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Pujya Swami Dayanandaji’s Address at the National Conference of AIM for Seva, Saylorsburg, USA, April 20-21, 2013

How It All BeganThe idea of initiating this movement was born when I learned there are hidden villages in the mountains around our gurukulam in Anaikatti, near Coimbatore. We were there for ten years, we had been seeing these mountains, but we did not even imagine that there were villages hidden in the mountains. We had come

across a few nearby villages but in these tall mountains, hidden by the forest, miles away, there are many remote villages. When I came to know that there are villages then we decided to do something for the people in these villages.

In one such village there was spring water available up in the mountains, but down below in the valley, people had no access to water. When I heard about this, we provided a pipeline to bring the mountain spring water to the villages in the valley. After this, the news that we were willing to assist went around, and people from more villages began seeking our help.There was another village that was seven miles off the main road. This village had no road leading to it. We had to go in a jeep, and the ride was a memorable one, because it was extremely bumpy. The people of this village initially wanted assistance with gaining access to drinking water, and so we helped with that.

Inside this Issue:Pujya Swamiji’s address at the National Conference of AIM for Seva Hinduism Today Interviews Swaminiji

Gurukulam NewsAnnouncement: One Month Intensive Vedānta and Sanskrit Course Begins June 2013Ekādaśa Rudrābhiṣekam at Dakṣiṇāmūrthi Shrine EugeneDialogue from Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Atlanta Vedānta Retreat, February 2013The Sacred Names of Viṣṇu and Bhagavad Gītā Study in DCAtlanta AIM for Seva Fundraiser

ReflectionsA Warm Shower in WinterSandhya Gurukulams: After School Tuition for Children in Rural India

Regular FeaturesAyurveda in One’s LifeSatsang with SwaminijiSwaminiji’s Travel/Teaching Schedule

स"#ताSūktā

Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam

Spring 2013

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During one of my trips to this village, I asked one lady, “What would you want us to do for you?” She said she wanted to have a home for children near the school where they could live and attend school without the threat of encountering wild animals during their daily walk to the school. The nearest school, we discovered was six miles away. There was no road, no bus service. Wild elephants and cheetahs frequently attacked the villagers, and so the villagers were naturally afraid to send their children to school. Therefore, this lady said to me that they needed a home where the children could stay and attend the school. I enquired of her whether there were not already such homes in existence, and the lady replied by saying that there was one home, but whenever they sent the children to this home, the children would come

back and remove the Gaṇeśa and Hanumān pictures from the walls and throw them away because they were indoctrinated to think these are all not gods. The home was a Christian home. The villagers wanted a home where the children are protected and respected just as they are.

I decided then that that there should be a movement, an all-India movement. It is not yet-another-NGO. A movement is one that involves people. People should take-over, it should be for people, run by people. India needs another movement. We had a successful freedom movement under Gandhiji. Now it is time for a movement to bring out our innate nature, dharma.

The Colonial Legacy and the Culture of CompetitionYou might have heard of Lord Macaulay's address to the Crown recommending introduction of an educational system where English would be the medium of instruction. In this address, Lord Macaulay said that he had traveled the length and breadth of this country, and found the Indians to be extremely honest, independent, and a very proud people. He observed that there was a high level of morality, where people seldom took to a life of lying, stealing or cheating. Such people, he claimed, could not be ruled by any foreign power unless they were made to feel inferior. He proposed that if the education system was changed, so that Indians would think that everything that is English is good; this would gradually destroy their self-esteem and culture. The Indians would then feel inferior to the English, and could therefore be easily overpowered and ruled.1

India never had a culture for competition, and therefore it was ill-equipped to enter the so-called modern age. In Indian culture, what matters is not somehow getting ahead in life, but having the leisure to discover oneself. Therefore, even before the child was born, everybody knew what the

child is going to be as an adult. If the father was a priest, the son also grew up to become a priest. If it was a daughter, she grew up to marry the son of a priest. Even today you cannot get a

A movement is one that involves people. People should take over, it should be for people, run by people.

1. Excerpt from the original address of Lord Macaulay to the British Parliament on February 2nd 1835: "I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation."

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carpenter without him being the son of a carpenter. Even today the son of a blacksmith is a blacksmith, that of a goldsmith is a goldsmith. These days, however, you cannot say every son of a priest is a priest. But every priest is still a son of a priest, and marries the daughter of a priest.

Now everything is changing fast. Competition is the contemporary culture. To get admission into a medical college is virtually impossible. You have to pay hundreds of thousands of rupees just to gain entrance. It is the same with the field of engineering. They have competitive exams and the cut off point is at 98.5 percent. Either way you are cut off --you either get financially decapitated, or you have to score 98.5 percent to avoid what is aptly known as “capitation fees.” How can any body score 98.5 percent? To take a hypothetical situation, let us say, the father scored 65 percent in his days, while the mother had scored 72 percent. How can the offspring of such a couple gain 98.5 percent? It is genetically impossible. These days, the competition is such that even a three-year-old needs a recommendation for admission into a good pre-school. I get such appeals everyday, asking for letters of recommendations --as though my recommendation is going to work!When competition is the reigning order of the day, you need a culture to compete. Competition without rules cannot work. You cannot have a football match where the player plays for a while and, when he gets tired of it, takes the football and goes home. To compete you need to have a competitive culture. We come from a culture of zero competition.

AIM for Seva Resurrects Our Innate Dharma of Sharing and CaringWe have to create a new social chemistry, by drawing on our original strength, which comes from a long-established culture of giving and caring. Even today India is intact, not because of the government, not because of any other reason other than voluntary contributions. The greatest contribution to India is from volunteers, individual people. All over the country we have choultries –resting place for pilgrims or visitors, where room and food are provided by charitable institutions. Every third mile has a choultry, all over the country. People can travel from Varanasi to Ramesvaram by just living in choultries. This is an amazing, amazing

country. This is only possible because there is a value for reaching-out actions, known as pūrtakarma:

vāpi-kūpa-taṭākādi-devatāyatanāni ca |annapradānam ārāmaśca pūrtamityabhidhīyate ||

There are only two types of karma that earns you grace. One is prayer, the other is reaching-out type of actions. Vāpi is water harvesting, kūpa is a public well. Taṭākam is a pond for animals, and ādi means, etc. Much of the work that AIM for Seva is doing comes under the word ādi. Devatāyatanam means the building of temples, which is also very important for preserving the culture. Arāmaḥ means providing a comfortable place of rest --children’s homes, and homes for the elderly can be included in this

category. This is our culture of caring. The most beautiful thing about it is that is practiced voluntarily. Each one does voluntary karma, even today, and this is what keeps India going. The reigning culture of competition is threatening to erode this culture of caring. We need to evoke in the people the innate dharma that is there, the sharing and caring. In the face of this rising competition, this is our only source of strength. Competition creates a

certain insecurity. When one is culturally inept to face competition, then definitely insecurity increases and people scramble to grab whatever they can. No sooner than one manages to grab something, it gets outdated, and is replaced by something new, and the rat-race to be at the top starts all over again. It is endless. Take this whole 2 G, 3 G and 4 G for example. It is all a scam. The “G” lingo is taking over everything, and, therefore, I tell people “Don’t call me Swami-Ji! Drop the ‘ji’, and just call me “Swami.”

Even today India is intact, not because of the government, not because of any reason other than voluntary contributions.

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The Power of Thinking BigYou will find that our projects are now all over the country. From Karnaprayag to Kanyakumari, we are active in fifteen states, We have a student home in Karna Prayag, we have homes in Srinagar. We have a home in Haridwar. We have a home in Dehradun. We have a home in Mathura. In Madhya Pradesh, also, we have a home. We have student homes and various projects running in Orissa, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The 100th student home will soon open in Lucknow.It is a colossal job to run all these homes. Last year, when we were ran into financial troubles, you all helped out by hosting fundraisers in ten cities. Eventually, these projects will be cared for by the Indian people and corporations. Only recently are the corporations in India becoming aware of

the concept of corporate social responsibility, and they have started to support a few social projects. It is complicated because the corporations tend to have their own agenda, making it hard for them to commit funds to

AIM for Seva. It will all gradually change. Until then, we have to care for these homes. The idea is to have at least one student home in each district. India has about 633 districts. We now have hundred homes, which means that only one-sixth of the work is done. We have a goal of 600 and odd homes, and then our work is complete. After this, we have to keep the homes running. We are working to motivate the local communities to take care of them, but it is not easy, as some of the villages are rather remote and impoverished. We are also working to have the local towns support the rural

homes. All this will take time. In the meantime we require to sustain the

same energy and momentum that was created last year. We should maintain what we are doing; in fact, should involve more people. In every area, there can be a group of people that are committed to AIM for Seva. That should be our goal.

For this to happen, you have to begin by visualizing what you want to achieve. Everything begins with a thought. This is a powerful thing to know. In the year 2000, when I thought that there should be a movement, it was just a thought. But it was a thought that caught on. A lot of people, several of them who are traditional ācāryas, have started doing this kind of work. I am inspired by the fact that the very thought does something. The government of India also suddenly got awakened and started promoting the idea of social responsibility. Once AIM for Seva started, everything has started to come together in a very big way. It was a thought that has caught on. Therefore, do not be afraid to think big, and the very thoughts will

Everything begins with a thought. This is a powerful thing to know.

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provide an opportunity to develop on the idea of what has already begun. In this way, we can continue to create more awareness and involvement of people.The more the people participate, the easier it is for us to take this movement

forward. We have colleges, we have schools, and we have hospitals also. If you want to see an example of what we have accomplished, you should go to

Manjakkudi. The progress there is simply breath-taking. We have elementary school, we have secondary school. Now they have started Tamil medium and English medium. We have a college that is complete with a huge auditorium. There is IT, and the first rural BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) in India is Manjakkudi. The first alcohol de-addiction program is in Manjakkudi, UNESCO is calling it the “Manjakkudi Experience,” as it is a very successful de-addiction program. More than five thousand people everyday visit that village. You should see the village roads at nine o'clock, with the bustle of buses, cars, and bicycles. It is a happening place, it is something to watch and feel proud of.

Manifest Your Wholeness by Giving and Letting Go

The human being is endowed with empathy. Empathy is the ability to pick up on another's pain, another's need. It is very natural emotion. You can

clearly see this in a tennis game. The winner of the Wimbledon match is ecstatic. He throws his racket, he throws his jacket; he boxes the air and kisses the ground --all before he follows an important etiquette, where he has to approach the net and shake hands with his opponent. After engaging in great expressions of joy and revelry, the winner goes to the net and shakes hands with the one who lost the match. You have to see the face of the winner. Just a few seconds ago he was totally ecstatic, but now he is sad. He is sad that he won and the other lost. Do you know why? It is because he knows exactly how it feels to be the other side, having been there before. This is human empathy. Bhagavān has made the human being have empathy. It is the window through which you look at others, emotionally, empathetically.You can do something that expresses your humaneness, your goodness, your bigness. Everyone wants to be big; nobody wants to be small. The unfortunate thing is everybody feels small. You can make any rich man feel like very poor fellow by just asking him for a donation! Bigness is to be maintained because one feels basically small. Being intrinsically big, as an individual one feels small and insignificant. If you have any doubt about this, google some NASA pictures. One such series of photos shows our planet, compared to our fellow planets in this solar system and others. Even compared to Jupiter, the earth is only the size of a tennis ball. On this tennis ball, you have to pinpoint your geophysical location. Think about doing that. Next, compare the earth with the sun and it becomes smaller still. Afterwards the earth is just a a pixel and then it is no longer in the picture,

You can do something that expresses your humaneness, your goodness, your bigness.

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when we talk at the level of galaxies. One is not there at all, yet one keeps making big noises.The insignificant nature of an individual is not something that we really need to talk about. Any which way you look at yourself, you become small and wanting: one is wanting in knowledge; one is wanting in terms of memory, wanting in strength, wanting in health, longevity and, in terms of money, one is always wanting. The feeling that you are wanting is natural, and that you cannot stand to be a wanting person reveals the truth of your nature. Your intrinsic nature is not that of a wanting person, it is pūrṇa. Pūrṇatva, wholeness, is your nature.There is a truth about you, a wholeness that emerges every now and then in your experiences of happiness. Especially when you are giving, you really become big. In giving alone your bigness is manifest. Grabbing and hoarding only manifest your smallness and insecurity. There are some people who cannot even throw away things that are useless. They keep them somewhere in the house. Then afterwards the items are stored in the garage. For three years if you do not use something, you will never use it in your entire lifetime. That is a principle you can live by. The incapacity to throw away things is a psychological problem. Long ago, there was an old swami that I knew. I was a kind of a mentor for him. One summer he came and asked me for a blanket. I said: “It is summer and you want a blanket? It is so hot, and you want a blanket?” He replied: “I want to use the blanket as a mattress to sleep on. You see, I am sleeping outside.” “Why?” I asked him, “Do you not have a room?” He said, “I have a room, but there’s no room in the room.” Hearing this, naturally, I was very curious and enquired into this matter further. I found out that he had collected all these old ḍabbās (boxes and tin canisters) and was supplying ḍabbās whenever people wanted them. He had a hoarding of old ḍabbās, and the entire room was filled with boxes. He had no place to stay. What a tyāgin! He had given his whole place to ḍabbās; his whole life was taken over by dabbās. I got some people together, and we cleared his place, ḍabbā after ḍabbā after ḍabbā. I had never seen so many ḍabbās at one time. Hoarding is a clear sign of insecurity.To work for the public cause you have to evoke your empathy and bigness. Your bigness has to come out. You have to think big. You may not have a

lot of money but you still have to think big. In your bigness you are ready to give your time, if not money. There is a readiness to share, a readiness to give. There is an awareness of being fortunate in one’s own life. You happened to be at the right place at the right time, because of which you are what you are today. A lot of people were not lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. Your background, your parentage have helped in putting you at right place at the right time. From birth onwards some people have lucky breaks to help them to be where they are in terms of education or profession. Others do not have such breaks, so we can reach out to them; we can afford to give them a break. You should think that you are going to give all these people a break and that you can make a difference in the lives of people by just thinking big, by sparing your time.

Tools for Moving Forward: Prioritization and Free WillBecause there is no spare time available, you have to create time for this kind of work. All kinds of priorities occupy your time. Your own priorities consume your time. There was a time in the past, when I did not have time for any satsangs. Then there was a time when I did not have any time for

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clubs or movies. When my old friends would call and invite me for a movie, I would say, “I have no time. I have a satsang,” “I have a lecture,” “I have a Veda class.” Sometimes, I would call the old friends and say: “Please attend this satsang, with me, there is a good lecture tonight.” They would then respond by saying that they had no time for attending satsang, as they had a movie to go see. You see, you will have time only for what you value, what you consider to be important. We need to have priorities, and they have to be properly organized. When you have your priorities in order, perhaps AIM for Seva will feature somewhere in your list. For some people AIM for Seva might be on the top of the list, while for others, it may be number two, number three, number four, or number five. I don't mind being number five, but not below that. The first priority is usually family, spouse and children. The second is one’s profession. Number three should be AIM for Seva. I am giving two more slots: number three and number four, for your friends, hobbies, etc. You have two more slots. There is flexibility up to the fifth slot. I don't want AIM for Seva to go below fifth slot in your list. If it goes below this, I do not want you, because you will never be available for the cause.Therefore, prioritization is very important. If you give a certain priority to this work, not as Swamiji's work, not as seva for an organization’s work, but as your own movement, your own commitment, your own call, then it will be successful. You are in the team of people who make things happen in India. I value your participation, your presence, totally, in whichever small or big way you are able to participate. You have to inspire others to

participate and make things happen there. We have to make things happen. We believe in this, we believe in karma, we believe in free-will also. In Western astrology, the astrologer predicts something unpleasant is going to happen. You cannot do anything. You have to sit and wait for something unpleasant to happen. Even if it is not going h a p p e n , t h e v e r y a n x i e t y surrounding it, will make it happen. An Indian astrologer, however, will tell that there is something unpleasant, and therefore do this pūja, a prayer for warding off or mitigating the unpleasant situation. This is India! We don't allow even karma to take care of it, we go by our free will, we make things happen. We don't just take things lying down. We do things and make things happen and when things don't happen, after all our efforts, then we accept it as karma. Karma is a shock absorber. Therefore we are proactive in making things happen. You make things happen and you are in the team that makes things happen. Therefore play your role well and make things happen.Whenever there is great enthusiasm in a gathering, one can infer that that meeting was successful. Seeing the enthusiasm in your faces, I am inspired that, together, we can move forward. Thank you all. Om tat sat.

AnnouncementArsha Vijnana Gurukulam announces a one month intensive course in Vedanta and Sanskrit from the 24th of June to the 21st of July 2013. Although the classes will be conducted in Eugene, OR, long distance students can also enroll, as the classes will be accessible online. The course will also have a component for working students. Certificates will be distributed at the end of the course. Pre-registration is required. If you are interested in enrolling in the course, kindly email arsha@verizon.net no later than Friday, 14th of June.

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circumstances interrupt a part of your routine, commit to the remainder of the routine. At the very least daily prayer and japa are tantamount to spiritual growth. As you will read in the article on the recent Retreat offered by Swaminiji in Atlanta, regularity in your spiritual practice and study is important. Only with regularity do rāga dveṣas start to subside - and until they subside, the knowledge will not settle. Enjoy the śravanam. Having the opportunity to listen to Swaminiji teach takes a lot of puṇya. It is not for Swaminiji’s sake that one does śravanam. It is for one’s own benefit alone. See where there doubts arise or where there is lack of clarity. Remembering what was said before the doubt arose may shed some light, so to speak, on why there is difficulty in understanding. E-mail Swaminiji your questions - it is likely you are not the only one with the doubt. The questions that form the satsang section in Sūktā are based on questions from students.Reading Sūktā is another way to enjoy dwell-time. We give a warm welcome to the Ayurvedic Medicine contribution by Dr. Hari from Coimbatore, India. As you will see from his biography, the opportunity to learn about ayurveda, from such a highly qualified person is a blessing. OM

“Dwell-time” is a fairly recent addition to Pujya Swamiji’s lexicon in teaching Vedanta. It refers to the time that it takes for assimilating the teaching.With most things in life when there is a desire to gain something, be it knowledge, an object, or a cure for some ailment, the desirer wants an immediate result. This is very apparent when one looks at the exponential increase in the role of the internet in daily life. Everything from banking to furniture shopping, from finding a significant other to locating the perfect home, has been made possible simply by pointing and clicking. This proclivity for instant gratification that is seen in the culture does not work for Vedānta, the knowledge of the truth of oneself. Dwell-time is necessary.Born of the same propensity towards instantaneous result is the question, how do I know if I have the knowledge or not? I may know many things that weren’t known before studying śāstra - for instance, there is one all pervasive Brahman, that Brahman is nothing but the truth of myself, I am not the body, mind or senses, etc. - but do I “know” the truth? While acknowledging that it difficult in a day and age when much of what Bhagavān provides to fulfill desires is readily available at the click of the mouse, the gain of self-knowledge cannot be hurried. Much like one can’t hurry the spring cherry blossoms to turn into cherries and ripen, it will assist one to accept the growing clarity that arises from dwell-time. Yes, it can seem to be taking for ever, but there is no other way. If the study has been going for a period of years, and you are wondering if you have the knowledge or, why you don’t have the knowledge, more dwell-time is needed. It is also possible that there pratibandhas, obstacles that make it impossible to enjoy the fruit of the knowledge until those pratibandhas are resolved. How to spend the dwell-time until the duritakṣaya, this exhaustion/removal of pratibandhas, takes place? Keep doing śravanam and mananam. Indeed, dwell-time is best spent doing just this. Until the knowledge is settled, one cannot afford to miss a single class that is offered. Commit to a routine - and don’t stop committing yourself. If unforeseen

Editorial

obituaryCarol Dombrose was a very happy and fulfilled person. She met me recently and was a committed student, listening to classes and attending retreats regularly. Carol had dedicated her life for spirituality and service. She leaves behind an organization and retreat centre that she founded in Ohio, and many bereft seekers who will doubtless continue to be inspired by her presence on this earth. Swaminiji Svatmavidyananda.

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Mat McDermott interviews Swamini Svatmavidyananda for the April 2013 special issue on animal rights and sentience.

Q 1. We know more and more from scientific studies that animals are far more aware than we used think. How do you think that consciousness relates to human consciousness?

In the vision of the Vedas, there is only one presence, one source of consciousness,

known as brahman, which is limitless and all pervasive, and which is the truth of oneself. All that is here, known and unknown is pervaded by this consciousness. Without undergoing any change, this self-evident consciousness manifests as the very presence in all things sentient and insentient. Just as a dream cannot exist independently of the dreamer, so too, the jagat, the manifest universe including one’s body-mind complex, is non-separate from the creator. Therefore, every atom of this creation is sacred to us. We have never been preoccupied with this one-God-many-Gods business. For us, there is only God. The air we breathe, the light of the sun, oceans, rivers, mountains and forests --are all Īśvara, God.

Animals are also manifestations of brahman, as are humans. Seen from this view, there is no difference between the two. However, from the standpoint of the forms themselves, there is a difference in the extent of self-awareness in terms of free will. Although animals are self-aware, and some even appear to have a moral compass, this awareness is rudimentary compared to that of human beings. Animals are generally programmed by nature; unless

they are disturbed, they exist within the scheme of natural laws, without tampering with or flouting them. Animals have freedom of action, but not freedom over action. For instance, a donkey certainly has the freedom to kick when it feels threatened, but does not have freedom or discernment to refrain from kicking just because the person standing behind it happens to be a Swami.

By contrast, humans are totally self aware, and have the privilege of free will. Having free will means that one is free enough to judge oneself, and find that one is constantly lacking in terms of security, looks, or possessions. Animals do not have self-judgment and, consequently, are free from discontentment and constant pressure to improve their lot.

Q 2. From a Hindu perspective, what is humanity's ideal relationship with animals?Unlike the predominant theologies that tout human dominion over animals and plants, in the Hindu tradition, the relationship advocated between humans and the natural world is one of harmonic interdependence, whose guiding tenet is ahiṁsā, non-injury. Since we do not have the power to create, we do not have the right to destroy anything including our own bodies. We do not even cut a blade of grass used for ritual worship without saying a prayer for forgiveness, what to talk of killing animals for food. The Taittirīya Upaniṣad declares that the food comes from plants “oṣadhībhyaḥ annam.” The Vedas, which teach about the interconnectedness of everything in creation urge us to protect animals and plants as they sustain life.

Hinduism Today Magazine interviews Swamini Svatmavidyananda

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Q 3. How do you think humanity's relationship with animals is changing?In the contemporary world, the belief that animals do not have souls, espoused by dominant theologies, condones the exploitation and deplorable treatment of animals in factory and dairy farms. As long as one subscribes to the belief that animals are soulless, it not only sanctions cruelty, but also influences laxity of laws with regard to animal rights and protection. Apart from this, there appears to be a growing disconnection between humans and nature, a separation that we can longer afford to feed. The mantra for success in the contemporary world is the individual pursuit of instant gratification at any cost. When the ends justify the means, there are serious repercussions at all levels. When we violate ecological laws, we have to bear the brunt of the consequences of our actions.

Q 4. Is there a hierarchy of animals in terms of how humans should ideally treat them, say between domestic animals and non-domesticated, between species where there has been a demonstration of consciousness and ones where such evidence is so far lacking?

Although there are differences in the way consciousness manifests in each species, all animals are regarded as sacred expressions of Īśvara, the creator. For this reason, we do not have the right to destroy anything in creation. From the tiny mouse, the mascot of Lord Ganeśa, to the mighty lion, ridden by Goddess Durgā, all are sacred. The various animal mascots of the devatās are a metaphor for taming the intractable and bestial aspects of oneself, such as anger or territoriality, for gaining emotional maturity and spiritual growth.

Q 5. How does Hinduism view the difference between human souls and animals souls?There is no difference. It is not the case that we humans are the only ones who have souls, while animals just have soles! Each incarnation is a journey

for the individual, the traveling jīva. The same jīva can be in a human body in one life, and be incarnated as an animal in the next. Whether one has a human or an animal incarnation is due to one’s karmic residues. So long as one is mired in separation caused by self-ignorance, one will continue to go through endless incarnations, breaking this cycle only through the gain of the knowledge that all that is here is one limitless whole.

Q 6. How does a Hindu understanding on animal souls and consciousness inform our choices with respect to: Food, Farming, Habitat conservation, Zoos, Pets/companion animals?The Vedas and the Bhagavad Gītā talk at length about the need to care for one’s natural habitat. One has to grow emotionally to extend the same care that one has for one’s body to all things that are vulnerable and need caring. One grows into a compassionate person to whom nothing is away from oneself, tending effortlessly to the endangered rain-forests as though it was one’s own’s own injured little finger. Since everything in creation is interconnected, the well-being of our surroundings is inextricably connected to our own well-being. The Gītā says, “devān bhāvayatānena te devāḥ bhāvayantu vaḥ parasparam bhāvayantaḥ, sreyaḥ param avāpsyatha.” Care for the devatās, the presiding deities, manifest as universal laws, and they in turn will protect you, paving the way for you to progress towards the ultimate goal of liberation. This broadly summarizes the need for recognizing the mutual interdependence of all things. When we lead our lives with this mindfulness, we are in the flow of a cosmic ecology. When one is in the flow, one lives peacefully without rubbing against everything. In fact that is the real definition of a Hindu --the one who does not rub against others. Such a life-style naturally expresses itself through mindful life choices in the everyday. Thank you. Om tat sat.

Portions of this interview appear in the April 2013 issue of Hinduism Today (www.hinduismtoday.com). Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam thanks Sri Brahmanathaswami for permission to print this interview in full.

Mat McDermott is a renowned writer and editor of Tree Hugger (www.treehugger.com) He is also an advisor for the Bhumi Project (www.bhumiproject.org), a worldwide Hindu response to ecological issues facing the planet, facilitated by the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies.

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Navarātri at Eugene Shrines

Ekādaśa Rudrābhiseka at Daksināmūrthi Shrine

Eugene

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Swaminiji Svatmvidyananda's gracious visit to Long Island brought us the teachings of Vedānta; that one is no less than Īśvara. Like a warm shower in winter it was a perfect New Year gift!

The night she arrived, her train had been stranded in the middle of nowhere in cold and dark, for hours with no heat or electricity. Swaminiji was all smiles next morning, ready to address an eager assembly of forty. It became apparent that to the one who is focused, nothing else matters! We asked if dharma was something that humans had to be

educated about. Swaminiji answered simply, no, dharma is already inherent in humans. How? As anyone wants to be happy and treated properly, one knows that he or she has to treat others properly. Therefore, one follows dharma and with particular attention to ahimsa.

Swaminiji set the stage for study with the chant of the mantra, “om sahanā vavatu,” etc. to invoke the grace of the Lord, Guru and śāstra, sacred texts. The prayer means, may the Lord protect us and may our study together be brilliant. May whatever is said be known by me and may there be no misunderstandings. Swaminiji taught us that we say śāntiḥ three times after the prayer to ward off aśānti, unrest, which manifests in three kinds of obstacles to learning: from the devatas, such as earthquake or thunder; from the environment, such as a knock at the door or ringing of the phone; or from my own mind, such as from worry or forgotten task which is now remembered. This helps the śiṣya, student, to be ready to focus on and receive the teachings.

From being a mumukṣu, one who wants to be free from suffering, one becomes a jijñāsu, one who wants to know the truth of oneself as not distinct or distant from Īśvara. Similarly, one comes to know that the jagat, universe, is not different from Īśvara. Truly all is one. Vedānta teaches non-duality. Therefore, one has to come to know that there is unity in all the diversity that we see. Just as the clay is the same in all pots, and gold is the same in all gold ornaments, Īśvara is the same in beings. So ‘duality’ is a misconception but it almost always mistaken for the truth. Duality only causes a feeling of separation and, as Swaminiji said, a separation anxiety.

The very thing that makes this understanding seem elusive for the human, is the very thing required for one to gain the knowledge of Īśvara. One must be self-conscious. Whatever we see, whatever happens is Īśvara. For no other being is this realization possible. Therefore, a human birth is precious and a rare opportunity to know the truth of one’s self. As Swaminiji put it, "if you miss the infinite, you will be infinitely seeking”. Since the jīva is actually seeking inner contentment, one must come to know that which is being sought is the knowledge of the truth of one’s own self. That self is Īśvara, knowing which, all else is as though known.

A Warm Shower In Winter: Swaminiji in Long Island by Mala Saxena

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Thus the jijñāsu directs and navigates the quest towards that vision. Adhering to dharma he or she can continue on this path and, with the grace of the guru, finally attains the goal for which he or she was born: contentment, limitless love and compassion, inner peace, no desire for gain, no fear to escape from, no suffering or loss, or no success to make a point of!

The jijñāsu realizes that all trials and travails stem from the propensities of rāga and dveṣas, likes and dislikes. To fulfill his likes and dislikes he has to step on this or that, constantly inflicting injury to his own dharma, creating karmas which keep coming back birth after birth, to wound and hound him. As Swaminiji said, the jungle of desires grows like cactus, not even requiring water in order to grow! Since karmas and lifetimes are countless, it is simply sufficient to know that this birth is a wake-up call and a reminder to show that there is a way out of this wheel of misfortune. It is only with additional grace of Īśvara that one comes to see that there is the possibility of a way out of this wheel of misfortune, and that now is the time to pursue that goal.

The main characteristic of the jijñāsu is the ability to adhere to dharma. Therefore, desire fulfillment that is opposed to dharma, is not an option. When asked if in that exalted state of realization, the jīva suffers any remnant karmas, Swaminiji translated her revered Guruji's answer, thus:

The jīva in that state is able to endure not only his own karmas but can take upon him or herself the suffering of others. Hats off to the many great saints who are known to do just that!! The jñāni has the space to spend his or her time serving others, without being swayed by his or her own likes and dislikes, without being excited by happiness or disappointed by afflictions.

The Vedas can be divided into two parts. The first part is a treatise on wish-fulfillment. It has norms and procedures for various rituals that, if followed to the letter, will certainly desired results. The wishes may be for progeny, for wealth, longevity, for a spouse, etc. The pressure to fulfill such wishes, however, drives a man to grey hair and old age; he seeks the know-how of these rigorous rituals, knowledge of proper constellations and optimum conditions under which such rites are to be conducted. All the while he knows that the slightest shortcoming or error means one will have to start all over again. As Swaminiji said, just like the game of snakes and ladders where one can end up back at square one over and over again. This consuming desire to fulfill wishes becomes the fog of ajñāna, and one misses the real purpose of this birth, mokṣa. It is important, therefore, to wake up from the dynamics of desire and realize the futility of its pursuit.

All fields of experience in a person’s life are limited and finite, be it a house, one’s children, or spouse. Even the yajña one performs and the puṇya gained as a result is finite. Thus, even if one is able to obtain a desired result from yajña or other action, it will not give one what one is seeking, a permanent freedom from the notion that one is limited. Further, as nothing is under our control, not birth, not our name, not death and not even the next moment, desires will not always be fulfilled. It is only from the guru who is the giver of knowledge, (gu

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meaning ignorance and ru meaning remover), the śiṣya finally learns nirveda, letting go of trying to change things around one.

Swaminiji explained that there is a transition from Veda to Vedānta. The second part of Veda is called Vedānta, which literally means at the end, anta, of the Veda. With the help of the guru and the śāstra, the mumukṣu comes to learn how rāgas and dveṣas can be obstacles to knowing the truth of one's self. The misconception about one’s experiences can be changed only if one understands that it is merely karma unfolding in order to be exhausted, including suffering due to thwarted desires. Knowing this, experiences become a vehicle for enhancing one’s inner growth and emotional maturity. As viveka, discrimination, improves, it triggers vairagya, an ability to let go of what is not beneficial to the pursuit. Life is kurukṣetra; we do not need a pity party to validate our misconception that we are victims. We are soldiers!

Swaminiji also explained how the hand can represent mokṣa. The three fingers following the forefinger represent the body, mind and senses, while the forefinger represents the “I” notion; the thumb represents Brahman. It is

only when, due to knowledge, the I notion, the forefinger, understands itself to be no less than Brahman, represented by the thumb, that it becomes free from the sense of limitation that arise from identifying with the body, mind and senses, the other three fingers. Recognizing that one is not the doer, all karmas are falsified and the jīva is free!

Swaminiji answered every question born of our curiosity, and narrated stories from the Upaniṣads that made the vision of Vedānta more clear for us. Reminding us of how important the value for truth and the spoken word was in ancient times, she filled us with

pride for our cultural heritage. It was delightful to have a teacher who can pepper such a profound subject with humor.

Once again the sādhakas in Atlanta were eagerly waiting for the first Retreat of 2013 with Swaminiji. On popular demand, we chose the same venue where we had our last Retreat - the North America Shirdi Sai Temple. We had nearly 75 to 80 attendees for most of the sessions. The Retreat program started on Friday, February 15th evening with Swaminiji’s introduction to the topic for the Retreat – the famous dialogue between the married sages, Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī, from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.Bṛhad means huge and āraṇyaka means forest. This Upaniṣad is called the ‘huge forest Upaniṣad primarily because it is difficult to get around the numerous topics. In this Retreat, Swaminiji took us on a little safari into this

Dialogue from Brhadāranyaka Upanisad:Atlanta Vedānta Retreat, February 2013

by V.N. Ramakrishnan

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forest. Swaminiji said that everyone, especially the married, should listen to this dialogue to understand the meaning of marriage in vedic times.Why do I have to study Upaniṣads when there are so many other things to do? What do I get out of it? The knower of Brahman gains the ultimate, after which there is nothing more to gain, which means no more striving, no more trying, no more craving. What is the ultimate? It is satyam, jñānam, anantam. Satyam means that which exists without any help. For instance, if asked, “Are you here?”, you don’t need to consult anyone before answering. On the other hand, a flower or microphone for example, do not respond to this question. Therefore there are two categories in this world. One is made up of objects called ‘this’ or ‘that’. The other is the subject of I cognition.In the first category, everything from galaxies to house, furniture, the body to the mind and even hunger and thirst are included. The second is the one who is categorizing everything into ‘this’ and I, the observer. The one who says ‘yes’ to the question, “Are you here?”, is the I cognition, which can never be objectified. If I is not known there is samsāra. Samsāra leads to two kinds of problems – I don’t know what I am and I take myself to be what I am not. The result is fear, lack of contentment etc. This is the mistake discussed between Yājñavalkya and Maitreyī.In verse one, Yājñavalkya reveals to Maitreyī his desire to retire from life of a householder to enter the life of a sannyāsa. Before leaving he wanted to divide his wealth between his two wives, Maitreyī and Kātyāyanī. Responding to this first shock, Maitreyī, boldly asks Yājñavalkya whether the wealth that he is proposing to leave her will give her the same limitlessness ānanda that he, Yājñavalkya, is seeking by becoming a sannyāsi. Yājñavalkya truthfully says there is no hope of gaining limitlessness through money. Maitreyī, rejects the wealth and asks instead

for the knowledge through which she will understand herself as limitless. Why did Maitreyī wait till the last minute to ask for the knowledge when she lived with a jñāni like Yājñavalkya all her life? When Yājñavalkya said he was going to leave, it was a wake-up call for Maitreyī. Usually we appreciate the value of something that is taken for granted only when we stand to lose it - which is when Maitreyī discovered the student in herself.Next Yājñavalkya tells Maitreyī that he is pleased he is with her and that she has qualified for this knowledge by her service. This reveals that the relationship is between a teacher and

student of brahmavidyā rather than a standard dialogue between a husband and wife. Having told Maitreyī that she must listen to the teaching with an open mind and full attention, Yājñavalkya gives her another shock. He tells her that the husband/wife is not loved for the husband/wife’s sake but that each loves the other for his or her own sake alone. What a way to start the teaching! She thought he was going to talk about Brahman being limitless and Brahman will make you happy etc., and instead this. However, if one really imbibes this teaching marriage will be completely devoid of any manipulation in the form of feelings such as, look at all the things I have done for you. If I don’t know I that is already pleased, what is mistaken to be I uses what is other than itself, to please itself. A lot of people get married because they feel limited. Limited + limited is still finite. If the I is finite nothing is going to make it infinite and if the I is infinite nothing is going to make it finite. So, marriage is not going to make any difference to I. Yājñavalkya’s message is, don’t think you are doing the other spouse a favor by loving him/her. All the love that you shower on the other spouse is for yourself. If Maitreyī understands, then Yājñavalkya has also eliminated any sense of sorrow in the fact that he is leaving, by pointing out that he is not the source of the happiness for Maitreyī - she is

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her own source of happiness. This is how one takes the co-dependence out of a marriage. Going through a long list beginning with children Yājñavalkya points out how each and every object is loved not for the sake of the object itself, but for the sake of the subject, I. If I understand this I can enjoy everything. As Yājñavalkya finally says, everything becomes beloved for the sake of pleased self. If I know this ‘I’ can enjoy everything and I see no distinction between ‘this’ and ‘I’. The ‘this’ resolves into the ‘I’ and there is sarvātma bhāva - all that is here is one and that is me alone. The distinction is there when there is a sense of incompletion and I am looking for completion through things outside. How does one know everything is for the sake of I? Only by seeing this. One should listen, enquire into and contemplate upon the ātma. How do we listen to the ātma? You have to constantly know it as a subject without objectifying it; there is no special ātma experience or darśan, seeing. These desires come from not understanding that the seer and seen are one and the same. Today, with the availability of books translated into multiple languages, one might think that one can gain the knowledge by reading. In Yājñavalkya’s time, the teaching was handed down orally. The teacher is the embodiment of the teaching. So you have to listen from someone who has learnt it from his/her teacher and who can handle this is such a way that you see what they see. For object cognition there are five pramāṇas: pratyakṣa, direct perception through sense organs; anumāna, inference; arthāpatti, more than one step

inference; upamāna, simile; and, anupalabdhi, cognition of absence. None of these can help in knowing the ātma. Veda says we need the sixth pramāṇa which is the words of śāstra. This is why it is called the śruti, that which is heard. Just as we back our eyes and other sense organs, we need to have śraddha in the sixth pramāṇa. Gītā says it is with śraddha one gains this knowledge. Just as we don’t question the information that our eyes and other sense organs bring, we need to have śraddha in the words of śruti. Śraddha is what allows us to let go of all the notions about I which are firmly identified with the body-mind-sense complex. If the ability to receive the knowledge is inhibited either due habitual orientation or wrong knowledge, they will have to be given up before the knowledge takes place. This giving up can take time because we love our notions that are familiar rather than the idea of limitlessness that this knowledge promises.There are other ways that I can help myself prepare for the knowledge. I watch all my actions, all actions are mindful and meaningful. I have the understanding that all actions including prayer are for the sake of knowledge. Bhakti brings citta śuddhi – mind purification. One should focus on studying regularly which helps with the clearing of lifetimes of opposite samskāras. Prayer and doing what is to be done with an attitude of karma yoga, and doing seva, will help us drop unwanted habits. Success is the extent to which you are able to manage your life without the various objects of likes and dislikes – a life of contentment without the artifacts.

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You can involve the whole family in the knowledge and preparation for knowledge. Karma Yoga should begin with the family. Marriage becomes a means for growth not an end when one stops arguing. If you want to accelerate spiritual growth make it a point to let your spouse win each and every argument.What is the connection between the prayer and karma yoga? In both there is recognition that I don’t call all the shots. Really speaking one is not in-charge. Why? Is there an angry Bhagavān who is after you? We don’t have the concept of someone sitting in the sky. Indeed, all that occurs is the result of our own actions - however, I have no say over how the adṛṣṭa phala unfolds. My karma is a manifestation, not a mandate of Bhagavān. If it is a mandate I feel targeted. If, on the other hand, it is a manifestation I feel worshipful - huge difference. The ‘why me’ tune has to grow into ‘why not me’. Therefore, we invite Bhagavān, in addition to the family, to be the part of growth. Bhagavān becomes the altar of surrender, the search for which began when the umbilical cord was cut. The pains and sorrows of childhood are stored in the unconscious until they manifest later in life, often at the time marriage. They have to be addressed by knowledge and devotion; in fact the beginning of spirituality is when we stop blaming ourselves and others for our pains and sorrows. We have to have a relationship with Bhagavān, the super therapist for the unconscious. By building a relationship with Bhagavān, I can learn to accept and make the best of what that has been given by Bhagavān, like parentage etc. People seek help for different small things in life, but when it comes to self-knowledge they have a resistance. There is fear of being taken over because we don’t understand that the guru is only repatriating you with yourself – guru is only giving not taking. With the other five pramāṇas there is an

ersatz sense of being in control whereas in the case of self-knowledge there is a notion that you are not the operator but being operated upon.How long and how many times I have to listen to the guru? Ātma is known enough to make a mistake. I superimpose what is not there on the ātma leading to a series of misperceptions. Study until the misperceptions are removed. Expose yourself to the teaching until you see what is pointed out without doubt, vagueness or error. The self has to be understood as non-separate from what is, from the whole. Start from the perspective of duality. Duality is reduced to I, that is self-standing, and ‘this’ which is dependent upon I. ‘This’ then resolves into I. All ‘this’ is, vācārabhanam vikāro nāmadheyam, ‘as though’ modification that, having speech as its basis, is sustained by words alone. What does it mean to say that all ‘this’, as though modification, is sustained by words alone? It means that the jagat, all that is though modification, cannot be called asat, that which does not exist, like a rabbit’s horn. Nor can it be called sat, that which cannot be negated. It is neither sat nor asat, it is mithya, a dependent reality. I have to see that in and through mithya sat shines. The problem is taking this, the name and form, which is mithya, to be I, sat. Maitreyī is told this has to be studied and internalized. When it is understood, as Yājñavalkya says, everything is as well known. Clearing the series of erroneous notions, however takes time. Vedānta is nine-tenths preparation and one-tenth knowledge.Even though the knowledge takes place in the mind, ātma is neither the agent nor the object of thought. Nor is it the thinker because when there are no thoughts I does not disappear. So, what is ātma? It is that which sustains the thinker, the thought and the process of thinking without being effected by any one of them. Ātma is known by a two-pronged approach. One is vidhi mukhena, whereby you are told that you are no less than ātma, free, always there, and sentient. However, this does not seem to be enough because the mind is already fraught with notions like I am not good enough, how can I know this etc. Therefore, the other pedagogy of teaching, called niṣedha mukhena, also known as neti, neti, negates all the mistaken notions that are superimposed on ātma leaving the vastu, the only thing that is real. For this, I have to see that the fabric of this universe is I which is equated to Bhagavān. An equation reveals the underlying similarity of two things that look completely different. In a mathematical equation, 20–11 = 8+1

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although the numbers and signs are different on each side the result is same. Similarly the jīva and Īśvara are the same Brahman in a different garb. The same māya which is all power and all knowledge for Īśvara covers the jīva with ignorance. The jīva cannot take off the garb. By being objective, however, I can gain understanding. The jagat is objective mithya. However, I don’t see what is, but instead see what I want it to be. This personal level of mithya, subjective mithya is called prātibhāsika, or mithya within mithya. I can not do anything about objective mithya, the jagat, but I can take care of my own āvaraṇa, ignorance, and vikṣepa, projection, by being completely objective. Objectivity is the real meaning of vairagya - it is not objects that are renounced, but notions that are against what is, including our parentage, life events and even hardships.If it is difficult to accept what is, the samskāras, a form of habitual orientation, that take over can be resolved by nididhyāsanam, or as Swaminiji calls it, chewing the “upanishadic cud”. Like a cow that quickly eats grass, the student eagerly waiting to hear the words, quickly nibbles the blades of mahāvākyas without ingesting and assimilating it. It helps to spend the time after the studies recalling what you have learned. Don’t give up the opportunity for gaining the puṇya of prayer for the purpose of repeating the mahāvākyas. Prayer cannot be substituted. Slowly one lives in the knowledge more and more - if one allows for dwell-time. What do we gain? The incompleteness is gone. Whatever you desire has been gained.

That is why it is called sat-cit-ānanda, ānanda being not conditionally bound by time and place.Swaminiji concluded the Retreat with the description of the beautiful ‘ānanda mīmamsa’ from Taittirīya Upaniṣad to give us an idea of it means to “have mokṣa”. Imagine being a young man, calm by nature, not lacking in education, physically strong, self-confident, and very wealthy being the owner of all the resources in the universe. Now consider this to be one ideal unit of human happiness. This is multiplied by 100 to reach one ideal unit of happiness for lowest level of celestial beings, due to them having access to an increased array of desirable objects. That one ideal unit of happiness for these celestial beings is then multiplied by 100 again to reach one unit of happiness of the celestial beings above them. At the 11th level, Hiraṇyagarbha, there are the equivalent of 100 quintillion human units of happiness (10 to the power of 20). The one who has the knowledge and who is sitting under a tree wearing nothing but a loincloth enjoys the happiness from all the levels.Once the desirer is dissolved the endless pursuit for ānanda stops. Yājñavalkya gives a definition of the greatest miser as one who departs from this world without gaining self-knowledge. Only in a human birth can you gain this knowledge, in fact, it is why the brain is given. The best way to use the human mind is to study Vedānta and Sanskrit. This will also help us continue the momentum generated by this Retreat.

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Atlanta RetreatFebruary 2013

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Harih Om!Swaminiji Svatmavidyananda graced us with her presence in the last week of April to continue with the verses of Viṣṇu Sahasranāma. In addition, Swaminiji held classes on Bhagavad Gītā.

For the entire week we were swept into the ocean of grace in the form of the awe-inspiring names of Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s elaboration of karma yoga to Arjuna. I cannot express in mere words the gratitude that welled in me for Swaminiji’s eloquent and inspiring clarification of both the texts. There were a few newcomers who are eagerly awaiting Swaminiji’s return to the DC area and the forthcoming classes.Swaminiji continued with the names of Lord Viṣṇu starting the seventh verse. The first word agrāhya refers to Bhagavān as the causeless cause and limitless consciousness who has no attributes and cannot be objectified. This is his svarūpa and cannot be grasped by any organ of action or pramāṇa, means of knowing. Śāśvata, refers to one who is always present in all three periods of time. He is eternal, timeless, unchanging and cannot be negated.

Kṛṣṇa is his svarūpa, he brings out the joy, ānanda in everyone. Kṛ is existence and ṇa is ānanda. Kṛṣṇa is also the avatāra that attracts like the

magnet and comes to earth to establish dharma. This happens when wrong actions overtake humanity and lead to anarchy. Lohitākṣa is the red eyed Lord, the eyes being like the rising moon and sun. Pratardana is the one who makes the jagat, universe, resolve without a trace. Prabhūta is the Lord who appears as an avatāra, as one who has overcome māya, is abundantly endowed and yet free of karma and ignorance. Trikakubdhāma is the one in the abodes of three regions, ūrdhva, above; adha, below and madhya, the middle. He is also

the one who supports all these regions. Pavitram is the Lord as agent of purification. Someone who is suffering from guilt and hurt, by surrendering to this altar of purity, purifies his or herself. Maṇgalam param is Bhagavān who absolves all undesirable things in the jīva’s life and unleashes auspiciousness instead.

Iśāna refers to Viṣṇu as the ultimate that cannot be overlorded. Prāṇada is the one who gives prāṇa, breath, and sustains it. He is also the destroyer when prāṇa leaves the body. Prāṇa is the Lord because of whom the prāṇa works. Jyeṣṭha refers to the oldest, the cause of all beings, while śreṣṭha is the most praiseworthy, or exalted. Prajāpati as the giver of results of action, is the lord of all beings. Hiraṇyagarbha is the one who is all knowledge and power. Bhūgarbha is the sustainer of the earth. Mādhava: ma is Lakṣmi and dhava is the husband, therefore, mādhava is Lord of Lakṣmī. Madhusūdana is the destroyer of a demon called madhu or, alternatively, the destroyer of the ahaṅkāra, egoFurther, he is Iśvara that has limitless power and therefore overlordship. As vikramī, he is the receptacle of all valor and courage. Dhanvī refers to the avatāra of Rāma and also the wielder of the bow who helps the arrow reach the mark. Which arrow? The ‘omkāra’ arrow, that brings the knowledge to buddhi. Medhāvī is the one who can retain and assimilate contending points and recollect not just a few things but many texts and disciplines of knowledge. Vikrama is Lord Viṣṇu in the form of the avatāra Vāmana, who grew from the size of a dwarf, to one who was large enough to measure the three worlds in three steps. Krama is one who causes movement and who facilitates krama, order. Viṣṇu is annuttama the one who is not answerable to anyone and durādharṣa is the Lord who is unassailable. Kṛtajña knows all actions and is also the dispenser of karmaphala, the results of action. Kṛti is the Lord as the intelligence behind all creation without undergoing any change in the

The Continuing Study of the Sacred Names of Visnuand the Gītā in DC

by Leela Krishnamurthy

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process. Ātmavān, the one because of whom everything exists. Lord Viṣṇu as Sureśa, is the lord of all devatas. Sura delivers blessings and viveka to all who pray to him. He is the altar of surrender, that is called śaraṇam, the one to whom we can offer all our fears and doubts. Śarma refers to Viṣṇu’s

svarūpa as joy and ānanda and viśvaretā to his being the seed of all. He is called prajābhavaha, because he is the source of all beings. The name aha is because he is the one in the form of the day, while saṃvatsara is Viṣṇu in the form of the year, time. Vyāla refers to Bhagavān who cannot be grasped, like the tiger cannot be grasped, nor a rogue elephant or venomous snake. He is called pratyaya because he is in every thought and cognition while the name sarvadarśana, refers to him knowing and seeing everything.

Aja is one who is unborn, and from whom all is arisen. Sarveśvara represents Viṣṇu as the Lord of all devatas and the material and intelligent cause of all. Siddha is Viṣṇu who is already accomplished, and attaining whom there is no other to attain. Siddhi literally means success and accomplishment. Wherever there is success, there is Bhagavān. As sarvādi he is the beginning of the universe, and as achyuta he is not subject to decline. Vṛṣakapi is Viṣṇu in the form of two avatāras, varāha, and Kṛṣṇa. Ameyātmā is again is the svarūpa of Baghavān as one who cannot be measured or objectified by any means. Sarvayogavinissṛta, the one free of all connections and revealed through all yogas.

Vaṣu as Viṣṇu who abides in all beings and as Vasumanā, he is free of all emotions like anxiety and fear. Satya because he is the truth of everything and cannot be negated in any of the three periods of time. Samātmā is a name given because he is the same in all beings and has equal vision towards all. He is one who is revealed as immeasurable, in terms of form and shape, by the name asammitah. Sama refers to Viṣṇu as being with Lakṣmi. Amogha is Viṣṇu as the Lord that is completely useful as the manifest universe. Everything is infallible in the Lord’s universe. Amogha also one whose name

is never taken in vain. Puṇḍarīkākṣa represents one whose eyes resemble the lotus petal. Like the lotus flower, he is free of stains doṣa, and he also resides in the heart lotus as ātma. The one with the pleasing eyes, he looks upon the jīva free from all impurities. Vṛṣakarmā represents the one who is like a shower of dharma, allowing one to follow dharma. He comes as an avatāra to protect all who follow dharma. Vṛṣakṛiti is the one whose very form is goodness and righteousness

Rudra represents Viṣṇu who makes you cry when karmaphala for wrong action is delivered. He is also the same one who dries up one’s tears with one’s own good actions. Bahuśirā is literally one with many heads. The head represents ego and Viṣṇu is the receptacle of all egos. Babhru is Viṣṇu as the protector and supporter of all and as viśvayoni, the intelligent and material cause of the universe. Śuciśravā is the one whose names are pleasing to the ears and that are completely purifying. All the amazing names of Viṣṇu recall one of three things: his svarūpa, his essential nature; the various orders of the universe; the various avatāras who came into the earth to establish dharma. The recitation of the names delivers all forms of blessings, protection and emotional support in one’s life.In the study of Bhagavad Gītā we started on the third chapter, after Swaminiji had reiterated the messages from the second chapter. Spiritual knowledge, especially, needs certain prerequisites. One has to develop some emotional maturity in order to understand and assimilate the knowledge. All these prerequisites are elaborated on in the second chapter by Lord Kṛṣṇa. This preparation gives one sāmatvam, a sameness, when receiving the fruits of action no matter whether desirable or undesirable.The third chapter starts with Arjuna’s question to Lord Kṛṣṇa. If action binds and knowledge liberates, then why does he, Arjuna, have to wage a war? Lord Kṛṣṇa talks about the two

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lifestyles that he had propounded earlier. The first is the abrupt and complete renunciation of all things in the quest for mokṣa. The second lifestyle, for those who pursue activity while seeking the knowledge, is

karmayoga. Activity is born of desires. The actions by which one pursues various desires are based on free will and are binding - they will give rise to karmaphala. One’s actions should be as close to sattva guṇa as possible. Actions born of rajas and tamas guṇas will produce less desirable karmaphala, while the results born of actions

prompted by sattva guṇa, even though still binding, will bring about a more pleasant outcome. Actions closer to sattva are like a stick, which bring the guṇas into alignment. It can then be dropped when ignorance is removed. Actions born out of desire are binding - one does in order to gain the

result. One can train the mind to do more non-binding actions, those that are to be done, which are expressions of Bhagavān. This require vigilant practice and the mind is used to manage the desires not control them. It is an attitudinal shift that makes action non-binding. Lord Kṛṣṇa refers to

the fire ritual as a model to achieve this. I.e., with each offering the phrase idam namama, not mine, is spoken. Initially a conscious effort, it soon turns into understanding and then snaps the link between one and authorship. All daily activities can be performed without need for approval and validation. It should be done prayerfully, joyfully and relinquishing the doer-ship. Then one is with the cosmic flow and one with all Bhagvān’s creation.The teachings were delivered with lot of analogies and illustrative stories to convey the message. Thank you Swaminiji for elucidating the as though ungraspable in such an inspiring way. OM

We were first introduced to AIM fo r Seva in Michigan and were drawn to the movement instantly. What appealed was that the persons leading the efforts in Michigan, Srini Raman and Savitri were very sincere in their efforts and they did a great job of raising awareness about the cause as well as raising funds for the children.

W h e n w e m o v e d t o Atlanta from Michigan in the year 2008 we decided to continue our involvement and were looking for opportunities to raise awareness about AIM for Seva in Georgia. When we were approached by the National Co-ordinator and told that Pujya Swamjii wanted to create awareness in new locations in the the

US, we immediately seized the opportunity and decided to become part of the 10-city tour of Nayani, a dance performance by Smt. Rukmimi Vijaykumar and troupe, for the 2012 fund raising. Although there were other non-profit organizations for education in India already entrenched in Atlanta, the uniqueness of the AIM for Seva model appealed to us. Soon we put together a

AIM for Seva Fundraiser: Atlantaby Eashwar Money and Shobha Swamy

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committee to help us in our endeavor of creating awareness in Georgia.

The 2012 program was well received by the community and we were not only able to create awareness but also a good impression with the Dance and Arts community because of the quality of our programs. We additionally did well in raising funds and were able to have about 45 child sponsorships.

Soon after in February of 2013 I was approached by a local Dance teacher, Smt. Bhavini Rajan. She wanted to see if we could host the world renowned dancer Padmashri Leela Samson and troupe here in Atlanta for the well known dance program, Spanda, making it a fundraiser for AIM for Seva. Bhavini Rajan had seen the first AIM for Seva program in 2012 and was impressed by the cause. She saw it as a good reason to bring her Guru Smt. Leela Samson to Atlanta, something that she also wanted to do.

Bringing Spanda to Atlanta and also making this an AIM for Seva fundraiser p r e s e n t e d a g r e a t o p p o r t u n i t y t o w o r k collaboratively with Smt. Bhavini Rajan. Although the timing between the first program and the this one was only six months, after careful thought, we decided to take on the challenge and go forward with the program. Our objective was

threefold: a) to further raise awareness; and (b) set a goal of 100 child sponsorships; and (c) bring another quality program to Atlanta.

We embarked on organizing this event in Atlanta. Swamini Svatmavidyanandaji accepted our invitation to be the chief guest and bless the event. We set about raising awareness among our friends, family, AVG followers in Georgia and it vicinity, and used technology and media marketing to spread the word. We were truly blessed that there was a great deal of support from people of different abilities and professions to help us reach our goal.

Our taking on this year’s fund raiser program coincided with the inaugural National Convention of AIM for Seva in Saylorsburg, PA on Apr. 20-21. Pujya Swamiji inaugurated the Convention and Swamini Svatmavidyanandaji was also present. We had two days of energizing sessions and also drew inspiration from disciples of Pujya Swamiji from other cities who are committed to the cause. The talks by Swamiji motivated and inspired us to make AIM for Seva one of our top five priorities.

We used TV media, social media, advertisements, enlisted the support of local dance teachers, and all other methods to reach our goal of raising sponsors for 100 children for 2013 (Local TV news article – (http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/p2p-spanda/vzZFg/). We were also introduced to a couple, Ramesh and Jyoti Patel, who live in the Atlanta area. They visit AIM for Seva chatralayas and have taught in some of them for an extended period of 2-3 months. We used their first hand

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experience to impress upon those gathered for Spanda to showcase how their money was being spent and also appeal to get them involved.

The program began with Eashwar welcoming the guests and introducing AIM for Seva in a short speech. Following this, Ramesh and Jyoti Patel presented their experience at helping in a chatralaya which portrayed a typical day in a chatralaya. Following which we played the Youtube video of Sheetal Pundir a success story of AIM for Seva. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_snONd1CLc). Following which we had the Consul General of India say a few words both about the program as well as AIM for Seva. Then Swaminiji spoke about the importance of Seva with emphasis on

being contributors to society and not mere consumers. With her humor and wit she made an impact on the audience that seva was to be given a place of priority in one’s life.

Thanks to all those who came forward to help the cause and the event, and with the blessings of our Gurus we had a successful program and contributors from Atlanta helped us succeed in our goal of supporting 100 children.

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Atlanta Vedānta Retreat February 2013

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In today’s world, academic success for children is highly valued. In India, a country whose economic growth is one of the leading in the world, parents across the nation have high hopes for their children’s success. In such a society children who are raised in India’s rural villages can be at a disadvantage for a variety of reasons - remoteness of location, economic stress, and lack of adequate academic facilities to name a few. Sandhya Gurukulams provide an opportunity for the children from these villages to excel in their early school years thereby opening the doors for them to higher education.

Due to its role of providing thousands of children across Tamil Nadu with the opportunity to pursue academic success, Sandhya Gurukulams also give many people a chance to contribute. From housewives to college students,

from money donors to devotees, all find gratification in contributing in their own way to these after school centers for children. What is it about these particular gurukulams that appeals to such a broad spectrum of contributors? From the perspective the children’s families that are served by the gurukulams, there is no question that access to high quality tuitions free of charge plays a large role. However, there is more to Sandhya Gurukulams than excellent academic standards. To understand the success behind these centres, and why it is that the program in just five short years has grown exponentially, one has only to talk to those whose lives have been touched in one way or another.

Three main themes weave their way through narratives of those who benefit from the program. Naturally, the first is academic success. From the teachers in the schools that the children attend to the teachers in the gurukulams themselves, one hears stories recounted of the vast improvement in academic performance as well as an enthusiasm for learning. The second theme is overall improvement in the children’s behaviour, both at school and home. And lastly, but by no means the least, are the noticeable changes in the children’s own self-confidence and self-respect.

Indisputably it is important for the children to be comparable academically with their peers from the cities. For the sake of the children, their families, communities and at the end of the day, their country, however, it is also important to bring out the best in them with regards to conduct, attitude and self esteem. This takes something extra, an extra something which is found in the Sandhya Gurukulam program. It is an unshakeable commitment to

Sandhya Gurukulams: After School Tuitions for Children in Rural India

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values. Values are fundamental to the traditional culture of this country. It is knowledge of, and abidance in, these values that allows each child to grow up to fulfill his or her own potential, be happy, confident and proud of his or her cultural heritage. Values that are once inherent in all humans, and at the same time will only reside in people when the very fabric of the culture supports them. Values that the world universally accepts, but bereft of traditions that deepen one’s understanding and respect for them, have been lost in country after country. By providing academic and traditional cultural education side by side, Sandhya Gurukulams provide all that is necessary for the children in India’s rural areas to excel.

The biggest contributor to Sandhya Gurukulams is Pujya Swamiji, who’s own life is a role model of intellectual brilliance and commitment to values. It is Pujya Swamiji’s ability to teach the value of values to others that has made Sandhya Gurukulams what they are. Through one of his students, Vasanti, his vision to have a Sandhya Gurukulam center in every nook and cranny, has provided the program with a clear direction. Such a vision is the gift of

Pujya Swamiji to India. What citizen of a country would not wish to raise the literacy rate and see its people having the choice to pursue a good education while at the same time strengthening a commitment to to core values?

Vasanti is not an ordinary woman. One sees how growing up in a family where both academics and traditional values are embraced, is a gift that all children deserve. Her ability to see where there is a need, and implement a plan in order to get that need met, are highly regarded by all those who

come into contact with her. As a dedicated student of her guru and teacher, Pujya Swamiji, her commitment to seva while carrying on her studies in Vedanta and Sanskrit during the current three year course at AVG Anaikatti, are to be emulated. She takes no success, or obstacle as her own - it is always understood as the hand of Bhagavān guiding the way. It is her unwavering commitment to the vision of her teacher, that academic prowess should not come at the cost of dharma, that places Sandhya Gurukulams in the forefront of other tuitions.

In 2006 Vasanti was teaching a group of children in a small village Sirgazhi. All the families lived in mud houses in impoverished conditions. There was no electricity and the villagers were unable to provide even for the basic needs of their children. Wanting to empower the village people and see the children, whose parents had not had the benefit of education, embrace school as a part of their lives, Vasanti faced many obstacles - but she did not give up. She started inviting the children to plays games. Slowly, over time she was able to integrate basic education into the play schedule and in this way was able to show the children, and their by now curious parents, the joy and value of studying.

Upon first meeting Pujya Swamiji in 2007 Vasanti told him about this undertaking. Pujya Swamiji immediately saw a way to increase the efficacy of Vasanti’s efforts. Why not, he suggested, create 20 teachers, who can each teach 20 children instead of teaching just 20 children? So it was that the Sandhya Gurukulam program was born. The goal of the gurukulams is to give the children in rural and remote villages in India, beginning with Tamil Nadu, the benefit of academic reinforcement through free tuitions.

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The focus is on strengthening the areas in which the children struggle and making up for any shortcomings in the village schools. Sometimes these schools are ill-equipped to give the children what they need to successfully complete grade school education and prepare them for access to higher education. The gurukulams are able to fill this gap, providing the necessary quality of tuitions for the children to become eligible for college. The program also aims to provide the children with an opportunity to come together to play, learn about values and their cultural heritage, and provide a supportive atmosphere for them to do their homework. Although it does not advertise itself, Sandhya Gurukulam has spread from 30 centres in 2008 to over 350 today.

The gurukulam teachers receive a week-long training from Vasanti before becoming teachers. The trainings take place at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Anaikatti or at other locations where there are adequate facilities. The potential teachers are hand-picked. All of them have good academic backgrounds, most having already completed, or being in the process of completing, a college degree. The teachers learn from Vasanti how children can be encouraged to develop good study habits. They also learn about richness of their traditional cultural heritage through various mediums. Having a greater understanding of the backbone of their culture - values - the Sandhya Gurukulam teachers themselves undergo a big transformation which is then passed down to the children they teach. All of them benefit from an increase in both self-confidence and respect for oneself and for others.

In order to see how Sandhya Gurukulams are contributing to villages in Tamil Nadu, one has only to accompany Vasanti as she goes from village to village visiting coordinators and talking to teachers. In meetings that are held with the teachers every year or so, Vasanti gives the teachers the opportunity to share about individual gurukulams. She continues to teach them about their traditional cultural heritage, which they in turn teach the children. When Swami Sakshatkrtanandaji, whose life is completely devoted to seva and upholding dharma, visits the Sandhya Gurukulams to address the teachers and coordinators, they reach another level of understanding about their own contribution to the program - a willingness to serve for the benefit of others and a laudable commitment to values.

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In keeping with this commitment to values one sees many changes in the villages where the gurukulams are located. Children who are the first generation of school going children in their families, are given the academic support that is not available for them at home. Other children, who might be left alone for several hours after school due to parents working, or being otherwise unavailable, benefit from the tuitions and adult support. No one is turned away because of his or her background and each student has the opportunity to participate in all the activities.

Teachers in the village schools, and in the gurukulams themselves, note differences in the children. Not only do they report the children being better equipped academically, but as they assimilate the traditional values, efficacy in their study patterns is noted along with a decrease in behaviours that would hinder their progress in society. The children become sources of pride to both their families and their villages. The Sandhya Gurukulam teachers themselves find a pride and satisfaction in their ability to contribute to the well-being of the children in their villages. All have the pleasure of watching the children discover their own value, become more self-assured and improve their school grades.

When one is able to do something that one knows is beneficial for others one feels good about oneself. When one discovers a way to contribute that improves the lives of so many one not only feels good about it, but one is

inspired to share about it with others. It is by word of mouth that Sandhya Gurukulams have spread throughout Tamil Nadu. Teachers in schools, pleased with the results might ask for a Sandhya Gurukulam to be started in a certain village from which they know there are children struggling academically. A Sandhya Gurukulam teacher him or herself may know some families in another village that would benefit from the additional academic support for their children. Parents of the children attending the gurukulams might tell their relatives in another village. There is no advertisement that could possibly improve upon these kinds of recommendations. Today, nearly 9000 school going children in rural Tamil Nadu benefit from the Sandhya Gurukulam program which functions in villages around Anaikatti, Cuddalore, Erode, Mohanur, Marudur, Nagercoil, Theni, Tirucherai, Tiruppattur, Tirukkoviloor, TNPalayam, Vadipatti and Veerapandi.

It is Pujya Swamiji’s grace flowing into Tamil Nadu that has blessed these villages with centres. It is Vasanti’s commitment and dedication that has ensured the high standard of teachers and coordinators that the program attracts. It is the grace of Iśvara that has provided the very basis for the centres, the Hindu culture that is the embodiment of dharma.

Each centre costs about Rs. 10000 a year to run. The teacher is given a monthly stipend of Rs. 500 for teaching 12 hours a week over a six day period. The coordinator, who twice each month visits the Sandhya Gurukulam centres in his hub, is paid Rs. 2000. Once a year all students are provided with a tuition note book and prizes are given to the three best students in each Sandhya Gurukulam. Annually there is a best teacher award for every hub, each winner receiving a certificate and a Rs. 2500 cash prize.

If you are interested in starting a Sandhya Gurukulam in your village, or would like to contribute to Sandhya Gurukulams, whether as a teacher, a coordinator, or to offer financial support, you can contact Vasanti at:

Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Anaikatti Post, Coimbatore 641108, Phone :94866 16709

Email : sandhyagurukulam@gmail.com

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Ayurveda – Traditional concept on Origin and Spread

Ayurveda is one of the oldest existing medical systems in the world. The word Ayurveda consists of two words – “Ayu” means life and “Veda” is knowledge, hence it is the knowledge of life. From the time immemorial, all living beings were conscious of their health and longevity. This knowledge was passed on to the next generation, hence the origin of Ayurveda is considered from the beginning of creation. The transmission of knowledge was mainly through the oral tradition in ancient times and there were not much importance given for documentation like nowadays. Moreover, the documentation was done on palm leaves that have got limited lifespan; hence it is not easy to reach a conclusion on history of Ayurveda with existing evidences, though the modern historians are trying their best. The Indian philosophy considers the knowledge is an inseparable part of the creator or the Supreme self and the knowledge of Ayurveda was recollected

from the memories of the creator, which was later passed on to the sages. This knowledge was codified and spread by the highly evolved sages of ancient India.

Ayurveda, Surgery and other Specialties

Though Ayurveda has got a holistic approach on physical and mental health, it has been divided in to several branches based on the priority. The recent studies in India reveals that there are more than 600 types of diseases are managed in Ayurveda hospitals and some of the diseases which are being treated include fever, asthma, cough, diarrhea, vomiting, cardio vascular diseases, diabetes, neurological disorders, arthritis, degenerative diseases, skin diseases, toxicology, eye diseases, psychological disorders, addictions, stress, insomnia, migraine and certain types of cancers etc. Sage Susruta, the father of surgery who lived somewhere between B.C. 500 t o B . C . 3 0 0 0 y e a r s , performed surgeries like c a e s a r i a n s e c t i o n , management of different types of breach positions, still birth, fractures & dislocations, prolapse of uterus & rectum, eye surgery, rhinoplasty and plastic surgery. He explains the preservation of dead body using simple methods. He describes the importance of dissecting cadaver before every surgery for clearing doubts. Details on various types of surgical procedures and medicines are widely explained.

Significance of AyurvedaThe complete eradication of the disease is the main focus in Ayurveda, rather than temporary symptomatic relief or surgical removal affected parts of the body. Surgery is recommended, when all types of internal and

Ayurveda in One’s Lifeby Dr. P.N. Hari

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external treatments are insufficient. Ayurveda has got various types of treatment techniques according to the condition of the patient and disease.

Concept of Health & Good PracticesAyurveda emphasizes on both preventive and curative aspects of treatment with a H o l i s t i c a p p r o a c h ; considering the state of body, mind, sense organs, intellect and soul as a whole. The state of health is defined as the absolute harmony of body, mind, intellect, sense organs and soul. Health is also defined as the purity of body and mind, while disease is the impurity. The digestion,

absorption and cellular metabolism are very important in maintaining the purity and health. The abnormal conditions of digestion, absorption and metabolism can cause diseases due to accumulation of toxins in the body. This can lead to dysfunction of other organs and systems. There are several factors can cause such disorders and some of the factors are –

• Weak digestive fire• Excess or very less quantity of food intake• Heavy food• Intake of unfavorable food• Binging• Frequent Snacking• Excess or less water intake• Mental Stress• Irregular bowel movements• Irregular daily routine & lifestyle habits• Seasonal changes• Low personal physical hygiene

• Not sleeping enough at night• Reheated and old food

Ayurveda recommends controlling the above factors through a disciplined life for a good physical and mental health. Some of the good practices recommended in Ayurveda are –

• Timely eating on hunger – The food should be consumed regularly on same time and on hunger, on complete digestion of the previous meal. The quantity of the food should be regulated accordingly.

• Consume the food with a relaxed mind, focusing on food, being quiet and avoiding other thoughts. The food should also be chewed several times.

• Heavy food items are difficult to digest or takes longer time to digest, should be consumed less.

• Unfavorable food items can cause allergies or other health issues should be avoided, even though nutritious or tasty.

• Early and light dinner• Early to bed and early to rise• Practice of Yoga, meditation, prayer, positive thinking, controlling

emotions and stress, regular exercise and personal hygiene.An accustomed food becomes favorable and undergoes better assimilation. Ayurveda strongly recommends consuming light and nourishing food for a healthy long life, as scriptures say “Annam Amrutham” means food itself nectar!

Dr. P.N. Hari was born in Puthenchira, a village in Trissur District of Kerala and has completed 7 ½ year residential BAMS (Ayurveda Medical Degree) course in 1992 from the Ayurveda College Coimbatore, run by the renowned institution The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy Coimbatore Ltd and affiliated to the Central Council for Indian Medicine, Govt. of India.

He has 20 years of teaching and clinical experience. Dr. Hari will be in Eugene from 2-7 July. Please contact Harinder at harinder@uoregon.edu for signing up to meet with Dr. Hari.

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Pujya Swamiji Dayananda Saraswati teaches that living begins when one contributes something that will bring about more joy, more happiness, more light and more freedom; until then, one merely drags one's life through old age and on to the grave. He teaches the essential nature of a human being is fullness and this wholeness finds expression when you are able to help others.If we look across the animal kingdom, we will find that cows are the embodiment of the qualities of daya, compassion. They eat grass all day and in return give us milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, butter, dung as a fertilizer, and urine as a medicinal product. The cow is innocent, nirabhayti, and all-giving, paroparakāri. When you look at the eyes of a cow, you can see an ocean of mercy and compassion. The philosopher Sri Aurobindo wrote, “When I look at the eyes of the cow, I see thousand divine mothers looking at me with daya.” After 30 years of service as professor of engineering technology at New York City College of Technology, I decided to take early retirement to start a project of love and compassion. Since cow protection, go-samrakṣanam

seemed to me the perfect project of daya, I started Lakshmi Cow Sanctuary, Inc., on a 42 acre farm near Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in 2000. Our sanctuary is a safe haven for cows that would otherwise destined for the slaughter house. Our mission is to protect these innocent animals and provide a free and loving environment for the cows to live in peace and happiness. When I told Swamiji Dayananda Saraswati about this project, he asked the Ashram to donate a cow saved from slaughter to the sanctuary to bring good luck. Later, this cow, named Bhārathi, gave birth to a calf with a question mark on his face (photo) as if he is asking "Who am I?" We are calling him Vedānta since many of Swamiji's talks are based on the essential question "Who am I?” We are not the body, we are pure consciousness.In the temple, the priests recite a prayer every day, go brāhmaṇebhyaḥ śubamastu nityaṃ, lokāḥ samasthāḥ sukhino bhavantu, meaning if cows and brāhmins are happy, the whole universe will be happy. Kanchi Shankarāchārya has said that service to the cows is considered to be supreme because the cow is considered to be God of Gods. He used to spend many hours in goshālas. Sage Thirumūlar suggests 4 simple acts of compassion on a daily basis: It is easy for every one to offer a leaf to God, mouthful of grass to the cow, sharing your food with the needy and say a few kind words to one’s fellow beings.To further understand daya and its relation to cows and other living beings, let us look at the words and deeds of various wise men, ṛṣis, throughout history. It was said of the daya of a great saint from south India called Vallalar that “whenever he saw a withering plant, his heart withered”. The great poet Bharathi was described as having tears of commiseration in his eyes because “his brothers in the sugarcane field were dying”. Kanchi Shankarāchārya wrote, “In the world of animals, there is no college, no library or printing press. They cannot speak. But, are they in a state of

A Retirement Project of Love and Compassion:Lakshmi Cow Sanctuary Inc.

by Sankar Sastri

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suffering? It does not appear to be so. They are not afflicted by diseases to the extent we are; they do not amass wealth; they have no worry about what they did yesterday and what they may have to do tomorrow. They too get their food somehow and manage to survive." Thirukkural states, “Find and follow the good path. For if various ways are examined, daya will prove the means to liberation”’This is so true of our cows. They are not doings, but beings. It is our true nature just to be and not always need to become. To use a more recent example, Albert Einstein wrote, "Our task is to free ourselves...by widening our circle of compassion to all living creatures, the whole of nature and its beauty." These examples indicate that practicing universal daya not only makes us better people, but frees us from the traps in which the desires we are so quick to feed ensnare us. Ultimately, one sees that love and compassion are one in the same. When you love someone, the negative aspects are anger, hatred, jealousy, harsh words, and selfishness when love does not happen the way you want it to happen. How many people have you known who have gotten angry when their lovers have deceived them? The good aspects of love are patience,

faith, compassion, kind speech, readiness to help at any time, so on and so forth. This love is actually an expansion of our own consciousness. Our true nature is love. Ultimately, one sees that love and compassion are one in the same. Generally, what we consider as love is based in one’s own sense of lack, and is therefore fraught with conditions. When you love someone, and love does not happen the way you want it to happen, one sees anger, hatred, jealousy, harsh words, and selfishness. How many people have you known who have become angry when their lovers have deceived them? On the other hand,

when things are as we want we see patience, faith, compassion, kind speech, readiness to help at any time, and so forth. When one knows the truth of oneself, these qualities manifest unconditionally.Unfortunately, we love only selected people. A mother’s love for her child is often considered the supreme, most unprejudiced form of love; however, even the mother looks at another child differently than she does her own. We have to expand our love beyond our immediate family unto the whole community, and furthermore, unto to all living beings. If we do that, we are living in accord to our true nature. In this respect, cows have daya to all living beings. When you move with them and look at their eyes, you see an ocean of daya. When you show daya, fear empties from you, there is no more selfishness. You experience ānanda. Cows are so loving and compassionate to all living beings. This author once saw a cow chasing away a chicken with her chicks one day. He went to see why the cow was chasing away the chicken and the chicks. When he went to see it he found out the hen was showing the chicks how to eat a worm. The cow did not want to see the suffering of the worm and therefore chased the chicks away. Cows show an enormous amount of daya to all living beings. Even when they eat grass, they only eat the top part of the grass without destroying the roots, unlike other grazing animals such as goats and horses. The Rig Veda states, “The cow is like the mother of cosmic forces, the daughter of cosmic matter, the sister of cosmic energy, the center of ambrosia. I address to men of wisdom - kill not her, the sinless inviolate cow.” Let us emulate the cow by showing compassion in all of our actions all the time. Love, desire, relationships, etc. must come out of compassion only. Compassion is the

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highest of all the feelings that circulate within us as humans. When we deal with this world, let an indiscriminate compassion dominate

in all of our actions. From now on, we can remember that we do not need money, desire, power or any of the other thing that is so valued and sought in the material world. If we have compassion in all of our actions, we will only have success. Compassion has no room for selfishness. It is the nature of God and it is our nature as well. Sage Thirumūlar wrote 3000 years ago, “Ignorant people say love and God are two separate identities. Many do not realize that love is God. When one realizes that love is God they will be sitting like Lord Śiva giving love to all.

We invite all of to come and see the sanctuary. If anyone wants to start a cow sanctuary, the author will be happy to provide any help he can give.

Could you tell us a little more on how we can a) realize when we are not being dispassionate, and b) attain a more objective view of people and events, when this has occurred? This is a momentous question --and is very important for the study of Vedānta --not just academic study, but for assimilating the knowledge for living in harmony with oneself, and in harmony with everything that there is. As the discussion on verse 35 Chapter 4 of Bhagavad Gītā shows, this harmony is not artificial or make-believe, but is a natural outcome of imbibing the knowledge that teaches that there is nothing other than oneself. Everything is consciousness itself; which means that sentiency, consciousness is not any one particular thing. In order to be everything, it has to be free from being limited to any one thing. If there is nothing other than me, what about all these other bodies and minds? What about all

these arguments that I get entangled in? What about the vagaries of the weather, and the moods of others that affect me regularly? When the teaching says that there is nothing other than myself, nothing other than the ātma, it means that all things that are seen and experienced are me alone. Of course, when it comes to rainbows, and gorgeous sunset, smiling children and chocolate and flowers, it is easy to assimilate these as myself, but what about the neighbor's grumpiness, the off-spring's crankiness, and the impatient behavior of the significant other? All this is myself alone. How does this knowledge come about? We are repeatedly told that this knowledge comes through seeking and listening to a qualified teacher, through developing an attitude of humility and seva, and through seeking answers to doubts and questions. A period of study also brings the cultivation of viveka, discrimination, and vairāgya, dispassion or objectivity. Viveka and vairāgya are the twin pillars of this knowledge; developing them creates a strong foundation for living this knowledge, and enjoying the fruits.Even without the study, one often knows when one is being subjective. The difference is that a lay person, a samsāri, one subject to samsāra, reacts to events and situations, and tries to protect oneself from real or perceived threats or fears by becoming defensive and saying or acting in ways that he or she did not mean to. That is why one keeps trying to say in the aftermath that one did not mean to say such such or do so and so. With the cultivation of objectivity, there is a concomitant decrease in auto-reactions that stem out of the personality (likes and dislikes) and the unconscious, rather than from the person who is interacting in the present. One knows that the the newly acquired viveka and vairāgya have gone to bed, and are not available at one's command, when one is affected by situations, and affected to such a degree that one wants to immediately react, retaliate, teach people a thing or two, set things right, give the correct point of view, teach someone the right way to talk or behave, or have the last word (all these are in heavy quotes). With email, the temptation to engage in quick reprimands, defenses, reconciliation, or rapprochement is very high. That is when one needs to wake up the bed-headed twins viveka and vairāgya and put them to work. First one has to wake up and have at one's command another set of twins dama and śama. The first is conscious cessation of all engagement, and the second is the resolution of the feelings and emotions that compel one to engage blindly.

Satsang with Swaminiji

35

It is amazing that with the passage of time, things can and do look different, so I encourage everyone to allow time to pass before reacting. With sufficient time and introspection, one learns to garner one's forces and look at situations calmly and compassionately. Viveka brings the right intention, and vairāgya ensures that in assessing and responding to a situation, one derives no personal benefit, and one is not trying to push one's own agenda upon others. This is the way to develop objectivity --by giving and giving in repeatedly. One can afford to give in and be accommodative because one knows that everything is oneself. One is contented and joyful, and one is free of wanting to manipulate people and situations to one's gain. The objective person is a compassionate person, whose primary motive is to see the best for the person/s who approach him or her. Developing viveka and vairāgya makes one a living saint. This is the goal for all humans in the tradition.

New York: May 31 and June 1: Second Annual Priests Conference, Suryanarayana Temple, Queens, New York. Contact Abhaya Asthana abhayaji@gmail.com

June 21: Meeting of the Contemplative Alliance organized by GPIW. Contact Janet Falk janetf@aimforseva.org

Detroit: June 7-9 Talks on Kathopaniṣad Contact Srini and Savitri svraman92@hotmail.com

Atlanta: (EASTERN TIME) ! June 10-14 ! 7-8 am Pratahsmaranam! ! 7-8:30 pm Pañcadaśī Chapter 7 ! June 15 and 16! 9am-Noon and 4:15-5:45 pm Healing the duality within: ! Verses from Mundakopanishad.! Contact: Sri Ramakrishnan 770-232-0552

These talks can be accessed via:https://avmtemple.adobeconnect.com/_a725965367/gita/

To access the classes at the above link, click on it, choose "Enter as a guest," and sign in with your name. No password is needed. 

Huntsville, Alabama: July 19-21: Tentative Contact: Dr. Sahu drbcsahu@gmail.com

Lectures on Ayurveda by Dr. P.N. Hari in EugeneVisiting Dr. P.N. Hari from Coimbatore, India, will give lectures from July 2-7th. For more information contact: Harinder Khalsa harinder@uoregon.edu

Eugene: (PACIFIC TIME) May 19 and July 6 Vedānta Ḍiṇḍima - 9:30 am to Noon Tuesdays 6-7 pm Śvetāśvtara Upanishad Wednesdays 6-7 pm Kaṭhopaniṣad Please Note These classes will not meet between May 28th to June 26th Due to Swamini Svatmavidyananda's travel schedule

June 24 to July 21 One Month Intensive Vedānta and Sanskrit Course - See Announcement, page 7

These classes are simultaneously streamed via live stream and adobe connect. The links are reproduced below. Click on the any of the links to

access the classroom:http://www.livestream.com/advaita_swaminisvatmavidyanandaji/

https://avmtemple.adobeconnect.com/_a725965367/gita/ Cleveland: ! May 24-26th Memorial Day Weekend Talks on the Gita. ! Contact Chris Reynolds spiriman@aim.com

Swaminiji’s Teaching and Travel Schedule

Sūktā Editorial BoardJulie Carpenter, Harinder Kaur Khalsa and Mayaskari Rothbart.