Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

Year 21 Issue 7

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta MissionJan 2016 : Year 21 / Issue 7

Editor: Swamini Samatananda Saraswati

Published byInternational Vedanta Mission

http://www.vmission.org.in / vmission@gmail.com

Having opened the ‘eye of wisdom’, directly appreciate that‘I am that Brahman’ which is self-effulgent - like fire, which istransendental, without any parts, without any movements and isan embodiment of peace.

Kkuus=a leknk; m)js}fg~uor~ ije~ Afu"dya fu'pya 'kkUra rn~czãkgfefr Le`re~AA

Amrutbindu Upanishad -21

Section Index

1. Message of P. Guruji - 52. Tattva Bodha - 6-74. Letter - 95. Gita Reflections - 10-116. Jivanmukta - 137. Yoga Vasistha - 14-157. Story Section - 178. VM News - 189. VM Activities - 1910. Album - 20-2111. VM Programs - 23

It was a great news from Paris, so many countries finally took a decision to work to reducethe global temprature by 1.5 degrees. More could have been done by the developed nations, butthis step too is praiseworthy. With extreme climatic conditions in various parts of the world it isindeed an emergency situation. Nature has started ringing the bell. Most of the people are tooengrossed in their own lives to be sensitive to these things, it is the leaders and thoughtful leadersand thinkers who have to take such a call. Now concrete steps need to be taken to assure theimplementation of such a resolve. Apart from various emergency steps which need to be takenregarding emissions by our industries & transport sector, we all need to seriously think of all othersteps to assure a better lifestyle. Awareness of environmental health need to be inculcated in ourchildren right from their school level, and this awareness needs to be more fortified in college etctoo. It has to be part of our life & value system. We all need to be proud of our beautiful blue planetand we all need to be very careful that our thoughtless actions do not turn it into a red one.

We need to revert back to nature worship in our religion, as the very manifestation of God.May our festivals too help bring about greater sensitivity & gratitude towards nature. May all suchfestivities help purify the environment rather than pollute it. Religion is always a package whichhelps us live the best of values we cherish & revere. In fact when we look at the Vedic practices,they all were prakruti related. Somewhere down the line our religion changed course to worshipof God in human form, and this change was singularly responsible for various such problems.Worship in human form has its own advantages too, people can relate to God & various godlyvalues more easily, but as the things stand now, some problems are also there. It is not only forhandling these problems, but more for reverting back to the original Vedic systems.

Another very important contribution of Vedic thought regarding this is the very philosophyof life. Thoughtless destruction of nature is motivated by the presumption that the real source ofhappiness & security is the world outside. This is baseless & untrue. The real source is our ownSelf - it alone is the real source of fulfillment & security. Untill this realization dawns in man, weshall helplessly continue to exploit & destroy the nature, which is basically changing & ephemeral.We do not really need to change the world for our fulfillment, the world can be what it is, yet wecan all be an embodiment of fulfillment. It is this philosphy which alone shall save not only manfrom such a thoughtless lifestyle but shall also save the world. The world needs to discover theteachings of Vedanta. The philosophy of Vedanta will be the true redeemer, coupled with thepackage of religion as revealed in the Vedas - it is the call of the day. It alone shall assure asensitive life, living in tune with the nature.

Save the world - with Vedas

from Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji

Vedanta Sandesh

Tattva BodhaSense Organs Of Perception & Action

Sense organs are organs of perception. These are theinstruments which bring about the consciousness ofthe world outside. The world of objects in all comprisesof five categories. Objects that have a form, smell,touch, sound and taste. In a natural co-ordinationIshwara too has blessed a human being with five senseorgans. These five senses are the instruments through

which we not only get conscious of these five types ofobjects but also are able to experience them.If there is some form then the eye is bound to see.Similarly if there is some kind of odour it is but naturalfor the nose to sense it. So all the sense organs arean instrument to serve this Jiva. Often people eye thesense organs or for that matter all our faculties as

To reveal that which the Self is not the Acharya commenced the discussion about the three bodies that ahuman personality is made up of. So far he has discussed about the Gross and the Subtle bodies. It was saidthat the Subtle body is made up of 17 components. Five sense organs, five organs of actions, the five pranasand the faculties of the mind & intellect. Before moving on to discuss the third body the Acharya speaks aboutthe five sense organs, their fields of actions and their respective dieties who are blessing each with their respec-tive powers. In this discussion we shall look into the details of the five sense organs.

Ear, skin (sense of touch), eyes, tongue (sense of taste) and nose (smell), these are thefive Jnanendriyas— organs of perception. The presiding deity of the ear is Space, of the skin (touch)is the Air, of the eyes is the Sun, of the tongue(taste) is the Varuna (The principle of water), of the smell(nose ) is the Aswini Kumars(twins). Thus (the aforesaid) are the presiding deities of the organs ofperception. The field of experience for the ear is the reception of sound, for the skin is the cognition oftouch, for the eyes is the perception of forms, for the tongue is the cognition of taste and for the Noseis the cognition of smell.

Speech, hands, legs, anus and the genitals are the five Karmendriyas—the organs of action.The presiding deity of the speech is Fire, of the hands is Indra, of the feet isVishnu, of the anus isMrityu, of the genitals is Prajapati. Thus the presiding deities for the organs of action. The function ofthe organ of the speech is to speak, of the hands is to grasp the things, of the legs is locomotion,-ofthe anus(excretory organ) is the elimination of the waste products, of the genital organs ispleasure(procreation).

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instruments that bind us in attraction to the objectiveworld. The truth on the other hand is that the facultiesin themselves are tools which are a blessing of God. Itis in our hands how we use them to bless our life or tobring about conditioning and bondage. Witout thesefaculties we would be incapacitated toe even aquireknowledge for that matter. If used rightly there couldn’tbe a better blessing than being able to see and expe-rience this beautiful creation of God. No wonder that ahuman birth is seen as the greatest blessing on thisplanet.Sense organs & their Devatas:

Each sense organ has a devata blessing it tofunction in a particular manner. What we see outsideas eyes, nose and ears are simply windows, but thereal pottential to grasp any stimuli of form, taste, andsmell is known as the sense organ. This pottential isblessed by a devata. Devatas are humble instrumentsof God who function as per the will of God. Hence allour faculties are blessed by their respectve deities,who are the powerhouses of all functioning. The con-cept of devatas is a unique and factual concept whichhelps us see the blessings that we have been show-ered with. When an individual sees the existence ofthese devatas there is no scope for a sense of doershipand ego. We can see this fact that we would not be

WISHING A VERY ENLIGHTENING2016to all our readers

When our very nature is Bliss, then a truly happy & healthy yearshould be a ‘knowledge-year’.

Wish for Self-Knowledge, Pray for it, Work for it,and the door shall indeed open

for a blissful & immortal existence - for all times

able to function even for a moment if we were notblessed by these powers. Such realization only makesus more humble and brings about a sense of greatgratitude.The Five Sense Organs:

The five Gyana Indriya's are Ears, Skin, Eyes,Tongue and the Nose. The deities of each of thesesense organs are Dig devata for ears, Vayu devata forskin, Surya for eyes, Varun for tongue and AshwiniKumar for the Nose. Devatas are powers because ofwhich the sense organs are enlivened. The text bookis very meticulous even to indicate the precise objectof each of these Gyana Indriya's. Ears are meant toreceive the stimuli of sound, skin perceives touch, eyesfunction to objectify forms, taste is the object of tongue,and finally the nose is meant for experiencing variouskinds of fragrance etc.The Five Organs of Action:

The five Sense organs of Action are : Speech,Hands, Legs, Anus & Genitals. The work of each ofthese are : to speak, to hold on, to move around, toexcrete, and to get the joys of procreation. The devatasresponsible of each of these activities are Agni, Indra,Vishnu, Yama & Prajapati for speech, hands, legs, anus& genitals respectively.

Vedanta Sandesh

Once upon a time a Rishi was doing penance in a forest. Oneday a man came running to him in great terror. He was perspiring bothout of exertion and fear. Clutching the feet of the sage, he said, “Maharaj!I am in great trouble. I am being persued by a murderer. Please showme a way to escape from him.“ The Rishi took pity on him and pointedout an intricate path in the forest by which he could escape. The manwas grateful and ran along the path as fast as he could.

The Rishi then closed his eyes and plunged himself in medita-tion. After some time a rough looking man with a sword in hand ar-rived. He paused before the Holy man and asked, “Sir, have you seena man running in this direction?” The Rishi was in a dilemma. If he saidthat he had seen the man, then he would surely ask him which way, hehad gone. He would have had to point it out to this murderer. Thatwould be assisting the murder of a person. If he denied any knowledgeof the man, then it would be a lie. To tell lies was wrong. How could heavoid both wrongs?

The Rishi thought for some time and replied, “My dear Sir, youare asking an impossible question. It is the eye that sees. You areasking the mouth to speak. The mouth does not see. How can themouth say what the eye has seen?”

The Rishi’s reply appeared to be perfectly logical, for the mur-derer was all brawn and no brain and could not see that the Rishi wasonly trying to confuse him. Bewildered, he retraced his steps and wentback. Thus the Rishi saved a man’s life without compromising his ownprinciples in life.

The Dilemma

Self is neither Satnor Asat

The Self is thatwhich reveals to us allexisting objects, oreven their non-existence. We need toturn to ‘that’ subjectwhich is making all ourexperiences possible,and that self-effulgentsubject alwayscontinues to existirrespective of the factwhether something isto be revealed or not.That is the implicationof this lakshana. - PoojyaGuruji

Hari om !Recently I discussed the teachings of the thirteenth chapter ofBhagwad Gita in one of my Gyana Yagnas (in Mumbai). One of thelakshana given there for the truth was ‘Na san, na asan uchyate’ - itcan not be called as Sat or even Asat. Someone asked a clarificationon this pointer.We know that in the swaroop lakshanas of Brahman, we use thewords like Sat-Chit & Ananda, meaning that which is of the nature ofpure existence, pure life (consciousness) and Bliss; and here LordKrishna is saying that Brahman is neither Sat or even Asat. So thequestion is very much justified, there does appear to be somecontradiction, which really speaking is not there.In his commentary on Gita Sri Adi Sankara says that the meaning isappreciated in a different way. The word Sat really implies ‘that whichcannot be appreciated as ‘Asti-buddhi’ and similarly the word Asatimplies that it cannot be pointed out by ‘Asat-buddhi’. What this meansis that whenever we classify something as existent, then what we dois to objectify that object and then say ‘it is’; and similarly wheneverwe say that something is not, then all what we imply is that this objectcannot be objectified. So the usage of such words is more from itsobjectification point of view. All what Gita is telling us here is that thetruth has to be realized as your very Self, and not as an object. TheSelf is that which reveals to us all existing objects, or even their non-existence. We need to turn to ‘that’ subject which is making all ourexperiences possible, and that self-effulgent subject always continuesto exist irrespective of the fact whether something is to be revealed ornot. That is the implication of this lakshana.Love & omSwami Atmananda

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bySwaminiSamatananda

In the 7th chapter Sri Krishna speaks of four kinds of devotees which wasdiscussed in the previous edition. In the four kinds of devotees, there are the oneswho looks up to God as the all powerful one to fulfill all their desires, some are thegrief-stricken ones who remember God in dire situations, some are those who arecurious to know the truth of life and the most rare ones being the knowledgeablebhaktas. Sri Krishna says all these devotees are dear to me but the knowledge-able ones are my very ownself. These are the ones who are most rare, who seetheir oneness with God and also see the entire world pervaded by Ishwara him-self. Further in the chapter Bhagwan compassionately goes on to speak about theignorant ones who are not aware of the nature of Ishwara and their relationshipwith him and whose priority in life is acquiring joys from superficial things in life.Taking the example of such cases Sri Krishna speaks of the laws and systems ofIshwara’s functioning which is featured by non-interferance and even enhancingthe faith of such deluded ones.Ishwara’s non-interferance:

Speaking at the level of Ishwara, the creator and sustainer of this universe,Bhagwan says I have my own ways in connecting with my creation and sustaningit. Even though I am the creator and sustainer of this entire cosmos yet my way offunctioning is not like that of a dictator or a nagging daddy. But I have my ownconstitution as per which I function. I do not interfere in the desires of any livingbeing nor do I interfere in the actions performed by any Jiva. I respect the freedomof all living beings to desire anything they wish to, based on their own discretion.I have created this entire play of Maya which presents a wide spectrum of experi-ences at the level of the five senses, the mind and the intellect and at the sametime there is also another dimension of life which is the ultimate truth of all livingbeings. The truth that reveals oneness between me and the entire creation ofliving and non-living beings. The truth that reveals the very Self as the Supremedivinity. Both these dimensions of life are openly available to see, yet I do notimpose my ways or myself on anyone. At the same time Ishwara is not insensitiveas to leave his creation to live on the basis of trail and error. He has been equallycompassionate to give us the knowledge that not only reveals the art of holisticliving in a manner that brings about the welfare of one and all but he has alsoblessed us with the knowledge of truth.The availability of Scriptures and the Guru:

In the begining of the creation itself God has blessed us with scriptures thatreveal to us the reality and goal of life. Scriptures that reveal to us systems of arighteous way of life. Not only this, we are also blessed by great teachers who cantranslate the secrets of the scriptures to guide us to the path ofdharma(righteousness) and knowledge of the Self. Having blessed us with themauscripts of life God then does not interfere in the kind of desires we have nordoes he interfere in the process of fulfilling the desires. Discrimination betweenright and wrong and knowledge of the ultimate goal in life is all available at the feetof the Guru if we so desire. For that matter, this alone is the role of the Guru. Ourspiritual teachers and the literary heritage are light houses to guide us to live this

(Yo yo

yam yam

tanum

bhakta

ha)

Vedanta Sandesh

I have my ownconstitution as perwhich I function. I donot interfere in thedesires of any livingbeing nor do I inter-fere in the actionsperformed by anyJiva. I respect thefreedom of all livingbeings to desire any-thing they wish to..

life fully and also to show us beyond the horizons of the objective world. If onetakes to the guidance of spiritual masters one can live a life of dynamism and yetbe untouched by the limitations of the objective world. But in spite of the availabil-ity of such wonderful scriptures and teachers who are embodiments of knowledgemajority of mankind continues to remain ignorant and be a part of a blind followingthe blind. Such deluded ones continue to fall prey to the attraction of petty thingsmaking them the priority in life and hence surrendering their faith at the feet of anysource that can fulfill their superficial desires. What then is the attitude of Ishwaratowards such people?I enhance the faith of all devotees:

As Sri Krishna says I do not interfere in the resolution, in the desires, andthe ways and means of any devotee in aspiring what ever they wish to. I respectthe mind of all Jivas. Even though I can see that their desired objects cannot fulfillthem or benefit them in any way, as all objective experiences are momentary andhave no reality. But this seems to be the glory of the sensuous world of mayawhich is easily visible and hence mesmerises a human being to the extent ofdelusion and even though all such experiences come with their packageof insecurity and suffering yet majority of them crave for theworld of Maya alone. In that case too I do not interfere,but I enhance their faith they have towards thesource and the object of desire. If a person isconvinced and has the faith that wealth alonecan bring about happi- ness and security thenI do not shatter that faith but let them abideby it and if their faith is realised and strength-ened in reality by any source of dieties orworldly powers then too I enhance their faith inthese sources and their own convictions. Peopleare ready to go to all powerful sources be it devatas,politicians, wealthy people and not only this they are ready todo anything they are asked to do, from making offerings, to fasting, to standing onone leg. It is all a matter of faith. If we have faith in something we will do anythingto translate it into reality. On the other hand if someone does ot have faith you cannever force him into doing something. In fact this principle can be a great inspira-tion in all our relationships, to try and understand th faith of our related ones andtreat them with the freedom to think for themselves. All one needs is a goodinsight into life and then the freedom lies in the individual to decide what is best forhim. This is the way of God in functioning the entire cosmic system. God says Iwatch this play until someone himself sees the futility of all such achievementsand himself wishes to see the truth of life and the supreme divinity behind thematerial world. A human being has been given a good mind and an intellect.Hence he ought to be treated with maturity and respect. He must learn to seefacts for himself and so Ishwara never ever speaks the language of do’s & dont’s.God has given us good knowledge and insights to see the facts of life. Now it is inour hands to carve the stone of our life and personality. The Gita reveals to us thatour innocent desires are strengthened by constant nourishment of thoughts andonce we have a strong resolve and effort towards our desire the entire cosmosstarts helping us to fulfill it, but ultimately what we desire alone helps us to dis-cover the truth of life or veil it further. Sri Krishna warns us that an ignorant onewalks the path of superficial achievements and continues to be a seeker. On theother hand a knowledgable devotee seeks the truth and awakens into it.

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Vedanta Sandesh

A small town chamber of commerce invited a speaker to address itsannual dinner. The community’s economy was bad, people werediscouraged, and they wanted this motivational speaker to give thema boost.During her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of whitepaper and made a small black dot at the center with a marking pen.Then she held the paper up before the group and asked them whatthey saw.One person quickly replied, “I see a black dot.”“Okay, what else do you see?”Others joined in agreement: “A black dot.”“Don’t you see anything besides the dot?” – she asked.A resounding “No” came from the audience.“What about the sheet of paper?” – asked the speaker. “I am sureyou have all seen it”, she said, “But you have chosen to overlook it.”“In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many wonderfulthings that we have or happen around us and focus our attentionand energy on small, dotlike failures and disappointments. They aresmall and insignificant if we can widen our horizon and look at thewhole picture.”

The Black Dot

Wanderingin HimalayasDifficultRoutes,Blissful

Contemplations

Excerpts fromthe

Travel Memoirsof

Param PoojyaSwami

TapovanjiMaharaj

From Rishikesh to Badrinath it is 169 miles, from Kedarnath to Badri it is only115. But in fact, Kedarnath and Badrinath are situated much nearer on the samemountain range, and a direct line of communication, if there was one, wouldhave been much shorter. As it is, to cross the snow clad ridges between the twoHoly places is an impossibility for human beings, and so pilgrims follow a circui-tous route along the foot of the Gupt Kasi mountain, the seat of VishwanathUkhimadha, the court of Banasura; and Tunganatha, the site of Ravanas pen-ance-these are only a few of the Holy places on the way. Ukhimadha, where thepriests of Kedarnath reside, is believed to have been founded by Sri Shankara.The Tunganatha mountain, 12,000 feet high, is especially remarkable for thepresence of the musk-deer and the monal bird.From Rishikesh the route lies along the bank of the Ganga and passes throughthe fine forests. There are five famous centres of pilgrimage along the route andthey are collectively known as Panchaprayag; Devprayag, Rudraprayag,Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag, and Vishnuprayag. The first of these is situated 40miles from Rishikesh. It is at the confluence of the Ganga(coming down fromGangotri) and the Alaknanda (flowing down from Badri). There is a temple herededicated to Sri Ramachandra, a memorial to the penance he performed in hisold age at this holy place. It is also said that the famous ashram of Kanva stoodhere. The meeting of the two rivers, which come roaring down from the moun-tain ranges as if clearing a way through them by sheer force, affords an attrac-tive sight to all lovers of nature.At Devaprayag, paths diverge. One goes to Gangotri along the bank of theAlaknanda. twenty miles from Devaprayag is a small town called Srinagar. Twentymiles further on, to the northeast, is Rudraprayag, where the Mandakini (start-ing from Kedarnath) joins the Alaknanda. Karnaprayag is 18 miles farther on, atthe confluence of the Pindara and the Alaknanda.If you travel a few miles more, up to the Alaknanda, you reach Nandaprayag. Ittakes still another two or three days’ journey to reach Vishnuprayag. The fa-mous Jyotirmata is situated near Vishnuprayag. According to tradition it was SriShankara who founded the Ashram, and one of his disciples, Totaka, was itsfirst head. Jyotirmata is now the residence of the head priest of Badrinath for sixmonths of the year. From here starts a route that leads to Tibet over the NeetiPass, 17,000 feet high.Near the pass stands Dronagiri, which is described in the Ramayana as thehome of the medicinal plants with divine virtues. Badrinath is 18 miles fromJyotirmata. Beyond it are high rocky mountains that stretch uninterrupted mileafter mile. How did the Alaknanda find an opening to let herself down throughthese imposing rock formations? But there are several such rivers which emergein this fashion from the mountain ranges through small, almost imperceptibleclefts.

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Visucika knew how to obtain that which is difficult to obtain. So, she went tothe Himalayas to perform her penance. She at once abandoned all desire to devourliving beings, eager to obtain her goal. The fire of her penance was so great, itgenerated smoke from the crown of her head. Even the trees and plants admiredher determination. God of heaven tried to feed her, winds tried to enter her mouth,but she would not consume anything at all, firm on her resolve. She stood on oneplace for seven thousand years. Her whole being became purified by the penance,and she gained the highest wisdom. She did not eat anything at all this time andbecame almost completely dried up.

Indra, the king of heaven, learned about her penance and became afraidthe power of her penance might burn up everything, the heavens including. Hewent to Brahma and reported to him,asking Brahma to help in resolving thesituation. Brahma went to see Visucika.He saw that she became totally pure byher penance, and by coming in contactwith her, even air and dust particlesbecame liberated. At this time, she hadgained direct knowledge of thes u p r e m e causeless cause of allby her own examination of theintelligence within her.

B r a h m a asked her to choose herboon, and she reflected inside herself“I have reached the realization of theabsolute, and there are no doubts orwants in me. What shall I do with boons? When I was an ignorant girl, I washaunted by the goblin of my desires; now, through the self-knowledge, that ghosthas been laid”. She did not want anything, but Brahma said “The eternal world-order should be maintained, and by it, you should regain your previous body, livelong and happy, and then attain liberation. You will live an enlightened life, punishingonly the wicked and sinful”. Karkati agreed and regained her previous huge blackform.

For the long time she remained in the superconscious state, without anydesires or tendencies. After half a year she became again fully aware of the outsideworld and her body. She felt hunger, and aerial voice advised her to come down,

Vedanta Sandesh

AdhyatmicTeachings

ofGuru

Vasishthato

Sri Ramji

bySwaminiVidyananda

- 7 -

and approach ignorant and deluded people, and try to awaken wisdom in them.This is the only mission of enlightened beings. But the ones who fail to awakewould be fit for the consumption, and it will be no sin in that. Karkati agreed andwent down the mountain...

Although Visucika’s desire was to gain her previous form, she was able torenounce all her desires and meditate single-pointedly. She suffered a lot in herlives in different bodies, and the reflection on the suffering made it possible toreflect on what would be the most desirable state. With penance lasting severalthousand years, her mind was completely purified, and was able to see the truthof her own self, and that of everything else. She became liberated, because nodesires and notions were binding her to the cycle of lives and deaths. She did notcrave for worldly pleasures, she was immersed into the highest bliss, realizingherself to be the Bliss absolute. She did not have desire to continue her life, norhad the desire to die. Because of that she was able to take Brahma’s advice easilyand agreed to continue her life till the prarabdha karma, which already was bearingfruit, to fructify. She had nothing to lose or gain by continuing so.

So, she came down the mountain one dark night. She was looking for someignorant beings, which she would try to enlighten, and if they were not be able tounderstand, she would eat them. In the dark forest she came across two men,who wandered in the dark. She thought that they are exactly what she was lookingfor. She did not know they were King Vikrama, the King of the Kiratas, and hisminister, who were discussing their country problems and looking for the hideoutsof thieves and robbers to protect their subjects from them.

Seeing these two, Karkati thought “Surely, these two men have come hereto applease my hunger. They are ignorant and therefore a burden on earth. Suchignorant people suffer here and hereafter, and so death will be a welcome releasefrom their suffering, and they will get a chance in their next life to awake. ...Butalso they may be wise men, and I don’t want to devour wise people. May be, theyshould be worshipped for their wisdom, and given everything they would want. Ishould test their knowledge. If they are wise, I will salute and serve them, if not, Iwill eat them.

Having decided so, Karkati roared making great terrible noise. Then sheshouted “O you two little worms roaming this dense forest! Who are you? Tell mequick or else I shall devour you!” But the answer of the king was cool and calm, heasked “Who are you? I only hear you, but do not see you. Make yourself visible,please”. She felt, that the answer was appropriate, and made herself visible to theking and his minister. Seeing her dreadful form, they again were not scared! Karkatigreatly admired the courage of the two men, and felt they are not ordinary beings.So she decided to ask them several questions to test their knowledge and, if theycan answer them, clear some doubts left in her mind.

Vedanta Sandesh

Postive thinkers have a solution for every problem. Negativethinkers have a problem for every solution.It is better to be disliked for who you are than to be liked forwho you are not.Wise men speak because they have something to say, andfools speak because they have to say something.I cant change the direction of the wind but I can always changethe direction of my sails.Good order is the foundation of all things.In order to succeed we must first believe that we can.Time is always right to do what is right.In the end its not the years in your life that count, its the life inyour years.Dont watch the clock. Do what it does, keep going.Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every otherrelationship you have.Life is art in the purest form.

Quotes

Once upona time ...

StorySectionAfter avenging his father’s death and the massacre of the erring Kshatriyas,

Parashurama desired to personally pay homage to Bhagavan Shiva and reachedKailasa; he witnessed Nandeeswara, Maha Kaala, Ruru Bhairava, Rudraganasand Bhuta-Preta-Piscachas but finally Ganesha stopped him. All “18 kinds ofrequests, and prayers failed and Ganesha refused entry to Bhargava Rama asDeviParvati and Shiva were engaged in privacy. Finally, the latter lifted his Parashu(axe) and tried to force his entry; Ganesha lifted his trunk , looped Parashuramawith it and encircled him round and round where by Bhargava visioned SaptaDwipas, Sapta Parvatas, Sapta Samudras and Sapta Lokas viz.BhurBhuvar-Swara-Janar-Tapo-Dhruva-Gouri Lokas and Vaikuntha / and Golokas. In the pro-cess, the mighty Parashurama hit one of Ganesha’s tusks with the Parashu thatMaha Deva once gifted to Bhragava and the tusk fell off and blood gushed out.The resting parents of Ganesha were shocked as Kartikeya rushed and informedthem. Parvati’s first reaction was to kill Parashurama but being the Loka Mata orthe Mother of the Universe restrained herself and addresed Parashurama asfollows: ‘You are born in Brahma Vamsha to one of the illustrious sons MaharshiJamadagni and to Devi Renuka of Lakshmi ‘Amsha’or alternate Form of DeviLakshmi.

How did you do this to my son! Shiva is your Guru since he taught TrailokyaVijaya Kavacha and countless Asrtras to you. Is this the Guru Dakshina that youthought fit to give your Guru! You could have perhaps given a better Dakshina bycutting Ganesha’s head instead of breaking his tusk only! My son Ganesha hasthe power of destroying crores of cunning animals like you but was only playfulwith you; yet,you have only want only hurt him by breaking his tusk-not as anaccident but with vengeance; you may know that he recieves the foremost wor-ship all over the Universe!’ As Parvati addressed on the above lines, Parashuramafelt ashamed of himself, prostrated to his Guru Shiva and Devi Parvati and theAlmighty Shri Krishna the Immortlal. Meanwhile a Brahmana boy was visionedwho actually was Vishnu who analysed the situation; indeed there was no justifi-cation of what Parashurama did to Ganesha but Parashurama was momentarilytaken aback by folly as otherwise he was also like Ganesha or Skanda! Vishnutherefore pleaded being the Universal Parents might not read much into thehappening. Vishnu also assauged the hurt feelings of Parvati and requested hernot to impose personal angles into the unhappy situation; He further said thather son had Eight names viz. Ganesha, Ekadanta, Heramba, Vighna nayaka,Lambodara, Shurpakarna, Gajavaktra and Guhaagraja! Parashurama pleadedmercy of Parvati since she was Jagan Mata or the Mother of Creation and beggedof Ganesha for pardon of his indiscretion; Ganesha was graceful enough to agree.

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Parashurama’s Encounter

Vedanta Sandesh

Indian Cultural Foundation, Mumbai organized its annual cultural musical programon the evening of 6th Dec at Vivekananda Auditorium, inside the Ramkrishna Math, inKhar, Mumbai. Asha Bacchani welcomed Poojya Guruji , Swamini Samatanandaji and thejam-packed auditorium. Anand-Lahari has created a name for itself in the hearts ofdevotional music lovers of Mumbai, and they eagerly look forward to it. This year therewere two vocal artists. They were Sruti Viswanath (from Bangalore), who was an expert inCarnatic Music and also sings Abhangas. The second one was Radhika Sood Nayar, whopresented awesome Sufi songs. Poojya Guruji also blessed the artists & the guests.

Poojya Guruji conducted a week-long Gita Gyana Yagna at the same above venuefrom 7th Dec onwards - till 12th evening. The subject matter of his twin discourse serieswere Gita Chapter-13, and Mundakopanishad 3-1. The audio recordings of these discoursesis now freely available on the net on vmission website and various social medias.

On 15th Dec, the birthday of Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji a lovely programwas organized in the Sankaracharya Sabhagruh at the Vedanta Ashram. It was the SalilSandhya, an hour long presentation of Flute Recital by the well-known artist Salil Date andhis team. It was a great program. Later everyone has a sumptous dinner.

Gita Jayanti is always celebrated at Indore in a grand way. There are week-longprograms in the city where Mahatmas from all over the country converge. Poojya Gurujiinaugurated the 18th All-India Gita Jayanti at Agrasen Dham by lighting the traditional lampand his inaugural address. Later all the Ashram Mahatmas too were invited to speak ondifferent days. On 22nd Poojya Guruji was invited at Gita Bhawan in their 58th yearcelebrations.

On the main Gita Jayanti day all the Ashamites & various devotees got together andchanted all the 18 chapter of Bhagwad Gita. This was done in two sesions.

On 27th Dec, the last Sunday of the month, there was the monthly Hanuman ChalisaSatsang at the Ashram. After the bhajans and chanting of Hanuman Chalisa, Poojya Gurujispoke for more than an hour on the 7th chaupayi - Vidyavan guni... Later there was Aartiand everyone partook the prasad.

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Vedanta Sandesh

By P. Guruji Swami Atmananda at RK Math Hall -7th to 12th Dec: Gita-13 / Mundaka 3-1

ICF organized Anand-Lahari on 6th Dec at Vivekananda Auditorium inside Ramkrishna Math, MumbaiThere were two artists: Sruti Viswanath - Carnatic Music & Abhangas, and Radhika Sood Nayak - Sufi Music

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On 15th Dec, the birthday of Poojya Guruji, Salil Date presented a Flute Prog, at Sankaracharya Hall

Week-long Celebs from 18th to 22nd Dec. Main prog was at Ashram on 21st Dec

Dec edition of the HCS was organized at Ashram on the 27th Dec, the last Sunday. Chaupayi-7

Vedanta Sandesh

Three men met at a tavern table. One was a weaver, another a carpenter andthe third a ploughman.

Said the weaver, “I sold a fine linen shroud today for two pieces of gold. Let ushave all the wine we went.”

“And I,” said the carpenter, “I sold my best coffin. We will have a great roast withthe wine.”

“I only dug a grave,” said the ploughman, “but my patron paid me double. Let ushave honey cakes too.”

And all that evening the tavern was busy, for they called often for wine and meatand cakes. And they were merry.

And the host rubbed his hands and smiled at his wife; for his guests werespending freely.

When they left the moon was high, and they walked along the road singing andshouting together.

The host and his wife stood in the tavern door and looked after them.“Ah!” said the wife, “these gentlemen! So freehanded and so gay! If only theycould bring us such luck every day! Then our son need not be a taven-keeperand work hard. We could educate him, and he could become a priest.”

Ambition

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Hanuman Chalisa Satsang - Jan’16:The Jan 2016 edition of monthly Hanuman Chalisa Satsang will be organized on

31st Jan. There will be bhajans, chanting of Hanuman Chalisa, followed by continuationof the talk of P. Guruji on the 7th chaupayi Chalisa. Open to all.

Mahashivratri Camp, Indore :A 5 days Vedanta Camp will be organized at Vedanta Ashram from 3rd to 8th Mar.

On 8th is Mahashivratri. Subjects: Isavasyopanishad / Kamna Section - Gita-3

Gita Gyana Yagna, Jalgaon :Poojya Swamini Poornanandaji will be organizing a week-long Gita Gyana Yagna

(in Marathi) at the same Dutta Mandir, Jalgaon. Subjects will be Gita-6 / Katho-2-3.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Ahmedabad :A five days long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will be

organized at Ramkrishna Kendra, in Maninagar, Amdavad from 8th to 12th Feb. Thesubject matter of the proposed discourses will be Gita-12 / Laghu Vakya Vritti.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Vadodara :A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will be organized

at Atmajyoti Ashram, Vadodara from 4th to 10th Jan 2016. The subject matter of theproposed discourses will be Gita-4 / Kaivalyopanishad.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Bhubaneshwar :Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji will be organizing a week-long Gita Gyana Yagna

at Sivananda Samskritik Kendra at Bhubaneshwar from 7th to 13th April. Subjects will beGita-2 / Katho-1-2.

International Vedanta Missionhttp://www.vmission.org.in/

Vedanta Mission Blog:http://blog.vmission.org.in/

Indian Cultural Foundationhttp://icf.vmission.org.in/

Earlier ‘Vedanta Sandesh’ issueshttp://bit.ly/1oGD4TK

Om Tat Sat