ARSHA VIDYA GURUKULAM 34th Anniversary Souvenir September 20, 2020 In Celebration of the 90th Jayanti of Pujya Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati न िह ानने सश ं पिवऽम इ् ह िवते na hi jñānena sadṛśaṁ pavitram iha vidyate “In this word, there is indeed no purifier equivalent to knowledge” (Bhagavad Gītā, 4.38) Anniversary Message Swami Dayananda Saraswati In day-to-day life, you need a lot of grace. .That is the beauty of grace. You have to earn the grace of the guru. It may be easily available, but you have to earn it with śraddhā and bhakti. With śraddhā, in seeking knowledge you go through what is taught again. You need not write it down–keep it in your mind and ruminate over that. That is earning the guru’s grace. When the guru’s grace is there, the words of the śāstra he teaches become real to you. They become a reality. In fact, you become that reality. The guru’s grace will help you cross the distance between understanding and having the words. It is called lakṣya; that lakṣya is accomplished by guru’s grace. May all enjoy guru’s grace, Īśvara’s grace, śāstra’s grace, and one’s own grace. We all live in grace. We live upon grace. May the grace of all the sources of grace be with you all. Page Sponsored by Nalini and Prabhu Dev 3 4 Anniversary Message Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati We are happy that, with the support of the devotees, well-wishers and donors, we are able to celebrate this 34th anniversary of the Gurukulam in spite of the difficulties posed by the pandemic. We are happy to welcome you on this joyous occasion. This year marks the 90th birth anniversary and the 5th Nirvana Jayanti of Pujya Swamiji and it is our privilege to dedicate this souvenir in the memory of the great Mahatma. As the name suggests Pujya Swamiji was an embodiment of Daya or compassion. Swamiji used to say in a lighter tone: There is one thing that I cannot manage, and that is my compassion. Pujya Swamiji had unbound compassion which sometimes became even reckless. And we all received the shower of that compassion in different ways. Pujya Swamiji also used to say: Give the world the best you have and the best will come back to you. We seek Pujya Swamiji’s blessings so that the Gurukulam continues to remain the center of compassionate contribution to the world of spiritual seekers. With best wishes and love, 5 ARSHA VIDYA GURUKULAM cordially invites you to attend our 34th Anniversary Celebration Sunday, September 20, 2020 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ~ PROGRAM ~ ~ Music Concert ~ ~ Anniversary Address ~ ~ Banquet Lunch ~ Pandit Mukesh Desai Swami Tattvavidananda Question-Answer Session “KsamË” (Forgiveness) (after lunch) Swami Tattvavidananda Location: New Lecture Hall (near yoga studio) Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, P.O. Box 1059, Saylorsburg, PA 18353 Phone: 570-992-2339 Ext. 210 /234 /241 | Email: [email protected] | www.arshavidya.org Childcare Provided सवेर् भवन्तु सुिखनः सवेर् सन्तु िनरामयाः sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ sarve santu nirāmayāḥ सवेर् भवन्तु सुिखनः सवेर् सन्तु िनरामयाः May everyone be happy. May everyone be free from disease. sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ sarve santu nirāmayāḥ We invoke the blessing of May everyone be happy. May everyone be free from disease. We invokeĪśvara the blessing of and all Īśvarathe Gurus and all the Gurus for the health and well-being of all. for the health and well-being of all. With gra:tudeWith and gra:tude special and prayers special prayers for all for the all the health health care care workers,workers, first first responders, responders, and essen:al and workers essen:al workers who every daywho put every their day livesput their at livesrisk at to risk keep to keep us ussafe safe and and healthy,healthy, put put food food on our on tables, our and tables, keep ourand keep our infrastructuresinfrastructures running. Werunning. are Wedeeply are deeply indebted indebted to to all all of you. you. 6 Page Sponsored by Krishnakumar and Vijayalakshmi Davey Table of Contents Arsha Vidya Gurukulam 34th Anniversary Souvenir 2020 Arsha Vidya Gurukulam A non-profit institute for the study ...........................................................13 of Vedanta, Sanskrit, Yoga and The Vision of the Ṛṣis – ārṣa-vidyā Vedic Heritage By Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati BOARD OF DIRECTORS Seva-Bhāva ..................................................................................................19 AND OFFICERS: Swami Dayananda Saraswati By Swami Vititatmananda Saraswati Founder Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati President One Gītā Śloka to Live One’s Entire Life ................................................23 Swami Tattvavidananda Saraswati By Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati Vice President Swami Pratyagbodhananda Saraswati Vice President Swami Jnanananda Saraswati Kāruṇyāt, From Compassion ....................................................................33 Secretary By Swami Pratyagbodhananda Saraswati Dr. Carol Whitfield Assistant Secretary; Piyush Shah .................................35 Treasurer Tribute to Pujya Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati MEMBERS: Dr. N. Balasubramaniam Dr. Pramod Deshmukh Note on Compassion ...................................................................................49 Dr. Kamlesh Gosai By Swami Tattvavidananda Saraswati Dr. Sheila Gujrathi Dr. Arun Puranik Raghu Rao Compassion and Meaningful Living .........................................................51 K.K. Davey By Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: Dr. Soma Avva ..................................................................................................55 Dr. Ravindra Bathina Self Inquiry Dr. Mahesh Desai By Swami Swami Tattvavidananda Saraswati Dr. T. A. Gopal Dr. Urmila Gujrathi Dr. Haren Joshi Sevā is Caring ..............................................................................................63 Vijay Kapoor By Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati Dr. Prem Khilnani Sharad Pimplaskar Dr. V. Prathikanti Dr. Bhagabat Sahu Rakesh Sharma Bhagubhai Tailor Front cover sponsored by: Chandramohan and Suma Haranhalli On the occasion of the 34th Anniversary, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam thanks its Board of Directors and Board Members for their continued support. 7 Page Sponsored by Mark Evans Our 2,300 villages 20 million reached across 16 states lives touched in rural Impact in rural India since 2000 India 9,000 students Transforming per year 5 million 150,000 rural India, meals patients treated served per year in one child at per year rural India a time. Join the Movement “We need your help to help those who need our help.” Swami Dayananda Saraswati PRESENTS Sponsor a Child’s Complete Care Bhāvaye Paramātmānam (boarding, education, after-school support & value education expenses) MANIFESTATION OF THE DIVINE 1 Year Sponsor $500 College Expenses for Scholarship a Chatralaya Funding 2020 Donor Appreciation Livestream Concert! 1 Year Build 3 Years $15,000 and Dedicate $1,500 Saturday, November 7, 2020 a Chatralaya or School Wing to Honor a 8 p.m. EST | 7 p.m. CST | 5 p.m. PST Loved One Support Build a $110,000 Hospital CULTURAL EXTRAVAGANZA BY PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS FROM INDIA Computer Lab Operating for a School Expenses Pantula Rama | Shankar Mahadevan | Bombay Jayashri Ramnath | Jayateerth Mevundi $5,000 Sponsor 1 Day Debashree Bhattacharya | Alarmél Valli | Sharmila Biswas a Child’s $2,500 Complete Care (boarding, education, after-school support & value education expenses) 7 Years $3,500 Highest rating awarded to AIM for Seva for the fourth www.aimforsevausa.org | [email protected] consecutive year. DP Pediatrics, LLC in Totowa, NJ – call 973-904-1000 – new patients are welcome (by appointment only) Nidhi Holdings, LLC – call 973-228-2858 – for real estate inquiries in New Jersey DESH-Consult – call 973-464-2734 – for book publication, moviemaking and similar help Registration required at www.aimforsevausa.org 8 PRESENTS Bhāvaye Paramātmānam MANIFESTATION OF THE DIVINE 2020 Donor Appreciation Livestream Concert! Saturday, November 7, 2020 8 p.m. EST | 7 p.m. CST | 5 p.m. PST CULTURAL EXTRAVAGANZA BY PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS FROM INDIA Pantula Rama | Shankar Mahadevan | Bombay Jayashri Ramnath | Jayateerth Mevundi Debashree Bhattacharya | Alarmél Valli | Sharmila Biswas Registration required at www.aimforsevausa.org 9 Once you understand śāstra is a pramāṇa, you look into it differently. You find that it is a mirror, in which you find yourself. Page sponsored by Indu & Krishnan 10 ON ITS THIRTY FOURTH ANNIVERSARY 11 wg w Thank You We gratefully acknowledge the advertisers, page sponsors and general donors whose generosity made the publication of the ArshaArsha Vidya Vidya Gurukulam Gurukulam 29th 27th Anniversary anniversary souvenir possible. g ÄÆÙ„ ¢Í,láÊoÄÎ6ÞßÎ Ê}ÏÄÞHÎÈ£ •ŸÛ˜œ• tadahaÑ bhaktyupahÎtam aÚnËmi prayatËtmanaÒ || I receive that offering which is imbued with devotion of the person whose mind is pure. Bhagavad GÌtË 9.26 With deep appreciation to all those, visible and behind the scenes, who give generously of their time, skills, resources, and most of all, loving care to keep the gurukulam healthy and growing. Like any good family, this guru-kulam thrives because each and every family member is doing his or her best to w h contribute. We all have reason to be thankful for the results of w h our combined efforts. g 4 Thank You We gratefully acknowledge the advertisers, page sponsors and general donors whose generosity made the publication of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam 34th Anniversary souvenir possible. 12 The Vision of the Ṛṣis – ārṣa-vidyā Pūjya Swami Dayananda Saraswati The Sanskrit word “ārṣa” means that which comes from the not fulfilled you are happy. But one doesn’t generally feel like ṛṣi. Ṛṣi is one who knows, or sees, so a ṛṣi is a Seer. Seer of this. A desirer in the beginning is a desirer in the middle and what? He is a seer of what is, of things that others don’t see. continues to be a desirer at the end. As a child you were a desirer, Vidyā means knowledge, that which is opposed to error and and when you reach ninety you are still a desirer. That you are a ignorance. Thus, ārṣa-vidyā means knowledge of the ṛṣis. We desirer is a reality. If this reality is true, then you have no chance have a body of knowledge coming down from generation to of finding fulfillment in your life.