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The Source of the Cosmos Sri ChakraSri ChakraSri ChakraSri ChakraSri Chakra

The Journal of the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam, Rush, NY

Blossom 15 Petal 3September 2011

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SeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptember

The summer was dominated bysmall but important festivals, soAiya was only able to travellocally, if at all. Among his localtrips were a few across the borderto Toronto, and some in New Yorkstate, such as a visit to the newSai Centre in Markham, ON, and aprivate puja in the town ofPainted Post, toward Corning.

But most of Aiya’s time thissummer was taken up by Julyfestival, Gurupoornima, AadiAmavasya, camp preparation andexecution, and finallyVaralakshmi vratam. AfterVaralakshmi was completed,though, Aiya took a trip to Asia,where he spent four days inSingapore.

There, he spoke at many publicvenues, including the KathongCentre and local Sai Centre. Aiya

Past Events

Annual Pratishta, July 1-3

This is the first year this festivalhas moved from May to July,following last year’skumbhabhishekam. On the firstday’s morning the installation ofdigdevata kalasams happenedfirst thing, a Ganapathi homamtook place with everyone gettingthe chance to offer 1000modakams into the fire, andutsava Ganapathi went out inevening.

Saturday morning, Chandihomam started at 5 a.m.;

annapavadai was offered afterkalasa sthapanam, and in theevening time Devi and Ganapathiwent on their vahanams and thenonto the chariot. Festivitieswrapped up around 11 p.m.

The last day, volunteersarranged 1008 shankams in theshape of a massive shankampointing toward the Devi. Eachone had lamp and fruits with it.After the shankams were pouredonto the Devi, we did Dattatreyahomam and abhishekam.

The temple kids prepared andexecuted Dattatreya puja againthis year, and the festival endedon a high note as visitors said itwas probably the best Dattatreyapuja they had seen.

Annapavadaiwas offered onFriday;Ganapathi andthe Devi wentout on theirrespectivevahanams(which werethen secured tothe chariot)Saturday night.

gave a lecture at the Perumaltemple there on mantras and theeffects of mantras on the human

body, which about 200 peopleattended.

He also gave a speech at theSenpaga Vinayagar temple andspoke about the scientific aspectsof kalasams there. Overall, Aiyadid about 5-6 private pujas inpeople’s homes while inSingapore.

From there, he flew to Australiaand landed in Perth, where he dida few private pujas. From there,

Aiya went to Sydney and spoke atthe Shakthi temple in front of apacked room of about 275 people.

After a few more private pujas,Aiya conducted a workshop at theDurga Devi temple hall wheremore than 200 people attended.

Aiya then flew back to the US,just in time to preside over ourVinayaka Chaturthi celebrations.

Aiya doing a house puja. The talk at the Senpaga Vinayagar kovil.

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Guru Poornima, July 14

This year many people did a 45-day Dakshinamoorthy pujapreceding the festival and gaveAiya their coins on this day.Volunteers set up the stageagainst the north wall of thetemple where the Nayanmarsare, where Aiya and Amma didtheir puja to the lineage.

Aiya arrived around 2:30 p.m.and was done by 5:30 or 6 p.m.Aiya and Amma sat whileShankar and his wife Gowriperformed the homam.

One of Aiya’s students,Kumaran Perinpanatan, releaseda book that day. At the end, Aiyaalso gave a short speech aboutone’s sadhana and the efficacy ofmantras and the crowd of 150-200 people partook prasadamthat evening.

Viboothi Shaivite Immersion(camp), July 30-August 6

Aadi Amavasya, July 29

Aadi Puram, August 2

Aiya himself led the AadiAmavasya puja, which peopleperform for the souls of theirdeparted fathers. This puja isonly done in lieu of the actualthithi, and usually if the actualthithi is unknown.

Despite falling on a Fridaymorning, a good 50 people showedup to perform the puja. As agroup, everyone sat in theyajnashala in rows facing south,

Our popular kids’ “camp”hosted about 100 youngstersfrom the ages of 9 to 18, and theylearned, had fun, and many ofthem grew closer to the Devi andexpressed a wish to return to thetemple very soon.

Over the course of one week, thekids had regular puja classeswith counselors, lessons withAiya, classes with various guestspeakers, daily sports and gametime, and lessons in Hinduculture. They also learned theShivapuranam and Sri Suktam.The week was filled with fun aswell, as the kids went on anouting in the middle of the weekto a local park, and got horsebackrides and a vegetarian barbecueon the last night.

Check out camp pictures onpages 5-6 of this issue!

Thecampers, plusabout 100visitors andvolunteers,made this acrowdedChandihomam, evenfor a Tuesdaymorning. Itbegan at 9a.m. andwrapped up

around 2 p.m., with acomplete homamincluding all 13chapters, as well asmilk abhishekam andoffering ofbhakshanams to theDevi.

Aiya had a huge mantapammade, going all the way up to theceiling, which happened to arriveat the temple on Varalakshmi day.Volunteers dressed a 6-foot lampup as the Devi, complete with asari, and the face of a woman.

Devi faced east and everyoneelse did their deepa pujas facingwest. About 50 ladies arrived forthe puja at about 7 p.m. and Aiyaled the puja. After, everyone gotthe sharadu and prasadam.

Varalakshmi Vratham, August 12

Thetemple’syoungpeople tookcare ofserving foodonGurupoornimaevening.

with individual puja trays to dotheir own dads’ rituals. After thetarpanams were offered inside,everyone went outside togetherto offer their pindams toward the

south. With the help ofvolunteers, all the pindams weretossed southward into the Kashicreek, with Aiya chanting theappropriate mantras.

Varalakshmi Devi,invoked in the dressed-up lamp, faced theladies while on hersilver mantapam.

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Feeling the Mother’s hand

The Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam ~ 6980 East River Road ~ Rush, NY 14543 ~ Phone: (585) 533 - 1970

Upcoming Events

Devi willing, the next issue ofthe Sri Chakra will be up on thetemple’s website at the beginningof December 2011.

This magazine cannot keeppublishing withoutcontributions! Articles, poems,stories and photos about anyspiritual topic are welcomed.

The next deadline for articlesubmission is November 11.Please e-mail us with yourcontributions or feedback aboutthis issue [email protected] ortalk to Kamya or Abhi at thetemple.

Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!

In Three Months

Vinayaka Chaturthi, Sept. 1

Our deepest thanks andOur deepest thanks andOur deepest thanks andOur deepest thanks andOur deepest thanks and

gratitude to this issue’sgratitude to this issue’sgratitude to this issue’sgratitude to this issue’sgratitude to this issue’s

volunteers: Aiya, Kathyvolunteers: Aiya, Kathyvolunteers: Aiya, Kathyvolunteers: Aiya, Kathyvolunteers: Aiya, Kathy

Allen,Allen,Allen,Allen,Allen, V V V V Vilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankilas Ankolekarolekarolekarolekarolekar,,,,,

Sundhara Arasaratnam,Sundhara Arasaratnam,Sundhara Arasaratnam,Sundhara Arasaratnam,Sundhara Arasaratnam,

VVVVVenkateshwenkateshwenkateshwenkateshwenkateshwar Babar Babar Babar Babar Babu,u,u,u,u,

Gratus DeGratus DeGratus DeGratus DeGratus Devvvvvanesan,anesan,anesan,anesan,anesan, Sri B Sri B Sri B Sri B Sri B.....

Jayaraman, GayathriJayaraman, GayathriJayaraman, GayathriJayaraman, GayathriJayaraman, Gayathri

KKKKKalalalalalyyyyyanaraman,anaraman,anaraman,anaraman,anaraman, Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr. Anand. Anand. Anand. Anand. Anand

PanikkarPanikkarPanikkarPanikkarPanikkar,,,,, and T and T and T and T and Tharharharharharumanumanumanumanuman

TTTTThahahahahavvvvvakumarakumarakumarakumarakumar.....

Ganapathi Chaturthi is alwaysa full-day festival even if it falls ona Thursday as it did this year. Butthe turnout was significant asmost high school and universitystudents were still on summervacation.

First thing in the morning,volunteers organized andperformed a Vancha-Kalpa

The raising of the flag(dvajarohanam) will happen onSept. 20, but the main festival willofficially begin eight days later.Each day will see an extremelypowerful Maha Shodasi homamalong with kalasa-sthapanam andabhishekam/alankaram duringthe day, and a Sri Chakra(Navavarana) puja in the evening.

As usual, every third day, theutsava Rajarajeswari will becarried outside via palanquin asDurga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati,respectively, as on the right.

On Thursday October 6, the Deviwill ride her large chariot aroundthe temple, and on Friday the 7th,temple volunteers will bathe allthe moveable murthis outside inthe water-cutting ceremony.Vijayadasami, Chandi homam,and vidya-arambham pujas (forwhich Sri Akka was here last year,right) will also take place.

Sharada Navarathri, Sept. 27 -Oct. 7

Skanda Sashti, Oct. 27-31

Kedara Gowri Vratham (last day),Oct. 26

Ganapathi homam, complete withthe offering of 1008 modakams intothe fire. After the major puja andabhishekam parts, the mainkalasam went in processionaround the temple and was offeredto the mula murthi Ganesha.

Later in the evening, utsavaGanapathi and his consort, SiddhaLakshmi, were carried around on apalanquin, and all those presentreceived prasadam when thefestival wrapped up that night.

This 6-day festival forMurugan occurs right on the tailend of Kedara Gowri vratham.Murugan, Devayani and Vallistay in the yajnashala for theduration of this festival, and areworshipped in a different wayeach night.

On the final day, DevayaniKalyanam and Sura Samharam

are performed, after which ValliKalyanam is performed. It isduring this final act when allthree murthis are taken aroundthe temple in procession,culminating with Devayanifinally accepting Valli as hersister and Murugan’s secondwife.

This three-week vratham isusually performed by ladies for thewell-being of their husbands, butits deeper purpose is for thecomplete merger of any soul intoLord Shiva. As was the case lastyear (see left), the first couple ofdays overlap with Navarathri.

Ladies or men may sponsor andattend nightly pujas if they can,with the final night being whenthey recieve their prasadam.

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Vibuthi SaiviteImmersion, 2011Vibuthi SaiviteImmersion, 2011

The kids were introduced to the beauty of the temple grounds on a nature walk led by Aparna akka.

Ruban anna and Bhargavi akka teach theirpuja class Sri Suktam outside by Bhairava.

Campers received a lot of instructionthroughout various classes.Clockwise from upper left: Aiya taughta daily lesson on religion, and one ontraditional songs; CITs Buvil andNicshan calm the calf while the kidswatch Goh puja; the kids watched aprivate homam conducted by Aiya;they participated in the Chandihomam for Aadi Puram on Aug. 2;

Jeilan annataught them theimportance ofseva; Ammataught the CITshow to makelemon rice andpuliodharai asnaivedyam.

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Campers got daily physical activity on thetemple grounds withvarious games and sportsin the late afternoon. Onthe last evening of camp,the kids continued playingoutside until dusk whileCITs and counselorsprepared a pure vegetarianbarbecue dinner foreveryone, includingparents!

At the halfway point ofthe week, allcampers, CITs,counselors, and stafftook a day trip to alocal park whereeveryone rotatedthrough outdoorgames and had apicnic-style meal.

Arts were also a huge part of thecamp, with campers learning bhangradancing, making and painting theirown paper mache masks, anddecorating festival thandikais.

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A recent article about the expanding 3-D image of the universe said the following:

“Astronomers have unveiled the most complete 3-D map of the universe ever created. In this projection,the plane of the Milky Way runs horizontally across the centre of the image. The dots indicate individualgalaxies containing billions of stars. Red indicates the galaxies that are farthest away, while purple connotesthe closest galaxies. Covering a distance of 380 million light-years, the map assembles in one image thelocation and distance of more than 43,000 galaxies.”

The micro galaxy we live in resides in this universe as very miniscule trace. Those of you who have seen the Neelakanta Pranalingeswara at the Sri Rajarajeswari Temple in Rush,

New York will recognize the obvious resemblance; not only of the shape but also the patterns. So, does thisnot address the point that the lingam also represents the universe?

She creates and implodes universes as Herself. All universes and anything beyond is HER form that wevisualize. SHE creates it, maintains it, and dissolves it. The “concept” of the universe (and ”time” whichcreates the “universe”), as well as the attributes within the universe are implied throughout many instances

in the LalitaSahasranamam:

Brhamarupayayi,Rudhrarupa,Dhirodhanakarivari,VishvaRupa, Bhanumandalasamsthayai,Vruthayai, Brhamatvaikaisvarupiniyai,Bruhathyaii,Brahmaniyai,Brahmiyai,Brhamajanani,Brahmananthayai, Bhaharathayayai,ViratRupayai, KameshwaraPrananidiyai (as theliving Universe),and so on.

Neelakanta and the UniverseNeelakanta and the UniverseNeelakanta and the UniverseNeelakanta and the UniverseNeelakanta and the Universeby Sundhara Arasaratnam

Neelakanta and the UniverseNeelakanta and the UniverseNeelakanta and the UniverseNeelakanta and the UniverseNeelakanta and the Universe

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Remembering Ati RudramRemembering Ati RudramRemembering Ati RudramRemembering Ati RudramRemembering Ati Rudram

Yes! I said to myself walking upthe temple driveway on the firstday of Ati Rudram – the festivalwe had all waited for approachedfaster than we ever expected, yetno one was “stressed.”

The one thing I’ve come to seeover the past 12 years is that forone, we never plan; and two,things always work out. I don’tthink Aiya has EVER budgeted fora festival or truly felt his planswould stick when he assignedpeople to do certain tasks. Aiyawould assign names and such,but then would leave it up to theDevi and will be willing to acceptanything. This attitudeof his has truly made mecome closer and holdhim in even higherregard—he’s one of thefew people I have everseen with unwaveringfaith, an integral qualityof a Guru.

Ati Rudram for surewas nothing like weimagined—it was a

thousand-fold bigger, better andsomething that now just can’t becomprehended. No one personwas behind it and no one personled it. Aiya made it OUR festival;a sense of “us” is what heinstalled. This sense ofcooperation is a lesson we have

Remembering Ati RudramRemembering Ati RudramRemembering Ati RudramRemembering Ati RudramRemembering Ati Rudram... a year later... a year later... a year later... a year later... a year later

by Tharuman Thavakumar

been taught at the temple, butsince we were kids our familiesengrained in us an oppositethought, that of competition. Ifyou get a 98% your parents willask where the 2% went.

Aiya has done the same, but he’snever forgotten to acknowledgethe 98% that was complete… hejust wants us to grow. I took AtiRudram as a semester exam—onethat gave me a true rebirth.

At the end of Ati Rudram Irealized it’s never who does whator when things gets done—wehave no control. If we felt each ofus had any control rather than

everyone mixing andbecoming ahomogenouscompound, the eventwould have been astruggle for us all.

This theory of “cooperation” wasextremely vivid during the entireevent and I feel that was the bestgurudakshina we could give toAiya for everything he has donefor us. One such incident thatproved this was the unexpectedflood.

Everything was going as“planned” and a sense ofsatisfaction definitely began toarise in the volunteers. Theworld’s greatest trench had justbeen dug: perforated pipes, sandbags, drainage, embankments –what could go wrong? Nothingcould go wrong—the water wasno match against our brains andour guru. Aiya’s smirk when toldabout the world’s greatest trenchdidn’t ring a bell then, but nowmakes sense.

I remember the day so vividly.It was about 5 p.m. and Venuuncle and I were with all thehomam volunteers inside themain sanctum going over theplans and divisions on how tomanage the service work thatwas required. While I was sittingin the back listening and addingin some points, the thundersounded like eight cannons beingblasted right outside the temple.

About one minute later I heardthe rain falling so hard on thewindows which were angledopen, and I could hear the watergush down the gutters. But ofcourse, the tent would be fine—we had the world’s greatesttrench guarding the fortress thatwas hosting the event we havebeen waiting for so anxiously.

Suddenly, Mangala camerunning into the sanctumscreaming, “THARUMAN ANNA!THE TENT IS FLOODING! APPAWANTS BUCKETS!”

I told Shivender to get bucketsand darted towards the tent to seethat there were five people tryingto fight off the waters. The waterat the entrance of the tent waseasily half way between the feetand the knees, and our trench,which we thought couldwithstand anything was just not

Above and left,volunteers dug “theworld’s greatest trench”before Ati Rudram evenbegan.

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working. The water pushed itsway over the sand bags.

Then I ran inside and called afew guys, but by that time wordhad reached and everyone wasrunning towards the tent—howcould this trench give up? We all

thought it was ajoke originally.But we all looked ateach other andwithout a word wejust started tomove.

Old, young,ladies, men, boys,girls—everyonestarted pulling thecarpets out andtaking the waterthat had gatheredat the entrance in buckets andmoving it to the back of the tent.Some began carrying moresandbags to pile up theembankments, and others duginto the mud trying to fix thedrain, which had been cloggedwith sand and gravel.

Only the images in our mindscould accurately describe thisexperience—we were all together,we were all one. There was no “Iwill tell you what to do;” it waspure teamwork. Kids as young asfour to senior citizens were allworking together to help and dowhat they could for what theyloved so much.

The pictures will never leave myeyes and the fun won’t either.While things began to settle, Itexted Pravin anna saying thetent was flooded. He messaged

back and said, “It’s so sunny here,how can it be raining 10 milesaway?”

Now this made me think…others that lived five miles fromthe temple like Sinthujan, Mohanuncle, Purvaja had just arrived

and weresaying how itonly rainednear thetemple. Now,to me that’s oneof two things—either thetemple neededwater, or Aiyaand the Deviwanted to seewhat wouldhappen.

All these days, people likeMuralee anna, Pravin anna,Selvan uncle had been assignedtasks, but this day, none of themwere present. They were all doingtheir own things or were off theproperty. I felt the Devi wanted toshow us right before the festivalbegan that this event will only

work if we all pulled together.Even if those people never wantedto be “leads” I feel some of thevolunteers began depending onthem.

I feel that the Devi wanted tomake sure that every volunteerknew their place, and knew whatthey were to do. It didn’t matter ifyou were a homakarta, cook,volunteer, archana person, PRhelper—EVERYONE was theDevi’s and Aiya’s children, and wewere all the same. Digging intothe mud and getting our clothesmessy together and workingtogether showed us this sense ofequality and totally broke downthe barriers of “he’s a homakartha and he’s more special thanme (a volunteer)” or vice versa.

Everyone came into the dirtand everyone worked together.

Although some people look atthe flash flood as a negativething, I like to believedifferently. I look at this as alesson that was taught by Aiyaand the Devi—everyone provedthat they truly are Aiya’sdisciples in the end. We allhave issues, we all haveshortcomings, but we are allalso human and the same. I feelwe realized this that day.

Whetherthe feelingfaded orremained isa differentstory, but atthatmoment theonlythoughtwas to help,and that’swhat we alldid.Countlessmemories of

Ati Rudram still exist, thosewhich will be cherished andremembered for the rest of ourlives. Ati Rudram not only hadlessons, but lessons built in withunbelievable fun and friendships.These 11 days will never beforgotten and the memories willnever be eroded.

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Q. How do you know if your puja, japam, homa, etc. are bearing fruit?

Aiya: The body’s metabolic process is releasing energy for you to be able to do things throughout thewhole day, and it’s only about 30% efficient right now. When you include chanting the Vedas in there everyday, your breathing gradually becomes increased and it’s becoming deeper and deeper.

It won’t happen overnight… chanting something like Atharvasirsam once won’t get you to God rightaway. You see the fruits when you stay with it, and do it without getting tired. I used to tell my studentsthe example of [the basketball player] Michael Jordan. All you see is him hanging in the air on TV; you don’tsee that he invested eight hours a day, all alone, shooting baskets. If you did that with your japam youwould have found God in a snap.

Q. What does your metabolic process have to do with spiritual benefits?

Aiya: If you keep chanting, the efficiency of the body is going to increase. Whatever food you eat will beburned because your metabolic process will change dramatically. It will gradually rise from 30% to about85% efficiency.

In 1919 there used to be a French woman named Theresa Newman, and the thing about her is that shecould not control her hunger. She was eating at her mother-in-law’s house, and this woman would alwayscriticize her and say she would land her son in the poor house. One day, Theresa stopped eating. From 1919to 1967 she didn’t eat anything. All the sustenance she needed, she was able to get simply from breathing.

That is how the rishis sat for so many years in meditation without moving. So another sign yourjapam is working is that your bodily requirements will decrease—your eating, thirst, need to go to thebathroom, will all go down. The repetitive process is what will bring the mantra into your subconscious.

Q. Some people say there are certain sounds they hear when they do japam. What is this?

Aiya: I do my japam at 3:30 or 4 in the morning, and like clockwork, it wakes me up. You know you havebeen chanting it in your sleep because you continue chanting it the second you wake up. After some time,you will begin to hear a ping sound. That is the collective sound of all that has ever been written orchanted—all the scriptures, the literature in any language, any culture—all of it.

When you go to a major sports event in an arena, before you get in the arena, you will hear a buzzzzsound when you’re parking the car, when you’re entering at the doorway. It also sounds like the waves inthe ocean, a ssshhhhhh sound. What is this buzz? Individual voices talking in the stands. You can’t tell whois saying what. That is the way this anahatam sound is.

If you go to Niagara Falls and focus intently on the sound of the waterfall, you can hear the Vedas,bhajans or anything—the collective sound is also there. This is the universal language; She’s talking to you!But we are so wrapped up in our own little things we can’t put in the effort to try to hear Her.

So count on it that eventually you will hear this. Take 15 minutes a day for it. You sit in front of theidiot box for eight hours a day; why not take 15 minutes for this?

Q. Where does this sound come from? Can everyone hear it?

Aiya: This sound is called Anahata dvani. When it starts at the base of the spinal cord, it is 0.001 kilocyclesper second. As it starts to rise through the solar plexus, through the cardiac plexus… by the time it comesup to your throat, it is 1.0. Exactly 28 days before you die, She will turn it off. Then you have exactly amonth to take care of your affairs.

Here’s another thing: how do you know it has stopped? You only know if you have been focusing on itevery day. That is japam.

Q & AiyaQ & AiyaWe all love hanging out with Aiya, drinking

tea, and sometimes getting some guidance on howto travel down our own paths to the Devi. Here’san excerpt from a workshop where he explainedhow one can feel the physical effects of japam.

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ChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniThe story of Sri Amritananda Saraswati

part 4part 4part 4part 4part 4

ChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniChidagniThe biography of Sri

Amritananda Saraswati—who isaffectionately known as Gurujito most of Aiya’s students—waspenned in Telugu by Smt. NethiSeeta Devi. These chapters weretranslated into English andgraciously submitted to the SriChakra by Venkateshwar Babufrom Philadelphia in an ongoingseries.

Guruji was extraordinarilysmart in his studies, but lackedany interest in sports. He triedhis hand at sports once andfractured his hand, and that wasthe end of his interaction withsports.

While studying at SaintAnthony High School inVisakhapatnam, he was alwayslooking for answers on religionand traditions. Guruji’s questionswere numerous.

“What is the difference between sleepand death?”

“What is the significance of divinevisions?”

“Why was he getting those divinevisions?”

“Was it just him or did others havesimilar experience?”

Guruji never received anydefinitive answers to hisquestions from his parents,teachers, elders, or kids his age.Though he was fully aware thatthere was a strong meaning andsignificance to all this,unfortunately no one was able toexplain it to him. Any answerprovided did not satisfy Gurujieither! Things unseen by humaneyes and unheard by human earsalways evoked strong emotions inhim.

Guruji always kept hearingstrange sounds deep from inside.But he was unable to understandthe meaning or the origins of thesesounds. He knew well there wassome untold significance but

unfortunately Guruji did not haveany proper guidance at thatyoung age to help him explore andunderstand these sounds. If thathad happened was it possible thathe may have found answers to allhis unanswered questions?

There were multiple things andsituations that created a lot ofinquisitiveness, and therebyrestlessness as Guruji was unableto get the answers to theseunanswered questions. Heresigned himself to the fact thatno one knows answers to hisquestions, nor did he have theability to find theanswers on hisown. He made uphis mind to take hissister’s suggestionand give upthinking about God,creation, and allthese unansweredquestions.

He thought, “I canstart thinking aboutthese after I am 40years old, and notbother about them untilthen!” And fromthen on, Gurujicompletely ignoredspiritual pursuitsjust as his sistersuggested, and wasfocused on hisstudies.

Maybe it wasGod’s will thatGuruji got a taste ofnormal worldly life

before fully delving in greatdepths of spirituality, and so thatspirituality and divinity nevergot in his way. Guruji excelled inhis studies. Upon the advice of hisbrother Sri Nishtala Somayajulu,he completed his Master’s degreein Nuclear Physics.

As mentioned earlier, Guruji’sfamily was not well-to-do. Yet,they could make a decent livingand were never at a shortage ofbasic needs, or to showerhospitality on friends andrelatives. Right from a veryyoung age, worldly pleasures

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never fascinated Guruji. He washappy he had wonderful parents,who showered him with love andaffection and took good care ofhim! Studies were his primeresponsibility, and he wasfulfilling his responsibility. Sowhat else did he really need tothink or be worried about?

If analyzed, this is the basiccharacteristic of a genius mind.But how can it flourish? Onlywhen the doubts get cleared andone has a definitive answer toeach of one’s unansweredquestions.

Even though ParamahamsaYogananda had attained thepinnacles of spirituality, healways asked his spiritual masterSri Yukteswara Giri, “When willyou show me God?”

Sri Yukteswara Giri alwaysresponded, “You have already seenGod. What else can I show?” That inturn conveyed the entire essenceof what was pursued by one andall.

Right from the olden days ofVedas to the days of rishis, tothose spiritually inclined with aquest to attain God, it was madepossible by showing a welldefined path or by example. But

over a period of time, thisapproach got sidelined andeventually vanished. Patience,dedication, and knowledge toattain God also diminished overperiod of time.

Rather than agreeing to the factthat one is illiterate in theseendeavors, it has become a habitfor an elder to impatiently shout,“Why do you bother us with theseunnecessary questions? Go and play!”This was an easy way out forelders, and thereby the quest toattain this knowledge eventuallydiminished. Adding insult toinjury, parents’ focus onprofessional education got utmostimportance.

It was in this same fashion,Guruji’s quest for knowledge,spirituality, and God was alwaysput down by one and all everystep of the way. Getting involvedin scientific studies furtherdistanced Guruji from his aspiredpath, and his questions remainunanswered.

Guruji’s specialization inNuclear Physics was closelyassociated with nature at a microparticle level. Guruji, in hiseagerness, with all hisenthusiasm, questioned others on

how water, air, sky, sun, moonstars, clouds, and nature ingeneral functioned. Guruji’s onlyhope remained that if not all, atthe least, a few of his questionswere answered.

Guruji strongly believed thattrying to understand spiritualitywas a form of penance, and sowas trying to understandsciences. In addition, he alsounderstood that there was onemajor difference between the twoin its outlook. To understand thedeep meaning of spiritualityrequires self-introspection of one’sthoughts, beliefs, and nothingmore than that.

At the same time, Guruji wasalso fully aware that to get abetter understanding of science,scientific equipment and labsalong with relevant scientificknowledge was essential. Eventhough these clearly defined theborders and limits of science,Guruji never discounted thenotion that science can equally beconsidered a penance in its ownform.

On the other hand, Guruji wasclear in his thoughts that in caseof spirituality, there can be nolimits or boundaries defined to

curtail the depth towhich one can delveinto seeking self-realization. At theend of the day, Gurujiwas of the firm beliefthat both were greatin their own ways.

Discoveries made inscience, andinventions andinnovations made intechnology haveprovided comforts tomankind. But at thesame time, these havecontributed tomankind’s behaviourin very manycomplex ways.Mankind mayattribute greed,aggressiveness, anger,jealousy, and manysimilar unwanteddesires due to these

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advances. At a personal level, itbecame more a question not ofwhat one had, but more aboutwhat one did not have.

Nobel laureate RabindranathTagore once said, “Man madeweapons to win the worlds, and theweapons defeated him!”

Guruji once said, “Science cannever stop such disasters fromhappening! Man must change! Histhought process must change! For this

to happen, spirituality is the onlypath!”

The beauty of Guruji’s life hasbeen that right from a very youngage, his involvement inspirituality and thinking aboutGod never changed even as timeprogressed. It just remained thesame even after he masteredscience.

During those days, Prof. SwamiGyanananda was the Head of theDepartment of Nuclear Physics.Though he was an ascetic bynature, he was also a greatscientist. Some say that it was

our first Prime Minister PunditJawaharlal Nehru who requestedhim to head this department inAndhra University.

Prof. Swami Gyanananda was aKshatriya by birth. He hadreceived his doctorate fromGermany, and had taught atOxford University before joiningAndhra University. Upon hisreturn to India, he went away toHimalayas to meditate. He had

spent 18years in theHimalayas,and wasconsidered tohavespiritualpowers.During thedays he spentin theHimalayas, itwas said thatmany saintswould keepthemselveswarm byplacing theirhands on hiswarm body.He wasknown tohave such agreat internalspiritualstrength inhim.

Once hereturnedback fromHimalayasand started

leading a common man’s life,people started calling him 1008Sri Gyanananda Swami. Itliterally meant that people wouldprefix his name with “Sri” 1008times before calling him by hisname. He was also considered anexpert in Kundalini Yoga.

Sri Gyanananda Swami alwayswore orange robes. He wasaround 65 years old by the timehe became Head of NuclearPhysics at Andhra University.

Guruji had gone to SriGyanananda Swami’s house once.It was not a house exactly. It was

more like a small cottage or a hutin an ashram. Guruji wasextremely fascinated by a picturehe saw at that place. This picturehad two intertwined snakes witha lotus flower in between them.With immense curiosity Gurujiasked Sri Gyanananda Swamiwhat this picture implied.

Sri Gyanananda Swami laughedand said, “Oh! Looks like you areinterested in these things too! But thetime is not yet ripe for you to knowabout these things! Don’t worry! Youwill come to know about these thingswhen the time is right.”

Sri Gyanananda Swami was anexcellent teacher. In his firstbatch, he had only 3 students: SriNishtala Prahlada Shastri(Guruji), Sri BhagavatulaNageswara Rao, and Sri KandulaSeetharama Shastri.

Sri Gyanananda Swami delvedinto spiritual aspects along withNuclear Physics and this gaveGuruji a preliminary insight intotopics of his interest. ThoughGuruji was determined not toprobe spiritual aspects until alater stage in life, how could oneblock or control the urge andinner desires? Being closelyassociated with Sri GyananandaSwami as a student, theseunfulfilled answers and thoughtscontinue to expand day by day inGuruji’s mind.

There were many occasionswhen Guruji realized thatanswers to many of his questionswere in close proximity and yetunattained. This caused anunexplainable commotion inGuruji’s mind. In certain aspects,Guruji was able to derive thecorrelation between science andspirituality, and this amazed him.In the process, Nuclear Physicsturned out to be Guruji’s favoritesubject.

Under the guidance andblessings of his Professor SriGyanananda, Guruji successfullycompleted his studies. At thesame time, Guruji also felt somestrong unknown force hadenergized him to probe and seeknew frontiers in his spiritualgrowth.

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At the temple’s most recent camp inthe first week of August, the kids got avery special treat—two of Aiya’s oldestfriends, Dr. Anandakrishna Panikkarand his wife, Linga, visited the temple.Anand uncle, as we all call him, has aclose and personal relationship with SriSatya Sai Baba, who attained siddhi inApril, and he related some of hisexperiences with the 20th centuryavatar to the kids, counselors andparents alike. It began with when hewas staying at Baba’s ashramam whenhe was only a teenager, a few yearsbefore he met Aiya.

I would stay with him duringthe interviews as well, so I wasable to see all the differentmiracles that he would perform.One of the most dramatic waswhen a French photographer wasthere and he was taking picturesof us all in the interview.Afterwards, I asked how thepictures came out, but there wereno pictures—it was blank. Andthis happened so many times; ifyou took a picture of him and forsome reason he didn’t want youto have it, it would disappear.

But then right there, [Baba]created a picture of this Frenchphotographer and Swami in theinterview room and he gave it tohim.

You would see this all the time;he would create thaalis forweddings. You could see himtwisting his hands and you’d seeit coming down, and then he’dclose his hand and catch it. It waseffortless. So once when I waswith him, I was wondering,“How is he doing this? Where is

he hiding it?” I thought it was inhis armpit.

Soon after I thought this, hecame down and said, “So youthink I’m hiding it?” And he said,“Come,” and he put his arms outand invited me to search him. So Itook the chance and I touched hishair and looked. But then hepulled up his sleeve and right infront of me he created a locket, aheart-shaped locket with hispicture on one side and “God islove, God is truth” on the other.

You could develop a relationshipwith him that you could bethousands of miles away fromhim, but if you thought of him,you could experience him therewith you. Just because he’s not inthe physical form doesn’t meanhe’s not around. He’s morepowerful now than he was before,because now he’s pureconsciousness; there’s no body torestrict him.

So all of you have to get used totalking to him like you’d talk to afriend; like you’d talk to yourmother. Talk to him and wait for

the answer—he’ll come back andhe’ll talk to you. But you have tobe absolutely silent inside and outif you want to hear the answer. Ifyou’re talking to somebody else, Ican’t have a conversation withyou, can I?

It was 1963 when I met[Swami], and I was 13 (I met Aiyaa few years later when I wasabout 16). So Baba must havebeen about 35 or 40 at that time.When I wasn’t with him, hewould talk to me in my dreams.He asked me to keep a diary whenI was a kid of everything I didduring the week, and thenThursday was when he wouldcome in my dream and tell mewhat I did right and what I didwrong. If I repeated the samemistakes he would come back andsay, “Didn’t you get it? Are youslow?” You can also experiencethis communication with him anytime if you just think of him.

I do this sometimes in theoperating room—I’m ananesthesiologist; I put people tosleep. With this one patient, they

The God Within YouThe God Within YouThe God Within YouThe God Within YouThe God Within YouThe God Within YouThe God Within YouThe God Within YouThe God Within YouThe God Within Youby Anand Panikkar

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opened him up and blood wasjust gushing, and they couldn’tfind where it was coming from.And they looked but they couldn’tfind the source. So I just askedthis question, “Where is thebleeding coming from?” andstayed calm. And the answercame. So I told the surgeon and hewas able to stop the bleeding.

So when you develop thatsensitivity and get your mind tostop analyzing the situation, theanswers will come. That’s whybeing in silence, doing themantras, doing meditation—allthese things gradually train youto be able to receive the answers.And it’s not about hearing it inyour head; you feel the answer.You know what the answer is asit comes out, and you knowintuitively it is the correctanswer.

But how do youknow it’s Godand not yourmind? That’s anexcellentquestion. Theanswer thatcomes is comingfrom yourconsciousness.When Baba saysGod is withinyou, that’s it—theGod inside you isresponding toyour question.What causesmost of ourproblems is wethink of ourselvesas flawed, so howcan we createmiracles?

Now that Swami is not with hisbody, I feel him now more than Iever did. When I think of him, I

can actually smell his scent. It’sreally crazy, but it’s the viboothismell that’s all over him, and youjust know he’s there. See, before GPSI used to get lost all the time and mywife would say I don’t want to stopand ask for directions. But I wouldask—I would ask Baba, and then Iwould get his smell. And he wouldtell me the way.

Let me describe the idea ofconsciousness like this: if you go tosleep, how do you know that you’reasleep? But when you wake up inthe morning and someone asks ifyou slept well, you either tell themyou did or you didn’t. Who wasthere to know whether you did ordidn’t sleep well? That’s theconsciousness—it is an overallawareness of the self.

There’s a story of a king who goesto sleep in his palace and while he’ssleeping, he forgets he’s a king.

Meanwhile, outside the palace gates,there’s a beggar that’s sleeping whoalso forgets he’s a beggar. It’s the

same consciousness in the kingthat’s in the beggar and ineveryone else—but we justthink we’re certain things whilethe mind is telling us thosethings.

What’s the real you? The realyou is the one pureconsciousness that’s ineveryone.

Read more from Anand uncle’s talkin the next issue.

Aiya embraces Anand uncle and presents him with a giftimmediately after his session with the camp kids.

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Dear Atma Bandhus,Sri Mathre Namaha.

Recently during our visit to the Sri Rajarajeswari temple, Rochester, one senior upasaka wanted a simpleexplanation regarding the nine avaranas which opened up our chit-vimarsam, resulting in this article. Thisarticle is based on Sri Vidya Saparrya Vasana, by B.R. Sri Chidanandanatha and other Tantric texts.

We have taken the liberty to send this article to Sri Aiya and his disciples, since the moola karanam of thisarticle was my visit to the learning temple ofRajarajeswari. Namaskarams to Chit VimarsaRoopini Sri Rajarajeswari.

With Viswa Prem,B. Jayaraman & Vijaya

Humans are endowed with facultiesof developed 1) Mind, 2) Intellect and 3)Ahamkara.In tantra shastras, “Ahamkara” meansawareness of one’s own existence and not Ego.Mind + Intellect is Chittha, and Chittha +Ahamkara is “Chit”—the dynamic principleof self consciousness.

“Prakruthi” tatvam refers to the overallspecific development of mind, intellect andAhamkara along with three gunas. “Chit” isone’s own state of development of mind, intellectand Ahamkara with the three gunas as per his own accumulated Vasana.

“Chit Vimarsam” is enlightenment based on one’s own experience of the world. Technically, it is definedas an interplay of Sath, Chit and Ananda.

“Sath”—The existent principle of one’s own self awareness,“Chit”—The dynamic principle of living entity,“Ananda”—The enlightenment or bliss of Chit from the experience of one’s own perception of the world.

Obviously, as one’s perception improves due to enhancing faculties of the mind, buddhi etc., the level ofAnanda increases.

An example will clarify this idea. Two persons are passing through a scenic spot. One passes through justseeing the scenery, while the other irresistibly stops to enjoy the scenery, and if he is a poet, a nice song iscreated. If he is a philosopher, he stops and certain difficult concepts emerge with clarity. Thus, the “ChitVimarsa” or the experience of the same scenic spot is different for different persons.

There are nine levels of Chit Vimarsa starting with:

1) A mere awareness of Self as five Indriyas that experience/enjoy this world, and ending with...9) Grace, realizing the Self as a witness conscious to the experiences, and enjoyment of both outer and innerworlds by the faculties of a highly developed mind, intellect and Ahamkara.

In short, the process is the Self Awareness of experience to Awareness of Self in relation to experience.

Sri Chakra Avaranas & Chit Vimarsaby Sri B. Jayaraman & Smt. Vijaya

Sri Chakra Avaranas & Chit Vimarsa

Sri Jayaraman and Smt. Vijaya at Ati Rudram last year.

part 1part 1part 1part 1part 1

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The nine Avaranas of Sri Chakra represent:1) Nine levels of Grace (by the corresponding Chakreswari to attain them)2) Nine levels of Chit Vimarsa—Siddhis (needed to experience)3) Nine levels of Ananda—Mudras

With pranams to Sri Guru, based on the tantric text, let us discover therelationship of Chit Vimarsam and the Avaranas of the Sri Chakram.

Avarana 1This avarana represents the base level Chit

Vimarsam of all humans with which they experienceand enjoy the physical world with their five indriyas.The chakreswari “Tripura” represents the thriputi—“Enjoyer, Enjoyment and Objects of enjoyment.” Asthe name “Thrailokya mohanam” suggests, thejeevas are attracted to everything and get entangledin this physical world of thriputi.

The ananda obtained while waking up to thereality of the world—“Jagrat Avastha,” after deepsleep is Sankshobini Mudra. Jeeva is called by name“Viswa” in this state. The yoginis are “Prakata”—well-known and worshipped ceremoniously. AshtaMatrukas representing eight dathus of the body forma part of every devata’s worship.

Avarana 2The enhanced “Chit Vimarsam” with which the

physical world is enjoyed through the development of mentaland intellectual faculties is this second avarana as reflected bynames of the avarana devatas, Kamaakarshini,Buddhyaakarshini etc.

“Akarshanam” means you attract to attain with yourenhanced abilities and fulfill your desires, which justifies thename of the Sarvaasha Paripooraka chakram. Anandaattainment is through the mind and buddhi faculties. Hence, itis referred as “Swapna Dasa.” In the mind, objects have theform of tejas. In swapna (dreams), objects are recognized notby prakasa but by tejas. So the jeeva here is called “tejasa.”You fulfill your desires by your mind and intellect. Hence, thisis called “Sarvaasha Paripoorakam.”

Sarva Vidravini Mudra represents the anandam obtainedby mental achievements and emotions. The yoginis are“gupta” i.e. hidden, referring to the secret form of worship (notpublic but privately done), involving mantra chanting bymind, dhyanam and other internal forms of worship that areshort but intense and powerful. Hence, the siddhi referredhere is Lagima.

Watch for the 2nd of the three parts of Sri Jayaraman’s article in thenext Sri Chakra.

The firstavaranacan only beenteredafterpassingthrough theoutersquareenclosureof the SriChakra/Meru

A Sri Meru is a 3-Dimensional Sri Chakra

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Sri Gurubhyo Namaha

blossom 15 petal 3.pmd

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