th 1 104 Price: ` 15 YEAR OF PUBLICATION The Vedanta Kesari THE LION OF VEDANTA A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of the Ramakrishna Order since 1914 Ramakrishna Math, Antpur, West Bengal February 2017 The V edanta K esari 2 FEBRUARY 2017 2 Shivaratri in Belur Math Editor: SWAMI MAHAMEDHANANDA Managing Editor: SWAMI GAUTAMANANDA Printed and published by Swami Vimurtananda on behalf of Sri Ramakrishna Math Trust from No.31, Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, Chennai - 4 and Printed at Sri Ramakrishna Printing Press, No.31 Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, Chennai - 4. Ph: 044 - 24621110 3 The Vedanta Kesari 104th YEAR OF PUBLICATION VOL. 104, No. 2 FEBRUARY 2017 ISSN 0042-2983 A CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL MONTHLY OF THE RAMAKRISHNA ORDER Started at the instance of Swami Vivekananda in 1895 as Brahmavâdin, it assumed the name The Vedanta Kesari in 1914. For free edition on the Web, please visit: www.chennaimath.org CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2017 Hastamalakiyam 38 Editorial Inner Demonetization 39 Articles With Swami Brahmananda 44 Swami Tejasananda Sri Ramakrishna in the light of Swami Abhedananda’s Letters 48 Swami Suvirananda Sri Ramakrishna and Hiranand Shaukiram: Interface of Bengali and Sindhi Culture 51 Tapan Kumar Ghosh Healing the Hills 56 Swami Dhyanasthananda Universal Hindu Temple 61 Swami Tattwamayananda Swamiji’s Nine Days at Castle Kernan 66 Monastic Sojourner Reminiscences Reminiscences of Sargachhi 41 Swami Suhitananda Our Heritage ~ Our Heroes 46 Annual Report Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission Synopsis of the Governing Body Report for 2015-16 72 The Order on the March 74 Book Reviews 78 Cover Story: Page 5 The V edanta K esari 4 FEBRUARY 2017 The Vedanta Kesari Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004 h (044) 2462 1110 (4 lines) Website : www.chennaimath.org For all authors and contributors : [email protected] For all subscription related enquiries: [email protected] TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS The Vedanta Kesari New Subscription Rates (effective from Jan 2017 issue onwards) Increase in production cost and supporting infrastructure has forced us to increase the price of the magazine by ` 5/-. From the January 2017 issue the price of each copy is ` 15/-. Annual subscription is for 11 months of regular magazine and a Special Issue in December. We have also introduced a separate slab for the benefit of our readers in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. We hope this will help more subscribers in these countries to read The Vedanta Kesari. The new subscription rates are as given below: Rates are Inclusive of Postage & Annual Special Issue Annual 3 Years 5 Years PATRON (10 Years) India ` 175 ` 500 ` 900 ` 2300 Nepal / Sri Lanka ` 1200 ` 3500 — — Bangladesh Other Countries ` 2700 ` 8000 — — Patron Scheme is valid only in India. Patron's name will be announced in the magazine. Please send your subscription to The Manager, The Vedanta Kesari by DD/MO drawn in favour of ‘Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai.’ Payments can be made Online using your Master or Visa Cards. Please visit our Website: www.chennaimath.org Name of the Account: Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai Bank Code No: 600027009 Name of the Bank: United Bank of India IFSC: UTBI0SRM842 {here ‘0’ is zero} Name of the Branch: R.K. Math Road, Chennai - 04 (SWIFT Code: UTBIINBBMBS of UBI) Account Number: 1511010100001 Upon money transfer, inform through email: [email protected]; [email protected] You can subscribe to The Vedanta Kesari one month (for overseas subscriptions, two from any month. months) of posting of the journal are not On your address slip, the number on the entertained. left of the first line is your subscription To ensure continuity, please renew your number. Always mention this in your subscription well in advance. correspondence. For fresh subscriptions, renewals, placing If you do not receive your copy by the advertisements in The Vedanta Kesari, 2nd week of a month, please intimate us. please write to The Manager, The Vedanta Complaints reaching us before this or after Kesari Office. The V edanta K esari 5 FEBRUARY 2017 Vedanta Kesari Permanent Fund Help us to make this magazine self-supporting The Vedanta Kesari is one of the oldest cultural and spiritual magazines in the country started under the guidance of Swami Vivekananda. All through these 103 years, every month, the magazine has been carrying the invigorating message of Vedanta with articles on spirituality, culture, philosophy, youth and personality development, holistic living, family values, science and corporate values. Over the years the production and publication costs have increased manifold, putting a heavy strain on our finances. A non- commercial magazine like this can continue its good work only with the generous financial support and active assistance of well-wishers. We request our readers to help in making this magazine self-supporting. Please send your donations to the Vedanta Kesari Permanent Fund by Cheque/ DD/MO/addressed to ‘Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, VKPF’ along with a covering note stating that the contribution is towards the Vedanta Kesari Permanent Fund. For Online donations using your Master or Visa Cards please visit our Website: www.chennaimath.org. Names of donors contributing more than Rs.2,500/- or $50 will be published in the magazine. All donations to Sri Ramakrishna Math are exempt from Income Tax under section 80G of the [Indian] I.T.Act, 1961. N Cover Story N Ramakrisna Math, Antpur, West Bengal The Ramakrishna Math temple at Antpur is built on the birth- place of Swami Premananda, one of the direct-disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. The activities of the Math are centred around the ancestral house of Premanandaji. Around 50 kms away from Belur Math, the place is sanctified by the stay of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and the direct-disciples. Sri Ramakrishna too had visited the village as a teenager. After the mahasamadhi of Sri Ramakrishna, the young disciples visited Antpur in Dec 1886 and while staying there, inspired by Swamiji’s burning words of renunciation, they took the solemn oath of renouncing the world and living as a brotherhood. The V edanta K esari 6 FEBRUARY 2017 Vedanta Kesari Sponsors can mention the libraries in India which Library Fund Scheme they wish to enroll, or The Vedanta Kesari will select the Do you feel that India’s timeless heritage libraries on their behalf. The of spirituality, values and culture needs to name of the sponsors, along reach a wider section of youth? with the libraries enrolled, will be published in The Come, join us Vedanta Kesari. in spreading Sponsorship for one the message of library is Rs.2000/- Vedanta and of Donors can sponsor libraries You can send your Ramakrishna- in high schools, colleges / sponsorship by Cheque Vivekananda universities and institutions / DD in favour of ‘Sri of learning in India, including Ramakrishna Math, public libraries, which would Chennai VKLF’ with a receive The Vedanta Kesari covering note / e-mail to The for ten years. Manager, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai - 04. For Online donations using your Master or Visa Cards please visit our Website: www. chennaimath.org DONORS PATRONS Rev. Swami Gautamanandaji Maharaj, Chennai Rs.100000 736. Ms V. Subramaniam, Chennai Mr. Ketheeswararajah C, Australia Rs. 20750 737. Mr. Gaurang H.Kalkoria, Nagpur Mr. Satyanarayana K, Hyderabad Rs. 10000 738. Mr. Matha Ramalingam, Coimbatore MS. Renganayaki V, Chidambaram Rs. 2000 739. MS.Vama, Nagpur ER. Purna Chandra Patnaik, Odisha Rs. 1500 Mr. Venu Rs. 1300 The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme SL.NO. NAMES OF SPONSORS AWARDEE INSTITUTIONS 6175. IIMM, Chattisgarh Reg. Inst. of Education, Mysor, Karntaka - 570 006 6176. -do- Saradavilas Teachers College, Mysore, Karnataka - 570 004 6177. -do- City Central Library, Mysore, Karnataka - 570 001 6178. -do- National Law Institute University, Bhopal, M.P. - 462 003 6179. -do- Jiwaji University, Gwalior, M.P. - 474 011 6180. -do- Sir M. Visvesvaraya Inst. of Technology, Bangalore, Karnataka - 562 157 6181. -do- To be continued . 7 Hastamalakiyam In the introduction to his commentary on Hastamalaka’s 12 verses, Acharya Sankara says: All the creatures in this world wish to experience only happiness. But, worldly happiness born out of the contact between the senses and the objects has two defects: 1) it is always attended with unavoidable misery, and 2) it is not eternal. Some rare virtuous people comprehend this fact and regard worldly happiness as misery itself. So they develop dispassion and try to come out of the cycle of repeated birth and death which is caused by the ignorance of the Self. Therefore, Hastamalaka teaches the Knowledge of the Self. The first verse is as follows: nimittaṃ manaścakṣurādi pravṛttau nirastākhilopādhirākāśakalpaḥ | ravirloka ceṣṭānimittaṃ yathā yaḥ sa nityopalabdhisvarūpo'hamātmā || 1 ‘I am the Atman, who is eternal and is of the nature of Knowledge-Absolute, who is the impartial cause for the actions of mind, eye etc. just as how the sun is the impartial cause of the actions in the world, and who is like the space devoid of any limitations.’ Nature and all the living beings in the world work by the power of the resplendent sun. But the sun is not the direct cause of their functioning, and is not affected by their right or wrong actions. It is only an impartial cause of their actions. Similarly, the Atman is the impartial cause of the four faculties of the mind, the five sense organs, and the five organs of action. It is not affected by their actions and remains unconditioned by them just as space remains undivided though present inside and outside a room. B B ‘The world consists of the illusory duality of knowledge and ignorance. It contains knowledge and devotion, and also attachment to 'Woman and gold’; righteousness and unrighteousness; good and evil. But Brahman is unattached to these.