Delhi, Ganakala Sannyasini Mataji. Bhushan (Music King) Sri R.K. Padma- Badakuanl (Orissa): The daily morning nabhaji in augu rated the function. He not only Puja of the Branch was followed by rendered beauti ful Bhajans that moved the Bhagavadgita rec i tation, and the evening audi ence into the mood of ecst asy, but he Puja by Sri Vishnu-sahasranama Parayana also gave a talk on Gurudev Swami and dis courses on Srimad Bhagavatam. It Sivanandaji Maharaj and H.H. Sri Swami had Paduka Puja in the morning and Chidanandaji Maharaj. Sri Omanandaji, Sri Satsanga in the evening. On Sivananda Day V.L. Nagarajji, Sri B.N. Raoji, Swami spe cial Paduka Puja was performed. Aparokshananda Mataji, Sri Sivananda Badhiausta (Orissa): The Branch or- Sahuji and Sri Bansi Prasadji also spoke AUGUST 2009 NEWS AND REPORTS 33 about their mem o ries and ex pe ri ences about ters of Bhagavadgita was also done. It held Swamiji Maharaj. Two books—‘Ponder the 346th monthly Sadhana Day on Maha These Truths’, and ‘Teach ings of Swamis Vishub Sankranti with 108 Avartana (repe ti - Sivananda and Swami Chidananda’—in tion of Sri Hanu man Chalisa, Havan and Kannada were released. The 4-hour long Prasad Sevan by 300 partic i pants. During the programme con cluded with Maha Arati and Vasanta Navaratri, 100 devo tees joined the Prasad. 9-day Parayana of Sri Ramayana for five The Branch conducted the weekly hours daily. On Sri Rama Navami, spe cial Satsanga on Thurs days and mobile Puja, Havan and Prasad Sevan were ar- Satsanga on Mondays. Swami Sivananda ranged. Char i ta ble Homoeopathy Dis pen sary treated Bhilai (Chhattisgarh): The Branch more than 400 patient s every month. con ducted Matri Satsanga with reci tation of Baripada (Orissa): The Branch con- Sri Hanu man Chalisa and Bhajan-kirtan on ducted Paduka Puja on Sundays and the Tues days, Sri Lalita-sahasranama Stotra monthly Sadhana Day on the first Sunday ev- Parayana on Fridays, and reci tation of ery month. Besides the reg ular ac tivity of dis- Srimad Bhagavadgita and of Sri Vishnu-sahasranama Stotram during the two tribut ing free medi cines to 80 patient s in a Ekadasis. The monthly Satsanga with lep rosy colony , it also dis tributed food and Paduka Puja was on 3rd May. cloth ing to its 53 in habit ants on 22nd June. Bikaner (Rajasthan): The Branch con- Bellary (Karnataka): The Branch had ducted daily 2-time Puja, weekly Satsanga daily Puja and on Sundays weekly Satsanga on Sundays, Paduka Puja on Sivananda Day and Paduka Puja. A spe cial Satsanga was and Havan on Chidananda Day. Matri- held on H.H. Sri Swami Devanandaji Satsanga with Sri Sundarakanda Parayana Maharaj’s birth an ni ver sary on 19th June. and Svadhyaya was on 9th and 27th June. Berhampur (Orissa): Reg u lar Ac tiv i- An ISCON group from Mumbai presented ties: weekly Satsanga on Sundays, mobile Bhajan-kirtan and dis courses for three days Satsanga on Satur days; Paduka Puja on from June 28th to 30th. A spe cial Kirtan Thursdays, Sivananda Day and Chidananda programme was also arranged. Special Puja Day; reci tation of Srimad Bhagavadgita on was performed for 9 days from June 23rd to each Ekadasi; Sri Sundarakanda Parayana July 1st. Social ser vice was contin ued on Sankranti day; and monthly Sadhana Day through Yogasana-Pranayama-med i ta tion on third Sunday. class, Sivananda Library and scholar ship s to Spe cial Ac tiv i ties: Sri Rama Navami de serv ing stu dents. Mahotsava: daily Parayana of Sri Ramayana Chandigarh: The weekly Satsanga on for 9 days by 50 devo tees; daily evening dis - Sunday included Svadhyaya of ‘Sadhana’ courses, con clud ing Havan. and ‘A Call to Liber a tion’. Free food was Bhanjanagar (Orissa): The weekly served to about 300 persons af ter the Satsanga on Sundays included Svadhyaya Satsanga. Daily Yogasana class was con tin- of ‘Ponder These Truths’ also. In the spe cial ued. The Branch organ ised a free medi cal Satsanga on Ekadasis, rec i tation of Sri camp on 21st June. Vishnu-sahasranama Stotram and two chap - The Branch cele brated 30th an ni ver sary 34 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009 of its Foun dation Day on 8th June. The Gumergunda (Chhattisgarh): The programmes in cluded Paduka Puja, a dis - daily schedule of 3-time Puja, early morning course on ‘The Impor t ance of Guru’, talks by prayer-med i ta tion, morn ing Yogasana ses - dev o tees about their ex pe ri ences, sion, and 2-hour evening Satsanga was con - Bhajan-kirtan and Preeti Bhoj. Cold milk and tinued. In addi tion, the Branch conducted sweet pack ets were distrib uted during Lord Paduka Puja on Thursdays, and reci tation of Jagannath Rath Yatra proces sion. 12-hour Sri Sundarakanda on Satur days, and some Akhanda Kirtan of Mahamantra was done on other hymns on other days. It also orga nized June 24-25. Rath Yatra proces sion in the Ashram pre- Chatrapur (Orissa): In addi tion to the mises and performed special Puja. daily Satsanga the Branch held weekly Jaipur, Raja Park (Rajasthan): The Satsanga on Thurs days and also two special Branch con tin ued its fol low ing reg u lar ac tiv i- Satsangas. Sri Sundarakanda Parayana was ties: (1) Daily morning dis courses on Sri Devi done on the Sankranti day and in a special Bhagavatam. (2) In the evening, Sri mobile Satsanga on 27th May. Paduka Puja Sundarakanda Parayana on all Satur days was performed on Sivananda Day and and also on 2nd June, col lec tive Japa of Chidananda Day. Mahamrityunjaya Mantra on Thursdays, and Chennai, Annanagar (Tamil Nadu): Satsanga on other four week days. (3) The The Branch cele brated Sri Adi weekly Satsanga on Sundays with Havan Sankaracharya Jayanti with a special and Svadhyaya of Gurudev’s books. (4) programme which in cluded a talk by Sri Matri-Satsanga on Mondays. (5) Swami Surya-chandrananda on ‘Adi Sankara and Sivananda Char i ta ble Homoeopathy Dis pen- his Advaita Philos ophy ,’ and ‘Swami sary—treated 737 patient s in June. (6) Daily Sivanandaji’s Guidelines for Realisa tion’, Yogasana class. (7) Mone t ary aid of Rs. 150/- talks on ‘The Vi sion and Mission of per month to 26 desti tute widows. (8) Daily Sivananda’ by senior devo tees, etc. poor feeding. (9) Dry rations to the in habit - ants of a lep rosy colony—90 kg food-grains, Faridpur (U.P.): The Branch held the 15 kg Sugar, 2 kg cook ing oil, 1 kg tea, etc. weekly Satsanga on Wednes days. It orga - (10) Scholar ship s to 80 stu dents. (11) Swami nized dis tribu tion of Sharbat (Sweetened wa- Sivananda Spir i tual Li brary. ter) on Nirjala Ekadasi, and from 4th June onwards cold water at the Railway station Jeypore (Orissa): The Branch con- and other public places. ducted daily 2-time Puja, weekly Satsanga on Sundays and mobile Satsanga on Thurs - Ghatpadamur (Chhattisgarh): The days. Sivananda Day programme included Branch conducted the daily early morning Havan, Svadhyaya, Puja and Prasad Sevan. prayer-med i ta tion-rec i ta tion fol lowed by Yogasana class, and in the eve ning 30-min- Kakinada, Madhavapatnam (A.P.): utes Sankirtan followed by daily Satsanga, The newly opened Branch held reg ularly and in ad di tion, Paduka Puja on Thursdays, 2-hour Satsanga on Sundays, and orga nized rec i tation of Sri Sundarakanda on Satur days medi cal camps on the first and third Sundays. and of Sri Vishnu-sahasranama Stotram on Khedbrahma (Gujarat): The monthly Sundays. It also arranged one hour Sankirtan Satsanga of the Branch was on 21st June, on Rath Yatra day. the third Sunday of the month. A spir i tual talk AUGUST 2009 NEWS AND REPORTS 35 and dis tribu tion of Jnana Prasad were its sa - Ramacharit Manas Navahna Parayana and lient features. dis courses from May 15 to 23. Nandini Nagar (Chhattisgarh): In ad- Raipur (Chhattisgarh): The Branch di tion to the daily activ ity of Brahmamuhurta held weekly Satsanga on Sundays, and spe- ses sion of prayer and reci tation of Sri cial Puja in the morning and Sri Vishnu-sahasranama Stotram and other Vishnu-sahasranama Parayana in the eve- Stotras and evening Satsanga, the Branch ning on Ekadasis. 1000 devo tees took arranged mobile Satsanga on Thurs days, Prasad in a Bhandara on 31st May. Matri-Satsanga with Sri Sundarakanda Rourkela, Fer til izer Town ship Parayana on Sat ur days, and rec i ta tion of (Orissa): The Branch conducted Satsanga Srimad Bhagavadgita and Sri Vishnu- on Thursdays, Satur days and Sundays. sahasranama Stotram during the two Salipur (Orissa): The daily activ i ties of Ekadasis. The monthly 6-hour Akhanda the Branch were 2-time Puja, early morning Mahamantra Kirtan on 3rd every month was prayer-med i ta tion, morn ing ses sion of rec i ta - an other im por tant ac tiv ity. On the an ni ver- tion in clud ing that of Sri Vishnu- sary of Gurudev’s Sannyasa Diksha, it orga - sahasranama Stotram followed by one hour nized a 3-day spiri tual camp for youth on May Kirtan and one hour Japa, and in the evening 30-31 and June 1 with 50 youth partic i pating. one hour study class, Svadhyaya of New Delhi, Vasant Vihar: The weekly ‘Sadhana’ and Satsanga. The weekly Satsanga in cluded Sri Sundarakanda Satsanga was on Sundays. The monthly ac - Parayana on the first Sunday, Svadhyaya of tivi ties of Sri Sundarakanda Parayana on 2nd Gurudev’s writings on the third, medi tation on May and 6th June (the first Satur day) and the sec ond and fifth, and dis courses by saints Srimad Bhagavadgita Parayana on the next on the fourth Sunday. day, Sivananda Day with Paduka Puja, ‘Om Nimapara (Orissa): The Branch con- Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya’ Mantra Japa for one hour and a special Satsanga, and the ducted daily Mahamantra Kirtan and Srimad monthly Sadhana Day on 17th May and 21st Bhagavat Path, Paduka Puja in the morning, June (third Sunday), 12-hour Mahamantra weekly evening Satsanga and four mobile Akhanda Kirtan on 30th May and 25 June Satsangas. Sri Hanu man Jayanti programme were con tin ued. Spe cial ac tiv i ties were: (1) in cluded Paduka Puja, 108 Avartana (repe ti - Anni versary of Gurudev’s Sannyasa Diksha: tion) of Sri Hanu man Chalisa, Bhajan-kirtan Paduka Puja and one hour Mantra Japa in and Prasad Sevan. the morning, and a spe cial Satsanga with a Patna (Bihar): The Branch contin ued its talk on ‘Glory of Sannyasa’ in the evening. (2) Sunday Satsanga, and dis tribu tion of food to Sri Hanu man Jayanti: Special Puja, group the poor on Chidananda Day. rec i tation of Sri Hanu man Chalisa 108 times, Phulbani (Orissa): The Branch con- Prasad Sevan. Swami Sivananda Chari table ducted daily Puja, the weekly Satsanga on Hospi tal treated 590 patient s in May-June. Sundays, mobile Satsanga on Thurs days, Sambalpur (Orissa): The Branch con- Paduka Puja on Sivananda Day and ducted daily 3-time Puja, Sunday Satsanga, Chidananda Day, and the monthly Narayana med i ta tion ses sion on Sat ur days and Paduka Seva on 28th May. It orga nized Sri Puja on Sivananda Day and Chidananda 36 THE DIVINE LIFE AUGUST 2009

Day, and Srimad Bhagavadgita Parayana on Vadodara (Gujarat): The Branch held Shukla (bright) Ekadasi. Its Homoeopathy Satsanga on Thurs days, and ‘Guided Medi - Dispen sary treated 230 patient s in May. tation’ ses sion on three Sundays. Paduka Narayana Seva was on Mondays. Puja and Mantra Japa were done on South Balanda (Orissa): The Branch Sivananda Day and Chidananda Day. It con- held 2-time Puja, weekly Satsanga on Fri - tinued its so cial ser vice through homoeo - days, special Satsanga on Sivananda Day pathic and Ayurvedic dis pensa ries, and Chidananda Day, and on the Sankranti acu pres sure treat ment and dis tri bu tion of Day Paduka Puja in the morning and 3-hour medi cines to poor patient s. Akhanda Japa of Mahamantra and Prasad Varanasi (U.P.): It had the fortnightly Sevan in the evening. In the monthly Satsanga on June 14 and 28. programme of 3-hour Mahamantra Akhanda Visakhapatnam (A.P.): The Branch Sankirtan and Prasad Seven, 150 dev otees held daily evening Satsanga and Yogasana par tic i pated on 16th May and 130 on 20th class, and on Mondays weekly Satsanga and June. medi cal check-up. On Sundays ‘guided med- Sunabeda (Orissa): The Branch had i ta tion’ was ar ranged. On Ekadasi rec i ta tion bi weekly Satsanga on Sundays and Thurs- of three chapters of Bhagavadgita is done. days, Sadhana Day on 31st May and a spe- On the birth anni versary of H.H. Sri Swami cial Satsanga on Sri Narasimha Jayanti. Devanandaji Maharaj a spe cial Satsanga Sunabeda, Ladies Branch (Orissa): with Paduka Puja was orga nized. The Branch conducted the morning Puja fol- lowed by Srimad Bhagavata Path and Mantra OVERSEAS BRANCHES Japa, and in the evening one hour Hong Kong (China): The monthly Mahamantra Sankirtan followed by reci tation Satsanga on the sec ond Sat urday included and prayers. It held Satsanga on Wednes - one hour Japa of Mahamrityunjaya man tra days and Satur days, and Satsanga for chil - and a talk on Gurudev’s writ ings (48 partic i - dren on Sundays. Paduka Puja and Sri pants). Mahamantra Japa was done for one Vishnu-sahasranama Stotra Parayana were hour on the re maining Sat urdays. There were done on Ekadasis. On Swami Chidanandaji 172 new partic i pants in March and 246 in Maharaj’s Punyatithi day, Akhanda April in reg u lar Yogasana classes, 19 in ad - Mahamantra Japa was done for 12-hours on vanced class and 19 in Yoga Work shop. Live 28th May and rec i tation of Sri Hanu man demon stra tion of Yogasanas was organ ised Chalisa 100 times on 28th June. at Mongkole Branch on 3rd and 18th March.

If the dust is in the com pany of the wind, it soars high in the sky. If it is in the comp any of water , it be comes a dirty mire. If the air is in the com pany of the jas mine, it wafts a sweet fragrance. If it is in the com pany of of fal, it dis sem inates a foul odour. Like - wise choose the com pany of wise men and be come divine. —Swami Sivananda SEPTEMBER 2009 NEWS AND REPORTS 25

GURUDEV STATUE AT CHENNAI In 1987 a statue of Wor ship ful Padmanabhan, Cam pus Direc tor of the Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj Univer sity, and the sup port of the var ious was inst alled at Ma rina Beach near the de part ments of the Ma dras Uni ver sity, Madras Univer sity campus, Chennai, as Public Work De part ment, etc., a new part of the Cen te nary Programme of 1 statue of Gurudev, 7 2 feet tall, was in- Gurudev. For un known rea sons this stalled at the same site on March 7th, statue was re moved from the site in 2005. 2009 The Divine Life Soci ety Headquar ters in The Divine Life So ciety is very grate - Rishikesh and Sri T. Elumalaiji, Sri Swami Sivananda Sundaranandaji (Chair man) ful to Prof. Ramachandran, Prof. M. and Sri A. Venkatesanji from the DLS Ranganatham, Prof. V.K. Padmanabhan Branch Triplicane took up the mat ter with and all the dev otees of Wor ship ful the Au thor ities of the Univer sity. With the Gurudev who helped to rein st all the kind co op er a tion of Prof. S. statue. We pray to Gurudev to shower His Ramachandran, Vice Chancel lor , Prof. M. abundant bless ings on all of them. Ranganatham, Reg istrar , Prof. V.K. —THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY