Chinmaya-Tej

Chinmaya mission san Jose PubliCaTion

may/June 2012Vol. 23, No.3

MiSSion StateMent

To provide to individuals, from any background, the wisdom of Vedanta and practical means for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become a positive contributor to the society.

Chinmaya Lahari

Palace of Truth

A poor man might mistake that he has seen all that is to be seen by merely gaining an entrance up to the open portico of a palace. By standing at the outer door of the portico he has seen nothing of the glory of the palace. He has to enter in and walk round and visit the innermost chambers of the palace, then only he can have thorough “ideas” of the luxurious magnificence of the palace prabhav. Likewise do not run away with an idea that you have known the Self by what has been so far heard. Walk in! Roam within! Watch, look, observe and live in the palace atmosphere. Enquire more and more into the conditions, nature and the lay-out of that voiceless palace of Truth, the Atman. Gain through the use of intuition and intimate personal experience of THAT, much intellectual comprehension of the Conditioned Truths. Delve deeper, Realise the Pure Existence: what we see, hear, etc., are all Conditioned Truths. Pure Truths lie behind and beyond all names and forms. And at the realisation of the Pure Existence, all names and forms get merged into THAT, for all that is there beyond the place of existence is non-existence!

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ContentsV o l u m e 2 3 , N o . 3 M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 2

From the editors Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

status of Building project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chinmaya-tej . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

existence after Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

the sixth pearl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chinmaya Mission West Krishnalaya Rejuvenation . . . . . . . . . 12

the Bhagavad gita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

as Freedom from Dependency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

sri sankara, the Devotee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

swami tejomayananda Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

aurobindo ghose: Mystic patriot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Balavihar stories: Masnavi II:3436-56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Bhakti Rasamrutam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

BalViHar Magazine - gita Chanting Classes for Children . . . . 25

tapovan prasad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

scheme of study for Chinmaya study groups . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Bala Vihar Locations & Choir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Community outreach program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Vedanta study groups adult sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

satsangs with Br . prabodh Chaitanya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

prabodhji's Classes at Bala Vihar Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

prabodhji's Classes at sandeepany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

swami tejomayananada’s Itinerary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

CHInMaya tej eDItoRIaL staFFeDItoR Uma Jeyarasasingam / umakj@sbcglobal.net

Co-eDItoR Rohini Joshi

eLeCtRonIC eDItoRIaL aDVIsoR Satish Joshi

ContRIBUtoRs Subbu Venkatkrishnan, Sri Sankaracharya of Kanchi, Swami Sivananda, Sri. Darbari S. Seth, Swami Tejomayananda

DesIgn & LayoUt four waters media,West Sacramento, CA

pRIntIng PigMint Press, Redway, CA

Data Base Kapil Vaish

MaILIng Autozip, Ukiah, CA

ContaCt www.chinmaya.org Ph: (650) 969-4389 Fax: (650)428-1795

FRoM tHe eDItoRs DesKTej, is a bi-monthly publication of Chinmaya Mission San Jose. CMSJ is in the process of getting the necessary permits to build the New Facility.

The City of San Jose is studying the building drawings and when they are approved we shall begin the construction of our New Building.

We are happy to show you some elevation drawings of the projects. We invite you to visit the site when you can.

News and events update via e-newsletter on CMSJ web-site is serving our timely announcements. Please keep us updated with your e-mail addresses and send them to Cmsj-news@chinmaya.org

If you do not hear from us e-mail or Chinmaya Tej, please forward your address and e-mail to me indicated on this page.

Chinmaya Tej is also available for viewing on our website.

Chinmaya-Tej will be mailed to all Sponsors and Members of Chinmaya Mission San Jose. Send your subscription marked, Chinmaya-Tej, CMSJ, 1050 Park Ave., San Jose, CA 95126.

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Hari Om!

As Bala Vihar enrollment and attendance at events grows, the Chinmaya vision - “to provide maximum happiness, to the maximum (number of) people, for the maximum time” - continues to inspire the entire Chinmaya Mission San Jose community. In the midst of increasing challenges, our commitment to excellence remains strong as ever. It is quite evident that the present Sandeepany San jose Facility is not adequate to support needs of all our activities. Our need for a new facility emerges from this situation.

New Building Plan & Status

We started the New Building project on Maha Shivaratri in 2006 and acquired the property - an old church - on 10160 Clayton Road in San Jose, in January 2008 (2 buildings, ~11,000 sq ft total, 1.7 acres), at a cost of $2.6M and are in the process of building a new ashram from the ground up on the property. Architectural plans for the new ashram have been approved by the City of San Jose and we have been granted a Planned Development permit. Construction drawings are being reviewed by the City and this will culminate in obtaining a Building permit that will help us commence construction. We expect construction to begin by Q2’2012.

cont inued on nex t page

status new building

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Building Details

The permit allows construction of approximately 23,500 square foot building for assembly use with associated parking of 90 spots. A shrine for Lord Shiva, meditation hall, an auditorium, acharya’s quarters, guest rooms, books store, commercial style kitchen and dining area, a total of 15 rooms for classroom instruction, etc. is part of the new building plan. At a given time, 370 children/adults can be accommodated in the classrooms, and the assembly area capacity is 340. For special programs we have conditional use permit with demonstrated off-site parking.

Ground Breaking

The ground breaking function for our new ashram was completed on July 22, 2011 in the auspicious presence of our beloved Guruji, HH Swami Tejomayananda.

Construction Work To Be Done

From a limited perspective, ground breaking could be viewed as a culmination and success of a long project – a great initiative and lots of hard work by the New Building Project Team. Yet in another way it is the beginning of a new project where quite a bit still needs to be done. A construction project of this magnitude naturally requires multiple conditions be met with the city and other relevant agencies. We hope to comply with all requirements in obtaining a building permit in Q2’2012 to enable us to begin construction thereafter.

Thank You and Warm Regards,

CMSJ Board of Directors

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Chinmaya ~ TejThank you for asking about Chinmaya Tej. Pujya Gurudev initiated and launched the CMSJ Newsletter in 1988. Later, finding the CMSJ Newsletter to be, in his words, “like a catalog”, i.e., woefully inadequate for the purposes he had in mind, he gave detailed guidelines to transform it into a formal, informative, useful, and high-quality publication. Thus Chinmaya-Tej was born.

The manifold purposes of Tej, as laid out by Gurudev, are as follows:

1. It is the voice of CMSJ.

2. Gurudev wanted CMSJ’s publication to be of high quality and comparable to CMW’s Mananam and other Chinmaya Mission Publications.

3. It is the official publication of CMSJ. When CMSJ was first registered as Non-Profit Organization, there were queries from various government agencies as to whether CMSJ had an official publication, from which they could learn about CMSJ, our history, mission, and values. Tej served that purpose.

4. Tej is CMSJ’s mode of outreach and communication to spiritual seekers beyond those who are able to attend CMSJ’s discourses in person. Extra copies of each issue of Tej are printed so as to be available for new seekers.

5. Gurudev also instructed us to cover Vedanta topics in the Tej. Accordingly, Tej has articles on Vedanta topics for beginners as well as advanced readers.

Other Details about Tej:

1. The annual cost to produce 6 issues of Chinmaya Tej is $21,000. It is paid for by CMSJ’s Annual Membership contributions, Bala Vihar revenues, and general donations.

2. Chinmaya Tej is also available online. Hard copies of Chinmaya Tej are distributed only to members of CMSJ who reside in California.

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In the Bhagavad Gītā, the poet-philosopher Vyasa recorded the Vedic truths as given out by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the battlefield of life. Lord Krishna takes the mind of Arjuna in His hands, and, in the end, completely cures him from all his neurotic tendencies. As part of these teachings, the perennial issue of life and death is exhaustively dealt with. The topic of reincarnation is introduced in the second chapter where Lord Krishna indicates that death is the total divorce of the subtle body from its physical structure. Therefore, death is the destiny of the body and not a tragedy of our continuing personality.

In Hinduism it has always been emphasized that there is continuity of existence after death. An individual continues in a new embodiment and environment after the death of the physical form. The individuality which undergoes the experiences of birth and death repeatedly, is called the jiva. This jiva is the eternal light of Consciousness playing upon and seemingly conditioned by the subtle body comprised of the mind and intellect. This subtle body, which is nothing but a bundle of thoughts, moves out of the physical body when its purpose has been exhausted. Even while living in this body, thoughts determine both our physical and subtle movements. And after death we still pursue the fulfillment of those thoughts which we had while acting through the body.

E x i s t E n c E A f t E r D E A t h

sWaMI CHInMayananDa

(from The Sages Speak About Immortality, Mananam Series, 1995)

the question of whether there is existence after death or not has been a fascinating topic for writers and philosophers in every age. But even highly intellectual thinkers find it difficult to deal with this question because it is not one that belongs to

the realm of the mind and intellect. such transcendental questions cannot be explained by words, or established through any of the ordinarily known “proofs of knowledge” such as direct perception, comparison, and inference. the only way to solve these questions

is through the words of wisdom given out by persons of realization, such as the saints and sages.

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When we call the bank for the balance of our account, we do not expect to get the total sum of money that we had deposited in the past, but only the current balance. Similarly, the result of motives and intentions encouraged, positive and negative thoughts entertained, and actions performed, determine the type and texture of our thoughts when we leave the physical body.

typEs of thought

In the fourteenth chapter of the Gītā, Lord Krishna defines three types of thought-textures, or guṇas, through which the human mind functions: Sattva — purity: thoughts that are pure and noble; Rajas — passion: thoughts that are passionate and agitated; and Tamas — inertia: thoughts that are dull and inactive.

The quality of thoughts is influenced by the type of guṇa behind them. Our predominant guṇa is cultivated by the type of activities and thoughts that we engage in throughout our lives. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the predominant guṇa also determines the direction and range of the subtle body after its release from the physical body. This is explained in the following verse from the Gītā:

If the embodied one meets death when sattva is predominant, then he attains that spotless world of the knowers of the Highest.

(XIV:14)

If, at the time one leaves the body, the mind is under the influence of rajas, it takes an embodiment among those who are extremely attached to action. If, on the other hand, one dies when one’s mind is overpowered by extreme tamas, one goes to the lower realms of beings, such as the animal and vegetable kingdoms. The mind seeks the most appropriate field where it can exhaust its existing tendencies.

Once we have evolved to the status of human beings, it is perhaps consoling to believe that we shall never fall to a lower state. But this is not what we see when we observe the world around us. We find that people, even while in the best of environments, do not make good use of their circumstances. And as a result they do not evolve culturally.

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We are all born as rational beings, but how many of us behave with proper discrimination? Sometimes we even envy the lives of certain animals. When such ideas are entertained in one’s mind, the life of an animal is not devolution, but only an acquisition of something that one is thirsting for. For tamasic persons to be born in the animal kingdom is a wonderful opportunity for exhausting their cravings.

thE pAth of LiBErAtion

All experiences of the finite world, with the accompanying joys and sorrows, constitute the samsṇra of the ego. And ego is nothing other than the three guṇas present in each of us.

True release or liberation (mokṣa) takes place not only when the guṇas are transcended, but also when we have become fully established in the spiritual experience. This is just like a patient with a virus who suffers from three symptoms: a high temperature, headache, and body pain. It is only when the patient has regained his former health and energy that we can say that he has completely recovered, and not when the three symptoms have ended.

Each of us seeks to overcome the limitations of the guṇas in order to experience the greater possibilities inherent in us. By doing so we overcome our self-imposed prison of confusion, pain, agitations, and sorrows. To stand apart from the mind by ending all our identification with it, is to obtain complete freedom from our thought-entanglements. Describing the path of liberation, the Lord says:

When the seer beholds no agent other than the guṇas and knows That which is higher than the guṇas, he attains to My Being.

(XIV:19)

The art of dissociating ourselves from our own thought processes is the art of meditation. An accomplished meditator will behold, experience subjectively, the state of pure Knowledge, uncontaminated by the dance of thoughts. It is called seeing, but not in the sense that one sees an object. For God cannot be seen. he is not an object of our perception, feeling, or thought. He is the subject because of whom we perceive, feel and think.

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Here the word “behold” is used only to indicate that the subjective experience shall be as complete and convincing as when we have actually seen an object. After having had this experience, there is no more any speculation about it!

The experiencer of the Self not only realizes himself to be the Infinite, but also understands that his ego, which previously claimed to be the agent in all his activities, was none other than these guṇas, Guṇas govern and direct our entire thought life at all times.

The mind, being a by-product of inert matter, cannot function of its own accord. Consciousness which functions in and through the mind, making it brilliant and dynamic, must be a principle that is other than the mind. If a bucket of water looks like molten silver, it must have borrowed the brilliance from the sun or the moon, as water by itself has no brilliance. If the reflection dances or breaks up, it must be because of the nature of the water in the bucket and not because the sun is dancing in the sky. Consciousness reflecting in the mind is the agent, the individualized ego (jiva) in us, who suffers the self-shattering torments of samsārā (cycle of births and deaths).

He who understands that he is not the reflection in his own mind, but That which is reflected therein, is the one who has escaped the shackles of all limitations forever. He has discovered himself to be That which was giving the capacity to the mind to delude itself. That person of wisdom merges with the Self.

A waker when he goes to sleep comes to lose and gain, weep and smile in his dream. All his joys and sorrows belong to him as the dreamer. When awake, the dream and its sorrows end, and the dreamer himself becomes the waker. When you, the dreamer, behold no agent other than the dreaming mind you shall attain to my being — the waking consciousness.

Similarly here, Krishna, the manifested God-Consciousness is explaining to us that our egocentric life and activities along with its joys and sorrows, belong to the waker-dreamer-sleeper personality. On transcending them all, we shall awake to the Truth, and become one with It. A dreamer, on waking, cannot remain a dreamer but must himself become the waker. Similarly, the Self entangled in matter is man, and man disentangled from matter identification not only rediscovers, but also attains the Self. “He attains to My being.”

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The Lord now further elaborates on the effect of gaining this great goal:

The embodied one, having crossed beyond these three guṇas, out of which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay,

and pain and attains to Immortality.(XIV: 19)

The three guṇas are the expressions of ignorance or nescience, which constitute the causal body. We experience the pure causal body in our deep sleep. The guṇas emerge from the causal body to express themselves first as the subtle body, as thoughts and feelings, and again, as the gross body as good, bad, or indifferent actions.

If I am to express an artistic ability in me, I need a canvas and brush. If I am a musician, I need musical instruments to express my art. Artists require appropriate means to express themselves. A violin in the hands of a painter, or a brush and canvas in the hands of a musician are both useless because they are not the right means of expression.

If my thoughts are dull and animalistic, it would be painful for me to have a human body. Thus, each body — plant, animal, or human — is the exact instrument given for the full expression of its subtle body. And the nature of the subtle body is determined by the texture of the causal body, consisting of the guṇas. Therefore those who have gone beyond the guṇas are no more suffering from the tragedies of the subtle and causal bodies.

Matter changes forever and these changes have been systematized into the five definite stages of birth, growth, decay, disease, and death. They are common to all bodies everywhere, and each one is full of pain. But these sorrows are only the sorrows of matter and not of the Consciousness that illumines them. The sun may illumine floods, famine, war, pestilence, funerals, marriages and a million varieties of happenings, and yet, none of these can affect the sun. Similarly, the Consciousness in us illumines the various changes that we experience throughout life, but they do not pertain to the Self.

In deep sleep, a person who is suffering forgets his pain, and one who is hungry does not feel his hunger. But neither is illness cured, nor hunger satisfied by one’s going to sleep. Sleep is a temporary truce with the existing world of sorrows within, but upon waking the sorrows return. The state of Self-realization, however, is not a temporary cessation from the sorrows of life, but a permanent experience of the joy of changeless, infinite Self. Therefore, it is said here that one “attains to immortality,” even while living in this embodiment.

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Do it in spite of oDDs

Recently, I met an old couple who had lived 53 years of married life. They had their tiffs, their quarrels, their

mutual screamings at each other. Yet, they lived joyously and saw their children get educated and becoming

independent and now they are living happily with their own growing families

The old couple have grandchildren, great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

As I was talking to them, we went back in time and I asked what made him marry her. After a moment’s pause,

the toothless lips parted in a mischievous smile, and his bony hand moved quietly to hold the wrinkled and knotted fingers of the lady and said, “I married

her and we remained in marriage so long because we have so many faults in common.”

The old lady admiringly smiled in to his face.

I asked her if she has an explanation for their long married life; she shyly looked into his eyes and slowly

reminded me, “Swamijee, we like someone ‘because’, but we love someone ‘in spite of.’ I was silenced. I came away wiser carrying with me the picture of the old grandsire

shaking his head in admiration for the old lady!

Swami Chinmayananda

T h e S i x t h P e a r l

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(This article is condensed from the talk given by Br. Prabodh Chaitanya to a senior citizens group, November 14, 2011.)

Br. PraBodh Chaitanya

Absorbing and living the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita can be likened to strengthening one’s immune system. For example, in order to maintain good health, we need to take care of our body’s immunity. We need to take care that we don't get sick from germs or poor hygiene in our living places. We take flu shots.

Now, the essence of the Bhagavad Gita can be seen as taking care of our inner personal level so that we do not get infected by outer events and our responses to them. One reason for Arjuna's distraught state was that he could not imagine his life without his friends and relatives, some of which he would be fighting against on the battlefield. Arjuna brought his fears and concerns (that had resulted in his experiencing a state of paralysis) to Bhagavan Krishna. Although Arjuna had fought bravely many times, he had no prior experience of this issue of facing friends and relatives on the battleground in any of the many previous wars he had fought.

T h e B h a g a v a d g i T a

a s F r e e d o m F r o m d e p e n d e n c y

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Like Arjuna, we have to learn the very important lesson that our happiness does not lie with others – our children, other family members, and friends, for example. A sadhu's life is only fulfilled by helping others abide in the teaching. Similar to a sadhu (monk), we need to learn that we can be happy and content within ourselves (our Self) through knowledge of the teachings of the Gita. Then if disturbances arise, our happiness remains self-contained, even if a son or daughter-in-law, for instance, does not do as we have requested! Otherwise, if our happiness and peace of mind are disturbed by conditions outside of ourselves, by what others do, or don’t do; dependencies on others and outside conditions arise.

In the Bhagavad Gita the fundamental problem identified by Sri Krishna is that Arjuna was deriving joy from the presence of his relatives – he had become dependent on their presence in his life. In other words, he could not imagine life without them. We can, through the teachings of the Gita, free ourselves from such dependency on others for our happiness – we can become independent.

In order to achieve independence, freedom from the ever-changing conditions of the world, first we need to understand that the essence of our existence is expressed in the truth that "I am eternal.” We need to know that the real “I” (Atma) is not the body. There is no arrival or departure for the real "I.” Knowing this truth gives us strength and wisdom, plus independence. Second, we need to understand that even without any expression of the body/mind, "I" am still present. In other words, “I” do not depend upon any expression as a body/mind. Third, we need to understand that "I" am always a witness of the various, changing experiences of life. The seer is independent of the seen. (Nitya, satya, saksi.)

The Gita teaches that the cause of all sorrow, anger, and other emotions unsettling the mind is attachment born out of ignorance. As Atma, “I” am ever pure, free from attachments. This Self is not touched by karma or its effects. Identification with the body causes the effects of karma. Established in the Self (Atma), my nature is joy (swarupa ananda). Lack of establishment in this truth gives rise to all forms of agitations. As much as I want freedom for myself, so I desire the same freedom for all others. Only this independence from attachments gives true freedom.

The essential teaching of the Bhagavad Gita, therefore, is freedom – becoming established as the Self (Atma), “I.”

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Among the popular modes of God-realisation Bakthi ranks second to none. It is a misconception of many, who, not in sympathy with Sankara’s system of philosophy, describe him as an atheist and hold

that in his system there is no place for bakthi or God-love. They argue that Sankara abolishes the distinction between God and

soul and identifies them. The essence of bakthi is prayer and worship and both go on the assumption that there are two different entities, one who prays and the other to whom the prayer is addressed; one

who worships and the other who is the object of worship. The absence of duality, they say gives no meaning to bakthi. A few other intent on crudely understanding Advaita, cruelly

interpret that there is no finite soul or a personal God in Advaita. In the absence of these two there is no place for Bakthi.

dr. P. nagaraja rao (from Tapovan Prasad, February 1972)

Sri SankaratheDevotee

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But a critical study discloses a different version. To understand the heart of Advaita, we should not confound the two distinct standpoints, e.g. Vyavahara and Paramartha. Before Brahman-realisation all distinctions are empirically real. We cannot jump all on a sudden to the realisation. We can negate the superimposition step by step. Hence Sankara advocates a graduated path for all ordinary men.

Advaita religion has a definite place for Bakthi. Sankara does not downgrade Bakthi. He raises it step by step. Sankara has a huge volume of great devotional poetry to his credit. They have great literary charm and convey deep emotion. His poems satisfy all the different temperaments of men. He has several stotras to his credit on all the manifestations of

Brahman. He started the panchayatana puja and has a hymn on each. He is, hence rightly acclaimed not only as Jagad Guru but as Shanmata Sthapanacharya. The Absolute appears under many names, and none of them exhausts Reality. The differences in the conception results from the differences in the tastes of men (Ruchinam Vaichirat). All are equally valid. Each is suited to a particular temper and a particular level of spiritual development. This is Sankara’s doctrine of adhikara bedha. Two of Sankara’s long poems Soundarya Lahari and Shivananda Lahari are treasures of devotion. “The Lord” Sankara describes “is sufficiently akin to our understanding, sufficiently different to provoke attention, and sufficiently great to command admiration.”

Devotion, according to Sankara, is svarupa anusandhana in essence. This can be achieved by directing the modes of the mind to flow constantly to god and making them get absorbed there. All the threshold faculties of man have to converge on God, i.e., thinking, feeling and willing. Sankara defines devotion in a memorable verse.

ankolam nija-bija-santatir, ayaskantopalam sucika Sadhvi naija-vibhum lata ksitisham Sindhu saridavallabum

Pranotiha yatha pasupatch Padara vinda-dvayam Catovertir upetya tishtati sadasa bhakir it vayate

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Devotion is like the movements of the seeds of the ankola tree falling to the ground towards the trunk of the tree sticking there. It is like the attraction of the iron-filings to the magnet. Further it resembles the unceasing love of a chaste woman to her husband. It is like the entwining of a creeper round a tree and lastly it is like the spontaneous coursing of a river to the ocean.

These analogies, each of them answers to a form and degree of Bakthi. Elaborate explanations are offered on this verse. The attachments are all graded. Each of the lower member needs the higher. Each form of bakthi leads to the higher till the worshipper identifies himself with the Lord. It is a long way and one has to tread it not by paces of feet, but by ceremonial purity and ethical excellence. To Sankara, Bhakthi is essentially sincerity. He pleads for inwardness and true spirituality. He wants us “to replace ostentatious modes of worship by deep meditation and inward prayer and to turn from the worship of idols in holy temples to the worship of the spirit in the depths of one’s being.”

Sankara’s Bhaja Govindam is the simplest devotional hymn. It is full of wisdom. It advocates Bhakti to the Lord, after disclosing the emptiness of human pleasures and the flimsy nature of human love and the temporality of finite existence. It is most reasoned poem on Bhakti. We see the need for Bhakti there in all its aspects. He insists on the sanctity of Japa. He writes: “The Gita and the Thousand Names must be sung; contemplated; the mind must be led to the company of the good and the possessions (one has) must be given to the distressed.”

Sankara sums up the ethical code for the Bhakta in four lines: “O Vishnu, remove my immodesty; subdue my mind; end the image of sensual pleasures; expand my sympathy for living beings; take me across the sea of samsara.”

Sankara asked of the devotees not to look for flowers or fruits and rebukes those that make fuss about it. “Stupid man enters deep lakes and wanders over lonely and terrible forests and long mountains in search of flowers. Alas! do not people here know to offer you, O, Lord of Uma, the single lotus of their heart.”

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On another occasion he says that worship can be the very act of living, if well construed. He writes: “O Mother, whatever I articulate, may that be my prayer, may all my crafts constitute the gestures to be used in your worship; may my walking be going round you, my eating and drinking your oblations; my lying down prostration before you; may all my enjoyment be in the spirit offering myself to you -- whatever act I do, may that be a form of your worship.”

The mind of the devotees knows no other value except the Lord. The longing of the devotee’s mind for God is compared to the longing of the swan for the lotus-tank, of chataka bird for the dark-rain cloud, of the chakravaka bird for the Sun and of the chakora bird for the Moon.

Sankara prays to Shiva to tame his turbulent monkey in mind and tie it to the peg of His feet.

This experience results in some moods described as (Sancharibhavas) accessories. They are becoming benumbed perspiration, horipilation, tears, dancing with joy, etc. The moods shade off into one another. Sometimes it expresses an intense longing to see the Lord, and dejections when the experience is not there. All these constitute the rasa-anubhava-generation of the rasa.

Devotion is the most delectable emotion. It grows on that what it feeds. There are two types of Bhaktis: one is the actual process of being in love with God; two, the goal itself, the everlasting experience of Brahman-bliss. Madhusudhana reconciled the philosophy of Advaita, promising in his metaphysics, he was liberal in his modes of approach and raised Bhakti to the status of a great mode of spiritual realisation.

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Swami Tejomayananda

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auroBindo ghose [from ghose, sPeeChes, PP.76-80](extracted from Sources of Indian Tradition, Volume II)

The second message came and it said: “Something has been shown to you in this year of seclusion, something about which you had your doubts and it is the truth of the Hindu religion. It is this religion that I am raising up before the world, it is this that I have perfected and developed through the rishis, saints, and avatars, and now it is going fourth to do my work among the nations. I am raising up this nation to send forth my word. This is the Sanatan Dharma, this is the eternal religion which you did not really know before, but which I have now revealed to you. The agnostic and the sceptic in you have been answered, for I have given you proofs within and without you, physical and subjective, which have satisfied you. When you go forth, speak to your nation always this word, that it is for the Sanatan Dharma that they arise, it is for the world and not for themselves that they arise. I am giving them freedom for the service for the world. When therefore it is said that India shall rise,

Aurobindo GhoseMystic Patriot

India’s Mission:The Resurrection of Hinduism

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it is the Sanatan Dharma that shall rise. When it is said that India shall be great, it is the Sanatan Dharma that shall be great. When it is said that India shall expand and extend itself, it is the Sanatan Dharma that shall expand and extend itself over the world. It is for the dharma and by the dharma that India exists. To magnify the religious means to magnify the country. I have shown you that I am everywhere and in all men and in all things, that I am in this movement and I am not only working in those who are striving for the country but I am working also in those who oppose them and stand in their paths. I am working in everybody and whatever men may think or do they can do nothing but help on my purpose. They also are doing my work, they are not my enemies but my instruments. In all your actions you are moving forward without knowing which way you move. You mean to do one thing and you do another. You aim at a result and your efforts subserve one that is different or contrary. It is Shakti1 that has gone forth and entered into the people. Since long ago I have been preparing this uprising and now the time has come and it is I who will lead it to its fulfillment.”

This then is what I have to say to you. The name of your society is “Society for the Protection of Religion.” Well, the protection of the religion, that is the work before us. But what is the Hindu religion? What is this religion which we call Sanatan, eternal? It is the Hindu religion only because the Hindu nation has kept it, because in this Peninsula it grew up in the seclusion of the sea and the Himalayas, because in this sacred and ancient land it was given as a charge to the Aryan race to preserve through the ages. But it is not circumscribed by the confines of a single country, it does not belong peculiarly and forever to a bounded part of the world. That which we call the Hindu religion is really the eternal religion, because it is the universal religion which embraces all others. If a religion is not universal, it cannot be eternal. A narrow religion, a sectarian religion, an exclusive religion can live only for a limited time and a limited purpose. This is the one religion that can triumph over materialism by including and anticipating the discoveries of science and the speculations of philosophy. It is the one religion which impresses on mankind the closeness of God to us and embraces in its compass all the possible means by which

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1Shakti: Divine creative power; 2Lila: The play or sport of God

man can approach God. It is the one religion which insists every moment on the truth which all religions acknowledge that He is in all men and all things and that in Him we move and have our being. It is the one religion which enables us not only to understand and believe this truth but to realize it with every part of our being. It is the one religion which shows the world what the world is, that it is the Lila2 of Vasudeva. It is the one religion which shows us how we can best play our part in that Lila, its subtlest laws and its noblest rules. It is the one religion which does not separate life in any smallest detail from religion, which knows what immortality is and has utterly removed from us the reality of death.

This is the word that has been but into my mouth to speak to you today. What I intended to speak has been put away from me, and beyond what is given to me I have nothing to say. It is only the word that is put into me that I can speak to you. That word is now finished. I spoke once before with this force in me and I said then that this movement is not a political movement and that nationalism is not politics but a religion, a creed, a faith. I say it again today, but I put it in another way. I say no longer that nationalism is a creed, a religion, a faith; I say that it is the Sanatan Dharma which for us is nationalism. This Hindu nation was born with the Sanatan Dharma, with it it moves and with it it grows. When the Santan Dharma declines, then the nation declines, and if the Sanatan Dharma were capable of perishing, with the Sanatan Dharma it would perish. The Sanatan Dharma, that is nationalism. This is the message that I have to speak to you.

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A little mouse once caught a camel’s lead-rope in its paws and, emulating a man, began to lead it. Because of the readiness with which the camel set off behind him, the mouse was duped into thinking himself a hero. The flash of his thought struck the camel.

“Go on, enjoy yourself,” he grunted. “I will show you!”

Presently the mouse came to the bank of a wide river, and came to an abrupt halt.

“Companion over mountain and plain,” said the camel, “why have we stopped? What is the matter? Step forward like a man! Into the river with you! You are my guide and leader; do not halt halfway, paralyzed!”

“But this is a wide and deep river,” said the mouse. “I am afraid of drowning, comrade.”

“Let me see how deep the water is,” said the camel, and quickly set foot in it.

“The water only comes up to my knees,” he went on. “Blind mouse, why were you worried? Why did you lose your head?”

“To you it is an ant, but to me it is a dragon,” said the mouse. “There are great differences between one knee and another. If it reaches your knee, clever camel, it passes two feet over my head.”

“Do not be so arrogant another time,” said the camel, “lest you are consumed body and soul by the sparks of my wrath. Emulate mice like yourself, a mouse has no business to hobnob with camels.”

“I repent,” said the mouse. “For God’s sake get me across this deadly water!”

“Listen,” said the camel, taking pity on the mouse. “Jump up and sit on my hump. This passage has been entrusted to me; I would take across hundreds of thousands like you.”

Since you are not the ruler, be a simple subject; since you are not the captain, do not steer the ship. Since you are not a prophet, follow in their footsteps, which lead from the physical to the spiritual realms.

Since you are not the mouthpiece of God, be an ear.

Balavihar StoriesMasnavi II: 3436-56

(from Rumi A Spiritual Treasury, compiled by Juliet Mabey)

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Swaranjali, Chinmaya Youth Choir, has produced 10 CDs containing 100 Bhajans, glorifying the Lord in many Indian Languages. The Bhajans

are rendered by 15 students of Swaranjali, with devotion, an offering to the Lord as their contribution to the New Building Project.

Choir participants who sang on the Bhaktirasamrutam album were trained by Prema Sriram, Jaya Krishnan and Jayshree Ramkumar. The CD

is entitled, Bhakti Rasamrutam, the sweet essence of Devotion. All details on this CD are posted on our web-site, chinmaya-sanjose.org.

This is a rare gift which is very inspirational and uplifting.

The proceeds from the CDs will add to our Fund-raising efforts. Thanks to all who contributed their time and talents to the production of the CD.

Bhakti Rasamrutam(The sweet essence of Devotion)

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Kids' Own Magazine...BalViHar

Parents...This is a monthly magazine published by Central Chinmaya Mission, Mumbai for Children. It is packed with stories, puzzles, arts and craft ideas, children’s contributions of essays, riddles, games, and much more. You can subscribe to it directly. The annual subscription is

$30 and you will receive it monthly by air. We suggest that you subscribe in your child’s name so your child will have the pleasure of receiving his or her own magazine from India.

Make your checks payable to Central Chinmaya Mission Trust and mail it to: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust

Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Saki Vihar Road, Mumbai 400 072, India

Gita ChantinG Classes for ChildrenBy mallika suBramanian

San Jose: Lincoln High School / Every Sunday Contact: (408) 245-4915

Fremont: Washington High School / Every Saturday Contact: (510) 490-1266

San Ramon/East Bay: California High School Every Saturday (3:15pm - 4:15pm)

Contact: (510) 490-1266

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A Monthly SpirituAl of ChinMAyA MiSSion

WorldWide

Published by Chinmaya Chinmaya Mission Worldwide

It is Internationally acclaimed Publication filled with articles

and reports that are inspiring and educational.

Hindus living all over the world keep in touch with their spiritual

heritage through Tapovan Prasad.Annual Subscription by Airmail:

US $25 (12 issues)Make checks payable to

Tapovan Prasad, and mail to Chinmaya Mission

No.2, 13th Ave., Harrington Rd, Chetput, Chennai, 600 031, India

Our thanks to all our Sponsor families who have continued to support us for many years and to all Member

families who have found our programs to benefit their children thereby supporting us. We have room for more

Sponsors and Members. Please invite your friends to join the larger Chinmaya Family of the Bay Area.

CMSJ SPONSORSHIP . . . . . . . . . . Annual Contribution $500

CMSJ MEMBERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . Annual Contribution $200

Chinmaya - Tej . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annual CT Sponsors $300

Chinmaya - Tej . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annual Subscription $50(Receive Chinmaya-Tej only)

Tapovan prasad

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1 . self Unfoldment

2 . tattva bodh

3 . Bhaja govindam

4 . atma bodh

5 . Manah shodhanam

6 . Upadesa saram

7 . narada Bhakti sutra

8 . Meditation and Life

9 . Bhagavad gita Introduction – Ch .1 & 2

10 . jnanasarah

11 . Kenopanishad

12 . gita, Ch . 3 – 6

13 . Dyanaswaroopam

14 . Kaivalya Upanishad

15 . gita, Ch . 7 – 9

16 . Isavasya Upanishad

17 . gita, Ch . 10 – 12

18 . Bhakti sudha

19 . gita, Ch . 13 – 15

20 . Mundaka Upanishad

21 . gita, Ch . 16 – 18

22 . sat Darshan

23 . Vivekachoodamani

Vedanta Study Groups held in the Bay Area are listed in this issue of Chinmaya Tej and you may contact them if you wish to join a Study Group.

C h i N M a y astUDy gRoUps

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Shiva abhiSheka & Puja at SandeePany San joSeConduCtEd by MiSSion MEMbErS

time: 7:30-8:30 pm / Every 2nd Monday of the month

bala vihar locationS 2011-2012

FrEMont Washington High School 38442, Fremont Blvd. Saturdays: 1:30 pm CONTACT: Lakshmi Prakash / (510) 490-1266

San raMon California High School 9870 Broadmoor Drive/San Ramon, CA 94583 Saturdays: 4:30 pm ContaCt: Meena Kapadia / (925) 680-7037

San JoSE Lincoln High School 555 Dana Avenue, San Jose Sunday: Session I-9:00am, Session II-10:30am, Session III-11:45 am CONTACT: Uma / (650) 969-4389

San JoSEChoir sessions are held every alternate Sundays between 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. VEnuE: Sandeepany / San Jose tEaCHErS: Prema Sriram, Jaya Krishnan, and Jayashree Ramkumar ContaCt: Prema Sriram: NANSUK@aol.com

Those who are interested in joining the choir as a vocalist or musicians may please contact Prema at the address above.

San RamonChoir sessions are held once every two weeks, Saturdays at 2:00pm - 3:00pm VEnuE: California High School 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon, CA 94583 tEaCHEr: Shailaja Dixit / Contact: Shailaja at (925) 309-4837

Those who are interested in joining the choir as a vocalist or musicians may please contact Shailaja at the above number.

FREmontChoir is held weekly on Saturdays, 12 noon - 1:00 pm VEnuE: Washington High School / Fremont tEaCHErS: Natana Valiveti and Rajashri Iyengar ContaCt: Natana at natana@yahoo.com

Those who are interested in joining the choir as a vocalist or musicians may please contact Natana at the above address.

Swaranjali youth choir

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SAN joSeAre You Willing to Volunteer or Just Sponsor the Program?

If yes, please call Krishna Bhamre: (408) 733-4612 or e-mail sbhamre@yahoo.com

We need VOLUNTEERS for preparing and serving Hot Meals for the Homeless. Lunch bags are prepared at

Los Altos Community Center. All Youth volunteers are required to sign up with Krishna Bhamre.

Meals For The Homeless Program: Served at San Jose’s Emergency Housing Consortium at Orchard Drive off

Curtner Avenue (Adult & Youth Volunteers & Sponsors).

FReMoNTFremont BV sponsors Sandwiches For The Needy.

On the 2nd Saturday/Washington High School in Fremont.Parents of Bala Vihar and the kids prepare 70 Sandwiches,

bag them and provide chips, fruit and juice. The Sandwiches are delivered to the Tricity Homeless

Coalition, where they are served to adults and children.The Shelter is located on 588 Brown Road, Fremont, CAIn addition, last Christmas, Fremont Bala Vihar donated new blankets, sweaters, sweat shirts, and infant warm

clothes etc. to the homeless at the shelter.

C h i N M a y a M i s s i o N s a N J o s e

Community Outreach Program

seva opportunit ies

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VedANTA STUdy GRoUPSa d u lt s e ss i o n s

Concord: Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 11 Sevak: Vipin KapadiaContact: Meena Kapadia (925) 680-7037 Time: 7:30 p.m. (Wed.)

Cupertino: Kathopanishad Sevak: Sreeharsha Contact : Ram Mohan (408) 255-4431 Time: 7:30 pm (Thur.)

Fremont: Viveka Chudamani Sevika: Priya BathejaContact: Priya Batheja (510) 490-1926 Time: 7:30 pm (Mon.)

Los Altos: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 3 Sevak: Uma JeyarasasingamContact: Ruchita Parat (650) 858-1209 Time: 7:30 p.m. (Mon.)

Milpitas Vivekachudamani Sevika: Uma JeyarasasingamContact: Suma Venkatesh (408) 263-2961 Time: 7:30 pm (Tue.)

Mountain House: Self-Unfoldment Sevika: Padmaja Joshi Contact: Padmaja Joshi (209) 830-1295 Time: 8:00p.m. (Wed.)

San Jose: Bhagawad Gita Ch. 4 Sevak: Jayaram ReddyContact: Krishna Reddy (408) 257-9587 Time: 8:00 pm (Wed.)

Satsangs with Br. Prabodh Chaitanyaall events are from: 8:00-9:00pm

1st Friday of each month: Kirtida & Kamalesh n. ruparell

text: ABC’s of Vedanta • Ph: (408) 867-9550

2nd Friday of each month: Geetha & Sanjay rao

text: Srimad Bhagavatam - Kapil Gita • Ph: (408) 863-0595

3rd Friday of each month: Sweta & Jnan ranjan dash, almaden

text: Aparokshanubhooti • Ph: (408) 268-5056

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San Jose Clayton Facility Self Unfoldment Sevak: Ramana VakkalagaddaContact: Ramana Vakkalagadda (408) 564-2749 Time: 8:00 pm (Fri.)

San Ramon Bhagavad Gita, Ch 9 Sevak: Bela PandyaContact: Sireesha Balabadra (925) 804-6102 Time: 7:30 p.m. (Wed.)

San Ramon/Calif HS Bhagavad Gita, Ch 7 Sevak: Vipin KapadiaContact: Vipin Kapadia (925) 680-7037 Time: 3:15 p.m. (Sat.)

Saratoga: Self-Unfoldment Sevak: Kalpana JaswaContact: Kalpana Jaswa (408) 741-4920 Time: 7:30pm (Thur.)

Redwood City: Bhagvad Gita, Ch. 6 Sevak: SreeharshaContact: Sunil Jeswani (650) 364-1074 Time: 7:30 pm (Fri.)

Walnut Creek: Kaivalya Upanishad Sevak: Vipin KapadiaContact: Rakesh Bhutani (925) 933-2650 Time: 9:30 am (Sun.)

a l l c l a ss e s h e l d w e e k l y u n l e ss o t h e r w i s e s t a t e d

Prabodhji's Classes at SandeepanyMondays: 10-11:30 am Sri Ramacaritamanas

Wednesdays: 10-11:45 am Kenopanishad (followed by Sanskrit class)

tuesdays & thursdays: 6:30-7:30 am Brahma Sutra tuesdays & thursdays: 7:30-8:30 pm Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

Saturdays: 6:30-8:30 am. Guided Meditation and Mandukya Upanishad

Prabodhji's Classes at Bala Vihar Locations Fremont: Session 1:30-3 pm Bhagavad Gita Ch 3

danville: 4:30-6 pm Gitas from Tulsi Ramayana

San Jose: Session 1: 9 am Bhagavad Gita Ch 11 Session 2: 10:30 am Gitas from Tulsi Ramayana

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Date Location / event Phone

june 21 - 22 Chinmaya Mission +1 - 810 - 695 - 0188 Flint Michigan Mukkamala Residence grand Blanc, MI 48439 Satsangs

june 24 - 30 Chinmaya Mission +1 - 703 - 439 - 8034 Washington DC jnana yajna: tulasi Ramayana Mahotsava

july 2 - 4 London +44 - 208 - 203 6288 Chinmaya Mission London UK Guru Poornima

july 5 - 8 Holland +31 - 7365 - 65029 johan Frisolaan 11 5263 Bs the netherlands Talks

july 10 Mumbai +91 - 22 - 2857 8647 july 10 Inauguration of yep 7th Batch

july 11 - 17 Mumbai +91 - 22 - 2857 8647 Classes for Brahmacharis Saddarshanam

july 18 - 25 Chinmaya garden trust +91 - 422 - 261 5446 Coimbatore 641 114 tamil nadu, India Dharma Sevak Camp

swami tejomayananadaitiNerary

sUMMeR 2012

“When We look at an object through our mind, We never see the object as it is.

We alWays see it coloured through our mind. one Who does not have right knoWledge can look,

but does not see.he sees only his oWn projection.”

~ Swami Chinmayananda

Join the Chinmaya Family as SPONSORS… We invite you to join our Sponsorship program so that you can help us to promote, sustain and continue to teach adults and children, alike, the Hindu Dharma which is our Heritage. Chinmaya Mission began its service to the Hindu Community some 20 years ago in the Bay Area.We are funded by public contributions. Your contribution, as a Sponsor, goes towards the operation of Sandeepany. Many families who are taking part in the various classes that we offer to adults and children, have enrolled themselves as Sponsors. They enjoy many benefits and become an integral part of the spiritual family at Sandeepany. Sponsorship is an annual contribution of $500 per family. The donation is tax deductible and can also be paid bi-annually, quarterly or monthly.

What Do Our Sponsors Receive?

• They enjoy all the classes offered at Sandeepany Schools for adults and children.

• They will receive the journal, MANANAM and the bi-monthly Newsletters: Chinmaya Tej and CMW Newsletter.

• Sponsors are invited to attend Weekend Retreats held periodically at Sandeepany.

UNiTeD Way CONTRibUTiONS

Your contributions to United Way can now be designated to Chinmaya Mission San Jose (United Way I.D. No 212100). The Mission is enrolled to receive such contributions with

United Way Agency in Santa Clara.

Chinmaya Family would like to thank you for your support.

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Piercy, CA

1050 Park Avenue San Jose, CA 95126

Ph. (408) 998-2793 Fax (408) 998-2952

www.Chinmaya.org

Chinmaya Mission San JoseSandeepany San Jose

If travelling South on 101 Take Guadalupe Expressway Exit Then go past the airport about two (2) miles and get off at Park Ave. exit

At the bottom of the ramp, and at the light, make a right turn

If travelling South on 280 Take the Meridian North Exit Go to Park Ave. and make a right turn

If travelling South on 880 Take the 280 exit to San Jose Get off at the Meridian North Exit Go to Park Ave. and make a right turn

If travelling South on 680 Get off at Race Street Exit At the bottom of the ramp, at the light, make a right turn Go to Park Ave. (3rd light) and make a rightD

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