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Transcript of Vedanta Sandesh - April 2012
Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission
Year 18 Issue 10Bqs!3123
Tsj!Sbn!Obwbnjboe
Ibovnbo!Kbzbouj!Hsffujoht!up!bmm
In This Issue
1. Vedanta Section: Atma Bodha - Shloka-41
2. Letter Section: Understanding Attachment
3. Gita Section: 4 Components of Karma Yoga
4. Story Section: Matsya Avatara
5. VM Programs: Mission / Ashram Progs
From Poojya Guruji
Hari om !
So many people ask this question that when God alone does everything, then
why do bad people exist in the world, or for that matter why is anger, jealousy arrogance
etc there in all of us. If even a leaf doesn’t move without his wish then why doesn’t he
remove all these thorns from the minds & hearts of people, and make this world a
beautiful place to live in. Whoever has such questions they need to go deeper into
their own understanding of what they mean by God. The problem lies there alone.
What they react to is not about the truth of God, but to their own understanding of what
God is. First they entertain some baseless & childish understanding about God, and
then keep wondering why 'this God' has done this or that. God just provides us a field,
potential and opportunity to do karma; subsequent response is strictly our freedom &
discretion. A wise person takes the path of righteousness, while the ignorant ones
gravitate towards the easy path of personal whims & fancies, this ego-centric outlook
alone is the cause of all insensitivity & sins.
Lets understand this using the example of a Computer. The creative power of
God just provides us an amazing hardware and its perfect OS. All software’s are a
later installation, and we can just install anything, including a highly destructive virus.
Dont blame the creator of this amazing machine for what 'you' install at a later stage.
Anyways even if we did inadvertently install some negative thoughts, then we can
always run some anti-virus s/w and clean ourself. God is that creative power who has
given us this amazing capacity & opportunity to install & run just anything. Think! That
is the role of God, and having freely & lovingly given to us this amazing portable, ever-
charged, always on, shoulder-top, with all its astounding processing, memory &
multimedia capabilities, including its extremely fast connectivity - God then just lets us
free, he is indeed someone who truly believes in you. Thereafter we can indeed make
or mar our lives, and he still doesn’t interfere, he continues to believe in us and hopes
that all our happiness & sorrows themself will facilitate our better understanding and
enlightenment. Let us not expect him to be like the proverbial mother-in-law who
interferes in everything that others do. Good teaching is not about interfering and
correcting others all the time, but in soft facilitation to help a person to realize and
awake; so rest assured God will never interfere, whatever be the intensity of pains &
problems of the people of world. God is a magnanimous creator who not only creates
this astounding & amazing creation with all its beautiful sun, moon etc, but then also
believes in you fully. No one in the world believes and loves you as much as God does,
and therefore he never interferes. He does not control the mind of anyone, he just
gives this amazing ‘mind’ with all its equally amazing powers to us - freely, lovingly,
without any obligations.
Alongwith our amazing mind, he also gave us the instruction manuals, in the
form of scriptures; in fact he sent the manual much before we landed here. Those who
do not learn the truth of mind, self & the life, alone keep getting all the pains and
problems, not everyone. Intelligent people never waste their energies in blaming the
God, but they keep humbly learning about life & its truth. When I am the one who has
created problems, then it also means that I am capable of setting things right here.
With such an understanding the ball is always in our court, we are truly empowered to
do just anything, at anytime, so why complain. The very understanding of such a God
culminates in wordless gratitude, blessed existence and loving selfless responses.
Swami Atmananda
Vedanta SandeshSpreading Love & Light
Monthly eMagazine of theInternational Vedanta Mission
Sharing the message of Vedanta and Sanatan Dharma
Apr 2012
On the Net since 1995
Started by:
Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji
Editor:
Swamini Samatananda
Published from:
Vedanta Ashram
E/2948-50, Sudama Nagar
Indore-452 009, India
Web:
www.vmission.org.in
Email:
Gyatrugyangyeybhedah:In the state of ignorance I see myself as a
limited being and the world of objects as a source
of fulfilling this limitation. Such an understanding of
the Self and the world gives birth to a triad of an
experience i.e. the experiencer, the object of expe-
rience and the experience. Such triads of experi-
ence are seen at various levels. At the level of knowl-
edge there is a knower, the known, and knowledge,
when I look at the world I am the seer, the world is
the object of the seen and there is an experience of
seeing. (drishta, drishya, darshan), in the seat of
meditation I am the meditater, an object of medita-
tion and the experience of meditation and (dhyata,
dhyeyea, dhyan), similarly there is karta, karma,
kriya i.e. that is the doer, action, and the field of
action. In all these cases at the root level we see a
sense of limitation which compels one to seek ful-
fillment. As long as this triad is there samsara and
seeking will exist. There is a state of duality, a state
of seperate existence of the Self and the world. Any
object of experience and the experience is always
seperate from the experiencer. There is a always a
difference of seeker and sought. As long as this
sense of duality will exist so long I the seeker will
always need to run behind something for the sake
of happiness. There will always be a goal seperate
from me to be achieved, that goal which will give
me joy and satisfaction. Joy is always seperate from
the Self in some object and its experience, which
means joy is always somewhere far in the horizon.
But people of knowledge know and reveal that aim-
ing for any goal other than the self is like sailing
towards that horizon which as though appears to
be there but in reality it has no existence.
Here the Acharya reveals that the Atman is
beyond the three components of the knower, the
known and the knowledge.
Pare Natmani Vidyate:That which is my true nature is the essence
and substratum of everything. I am pervading ev-
In the previous sloka the Acharya described the attitude of a Realised person. One who has realised
the Supreme Brahman gives up all forms, colors and the like and rests in his own intrinsic form which is all
contentenment, consciousness and Bliss Absolute.
In the world the distinction of knower, knowable and knowledge are known to exist, a question then
arises how is it possible to achieve the pure contemplation of non-dualism. This is answered next:
Vedanta Section
Atma Bodha - Shloka 41
No Fragmentations exist in Non-dual
Vedanta Sandesh - Apr 2012
Gyatrugyangyeybhedah pare naatmani vidyateChidanandaikarupatvaddeepyate swayameva tat
Gyatrugyangyeybhedah: the distinction of knower, knowledge and knowable; pareatmani: inthe Supreme Atman; na vidyate: does not exist; Chidanandaikarupatvat: on account of it being
sole consciousness and bliss; deepyate: shines; swayameva: of itself tat: that.
The distinction of knower, knowledge and knowable does not exist in the Supreme Atman.
On account of its being but sole consciousness and Bliss Absolute, it shines by itself.
41
Page # 5
erything and everything is born unto me, is sustained
in me and dissolves in me. Just like in the dream
world, it is created, sustained and glides back into
my very Self. As long as I am in the dream state I
am the experiencer of the happenings in the dream,
when I wake up I am aware that the dream existed
in me. The dreamer, the dream experience and the
objects in the dream all are me. I see my self as the
substratum of the whole dream world. There is no
seperate existence of the dreamer and the dream.
Duality exists only when the objective world appears
Real to me. One needs to see the world is only as
much Real as thr rope in a snake. In Vedanta Brah-
man is known as the Vivart karana; a cause of the
world which is not really seperate from the world
itself. Just as the rope is the cause of the snake but
not really a cuase because the rope is not seperate
from the snake, and nor is the existence of the snake
a reality. The existence of the snake in the rope is
imaginary and the moment one sees the reality of
the rope there is no existence of the snake. Just a
right awareness wipes off the snake lock stock and
barrel. Similarly the Atman is substratum of all ex-
periences. All the worldly experiences and the world
itself is like an imaginary snake. Once the sense of
reality towards this snake is dropped one can see
the Real nature of the Self as Brahman. In that case
since the Atman alone ‘is’ and there is nothing other
than the Self there is no seperate existence of the
three components of the triad of experiences.
Chidanandaikaroopatvaat:The Atman is of the nature of pure conscious-
ness, Bliss and one without a second. The triad of
experience is because of this nature of the Atman.
Being the nature of pure consciousness I am the
substratum of the knower, it is with my light that I am
aware of the world and its objects. Being eternal I am
the substratum of the whole objective world, and be-
ing Blissfl by nature I am the substratum of all expe-
riences.
The nature of knowledge is awakening into this
very nature that I am the substratum of everything.
There is nothing other than me. I am one without a
second. I alone manifest into all the components of
experiences and yet there is no real existence of these
experiences.
Deepyate Swayameva hi:
The Self is pure consciousness which is self-
revealing. It does not need another source of light to
be revealed. If it was not self revealing and was known
by another light, first of all there would be a duality of
the enlightening light and the enlightened one. Any-
thing that is enlightened by another source of light is
considered inert. But the Atman is Self-revealing and
one without a second.
This awakening of the self is brought about by
Nididhysanam, by contemplation on the Seat of medi-
tation, by retaining continuous awareness of the Real
self as Ahambrahmasmi. One should see the Self as
the substratum of the triad of experiences. Medita-
tion which culminates in such an awakening of the
Self alone is true meditation, otherwise it may be-
come another means to escape into some imaginary
world, to be lost in some imaginary identity of the Self.
All sadhanas of rituals, worship, japa,
karmayoga , upasana are means to bring about the
right atmosphere for contemplation. Having prepared
the mind by these sadhanas it is then important to
take up shravan, manan and nididhyasan, culminat-
ing in pure existence of the Self.
Greetings to all our readers on the auspicious occassion of
Sri Ram Navami
Karuna sukh sagar sab guna aagar jehi gavahi shruti santa
So mama hit laagi jan anuragi bhayau prakat srikanta.
Sri Rama, the ocean of compassion and happiness, the one with all the virtues, the one whohas been described by the Vedas, that Lord has incarnated just for my welfare and for blessing all
his devotees with his devotion.
Vedanta Sandesh - Apr 2012
Long time ago, there used to be a Renunciate. People used to
respect him and many used to come and gain knowledge from him.
He was a well known Man of wisdom. He had many disciples. He
enlightened the path of spritual aspirants. Even Kings and his courtmen
used to come to him to get his blessings and gain knowlege from him.
In course of time the Monk became very old. He was aware it will soon
be time for him to leave this physical body. He spent his time in various
spiritual activities meditating and sharing his knowledge Knowing this,
a huge number of devotees from all parts of the country came there
to get the last blessing and words of wisdom from the wise man. True
devotees came to get blessings of the Sanyaasi and get some
knowledge if possible, while some came expecting to get some
miraculous or some materialistic benefit from the Monk. One of them
was a very rich fellow. However he was very miserly, greedy and
exploitative of others. Hoping to get some more wealth he came to
visit the Monk.
The renunciate, who didnt want to meet anybody, seeing this greedy
and miserly fellow called him to see him. As soon as the Monk called
him, though many many were waiting, the ego of the Rich fellow got
all the more bloated. He looked at others with an expression like “see
how great I am. The Great Man has called me only”.
The greedy guy wanted to ask the renunciate why he chose him only
to come in. Repeatedly he kept on asking this. The monk then replied
These people waiting outside will some or the other time, have a chance
to get a glimpse of Holy people. Whereas a greedy, cunning, and
egoistic person can never get such a blessed opportunity. So I called
you in first.
True Love
Hari om A..,
All your questions indicate the lack of clarity of the word attachment.
When you take care of your relatives - children, husband or parents,
for 'their' well-being, then it is love, but if you take care of them, primarily
for your ego-satisfaction, security or any such personal pleasure, then
you will tend to hang-on to those people; such a relationship is always
borne out of inner lack, insecurity & weakness; such a relationship is
called attachment.
The root of attachment is self-centricity, wherein the concern for yourself
dominates everything else. You may continue to love & serve others,
but the basic motivation is self-centric. One requires lot of wisdom to
turn the tables in favor of selflessness, in everything, whether it is
relationships or any other habits. So when you eat with thoughtfulness,
for good health, and not merely for the appeasement of your likes,
then also it is not attachment, but rather a sattwic & righteous act.
A sattwic life facilitates vairagya, because with such an attitude you not
only start with, but also keep affirming your intrinsic fullness; so
appreciate the secrets of a sattwic life, then in spite of any relationships,
responsibilities, comforts or gratification etc, your vairagya graph will
keep going up, because then you will happily use 'every' thing at 'every'
level - only for the happiness & well-being of others. Vairagya neither
implies absence of relationships, nor even sensual experiences, but
just reveals the fragrance of inner strength wherein you can afford to
live for the well-being of others at all levels.
Love & om
Swamiji
Understanding AttachmentLetter of the
Month
The root of
attachment is self-
centricity, wherein
the concern for
yourself dominates
everything else.
You may continue
to love & serve
others, but the
basic motivation is
self-centric.
- Poojya Guruji
Page # 7
Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009
No
Cau
se F
or G
rief
Vedanta Sandesh - Mar 2012
Action: Our Privilege
Action is the signature of life. Life means action. Wherever action ceases to exist
it is as good as being dead. Not even a moment can we live without performing an
action. Everyone has roles that must be performed. Even a blade of grass plays its role
in balancing the ecological system. Action is that previlege for a human being by which
a man becomes an architect of his own life and the world around him. All prosperity,
growth, development in technology, blossoming of a personalitiy, all is a reflection of
action. So act we must. Act we must in a way that brings about the well being of the Self
and all around.
One must understand that action by itself is not binding in any way, but it is the
attitude of action that either binds a person or evolves a person on the path of dharma
and spirituality. In one of the most significant & famous slokas of the Gita Bhagwan
Krishna gives us very important four components of the Art of Action which make the
field of action a blessing. Let us see these four components:
You have the privilege of performing actions (Karmanyevadhikaaraste):
As a human being you have the privilege and the right to perform actions.
Considering action as a burden of life is only a trait of the lazy, escapist, disenthused
and the uninspired ones. Infact not only is action our previlege but we are also blessed
with the freedom to act. We can perform actions or not perform them or we can choose
an entirely different way of performing an action. That is totaly my freedom. We may not
have a choice in the situations that confront us but we have the choice to respond to a
particular situation in any way we deem fit. Therefore the beauty of living is not in escaping
from action, seeing it as a burden or loosely performing an action, but the art of living
lies in enjoying and excelling everything that we do.
You do not have a choice over the results of actions (Ma phaleshu kadachan):
This sentence has not only confused an average person but also many a scholars
interpreting the Gita who interpret it to mean that one should perform actions without
expecting the results. This is the most absurd and illogical reflection of this statement.
Never can there be an action which will not result in any fruit of the action. Then what is
Lord Krishna’s statement? It means that you have a choice over the actions but you do
not have a choice to determine the fruit of the action. There is a cosmic intelligence
highly powerful and knowledgable who handles this aspect. An individual’s total focus
must be on performing the action with love, enthusiasm and full dedication and with an
attitude of dedicating the action to the divine entity called God. There is no doubt that
every action will surely bear its deserving fruit and we too must aim for great goals in
life, but believing that God gives the fruits of action relieves one of great burdens of a
sense of doership and with a light heart one can totally focus one’s energy in performing
the action. A person burdened with the sense of doership will constantly worry about the
results of action, will be anxious and his energy will be dissipated. Such people who are
Fou
r C
ompo
nent
s of
Kar
ma
Yog
a
Vedanta Sandesh - Apr 2012
Page # 9
too anxious about the result of action and yet do not make the best possible efforts become
very gullible to exploitation. Anyone can make them dance to thier tunes. Such people
alone are on the look out for astrologers and pandits who can get them their desired fruits
without working for it. So intellingent people focus on doing the best that they can and
have a humble attitude of leavig the rest to God.
Prasad Buddhi:
In case of fruits of actions another beautiful concept given by the Gita is to have a
Prasad Buddhi for the end result. Just as when we visit a temple we get a prasad. It may
be in any form a big laddoo or a small piece of sweet, but any person who has faith and
reverance towards god does not see it as an ordinary piece of sweet but it is a blessing
from God and therefore one takes it with a lot of respect and humility, and then has it. So
too for every believer in God every situation in life is a prasad from God and he accepts it
with grace and gratitude. Having performed your action to the best of your ability take the
result as a blessing from God.
Do not consider yourself to be the author of fruits (Ma karma fal heturbhuhu):
One must understand that although you have made efforts in fulfilling an action,
never take your self to be the cause in bringing about the fruits of an action. The result of
actions are governed by the laws of nature that are not under our control. We live in a
world governed by laws that are not created by an individual. We are born according to
these laws and the reaping of fruits too is based on these laws. The author of these laws
is what we call as God or Iswara. It is by his laws that I get a particular result of action not
by my choice. Therefore believing the Self to be the creator of all success only results in
a big fat ego. An ego of this kind only takes a person downhill. Such an egoistic person
also gets isolated when failures come, because if I am responsible for my success then I
am also responsible for my failures. So one musn’t sing the glories of the Self, but take it
as a bessing from God and have a feeling of gratitude for all those people and factors who
have supported to bring about the result of an action.
Never be attached to inaction (Ma te sangah tu akarmani):
The fourth component of this sloka is never take up to inactivity. It is indeed a great
previlege of Man to perform actions. While here in this world dream big, dream not only
for the self but to do something for others, to do something for the happiness of God who
has blessed us with this beautiful life. Life lives with action. No action and life is dead. Just
mechanically living, or living an uninspired, disenthused life is worst than an animal life.
So have great dreams and give everything of yourself to it. Challenges, ups and downs,
success and failures will always be there, but the spirit of a karmayogi is to live life to the
fullest.
These four components make up the package of karma yoga, which makes the
field of action a blessing. It is important to understand the nature of actions and their
results. A field of Action is not merely a means to fulfill one’s desires and make arrangements
to live a comforatble life but it is a divine means to prepare ones mind for a higher knowledge
of the Self. A kowledge which requires a condition free mind, a mind free from the bondages
of likes and dislikes. Such a mind alone is ready to grasp the subtle truth of the Self.
Page # 9
Vedanta Sandesh - Apr 2012
People are not ‘Difficult’ People are ‘Different’. If we can understand
this we can save many relationships in life.
Good relations are like needles of the clock. They only meet for
sometime but always stay connected.
No poison can kill a positive thinker. No medicine can cure negative
thinking.
Don’t make your voice loud, to make others listen to you; make your
good attitude so loud that others beg to listen to you.
The greatest mistake of human beings: We listen half, understand
quarter, think zero, and react DOUBLE and remember forever.
Be silent in two situations: when you feel one can’t understand your
feelings by your words and when one can understand you without any
words.
Fighting with the world is easy. You either win or loose. But fighting
with a close one is difficult; if you lose you lose, and even if you win
you loose.
Repeated success makes a person arrogant, repeated makes a
person feel defeated, Occasioanal success and occasional failure
makes a person mature.
Quotes
Page # 13Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009Page # 11
Once upon
a time ...
Stories bySages
Matsya Avatara
Once a King named Satyavrata was performing a sacredceremony beside a river. While scooping water from the river heaccidentally caught a tiny fish in the palm of his hand. The fishbegged him not to throw it back into the river where it would beeaten by larger fish. The king felt sorry for the little fish and took ithome to his palace where he put it in a small bowl. Next morningthe fish had outgrown the bowl and begged the king to put it insomething larger. The king then transferred it into a pond, but itvery quickly outgrew that too, so he put it into a small lake. Withinno time the fish had outgrown the lake and had to be put into thelargest lake in the kingdom. Soon, however it had grown so bigthat even this was not large enough and the amazing fish had tobe put in the ocean.
By this time the king concluded that the fish must be a di-vine appearance of God. He offered prayers and asked it why ithad taken this form. Matsya, the fish incarnation of Vishnu, re-plied that in seven days a huge devastation would engulf the lowerpart of the universe. He told the king to call the seven great sagesand gather samples of all the herbs and seeds and all kinds ofliving creatures. He promised that he would send a large boat tosave them all. After that the king would fully understand who hewas. Then he swam away.
As Matsya had predicted, huge clouds appeared from alldirections and began pouring incessant water on land and sea.Soon the ocean overflowed onto the land. Then Satyavrata andall his companions saw a large mysterious boat floating towardsthem across the waves. Remembering the words of Matsya,Satyavrata led them aboard it and they found safety. Matsya, whoby now was a golden fish of inconceivable size, then appeared inthe ocean. Using the giant serpent Vasuki, they tied the boat toMatsya's horn and he towed it, full of all the different species oflife, across the waters of devastation. For countless years dark-ness covered the worlds and together they wandered across thestormy wastes waiting for the waters to subside. During their jour-ney Vishnu-Matsya instructed King Satyavrata and the sages inthe spiritual knowledge of the Vedas.
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Vedanta Sandesh - Apr 2012
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Page # 13
Mar’12 VM / VA Programs
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Vedanta Sandesh - Apr 2012
It is only a tiny rosebud -
a flower of God’s design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
with these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so easily,
but in my hands, they die.
If I can’t unfold a rosebud -
this flower of God’s design -
then how can I have the wisdom
to unfold this life of mine?
So I’ll trust in God for leading
each moment of my day;
I will look to God for guidance
in each step along the way.
The path that lies before me,
only my Lord knows.
I trust God to unfold the moments,
just as HE unfolds the rose.
Unfolding A Rose
Page # 15
Forthcoming Programs
Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow:A week long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji will be organized
in the Satsang Hall of Hanuman Setu Mandir, Lucknow from 18th to 24th April 2012. The
subject matter of the discourses will be Isavasyopanishad and Gita Chapter 12.
Vedanta Camp, Rishikesh:A Sadhana Camp will be organized at Sw Dayananda Ashram at Rishikesh from 11th
to 16th June by Poojya Guruji and Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji. The subject matter of the
discourses will be Drg-Dryshya Viveka and Gita Chapter 5. Campers to arrive by 10th evening
and leave by 17th morning.
Gita Gyana Yagna, Dehradun:A week long Gita Gyana Yagna of Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will be organized at
Dehradun from 9th to 13th Apr 2012. The subject matter of the discourses will be
Kathopanishad 1-3 and Sthitha Pragna Section of Gita.
Vedanta Camp, Indore:A week-long Vedanta Camp is being organized at Vedanta Ashram, Indore from 11th
to 17th Aug, just after Sri Krishna Janmashtami on 10th Aug. The subject matter of the
discourse series will be Sri Ram Gita of Adhyatma Ramayana.
Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai:A Gita Gyana Yagna of Poojya Guruji will be organized in Mumbai from 30th April to
6th May 2012. The subject matter of the discourse series will be Kathopanishad 2-2, and Gita
Chapter 6.
Page # 15
Web Site of the International Vedanta Mission:http://www.vmission.org.in/
International Vedanta Mission News Blog:http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/
This is a Net Publication of the
International Vedanta Mission
Om Tat Sat