S eptember 2009

VOL. 96, No. 9 ISSN 0042-2983

A CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL M O N T H L Y O F T H E R A M A K R I S H N A O R D E R

Started at the instance of Swami Vivekananda in 1895 as Brahmavâdin,

it assumed the name The Vedanta Kesari in 1914.
For free edition on the Web, please visit: www.sriramakrishnamath.org

CONTENTS
September 2009

Vedic Prayers 325

Editorial
Through Praise and Through Criticism 326
Articles
„ John Pierce Fox: An Admirer of Swamiji 332
Somenath Mukherjee
„ Spiritual Values in the Gita 341
Swami Visharadananda
„ Agastya—the Master Yogi 354
Swami Samarpanananda
Reminiscences
„ A Meditation on Mahapurush Maharaj 337
Swami Hitananda
Travelogue
„ A Pilgrimage to Rameshwaram 345
‘Atmashraddha’
New Find
„ Unpublished Letters of Swami Saradananda 352
The Order on the March 359
Book Reviews 361
Features
Simhâvalokanam (Married Life and its Ideals)—330,
Vivekananda Tells Stories—358

Cover Story: Page 4

 2

The Vedanta Kesari

Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004
h (044) 2462 1110 (4 lines) Fax : (044) 2493 4589
Email : srkmath@vsnl.com Website : www.sriramakrishnamath.org

TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS
❋ You can subscribe to The month (for overseas subscriptions,
Vedanta Kesari from any month. two months) of posting of the
❋ On your address slip, the journal are not entertained.
number on the left of the first ❋ To ensure continuity, please
line of address is your subscri- renew your subscription well in
ption-number. Always mention advance.
this in your correspondence. ❋ For fresh subscriptions, re-
❋ If you do not receive your copy newals, placing advertisements
by 2nd week of a month, please in The Vedanta Kesari, please
intimate us. Complaints reach- write to The Manager, The
ing us before this or after one Vedanta Kesari Office. †
Vedanta Kesari Subscription
Annual 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Rates (inclusive of postage)
‰ India Rs.100 Rs.290 Rs.475 Rs.1000
‰ Nepal & Bangladesh $20 $45 $80 ---
‰ Other Countries $30 $80 $130 ---

Please send your subscription to The Manager, The Vedanta Kesari by DD/MO
drawn in favour of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. All overseas dispatch by Air Mail.
Payments/donations can be made ONLINE using your Master or Visa Cards. Please visit our Website.

We invite our readers to liberally contribute to the Vedanta Kesari Permanent

Fund. This will go a long way in placing this nearly 100 years old magazine on
firm financial footings to continue its service to the cause of a holistic and
meaningful life. Your contributions (minimum of Rs.1000/- or US$ 25) by Cheque/
DD/MO should be sent to Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai, along
with a covering note stating that it is meant for Vedanta Kesari Permanent Fund.
Every contribution will be gratefully acknowledged and the donor’s name
will be published in the Vedanta Kesari. All donations to Sri Ramakrishna Math
are exempt from Income Tax under section 80G of the [Indian] I.T. Act, 1961.
We accept online donations also.
3
 4

Cover Story
The Stone-bench Mantap at Bangalore Math
When Swami Vivekananda came to Bangalore during
December 1892 from Belgaum, he stayed at the Kalappa
Choultry in the Majestic area for a few days. During that period
he sat and rested quite a few times on a stone-bench attached
to the front wall of the house of Sri Sugappa, a jeweller by
profession. After discovering later that the sannyasin was none
other than Swami Vivekananda, Sri Sugappa and his descen-
dants preserved the stone slab carefully with all respect, as a
valuable memento. This stone slab, was officially handed over
to Ramakrishna Math in January 1997. In order to preserve the
stone-bench with due sanctity, it was placed beneath a newly
constructed Mantapa (canopy) near the Holy Mother’s Rock in
the Ramakrishna Math, Bull Temple Road, Bangalore. The con-
secration ceremony took place on Friday, the 27 March 2009.

The Vedanta Kesari Patrons’ Scheme

We invite our readers to join as patrons of the magazine. They can
do so by sending Rs.2000/- or more. Names of the patrons will be
announced in the journal under the Patrons' Scheme and they will
receive the magazine for 20 years. Please send your contribution to
The Manager, The Vedanta Kesari by DD/MO drawn in favour of
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai with a note that it is for the
Patrons' Scheme.

DONOR Mr. C. Malakondaiah Rs. 1000

PATRONS 563. Mrs. D. Uma, Mysore 565. Dr. K.C. Khandelwal, Jaipur
564. Mr. P. Ganesh, Assam

The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme

SL.NO. NAMES OF SPONSORS AWARDEE INSTITUTIONS

4052. Mr. S. Narayanan, Chennai Anekant Edu. Society Inst. of Mgt., & Dept. Research, Maharastra - 413 102
4053. Dr. R. Muniappan, U.S.A. M.K.M. Matriculation School, Mugalivakkam, Porur, Chennai - 600 116
4054. -do- Mahatma Gandhi Medical College, Pondicherry - 607 402
4055. -do- Rajiv Gandhi College of Engg. & Technology, Pondicherry - 607 402
4056. -do- Sri Venkateswara College of Education, Karaikal, Pondicherry - 609 602
4057. -do- Sri Ramakrishna Inst. of Yoga & Gokulam Play School, Salem, T.N. - 636 007
4058. -do- Vedhha Vikass High. Sec. School, Santhiyur, Salem, T.N. - 636 203
4059. -do- Paavai Engg. College, Namakkal, T.N. - 637 018
Continued on page 45
 VOL. 96, No. 9, SEPTEMBER 2009 ISSN 0042-2983

E ACH SOUL IS POTENTIALLY DIVINE. T HE GOAL IS TO MANIFEST THE DIVINITY WITHIN.

Vedic Prayers
Tr. by Swami Sambuddhananda
AVñg_wÐm… {Ja`ü gd}@ñ_mËñ`§XÝVo qgYdñgd©ê nm… &
AVü{dûdm AmofY`mo agmü `oZ¡f ^yVpñVð>Ë`ÝVamË_m &&
—Taittiriya Upanishad, VI.20

AV… from that g_wÐm… the oceans {Ja`… mountains M as well as gd} all
{gÝYd… rivers Añ_mV² from that gd} ê nm… of various forms ñ`ÝXÝVo flow from
AVü from that {dœm… all the worlds AmofY`… herbs agmü waters `oZ by which
^yV all creatures {Vð>pÝV exist AÝVamË_m inner soul.
From That originate all the oceans and the mountains; from that flow
all the rivers of various forms. From that all the worlds originate, grow and
all watery products come and that is the inner soul of all beings.

There cannot be added in the economy of this universe one particle of matter
or one foot-pound of force, nor can one particle of matter or one foot-pound of
force be taken out. If that be the case, what is this intelligence? If it was not
present in the protoplasm, it must have come all of a sudden, something coming
out of nothing, which is absurd. It, therefore, follows absolutely that the perfect
man, the free man, the God-man, who has gone beyond the laws of nature, and
transcended everything, who has no more to go through this process of evolution,
through birth and death, that man called the 'Christ-man' by the Christians, and
the 'Buddha-man' by the Buddhists, and the 'Free' by the Yogis—that perfect man
who is at one end of the chain of evolution was involved in the cell of the
protoplasm, which is at the other end of the same chain.
—Swami Vivekananda, CW, 2:209

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 325 ~ A 2 0 0 9
 Through Praise and Through Criticism
These two—praise and criticism, appro-
val and disapproval, acceptance and rejection
—are part of the dual nature of life. Life, by
definition, consists of dualities. Work is follow-
ed by rest, and rest is followed by work.
Waking and sleeping, hot and cold, sweet and
bitter, speech and silence, ups and downs—
life’s dual nature is too well-known to need
any elaboration. Nothing exists in exclusion;
duality is a sheer fact of life. Life itself, in a
larger context, exists in relation to death.
Praise and criticism are the two experi-
ences that everyone undergoes at different
points of life. Even a child knows that he is
sometimes praised and sometimes criticized.
No one is always praised; nor is one fit for
criticism always. Praise and criticism are
contextual, and not absolute. What seems
praiseworthy under a given set of circum-
stance may or can become worthy of criticism
under another set of circumstances. What is
approved of, let us say, during war times will
not be accepted during peace times. Non-
violence is great but the very act of living
causes many unavoidable, unconscious forms
of violence. Nor does it mean that one should
approve of violence under all circumstances.
What we are, however, concerned with
here is to understand the role these two—
praise and criticism—play in our life and how
to deal with them. The purpose is to prepare
for living a life of inner and outer integration,
or spirituality.
Understanding Praise
Praise, in one sense, means acceptance.
Praise or admiration leads to acceptance. From
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
acceptance comes the desire to adopt or to do
what one accepts. Let us elaborate it further.
When we see something for the first time,
we may feel attracted or repelled by it on
account of various reasons. We may like it
because of our cultural and social training. We
often get surprised at something contrary to
our social and cultural training. Once a group
of children from the north-east India—from
Arunachal Pradesh—came on an excursion to
Calcutta. This was their first visit to Calcutta.
After going around the place, the children
remarked in a disapproving tone to their
escort, ‘What a place is this! There are no ups
and downs; all roads are so even and straight.’
[Being a hilly state, Arunachal Pradesh’s roads
wind their way, climbing and ascending, the
hilly terrain.] The children were amazed—and
unhappy—because they were accustomed to
only hilly roads; the plain roads were irritating
to them!
We are all similarly conditioned to
certain ways of living, thinking and doing and
whenever things go our way, we like them. If
they do not go our way, we dislike and
criticize them. In this sense praise, hence, is
indeed a relative term.
Our social circle too matters in deter-
mining what we praise and what we criticise.
The type of our circle, its invisible standards
of approval and disapproval, influences our
notion of what is praiseworthy. In a literary
circle, for instance, men of letters are praised
and in a gymnasium, men of strong and
muscular build are praised. In the company
of drunkards, a non-drinking person is neither
welcomed nor praised. Among the company
~ 326 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

of spiritual seekers, a worldly-minded person
feels ill at ease. Likewise, each circle has its
accepted norms of acceptance or admiration.
It is, therefore, always advised that one
should keep a good company. Because even
in bad company, one learns to follow and
adopt what is approved and accepted—and
surely evil company approves and appreciates
evil ways of living and thinking. One is
therefore always advised to keep away from
such a company. In good company, one gets
unconsciously tuned to good ways of living
and thinking because of the subtle, often
invisible, norms of admiration and acceptance.
Praise, psychologically speaking, is the
first step towards acquiring something or
pursuing a certain way of doing. We first
admire something and then our admiration
motivates us to either possess that something
or adopt that way of doing something. This
subtle psychological truth is at the root of the
working of advertisement industry. Through
advertising, all kinds of efforts are made to
make the viewers or readers admire certain
products. In order to enhance this ‘appeal’ of
the products, often a popular personality, from
sports or films, is chosen to endorse them.
Since ‘targeted’ future customers admire the
popular person, making the product acceptable
becomes easier and natural. Once the viewers
begin to discover the so-called ‘suitability’ or
arrive at a ‘it-is-good-to-have-it-conclusion’,
the next step is to look for having that object.
And that is what an advertiser target at!
A highly significant term in Sanskrit
(attributed to Madhusudan Saraswati, the
great saint-scholar) calls this phenomenon as
shobhana-adhyasa or imposition of beauty or
goodness over something. Before we ever like
or try to have an object, this is what we do,
unknown to ourselves—we discover some
reason, a good reason, for us to have or enjoy
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
7
that object. And once we are inwardly drawn
or convinced about the ‘beauty’ of that object,
we spontaneously go forward to acquire that
object. We get drawn to it and then comes the
point-of-no-return. The result is our deep
hankering to possess it or enjoy it.
In this inner process of finding a shobha,
beauty, and doing the adhyasa, imposing it on
something, at times we work consciously but
quite often unconsciously. The object that we
admire or in which we find ‘beauty’ may be
good for us or may not be good for us. But
that is not the point. We like it, and that is
why we wish to have it or possess it. It is a
subtle working of mind that is the issue here.
Shobhana Adhyasa is held to be at the
very core of our desire-dynamics and han-
kerings. It is at the heart of all attachments
and repulsions (in which case there is non-
discovery of beauty or one finds the object
ugly and repulsive).
Our sages understood this tendency of
mind very well. As spiritual life aims at
redirecting or re-channelling all the tendencies
of mind into a higher channel, they counsel
the aspirants to give a spiritual direction to
this tendency. This requires a new inner
training of mind. They said that instead of
praising or admiring the things of the world,
let us praise God and spiritual life. This can
be done through numerous hymns and prayers
and mantras, or reading of scriptures in a spirit
of respectful inquiry. Such glorifying of God
is found in all religious traditions. The psycho-
logical basis of praising God is thus founded
on checking this tendency of the mind.
Often our praise gets directed towards
our own self! We love our achieve-
ments and our possessions. We like to think
that we are so unique that no one ever has
had the greatness that we have! It is falling in
love with oneself, over and again.
~ 327 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

We are also receptive to self-praise from
others. Even the slightest praise we get brings
joy to us and seems to affect our decisions
and activities. And then we develop a ‘holier-
than-you’ attitude and whosoever fails to
recognise this purported superiority of ours
becomes an object of dislike and criticism. How
can he be good and great who does not
recognise our greatness! And then there is no
end to our complaints about the world. Says
Swami Vivekananda,
Is it not a shame that at one moment we talk so
much of our manhood, of our being gods—that
we know everything, we can do everything, we
are blameless, spotless, the most unselfish people
in the world; and at the next moment, a little
stone hurts us, a little anger from a little Jack
wounds us—any fool in the street makes ‘these
gods’ miserable! Should this be so if we are such
gods? . . . the very fact that you complain and
want to lay blame upon the external world
shows that you feel the external world—the very
fact that you feel shows that you are not what
you claim to be. You only make your offence
greater by heaping misery upon misery, by
imagining that the external world is hurting you,
and crying out, ‘Oh, this devil’s world! This man
hurts me; that man hurts me!’ and so forth. It is
adding lies to misery.1
This darker side of praise apart, there is
also a positive side to it. Genuine praise
encourages and enthuses. A kind word of
appreciation, a simple statement in sincere
praise goes a long way in adding freshness
and trust to human transactions. No one
should ever underestimate the power of
genuine praise in raising the drooping spirit.
Praise, in sum, is a powerful tendency of
mind. While it helps in many ways, it also
binds and enslaves. A taste for self-praise is
one of the subtlest and most powerful bond-
ages. It is hard to overcome but spiritual ideal
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
8
demands that we make every possible effort
to remove it.
Understanding Criticism
As noted earlier, criticism, too, is always
relative. What we praise today, we might
criticise tomorrow. The world is in constant
change and it is no wonder that our opinions
of objects and situations and the events that
take place, also undergo change. There is an
interesting Hindi couplet which says,
Praise not, praise not; you may have to criticise.
Blame not, blame not, you may have to praise.
In other words, let us be more judicious
in our judgements; we should weigh our
opinions before we criticise. We should try to
understand the circumstances which led an
event to happen. A proper and patient under-
standing of circumstances will make the
tendency to criticise less intense.
Criticism means disapproval. When we
do not like or disapprove of something, we
criticise it. The tendency to criticise may be
helpful in warding off evil tendencies but it
also leads to obsessive thinking of what we
criticise. It is like a silent, unconscious medi-
tation. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’s axio-
matic advice that if we want peace of mind,
we should avoid seeing others’ faults can be
recalled here. The Holy Mother wanted that
we should stop contemplating on the negative
side and look at the brighter side of others.
Easier said than done! The amount of patience,
wisdom, inner training and faith in others it
requires! Swamiji said:
You must not criticise others; you must criticise
yourself. If you see a drunkard, do not criticise
him; remember he is you in another shape. He
who has not darkness sees no darkness in others.
What you have inside you is that which you see
in others. . . .2
~ 328 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

Negative criticism is of course bad. But
creative criticism, on the other hand, is essen-
tial for growth and improvement. If there were
no pointing of defects or shortcomings in a
constructive way, with good intention of
improving things, there cannot be any positive
change or progress. This, of course, requires
much practical wisdom and courage to keep
the negative side away and point out how
things can be improved.
Criticism also serves as a necessary
mechanism to keep evil tendencies in check.
When something is criticised, its simple
implication is that it is unwanted and hence
an obstacle to personal and collective good.
Fear of criticism is one of the most powerful
factors that keeps people away from doing or
saying evil things. While pleading with Arjuna
to fight the battle of life, Sri Krishna quips,
’Criticism of the competent person—what
could cause more misery to him!’3 Even in our
daily life, we find elders and teachers pleading
with the children to behave better or pay
attention to studies. And if the children fail to
respond, the fear of criticism by peers and
others is invoked in order to control them.
One of the reasons why most people
indulge in unwarranted criticisms is that they
lack control of mind. They cannot help
criticising because their minds are not under
their control. They see something, and their
mind reacts; they do not have the power to
check it; whereas a matured mind would keep
one’s reactions within control.
To criticise or not to criticise should be
guided by time, situations, circumstances and
other conditions. One cannot pronounce a
general sentence of criticism to everything. We
might criticise others for what they are. But
then they may change—not because we
References: 1. CW, 2: 8 2. CW, 6: 129
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
9
criticise them but only when they think that
the time has come for a change.
Beyond Praise and Blame
Having seen various aspects of praise
and criticism, we must remember that the goal
of life is to reach a state beyond all relativity,
beyond all pairs of opposites including praise
and criticism. One advice which Sri Krishna
repeatedly gives us in the Gita is not to get
affected by praise and blame. He says,
Having made pain and pleasure, gain and loss,
conquest and defeat, the same, you should
engage in the battle.4
Both praise and criticism are the res-
ponses of our mind. It is our mind which
praises or criticises, accepts or rejects, like or
dislikes. What we need is to go beyond the
mind or at least check all its wayward
tendencies. Sri Krishna tells us to look upon
praise and blame with equanimity. In other
words, we should look upon both the situa-
tions that bring praise or criticism, with a sense
of indifference. To either run after praise or to
be affected by criticism, both lead to becoming
dependent on external factors. To conclude
with Swamiji’s words:5
Stand upon the Self, then only can we truly love
the world. Take a very, very high stand; knowing
our universal nature, we must look with perfect
calmness upon all the panorama of the world. It
is but baby’s play, and we know that, so cannot
be disturbed by it. If the mind is pleased with
praise, it will be displeased with blame. All
pleasures of the senses or even of the mind are
evanescent; but within ourselves is the one true
unrelated pleasure, dependent upon nothing. It
is perfectly free, it is bliss. The more our bliss is
within, the more spiritual we are. The pleasure
of the Self is what the world calls religion. †
3. cf. Gita 2. 3 4. Gita, 2. 38 5. CW, 7: 11
~ 329 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 Simhâvalokanam
From the Archives of THE VEDANTA KESARI
(September, 1919-20, pp. 140-143)

Married Life and its Ideals

The Shastras at every step ask us to use our faculty of

discrimination between the Real and the unreal, even while they
make some concession to satisfy our desires. They have prescribed such duties to a married
man that this discrimination may always haunt him. In this way they knew fully well that man
having satisfied his desire for enjoyment and having experienced the pleasures and miseries of
this samsara would soon get disgusted with its fleeting nature and get more and more attracted
towards God, the Real Being.
Though the Shastras fix such a high ideal to be attained in married life, in how many
men’s mind has this ideal a place? How many men practise Brahmacharyam or even struggle
for its attainment in their married life and thus get themselves blessed and prove a blessing to
the society in which they are born? How many women are there who standing by their
husband prove a real help-mate in his work of self-sacrifice, not to mention of helping him in
realising God! How many men are there who thinking that renunciation is the sole means of
attaining the ideal have taught it to their wives? Just see but for once how the Western Ideal of
the life of enjoyment has entered every vein in our body and reduced us to the condition of
animals. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, ‘If making enjoyment the sole Ideal of life is wrong then
do you think that this defect is removed by simply throwing some flowers at the time of
marriage and making it legal?’ We doubt whether at any time in the history of India sense-
enjoyment had become so prominent a feature of married life. To lift India from this degeneration
by showing her an ideal married life was the reason why Sri Ramakrishna took on his
shoulders the burden of a married life. If he had not married himself then all would have said,
‘He is not married; that is why he talks so much of Brahmacharyam. He has never lived with a
wife that is why he gives us advice gratis.’ To prevent such remarks and misunderstandings Sri
Ramakrishna not only got married but even brought his wife to Dakshineswar after his sadhanas
were over and lived with her for about eight months. . .
She [Sri Sarada Devi] was young when her tutelage began and in hours of quiet talk, she
will tell sometimes in how many directions his training extended. He was a great lover of
order and taught her even such trifles as where to keep her lamp and its appurtenances, during
the day. He loved grace and beauty and gentle dignity of bearing and so he gave her training
accordingly. He taught her how to behave with the various members of the family. How to
conduct herself when in a stranger’s family and so on. One story that is told of this period of
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 330 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 11

her life is of her bringing to him a basket of fruit and vegetables one day with all the eagerness
and pride of a happy child. He looked at it gravely and said, ‘But why so extravagant?’ ‘At
least it was not for myself!’ said the young wife, all her sunshine gone, in sudden disappointment,
and she turned and went away, crying quietly. But this Sri Ramakrishna could not bear to see.
‘Go one of you’ he said, turning to the boys beside him, ‘And bring her back. My very
devotion to God will take wings if I see her weep!’ So dear she was to him.
Not only did he teach her all these worldly affairs but in the field of Religion he taught
her to pray, meditate and even had talks on Brahma Jnanam with her. She on her part stands
like a rock through cloud and shine for the fulfilment of every word of his.
It is a pity that men seldom give such training to their wives. If the sex relation between
husband and wife should for some reason or other disappear from the married life then how
many among them can give to their wives this respect and unselfish love throughout their life
time? That is why it may be said that the marriage of Sri Ramakrishna, who inspite of his
having no sex relation with his wife had this singular and unique love and devotion to his
wife, was meant as an ideal for the world to follow, that you may once more fix this ideal
before you and practising Brahmacharyam, as far as possible, both husband and wife may
become blessed, that once more society which is now bereft of talent and prowess and
strength may be revived by your begetting sons talented, strong and endowed with all good
qualities, that the false glamour of romance—obscuring the solitary grandeur and freedom of
the soul, as the ultimate aim, in the name of an interesting and absorbing companionship—
might be utterly destroyed.
Even now a thought arises in the minds of men—inasmuch as they are slaves of the
senses which are always out-going—that Sri Ramakrishna would have done well if he had at
least begotten one son. If he had done this he would have acted according to the shastras. The
shastras say that it is the duty of man to perpetuate the race. Moreover shastras say, ‘A married
man should at least beget one son in order that he may be free from the debt of his ancestors.’
To this we would in the first place, ask—is creation that much, what we think, see, hear, etc?
One of the principles of creation is variety. If from this moment all of us begin to think and act
in one way then it will not take a long time to bring about the destruction of creation. Have
you understood all the principles of creation? Or is it because of the attempt to help God to
continue the creation that India is without Brahmacharyam to day? Be sincere; let not there be
any theft in the chamber of your mind; well, granting that you are following this principle of
continuing the creation what right have you to ask others to follow you. To practise
Brahmacharyam i.e., to manifest the potent energies of the mind and not to lose energy in
ordinary ways is also one of the principles of creation. If every one were busy with manifesting
the physical energy then who is to show to the world the manifestation of the spiritual energy?
. . .As regards the debt of the ancestors, the shastras say that a sannyasin by the merit of
his own virtue frees pitris from the bondages of Samsara. He makes Hw$b§ n{ḑ OZZr H¥$VmWm©—the
whole family purified, his mother blessed. †

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 331 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 John Pierce Fox: An Admirer of Swamiji
SOMENATH MUKHERJEE

I appearance while signing a letter on behalf of

During his wandering days in India and, the Harvard Philosophical Club, inviting
as also, later when he was in the West twice,
Swami Vivekananda had interacted with
numerous people from varied social strata.
With his boundless love for mankind, he freely
mixed with people in whichever hemisphere
he moved. But he seldom spoke of his experi-
ence in this regard. Today what we know of
the persons populating his life is nothing
beyond the proverbial tip of the iceberg,
leaving the voluminous rest submerged
forever.
There is no denying that the biographical
sketches of persons Swamiji had ever inter-
acted with, eventually, add more resource to
the Vivekananda history. With this aim we
shall today look into a few pages from the life
of John Pierce Fox, a Harvard graduate, who
once was drawn to the exalted world of Swami
Vivekananda.
John Pierce Fox

II Vivekananda for a lecture before that august

John Fox had graduated from Harvard
University in 1894. We do not know of his
stream of study; but his later becoming closely
attached to the Harvard Graduate Philosophical
Club hints his connection with philosophy or
any other closely linked subject. In Swami
Vivekananda in America – New Discoveries by
Marie Louise Burke [published by Advaita
Ashrama, Kolkata], John Fox made his first
body. According to Mrs. Burke, John Fox was
merely entrusted to issue the invitation letter
on behalf of the Philosophical Club. The
decision to invite Vivekananda was in fact
taken by the luminaries of the club who,
during those days, were the cream of Harvard
University.
Following his graduation, John Fox
studied at Harvard Divinity School for three

The author is engaged in research work on the life of Swami Vivekananda under instruction and guidance of the
Swami Vivekananda Archives, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata. …

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 332 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

Mrs. Sara C. Bull
years. Even before his Philosophical Club
lecture on March 25 1896, Vivekananda had
twice lectured within the Harvard Campus in
1894. The first was on May 8 in the famous
Radcliff College, succeeded by the May 16
lecture at the Sever Hall. On any of these
occasions Swami Vivekananda could have
fascinated John Fox, but we know nothing of
his initial encounter. Therefore, our chronicle
will start from the cited invitation letter. At
that time, as is said by Louise Burke, Fox was
a mere graduate, doing nothing specific except
occasional mingling in the real estate business
of his elder brother. Besides, he had a close
connection with Sara Chapman Bull, the noted
personality in the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda
Movement. On January 15, 1896 Fox was
writing to Mrs. Bull:
I had a note from Vivekananda Monday [January
13], saying he expects to come to Boston in
March or perhaps in February, and will be only
too glad to speak to the students. It will be not
before the Harvard Religious Union, but the
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
13
Graduate Philosophical Club, the most philoso-
phical organization at Harvard, so that the
audience will be the best the University can
afford.1
A few days later, on February 15, he
again wrote to Mrs. Bull from his home in
Dorchester, Massachusetts:
Your letter came Friday, and I at once went out
to Cambridge to see Mr. Lough, the president of
the Philosophical Club. He said the Club would
like to have Swami speak on Wednesday
evening, March 25.2
Through these letters we learn that either
through his involvement with the Philoso-
phical Club or for his close link with Mrs. Bull,
John Fox had developed an interest in Viveka-
nanda’s forthcoming lecture at Harvard. That
apart, his interest might also have spurred by
the extensive exposure American Press had
bestowed upon the Hindu Monk.
In any case, on March 25 Vivekananda
gave his lecture The Vedanta Philosophy [CW,
1: 357-365] at the Harvard University. It had,
as we know, a tremendous effect on the
attendance. Decision was taken to publish a
pamphlet containing the Harvard lecture along
with recorded text of a previous question-
answer session with the Swami. The lecture
apparently had a palpable impact on John Fox;
he became closely drawn to Vivekananda. On
April 14, 1896 we find him writing
enthusiastically to Mrs. Bull:
Mr. Goodwin wrote you, I believe, that Swami
has worked on the Harvard lecture, spending
about three hours Sunday morning with me. On
the Vedas, commentators, etc., he wrote three
pages of notes, making everything clear on those
matters I think. This afternoon, I am going to
see him again about a thing or two more. . .3
Within two weeks the publication was
underway. Francis Leggett, the American
~ 333 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

friend of Swamiji, funded the entire cost of its
first edition. Reverend Charles Carroll Everett
wrote the introduction while John fox added
a Note as under:
This lecture and the discussion which followed
were stenographically reported. They could
receive from the Swami only a cursory revision,
owing to his departure for England, but it is
hoped no errors have crept in. Professor
LANMAN and Professor WRIGHT of Harvard
[the latter despite the grief that then was his]
have kindly assisted in the final revision. In the
reporting of the discussion, some of the questions
were unavoidably lost. The first four notes were
added by the Swami. In the original lecture, the
quotations from Hindu writings were first given
in the Sanskrit, and then translated; these
offhand translations stand as given.
Following the lecture and discussion, are the
answers of the Swami to questions at two
afternoon talks with some Harvard students, on
March 22 and 24. These answers were stenogra-
phically reported, but the questions were not.
There have also been added a few selections from
unpublished lectures. Some of the answers and
selections cover the same general ground, but
they have all been retained on account of the
variety in treatment.
While no adequate exposition of the Vedanta
philosophy can be given in a single address, it is
hoped that this, with the accompanying answers
and selections, will be of value to those interested
in the thought and life of the East.4
A few days following the Harvard
lecture, on 15 April 1896, Vivekananda left
Cambridge and set sail for England via New
York. Close on his heels went John Fox. On 6
June 1896 he was found writing a letter to
Sara Bull on board from S. S. Victorian, en route
to England:
I forgot to ask you about the receipts from the
sale of the Harvard lectures, and so shall send
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
14
word to Mr. Goodyear to write to you about the
matter. You will want the money sent to you, I
suppose. The Old Corner Bookstore will forward
their receipts to Mr. Goodyear along with the
receipts from the other pamphlets, unless you
want to write to them; I had Mr. Wilson (the
printer) send them fifty Harvard lectures. If the
distribution does not go smoothly, I will
straighten things out in the fall.
In the hurry at Mr. Wilson’s, I forgot to have
copies sent to Dr. Everett, Prof. Wright, and Prof.
Lanman. Prof. Wright was away in the evening
so I do not know just how many copies he would
like. I left one copy for Dr. Everett when calling
with Dr. Jaynes [Janes?]. I will ask Mr. Lough to
see that he has more. As to Prof. Wright and
Prof. Lanman, could you not have ten copies
sent to each? Or perhaps Miss Hamlin could
take them.
I have done a little Vedanta missionary work on
the steamer, correcting false ideas of Mohini
(Chatterji) and Vivekananda held by three
Boston ladies.5
This is how John Pierce Fox became
earnestly drawn to Swami Vivekananda.
III
Fox’s journey to England, Mrs. Burke
wrote, had on its facade his intention to study
architecture. But his connection to Mrs. Bull
as is evident through a number of letters and,
as well, their contents suggest that he had his
assignment to assist the Swami in all possible
ways. More so, as we learn that he also acted
as the secretary of Sara Bull in her ‘Cambridge
Conference’, an annual event held in her Brattle
Street house since 1894. We shall talk later
about this conference.
In England John Fox could experience
such a close company of Swamiji as very few
of his disciples or friends had ever equalled.
He lived in close proximity to the Swami and
~ 334 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 15

was blessed by his divine love. Besides, as had an absolute devotion to Swamiji. He
company John Fox also had Swami Sarada- writes:
nanda, Josiah John Goodwin and Mohendra-
nath Dutta, the younger brother of Swamiji.
Through his depth and keen observation, Fox
had portrayed many significant anecdotes in
his letters to Sara Bull. A few of those letters
documented the Swami’s exalted state in
England.
John Fox, probably, reached England in
the second week of June 1896. He went straight
to 63, St. Georges Road, S. W. London wherein
Vivekananda was staying since May 1, 1896.
In early April of the same year Swami
Saradananda came to England followed by
Mohendranath in the middle of that month.
They were both staying in the same house with
Swamiji along with his stenographer Goodwin,
Miss Henrietta Muller and E. T. Sturdy.
Although Fox initially stayed in this house for
Mohendranath Dutta
a week or so, he later shifted to a separate
one. He lived so close to St. Georges Road Fox was so captivated by Swamiji’s brilliance,
house, that much of his time was spent in the that on any argument he referred to Swamij’s
latter one. During the period under review, view as the last word.7
Fox was aged 23, while Saradananda was 30;
On another occasion Mohendranath
Mohendranath and Goodwin were 26 and 25
writes:
respectively. To be aware of the vital moments
John Fox had experienced, we may look into One day around 2 to 3 O’clock in the afternoon,
the reminiscences of Mohendranath: Swamiji was sitting square-legged at the corner
of the room on a reclining chair, thinking of
One day after the lunch Swamiji was resting on something with his eyes closed. He remained in
a reclining chair, he was apparently in a deep such position for a fairly long time. Fox, the
thought or meditation. Fox and the present present narrator and some other persons were
narrator were sitting on two side-by-side chairs silently sitting near the wall. Abruptly Swamiji
near the opposite wall. Swamiji sat motionless sat up straight putting one leg on the other and
for a long time; suddenly sign of intense pain started saying in a sombre voice, ‘you see, Fox, I
was evident on his face. A few moments later, was thinking of Paul [Saint Paul] and the
he released his breath and told Fox, ‘Look fox, Christian religion. You know what I saw? One
my heart had almost failed, my father died of insignificant religion of the Jews was in the
this illness. I had a severe pain in the chest; this hands of some petty fishermen. The Greeks and
is our family disease.’6 the Romans were the principal races at that time;
Vivekananda was slightly above 33 at the Jews were then a subjugated race. Paul had
that time. According to Mohendranath, Fox become the advocate of the expressions of those

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 335 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 16

fishermen. Paul was a learned fanatic, and so he
upturned the Greek philosophy and the Roman
civilization. Only religious loyalty does not work,
eventually the fanatics won. Do you know what
I am? Paul was a learned fanatic; I am a learned
fanatic and I like to create a band of learned
fanatics as well. You know, only fanatics are not
good for work, theirs’ is a brain disease, and it
creates damage. Learned fanatic does the work.’
Thus he went on talking and everybody listened
attentively.8
Mohendranath wrote that Fox used to
sit around with the others and took part in
discussions on history and politics. Once a
crate of mangos came from India, Fox had
trouble to eat the fruit properly. Swamiji
lovingly directed him, ‘Try with your spoon,
scoop it out’. Love for reading was in the blood
DD
References
1. Swami Vivekananda in America : New Discoveries,
by Marie Louise Burke, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata
[hereinafter ‘New Discoveries’] March 1996, 4: 91
2. ibid
3. ibid, p.94
4. ibid, p.95
of Mohendranath; Fox frequently accompanied
him to the historical ‘Reading Room’ of the
British Library and studied the ‘Vedanta-Sutra’.
On June 27, 1896 he wrote to Sara Bull:
I mean to spend all my spare time reading the
Hindu books in the Museum, as Swami is not
inclined to talk very much. I suppose he is too
tired.9
Before Swamiji went to visit Europe in
July 1896, disagreements with Miss Muller had
caused Mohendranath to leave the St. Georges
Road house. He went to live with John Fox at
the latter’s Cambridge Road apartment. Fox
could, eventually, witness many a whimsical
high-handedness of Miss Muller and E. T.
Sturdy which adversely had affected everyone
including the Swami.
(To be continued. . .)
5. ibid, p.97
6. Londone Swami Vivekananda, by Mohendranath
Dutta [hereafter ‘Londone’], 1996, 1: 92-93
7. ibid, p.95
8. ibid, p.97
9. New Discoveries, 4: 181

A Poineer
Spiritually speaking, Vivekananda’s words and presence at the 1893 World Parliament
of Religions brought Asia to the West decisively. For, reading correctly the spiritual
hunger of the West that his words and presence brought to the surface, Vivekananda
went on to found the Ramakrishna Mission whose centres in almost every major city of
Europe and America launched the influx of Asian spirituality that has changed
the religious complexion of those continents permanently. Buddhism,
Sufism, Sikhism, Baha’i and others have followed, but Vedanta was the
pioneer.
—Huston Smith, Great Thinkers on Vivekananda, p.101-102

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 336 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 A Meditation on Mahapurush Maharaj
SWAMI HITANANDA

Mahapurush Maharaj or Swami Sivananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, was the
second President of Ramakrishna Math and Mission. A spiritual luminary of high order, he was
deeply venerated for his spiritual insights, calm demeanour and unbounded love. The following
reminiscences of him by Swami Hitananda, a monastic disciple of Mahapurush Maharaj, have been
translated by Swami Atmajnananda (assisted by Swami Mahayogananda) of Vedanta Centre of
Greater Washington DC, USA. The original reminiscences in Bengali are from Shivananda-
Smriti-Sangraha (Pp.321-25), collected by Swami Apurvananda and published by the Ramakrishna-
Shivananda Ashrama, Barasat, West Bengal.

I had the opportunity of keeping the holy
company of Revered Mahapurush Maharaj
and of performing some ordinary service for
him for only a very short period. At that time
his health was extremely poor. Due to different
kinds of ailments associated with old age, his
movements were restricted to his own room.
Furthermore, from time to time, various
related illnesses arose—once, for example, he
suffered from a virulent form of blood
dysentery, and his blood pressure also rose
quite high. Through the good treatment
and care of several experienced doctors,
he regained his health to some extent. The
doctors then suggested that he go for a
change of climate. There was talk at first of
his going to Bombay. But as there was some
fear that he might not be able to withstand
such a long train journey, it was suggested
that he go by steamer to some nearby place.
Someone mentioned that it might not be a bad
idea for him to go by steamer along the Ganges
as far as Navadwip.
In the meantime, Mahapurush Maharaj
was reminded of an incident that took place
during his early wandering days, and his
enthusiasm for the idea increased greatly. The
incident was this: Toward the beginning of
his wandering life, Mahapurushji and Hari
Maharaj once travelled by the side of the
Ganges to a village by the name of Basbere,
where they visited a well known Hamseshwari
Temple. The main image in this large temple
of thirteen pinnacles is that of the Divine
Mother, Kali. But the distinctive feature of this
image is that Mother Kali is neither naked nor
standing on the bosom of Shiva. Here, the Devi
is standing on top of the navel of Shiva, and
the end of her cloth is wrapped around her
waist—just as women keep it when they are
engaged in work. In her four hands are boons,
freedom from fear, a sword, and a human
head. Her face is calm, not terrible or fearsome.
The motherly aspect of the image is so
pronounced that one cannot take one’s eyes
off it.
As Mahapurushji was remembering this
image of the Divine Mother, his desire to have
her darshan became very strong. But it was
not possible for him to go anywhere—when
he stood, his legs wobbled, and when he tried
to walk, his head spun. Still, as he was

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 337 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

completely unable to forget this image of the
Divine Mother, it was decided that we would
have someone take a photo of it and bring it
to him. Consequently, we wrote to a well-
known devotee from Chandannagar, re-
questing him to take a couple of pictures of
Hamseshwari Devi and bring them to Maha-
purush Maharaj. As requested, he took two
photos and brought them to Maharaj. Seeing
the photos, Mahapurush Maharaj was extre-
mely happy. He asked us to have a large,
colour print made. When that was done, it
was hung on the wall of Mahapurushji’s room,
so that he could see Mother at all times while
seated on his bed.
At night, however, he could not see the
photo on the wall very well, so he asked us to
keep a small photo beneath his pillow. Several
times throughout the night, one of the nearby
attendants would have to show him the photo.
He had very little sleep, either at night or
during the day. He would wake up many
times, and whenever he awoke, he would want
to have a look at Mother Hamseshwari. How
great was his eagerness! How great was his
longing! The heart of even a perfectly faithless
man could not help but be moved at the sight.
But he was not content merely seeing
Mother in the photo. He made arrangements
for worship to be performed in the Hamses-
wari Temple practically every new moon day.
Two or three sannyasis and brahmacharis
would leave the Math for the Belur train
station, carrying with them all of the necessary
items and ingredients for a sixteen-item
worship. They would catch the train there and
reach the temple at around ten or eleven in
the morning. After making all arrangements
and performing the Devi’s puja, homa, reci-
tation of the Chandi, food offering, arati, etc.,
they would collect some prasada around five
or five-thirty in the evening and take the train
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
18
back to the Math by about nine or nine-thirty
at night.
But even after making all these arrange-
ments for the worship, Mahapurush Maharaj
still would not sit back free from anxiety; from
the moment the sadhus and brahmacharis left
the Math with the puja items up until the time
of their return, he would spend the entire day
talking about Mother Hamseshwari. His close
attendant had to have all of the information at
hand, because moment by moment, he would
ask: how far have they gone, now what station
would they be reaching, have they crossed
Chandannagar yet, would they have reached
the temple by now, might they be sitting for
puja now, and so on. Once they had returned
that night, they would relate to Mahapurush
Maharaj all the details of the trip. He would
take some of Mother’s prasada and feel free
from anxiety.
During this period especially, there was
no limit to the enthusiasm and zeal that
Mahapurushji felt for all kinds of worship, in
addition to that of Hamseshwari. It was
decided once at this time that since the Math
had been going into debt for several years at
Durga Puja time, they would suspend the wor-
ship. As soon as he heard this proposal, he
said, ‘It will not do to stop Mother’s worship.
I will give whatever money is needed.’ He
remained filled with joy on all special puja
days. He would experience the presence of
the blissful Mother in his heart and mind, and
would inspire others to feel it as well.
During this period Mahapurushji intro-
duced another practice—what is known as
áivà-bali, offerings to Durga in the form of a
jackal [áivà also means a jackal]. Prescriptions
for this are found in the Tantrik scriptures.
On the night of the worship of the Devi,
in order to please her, one must offer bali,
that is, varieties of food items, in the dead of
~ 338 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

night, either in a cremation ground or in a
solitary place. If the Divine Mother comes in
the form of áivà (a jackal) and eats the offerings,
it is considered very auspicious for the
worshipper.
One night at about twelve o’clock,
Revered Mahapurush Maharaj asked his
attendant, ‘Well, now, are jilipis [or jalebis, a
type of sweets] available at the Belur market?’
The attendant replied, ‘I have seen them
during the day, but I don’t know whether or
not they are available at night.’ He asked, ‘Can
you go? Why not go and see. If you can find
some, bring one rupee’s worth of jilipis. Take
a rupee from the drawer.’ One of the senior
attendants was also present at that time. He
said, ‘If he goes, it will take a long time for
him to return. Let me rather go by cycle. I’ll
be able to come back in no time.’ Then
Mahapurush Maharaj gave the rupee to him
and sent him on his way. The attendant did
not find any at the Belur market, so he went
to the Bally market. When he did not find any
there either, he went to the Salkiya market.
There he purchased one basketful of jilipis. By
the time he returned with them it was nearly
one o’clock.
Mahapurush Maharaj then said to one
of the attendants, ‘Sprinkle them with Ganges
water and very carefully keep them in a clean
place. After all, they will be used for Mother’s
food offering.’ Then he himself explained, ‘This
Mother is not the Mother who dwells in the
temple. Offerings must be given to Mother in
the form of áivà, who dwells in the forest. Can
you manage it? Where will you keep them,
tell me.’ The attendant replied, ‘I think it will
be all right if I leave them near the cremation
ground by the side of the Ganges.’ He
consented to that and said, ‘Leave them there
as soon as you hear the cry of the jackal.’ From
that point on, whenever he heard the slightest
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
19
sound, he would exclaim, ‘There, you can hear
them howling.’ Things went on this way until
about one or one-thirty when they could truly
hear the cry of the jackals. Then the attendant
carried the plate of food and very carefully
left it near the cremation ground by the side
of the Ganges. He then went a short distance
and waited to see if he could catch sight of the
jackals. But they did not come within his range
of his vision. So he returned to Mahapurush
Maharaj and said, ‘I left the offering, but I
couldn’t see anything at all.’ Mahapurush
Maharaj said, ‘They will surely come and
accept it.’ From that night on, the offerings of
jilipis continued for some days.
Then one day he said, ‘Everyday we have
been leaving jilipis as offerings to Mother. Let
us offer some sandesh [a type of sweet popular
in Bengal]! From the next night onward, we
began to leave offerings of sandesh. But even
though the jackals were coming, Mahapurush
Maharaj did not feel satisfied. One day later
he said, ‘Do jackals really like jilipis and
sandesh? Their actual food is meat. From
tomorrow onward we shall have to leave some
meat and a few luchis as offerings.’ And that
is what we did. For the remaining days of his
life, the offerings to the Divine Mother in the
form of jackals continued on a daily basis. Even
now, offerings are left at the Math on the
occasion of Kali Puja.
Mahapurush Maharaj did not feel content
merely by making offering to Mother [in the
form of the jackals] according to the injunctions
of the scriptures. His limitless compassion
extended to all living creatures. He used to
keep some biscuits and sandesh separately for
feeding the dogs. He would always enquire
about the condition of the Math cowshed and
from time to time would take some bananas
and other food to the cows and feed them. He
made arrangements to feed the birds with
~ 339 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 20

grains of rice. He would scatter some rice on
the roof outside of his second floor door and
feel great joy watching them eat.
It is not possible for ordinary people like
us to understand the state of his mind. Still, I
have related a few simple incidents from
what we observed of his life. I shall close this
article by mentioning one or two more related
things.
I have already mentioned how Maha-
purush Maharaj would be overcome with love
for the Divine Mother by seeing the picture of
Hamseshwari during the night. Whether there
is any connection between this state of
absorption and the state of being merged in
Brahman—or whether they are one and the
same state—is not something that can be easily
understood by us. Nevertheless, Mahapurush
Maharaj would quite often express his desire
to hear the verses from chapter two of the
Bhagavad Gita describing the characteristics of
the sage of steady wisdom, and we would
often read them out to him. There was one in
particular among these that he asked to hear
on several occasions. The verse was (II.69):
`m {Zem gd©^yVmZm§ Vñ`m§ OmJ[V© g§`_rŸ
`ñ`m§ OmJ«{V ^yVm{Z gm {Zem ní`Vmo _wZo…Ÿ
yà niáà sarva-bhùtànàÉ tasyàÉ jàgarti
saÉyamì
yasyàÉ jàgrati bhùtànàÉ sà niáà paáyato
muneæ
That which is night to all beings, in that the self-
controlled one is awake; and where all beings
are awake, that is night to the all-seeing sage.
He also used to love to hear a particular
verse from the Chaëåì (XI.55).
BË`§ `Xm `Xm ~mYm XmZdmoËWm ^{dî`{VŸ
VXm VXm@dVr`©h§ H$[aî`må`[ag§j`_²
itthaÉ yadà yadà bàdhà dànavotthà
bhaviäyati
tadà tadàvatìryàhaÉ
kariäyàmyarisaÉkäayam
Whenever obstacles shall thus arise on account
of the dànavas, I shall take birth and destroy the
enemies.
What the connection was between these
two verses and what deep meaning was
hidden within them, he alone understood. †

DD
The Wise Man
The wise man is not depressed by adversity, just as the golden lotus that fades not
at the approach of night. He does not set his heart on anything beyond his immediate
concern, and his delight lies in the path of the virtuous. As alum clarifies water, so the
nature of one who is enlightened becomes purified. Free from doubts,
wickedness, inquisitiveness and delusion, his mind is perfectly
integrated, and he shines like the full moon.
—Mahopanishad, IV, 18; V, 66, 68

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 340 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 Spiritual Values in the Gita
SWAMI VISHARADANANDA

(Continued from previous issue)

11. Anahamkara (absence of ego)
Aham means ‘I’ or ego. Ego is at the root
of our earthly existence (samsàra). It is also the
cause of sense of superiority or separate-
ness from others. To keep one’s ego in check
is an important spiritual value. When a person
is egoistic (i.e., has ahamkara), he develops an
air about himself. He then finds it humiliating
to respect others because he equates respecting
others with disrespecting himself! Being
distorted in his thinking thus, he becomes
insensitive to others’ feelings and has no
consideration and sympathy for others. Even
behind his cloak of apparent sympathy is
hidden his sense of arrogance and superiority.
Some people are so obsessed with
themselves that when they speak, they use the
‘I’ ten times in every sentence. They cannot
talk without referring to themselves. But if we
examine this ‘I’, we will discover that it is a
false entity. Work that we do is done by a
number of factors but it is our ‘I’ which takes
away all the credit. There are many factors,
seen and unseen, which come together to make
any work possible. But without recognizing
their contribution, we jump up and say, ‘I have
done it’, ‘I am the author of this situation!’ A
matured and honest person, however, will
only attribute all his success to a combination
of many factors and be modest about the role
Swami Visharadananda is a monk of the dashanami tradition. He lives and teaches at Vivekananda Yoga
Anusandhana Mahavidyapith, Prashanti Kutiram, near Jigani Industrial Area, Bangalore, Karnataka. This
serialised article has been condensed from his book Human Values, published by Swami Vivekananda Yoga
Prakashan, Chamarajpet, Bangalore, pp.102. …
that he has played in it. He will not make any
tall claims for himself.
Why do we become arrogant? Because
we do not exercise our discriminative faculty.
We think too much of ourselves and fail to
see how other factors have played a pivotal
role in all our actions. All our sense of
superiority comes because we lack a broader
perspective of life. For example, when we dig
a well, we only dig the earth; water is already
present in the earth, and we take credit for the
drinking water that comes out of it!
Likewise we sow a seed, it sprouts and
becomes a tree and bears fruits; and we claim,
‘I have produced the fruits’. At the very face
of it, it is a false assertion. We did the sowing
of a seed but its sprouting, growth and the
coming of fruits come from a power inherent
in it. We do not create flowers or fruits; Nature
does it. On a closer examination of the whole
issue, we will find that our contribution is
indeed very little. Neither water nor manure
was created by us; we only brought it together.
We are mere agents of action. When we thus
analyze our claims, all our egoism begins to
melt away. Egoism is like a harmful virus—
something which should be removed from our
mind.
We are mere instruments in the hands of
a Higher Power—we are like a pen which has

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 341 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

no right to say, ‘I wrote this letter’; whatever
is written, is done by the writer and not the
pen. Good or bad—it is all written by the
writer. Similarly body, mind, and our senses
are mere instruments. Minus them the person
is nothing. And these instruments are in the
hands of the Divine.
As stated above, for an event to occur,
innumerable factors are involved. When we
put all these factors together, it is called
Ishwara. With His thousands of hands and feet,
Ishwara performs all the actions of the world
and we take the credit for it. How foolish and
thoughtless of us! In absence of introspection,
ego becomes even more crystallized.
Egocentric people look upon everything
as a prestige-issue. Whenever anything be-
comes an issue of prestige, it creates a situation
of point-of-no-return. A prestige-conscious
person thinks: ‘My way or no way’. He does
not care whether it may cause inconvenience
to others or whether it is necessary to do that
work; he just wants to fulfil his sense of false
honour and prestige. This creates discontent-
ment and being discontent and unhappy, one
then tries to control others to fulfil his selfish
agenda. A happy and contented person enjoys
others’ happiness and does not try to control
them. He enjoys giving freedom to others and
does not try to possess them.
In order to satisfy their ego, many people
are ready to even do harm to others. But with
deep introspection, we begin to see things
more clearly. Success or failure in any context
depends on so many factors. By chance, we
too participate in that process or happening.
We can never be sure of the final result of our
actions because the result is not in our control;
we can only do our actions. We can only play
our role and not appropriate all the results.
An arrogant person, on the other hand,
feels bad if the credit of doing something is
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
22
not given to him. And sometimes without
doing something, he wants to have the credit!
The remedy lies in seeing or recognising the
Universal Will, the Ishwareccha, behind all our
actions. If we can recognize the Universal Will,
our egoism will vanish. Egoism is an unending
problem of the jiva [the embodied soul]. From
time immemorial, we have allowed our ego to
flourish and dictate terms; it will not, therefore,
change its ways overnight. We will have to be
vigilant and detect its workings and slowly
size it up. Mere intellectual understanding is
not sufficient; one should actually go beyond
all sense of duality. When we begin to discover
that we are mere instruments, we then see the
hollowness of all ego-driven actions and
claims. This is the practice of anahamkara or
egolessness.
12. Janma-mítyu-jarà-vyàdhi-duækha-
doäanu-daráanam (Seeing the inherent
defects in birth, death, old age and disease)
Darshanam means ‘seeing’. Anudarshanam
means ‘seeing again and again’. In the present
context, hence, it means that we should see
the defects inherent in the impermanent nature
of life. Repeated seeing is necessary because
we tend to forget what we have seen. We
should recognize the duækha (pain or defect)
in janma (birth), mítyu (death), jarà (old age)
and vyàdhi (disease)—again and again.
There are six vikàras (modifications) of
the upàdhi called ‘life’: jàyate (‘is born’), asti
(‘exists’), vardhate (‘grows’), vipariëamate
(‘undergoes change’), apakáìyate (‘degenerates’)
and vinaáyati (‘perishes’). These are the six
forms of changes which body is subjected to.
In every one of these stages, there is duækha.
As long as one is identified with the
upàdhi, one has to suffer duækha. Whether
healthy or unhealthy, all living beings undergo
these changes and the resultant duækha. It is
~ 342 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

said that misery starts the moment we are
born. But nor does the heaven idea solve the
problem of duækha. After enjoying in the
heaven, one has to vacate one’s place there
because sooner or later the eviction notice in
the form of the end of punya-karmaphala (merit
born of good actions) will be served and we
will be reborn on earth! And then again we
have to get into a womb (garbhavàsa)—filled
with filth and muck. What can be a greater
misery than this!
The Garbhopanishad says that when one
is in the garbha (womb), one keeps praying to
the Lord to take one away from that situation.
One prays for moksha and promises to do
sadhana when released. In the womb, one is
bundled up, cramped and trapped and hence
prays for release. But once one emerges out of
the womb, one forgets all misery of life in the
womb and gets caught into the same world of
appearances again!
Duækha, thus, begins right when one is
born and that is why babies start crying when
born. This crying continues the whole of our
life, but as we grow, we learn how to carefully
hide the crying—it then continues inside.
Crying at birth is like the inauguration of the
long, unending chain of problems!
In old age, shoka (sorrow) and moha (delu-
sion) further fill the mind. Old people often
keep thinking, ‘I should have done like this
and I should have not done that’. They brood
over the past and it becomes a kind of their
pastime. The bus that one missed in life is
remembered repeatedly. Again, in the old age,
our senses become weak; the immune power
is undermined and one becomes prone to
diseases. At the time of death, it is atiduækha,
great duækha. When pràëa (life-force) readies
to depart, it is extreme duækha.
The point is that one should understand
and remember the limitations of life, body and
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
23
all our physical faculties. This reality needs to
be remembered—not forgotten. We have to
‘repeatedly see’ them.
When young prince Siddhartha went out
in a chariot into the city for the first time, he
was shocked to see a diseased, old person with
his stomach swollen. He asked, ‘What is jarà,
old age?’ Ashwaghosh’s Buddha Charit descri-
bes it thus:
énñ` hÝÌr ì`gZ_² ~bñ` emoH$ñ``mo{Z… {ZYZ§ aVrZm_²Ÿ&
Zme… ñ_¥VrZm§ [anw[apÝÐ`mUm_²Ÿ Efm Oam Zm_ `W¡f ^½Z…Ÿ&&
That which kills beauty, decreases strength, is a
source of sorrow, robs one of all sense-pleasures,
destroys memory and is the enemy of senses—
such a shattered state [of body] is called old age.
In old age, one becomes unimportant in
his own home! When one is young, one has
the power and rules the house and the same
person, now in the old age, is nobody. It is a
shock for the mind. One becomes unhappy
because earlier one used to derive happiness
through sensory-enjoyment (indriya bhoga) such
as eating, seeing, hearing, and so on. But in
old age that capacity to enjoy is impaired. If
one overeats, one gets stomach problem and
that stays on for days together! Eyesight is
weakened and one has to strain to hear, and
has little energy in doing things. One forgets
and keeps asking the same question again and
again. If we live that long everyone has to go
through that phase. It is said that this body is
a temple of diseases (eara§ ì`m{Y _pÝXa_² ). It is
like a living-place for all diseases.
Human beings suffer duækha more
because in addition to physical pain, there is
also emotional pain. The emotional pain is not
so much felt in birds and animals because they
do not have complexes and do not make
comparisons. Their competition is restricted
to filling the stomach and fulfilling their other
~ 343 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 24

basic needs. They do not have the problem of prepared then old age is not a problem. On
possessing and accumulating. But human the contrary, old age, if properly handled, can
beings have all complexes such as ‘I am small, become a congenial factor to do contemplation
inferior and ignorant’, and that makes them and prayers (atmà anu-sandhanam).
suffer more. No one can experience uninterrupted
One should therefore be prepared to happiness in this world; change and sorrow
handle old age which takes away the beauty, are inherent in life. One has to rather face it
energy, power of body and mind and as a with a right mindset. A man of discrimination
result of which one feels dejected. One should (viveki) sees that everything has both pleasure
develop a matured and balanced outlook and pain inherent in it. And what appears
towards life. When one is not wanted by pleasure to the ordinary mind, the same has
others, one should have the balance of mind pain, too, to the man of discrimination. It is
to accept it. Instead of feeling morose that because he sees the future and does not get
‘nobody cares for me’, one should feel good restricted to the present only. With his power
that people are ‘so strong and independent of discrimination, he can place things in the
now and do not need me any more’. Generally right perspective and learn to be happy.
people care for the one who wields power and This is how the practice of ‘seeing the
when it is lost they do not bother about him. defects repeatedly’ leads to spiritual and moral
This is the way of life. If one is mentally perfection.
(To be continued. . .)
II
Sri Ramakrishna, My Master
I believe that was the day on which Swami Vivekananda delivered the lecture on My
Master. As he entered the hall from a door at the side of the platform, one sensed a
different mood in him. He seemed less confident, as if he approached his task reluctantly.
Years after in Madras I understood. He hesitated at all times to speak of his guru.
During his early wanderings through South India he refused to reveal his name even,
believing he represented him so poorly. Only in Madras, when he came unaware upon
his Master’s picture, did the words burst from his lips: ‘That is my guru, Shri Ramakrishna,’
and tears streamed down his face. So now was he reluctant. He began his lecture with a
long preamble; but once in his subject, it swept him. The force of it drove him from one
end of the platform to the other. It overflowed in a swift-running stream of eloquence
and feeling. The large audience listened in awed stillness and at the close many left the
hall without speaking. As for myself, I was transfixed. The transcendent picture drawn
overwhelmed me. The call had come, and I answered.
—Sister Devamata, Reminiscences of Vivekananda, p. 125

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 344 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 A Pilgrimage to Rameshwaram
‘ATMASHRADDHA’

(Continued from previous issue. . .)

After the darshan of the main shrine and In ancient times, the temple of Ramesh-
other deities in the Temple, we now arrived waram was originally housed in a thatched
at the famed outer corridor of Rameshwaram hut of a hermit. The present structure is due

The longest corridor of Ramanathaswami temple

Temple. And what a majestic sight it was!
Lined on either side with the simple but
impressively carved row of pillars, the corridor
is the longest of any Hindu temple in the
world. It was built around 1740-1770 AD.
Temple History: Some Facts
Before we narrate the next part of our
pilgrimage, let us recall here some interesting
facts related to the Rameshwaram Temple.2
to the efforts of many kings and other
generous persons over the centuries. The pride
of place, of course, goes to the Sethupathis of
Ramnad.
The existing records show that in the
twelfth century, Parakrama Bahu, the King of
Ceylon, constructed the sanctum sanctorum
around the Moolalinga (Sri Ramanatha-
swamy), Sri Viswanath and the Ambal (Mother
Parvati) shrine.

… The author is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order.

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 345 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

The statue of Bhaskar Sethupathi
at the entrance of the Rameshwaram temple
In the 15th century, Udayan Sethupathi
of Ramnad and a Vaishya of Nagoor (near
Nagapattinam) built the western stone-tower
(about 78 feet high) and the compound wall.
A wealthy devotee from Madurai was res-
ponsible for constructing the Ambal Prakaram
and some other renovation work.
In the 16th century, Tirumalai Sethupathi
built a portion of the southern second
corridor. His statue and that of his
son Ragunatha Sethupathi are found
by the side of the southern entrance
to the Ambal temple. They are
honoured with flowers every Friday
night. Later, in the same century,
Chinna Udayan Sethupathi, Katta
Thevar (a feudal lord under Viswa-
natha Naicker of Madurai) made
some additions including the Nandi
Mandapam. This huge Nandi, mea-
suring 22’ x 12’ x 17’, is made of sudai
(lime and mortar) work, traditionally
used in many temples. Sethupathi Mandapam in the Ramanathaswami temple
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
26
In the 17th century Dalavai Sethupathi
built a portion of the main eastern Gopuram.
In the eighteenth century, the world famous
third corridor of the temple was constructed
by Muthuramalinga Sethupathi. His statue,
and those of his two ministers, are found in
the western entrance to the third corridor. This
highly acclaimed third corridor of the temple
is 22 feet high, having 1212 pillars, with its
outer wing measuring (east-west) 690 feet and
(north-south) 435 feet. The inner wing of the
Corridor measures (east-west) 649 feet and
(north-south) 395 feet. What a scale of
construction!
Between 1897 and 1904, the Alar family
of Devakottai (near Rameshwaram) completed
the imposing eastern tower of nine tiers—126
feet in height. Between 1907 and 1925 they
renovated the Sanctum Sanctorum and the
Prakaram (the innermost corridor) by re-
placing the lime stones with black granite
making adequate provisions for light and
ventilation, and also arranged for the perfor-
mance of Kumbhabishekam in 1925.
During the renovation of first corridor,
it was decided to renovate the second corridor
also. The lime stone structure in second
~ 346 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 27

corridor was dismantled and granite stone

work started. But later only the compound
wall in west side and one portion of the north
side of western wing in south gate was
renovated. Finally, between 1961 and 1985, the
western side of second corridor and a portion
in north and south side was renovated. This
was done through the Temple Renovation
Fund.
The Sethupathi Mandapam in front of
the Temple’s Raja Gopuram (main Tower) was
constructed by Ramanatha Sethupathi, a
descendant of Ramnad Raja dynasty, with his
own donation of nearly 3 lakhs and was
opened in 1974.

Continuing the Pilgrimage

Having walked through the impressive
outer corridor, we visited the shrine of
Sabhapathi (a form of Shiva), at a corner,
which had its walls covered with thousands
of Rudraksha beads. In front of the shrine, on
either side, the statues of Patanjali and
Vyaghrapada Maharshis were present, and on
the side (outside the Pradakshina path), Lord
Vishnu, in the Anantashayana (sleeping
posture), was also visible.
On the rear side of this shrine was a
charming little enclosure which is held to be
the Samadhi of the great Patanjali Maharshi,
the great teacher of Yoga and the compiler of
the principles of Yoga (yogasutras). This
shrine came as a surprise to us—we had never
thought of encountering the samadhi of sage
Patanjali.
We walked through the corridors,
admiring and enjoying the grandeur of the
architecture and the whole ambience. It was
so exhilarating to walk through the majestic
corridors which run into nearly two km.
Before leaving the Rameshwaram temple,
we also visited Sri Hanuman temple at the
The samadhi-shrine dedicated to Patanjali,
located behind the Natarajar shrine in the
Rameshwaram temple
entrance. It was around 1’O clock by the time
we reached the Matam for food and rest.
At around 2.30 pm, thanks to the
kindness of the Matam authorities, we were
given a van to visit other places on the Ram-
eshwaram Island.
Vivekananda Bhaskaram and other Places
First we briefly visited the Vivekananda
Bhaskaram.
Vivekananda Bhaskaram was, originally,
the guesthouse of the Maharaja of Ramnad,
where Swamiji stayed for a night in 1897. It is
located just a few metres from the eastern
entrance to the Ramanathaswamy temple.
The building was made into a memorial
several decades ago but over the years, it had
run down and become unusable. It was
hence thoroughly renovated and opened to
visitors in January 2009. Inside there are
statues of Swamiji and Bhaskara Sethupathi.
There is also a small photo exhibition on

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 347 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 28

Island, we took shelter from the

blazing sun and briefly dis-
cussed the spiritual and cultural
significance of such places.
We then drove to Kun-
thukaal, a place on the western
side of the Rameshwaram Is-
land. On the way we visited a
small Hanuman temple on the
road side where some stones
had been kept in a small pond,
with a grill over it. These were
floating over the surface and we
were told that they were a
Vivekananda Bhaskaram, the place where Swamiji stayed in 1897
specimen of the stones which
were used to build the bridge
across the ocean by Lord Rama.
The stones looked like corals or
pumice stone. We just touched
them with devotion like other
pilgrims, not concerned with
their historicity.

The writing at the entrance of the Vivekananda Bhaskaram

A Vist to Kunthukaal
When Swamiji returned from
Swamiji in the adjacent rooms and is open to the West in 1897, he came to India from Jaffna
visitors. The memorial is under the manage- by a steamer (incidentally he arrived here
ment of Ramakrishna Tapovanam. exactly on 26 January—now observed as
Our next destination was Ramar Padam
(the temple of the Holy Feet of Rama). The
temple is located atop Gandhamadana hill
(which marks the spot where Sri Rama is
believed to have stood to inspect the Ramesh-
waram Island in order to build the Sethu).
The hill is also supposed to be the spot from
which Sri Hanuman took off to Lanka in
search of Sita Devi. There is no deity in the
temple, except a pair of foot-prints (of Rama)
carved in stone in the garbhagriha. On the
top floor canopy of the temple which
commands a panoramic view of the back
Ramarpadam temple atop Gandhamandana hill
waters and other parts of the Rameshwaram

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 348 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

A view from the Ramarpadam temple
India’s Republic Day!). While his steamer was
nearing Rameshwaram, where he was to land,
the Raja of Ramnad, Bhaskar Sethupathi, came
rushing in a State Boat to welcome him.3 The
Raja had been informed through a last-minute
telegram sent from Jaffna. After meeting
Swamiji, he requested that since Swamiji was
to land on the sacred land of India after his
historic success in the West, let him do so by
keeping his foot on Raja’s head, and the Raja
offered to bend down, with his knees half-
folded (that is what the name of the place
Front view of the Vivekananda Hall, Kunthukaal
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
29
means—Kundhu-kaal, ‘the bent leg or
foot’). Though moved by the Raja’s
humility, Swamiji declined to do so
by saying that since Bhaskar Sethu-
pathi was a king, it would be improper
to do so. Finally he got into Raja’s boat
and landed ashore.
Describing this event, Swamiji’s
Life says,
To mark the place where the Swami first
set foot on Indian soil after his triumph in
the West, the Raja planned to erect a
victory monument, forty feet in height,
bearing the following inscription:
Satyameva Jayate
The monument erected by Bhaskara
Sethupathi, the Raja of Ramnad, marks the
sacred spot, where His Holiness Swami Viveka-
nanda’s blessed feet first trod on Indian soil,
together with the Swami’s English disciples, on
His Holiness’s return from the Western Hemi-
sphere, where glorious and unprecedented
success attended His Holiness’s philanthropic
labours to spread the religion of the Vedanta.
January 27, 1897
The Indian Mirror, on February 7, gave this report
of the Swami’s reception at Pamban and
Rameshwaram:
Statues of Swamiji and the Raja of Ramnad inside the Hall
~ 349 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

Vivekananda Memorial Hall, Kunthukaal
As intimated to us by a telegram from Jaffna,
Swami Vivekananda, accompanied by Swami
Niranjanananda, Mr. and Mrs. Sevier, Mr.
Goodwin, and Mr. Harrison of Ceylon, arrived
here [Pamban] about 3 pm, by a special vessel
chartered for the purpose. On the arrival of the
vessel, a few respectable gentlemen of the place
went on board the vessel, and, after ministering
to the needs of the party, requested Swami
Vivekananda to defer landing till 5 o’clock as
the Rajah of Ramnad was expected to arrive to
receive him. Punctual to the hour, the Rajah
arrived in a nice, neatly decorated boat, specially
prepared for the occasion, and reached the vessel
in which Swami Vivekananda was, and landed
him amidst much acclamation. At the landing
place, there was a grand pandal erected, and a
temporary jetty was put up, an immense crowd
having gathered there. Swami Vivekananda was
conducted to a beautiful platform in the pandal
by the Rajah, who, after delivering a speech of
welcome, asked Mr. Nagalingam Pillai, Agent,
C.S.S. Co., to read the address of welcome on
behalf of the public. That being done, Swami
Vivekananda made a suitable reply, the whole
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
30
of which was taken down in shorthand by the
reporters of the Madras and Madurai news-
papers.
But over the years, the pillar fell off and
finally, due to ravages of nature, disappeared.
No one could tell us precisely where the
commemorative pillar might have existed.
As per the records, the Kunthukaal area
functioned as a small harbour earlier. In 2005,
as a part of initiatives taken for promoting
tourism, the Government of Tamilnadu and
Ramakrishna Tapovanam jointly decided to
build a memorial in honour of Swamiji.
Accordingly, it was decided to convert an
abandoned marine workshop on the seashore
into a hall. Thus came into existence Viveka-
nanda Memorial Hall, Kunthukaal. It was
formally inaugurated in February 2009.
The structure was, hence, constructed
under the public-private participation concept
by the contributions made by the Department
of Tourism and Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam.
Located at the fringes of the Rameshwaram
~ 350 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

An artist's view of Swamiji being received by
Bhaskar Sethupathi, the Raja of Ramnad, at Kunthukaal
Island, in the Pamban Strait, with deep, blue
water, and almost without any waves, the Hall
is a place of much significance and importance.
When we reached the place, it was
around 4 pm. First we visited the temple
(which houses in addition to the statues of
Swamiji and Bhaskar Sethupati, an exhibition
on the life and teachings of Swamiji). Then we
proceeded to the nearby thatched hut to escape
the scorching sun. Some of the yatris were so
tired that they simply slept for half an hour.
The Matam Swamiji had kindly organized tea
and it was indeed refreshing.
By about 5 in the evening, we walked on
the beach enjoying the natural beauty of the
place. Except us, there was hardly anyone
there. We then sat down on a halfsub-
merged piece of stone/concrete slab, and
chanted the Hanuman Chalisa together. Then
References
2. A Guide Book of Rameswaram - Dhanushkodi,
published by Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy
Temple, Rameshwaram, 2000, Pp.23-27
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
31
one of us read out Swamiji’s Lecture given
in the Pamban [CW, 3: 136-143]:
Our sacred motherland is a land of religion
and philosophy — the birthplace of spiritual
giants — the land of renunciation, where and
where alone, from the most ancient to the most
modern times, there has been the highest ideal
of life open to man.
I have been in the countries of the West —
have travelled through many lands of many
races; and each race and each nation appears
to me to have a particular ideal — a prominent
ideal running through its whole life; and this
ideal is the backbone of the national life. Not
politics nor military power, nor commercial
supremacy nor mechanical genius furnishes
India with that backbone, but religion; and
religion alone is all that we have and mean to
have. Spirituality has been always in India.
Great indeed are the manifestations of muscular
power, and marvellous the manifestations of
intellect expressing themselves through mach-
ines by the appliances of science; yet none of
these is more potent than the influence which
spirit exerts upon the world.
As we finished our reading, Nature
treated us with an extraordinary sight. The
sun was setting, casting its gentle rays over
the vast ocean before us. It turned the whole
wavy surface into molten gold sheet, as it
were. The reflected twilight, then, turned, into
light purple, and Swamiji’s memorial temple
reflected in the enchanting luminosity of the
setting sun. The setting was indeed ideal for
calming the mind and fuelling spiritual
thoughts. We returned to Matam and after a
quick supper, retired to bed by 10 am.
(To be continued. . .)
3. Life of Swami Vivekananda, by His Eastern and
Western Disciples, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata,
Pp.177-180
~ 351 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 Unpublished Letters of Swami Saradananda1
July 1st 1898.
The Math, Belur, Howrah.
My dear grannie,2
I thank you very much for your two kind letters & also for Santi’s & Ms.Joe’s letters.
We need not send the letter to Swamiji’s mother any more, for I have already sent every
word of it, excepting of course the descriptions, to the mother. I do not think it is necessary
to offer her the letter, since she does not understand English & as it is useless for her to keep
it.
I thank you for your kind suggestion very much & I agree with you perfectly in your
views. But do not think, I will ever try to help them in such a way, as to take away from
their helping themselves. Had I been able to help my father to clear off his debts, I would
not have bothered myself at all about them—nor for him, nor for the brothers. But since it
cannot be at least for the present, I am trying to do the next best thing, by sending my father
away & settling the debt by the sale of the house. The pharmacy of course will be affected
when the house is gone, if we cannot afford to keep it in the same quarters. You see, it is the
detail work, which is difficult to settle after you have laid down your plans. For instance,
what should be done with the wives of the two brothers, when father & mother are gone?
They cannot remain in the house any more; for they are too young and there is no elderly
lady in the family to give them her protection. I have told them to send them to their
father’s. But that cannot be for an indefinite period. However, do not think, I am bothering
all the time about these & taking all their burdens upon me. I have written to Dr.Helen
Smith, to find whether he can secure a freeship in any medical school of allopathy for a poor
student who has such & such qualifications. I have not written him I am intending to send
my brother. Of course that would be placing him in a false position. To Mrs.Crebrane [?], I
wrote, before she wrote to me about Mrs.Gandhi’s proposal of sending for some lady
students from Bombay. I told her about my brother, for we had some talks about it while at
America. But I have written her to inform the mail before, that I am willing to give place for
a general good & that she need not trouble herself about it any more.
Then again I will have to look at least to them, so far, that they are provided with some
occupation, by which they can earn their living. Else, if they are in actual want of food &
clothing, they might go to Benares, at least some of them, near my father & then how
insufficient will be their income of …[?] you can imagine. There are not American parents or
children you have to deal with here. They should think it the most proper thing to go to
their father, if they are in want. However, it will come out all right by & by. I have been
much helped by B.Nath Sanyal to settle these details, as I have written already. He is rather
taking all the burdens of my family & not I. I think I have told you all about it now & I shall
be happy, to have more suggestions from you.

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 352 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 33

I thank you much for your kind intention of getting me the sandals and the woollen
robe. But I do not think you ought to bother your head about them[?] dear[?] g_[?] which
we can get them easily here. So I am going to send you the papers only, but nothing more.
Enjoy as much as you can & send your blessings to me. That is all that I care for. With love
& blessings always to yourself & kind wishes for all & especially for Mrs.P.—I am ever
yours
Saradananda
D
The Math, Belur, Howrah, India
June 16th 1898.
My dear madam3
It is not for the sake of consoling you, in this time of deep grief that we write you these
few lines, but to give expression to the feeling of want and voidness, that have come upon
us, at the death of our dear brother, your noble son. For is there anything, which can
console you dear mother at the present moment? It is to express our sorrows in company in
heartfelt prayers to Him, who knows what is best for each and every one of us, that we turn
to you. He is the one source of peace & comfort and the eternal fountain of love and it is He
alone, who can turn this deep sorrow into rejoicings & fill our hearts with peace that
passeth understanding. There is a deep purpose, in and through all such blows, which
almost shatters the heart to pieces, for they chasten & ennoble & uplift us to the very door
of the all-merciful and make the ties that unite us, with the Infinite Love, firmer & stronger.
We feel that our dear brother has done this in bringing that Love nearer to us, in whose
bosom he is now taking his rest. The high ideal of sacrifice through love that he has shown,
while staying with us, will ever make us turn towards his dear memory, for higher inspiration
& incentives to make our lives as such. Dear mother, how can we express to you, the help
that he has given us through his love & sacrifice for us. His love has broken down all the
barriers of caste and creed and nationalities and brought England nearer to our heart. It has
given us a dear mother in you and a deep respect for women in general as mothers of such
children. Can we ever repay, the deep debt of gratitude, which we owe to you and your
noble son? His memory will ever be dear to us and cherished as one of the most sacred
things, in our hearts. May He, who gave such love in the heart of your child, bring you
peace & comfort & make you feel the love, which we bear in our heart for him & those that
are dear to him.
With kindest regards & constant prayers for you, dear mother, we beg to remain your
humble children,
The Sannyasins of the
Ramakrishna Math

1. A direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna 2. Mrs. Sara Bull, an American disciple of Swami Vivekananda
3. Written to Mr. Goodwin’s mother at the untimely passing away of Mr. Goodwin

Courtesy: Ramakrishna Museum, Belur Math

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 353 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 Agastya—the Master Yogi
SWAMI SAMARPANANANDA
Paying a rich tribute to sage Agastya,
Acharya Shankara in his commentary on the
Gita (XII.12) says,
‘[Sage] Agastya had drunk up the whole ocean
[an extraordinary act], so the Brahmins even
today are respected on the ground of their
belonging to the Brahmin class [to which
Agastya also belonged].’
Acharya’s statement speaks volumes
about the veneration that Agastya deserves
and gets from the Indians for his spiritual and
yogic powers. His high spiritual achievements
make him as one of the saptarishis, the seven
great sages.
Details of His Life
Agastya belonged to the early Vedic
period; and hence not much is known about
his initial life. The legend has it that his birth
was a quirk of fate, in which his mother was
Urvashi, the divine apsara, and had two
fathers—Mitra and Varuna, two important
Vedic gods. Despite this divine beginning,
Agastya was born quite ordinary looking and
was noticeably short in height. So much so
that Tamil literature endearingly refers to him
as Kurumuni (the short sage).
About his early training, tradition
indicates that he had mastered philosophy,
spirituality, yoga practices, and was also a
master at wielding arms. He was the guru of
Drona’s guru, to whom he had imparted the
The author is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order at its Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Belur Math,
West Bengal. …
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
knowledge of Brahmastra; and he had given a
divine bow of Lord Vishnu to Sri Rama when
he was passing through his hermitage. The
sage had also given an arrow to Sri Rama
which had the power to kill anyone and then
to return back to the quiver.
Since his early days, Agastya was so
spiritually inclined that he wanted to lead a
solitary life and perform tapasya [austerities]
only. But once he came across some of his
dead ancestors who were in great torment.
They informed him that they were suffering
because they had no one to make offerings in
their name, since Agastya had not married.
This pained Agastya so much that he agreed
to get married despite all his reservations
against it. He then used his yogic powers to
create a female infant who possessed all the
special qualities appropriate for the wife of a
sage, and tactfully passed the child to a king.
When the princess, named Lopamudra, grew
up, Agastya married her, and repaid the debt
of his ancestors by having a child. However,
throughout his life, Agastya remained devoted
to intense tapasya, and service to mankind.
The Master Yogi
The core of Hindu way of life is tapasya.
According to the Hindus, even Brahma created
the universe by performing tapasya, the sages
realised God through tapasya, the yogis
attained supernatural powers through tapasya,
~ 354 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

and anyone can attain anything in this world
by performing tapasya. This was the reason
why Valmiki began his Ramayana with the
word tapah, and tirelessly stressed its impor-
tance throughout his poetic work. The
importance of tapasya has possessed the
Hindu mind so strongly that spiritual aspirants
are advised to lead their lives in such a way
that even their eating, sleeping, relaxing and
other habits would be a part of their daily
tapasya. A common householder, too, is
expected to perform the five great sacrifices
(pancha maha-yajna) daily so that his life
remains anchored in tapasya.
Agastya performed such severe tapasya
that it became a matter of habit for him, and
he soon attained such supernatural powers
that had never been heard of earlier. He,
however, neither spurned them, nor used them
for his personal gains. Whenever humanity
was in distress, or someone needed help, he
came forward to help.
What is really inspiring about the sage is
that despite all his greatness and power, he
never took the least advantage for himself.
And yet, whenever his help was needed by
anyone, he applied his powers to the extent of
forcing the Mother Nature herself to change.
This happened not once, but on many
occasions.
Stories of His Power and Goodness
The Hindu mythology is full of interest-
ing tales of the gods and the demons. But it is
interesting to know that the asuras and daityas
(demons) are actually the step brothers of the
devatas (gods). Their father is sage Kashyap,
and their mothers are sisters. These brothers
have nearly the same traits, but they keep
fighting to gain the supremacy of the universe.
The asuras are physically more powerful, and
a little more foolish and greedy, so they always
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
35
got defeated by the gods. Once the demons
took up the strategy of repeatedly attacking
the gods and hiding in the ocean. The only
way to defeat these demons was to dry up the
ocean, which was an impossible task. Finally
the gods prayed Sage Agastya for help, who
took the entire ocean in his cupped palms and
drank it up. Defeating the demons was no
more a problem for the gods.
Similarly once there were two demons
Ilvala and Vatapi, who used to kill sages and
Brahmins in a unique fashion. Vatapi was a
master at changing to other life forms and
Ilvala knew the sacred sanjivani mantra with
the help of which he could bring back the dead
to life. Using their respective powers, Vatapi
used to become a goat whose meat was served
to the unsuspecting Brahmin guests, and
immediately after, Ilavala used to call Vatapi
to life, who used to come out by tearing
asunder the guest’s belly. It was in this
unfortunate fashion that many noble people
lost their lives.
Once it so happened that Agastya needed
some financial help. He did not want to use
his yogic powers for his personal needs, so he
went to Ilvala, who became very happy to get
such a noble victim. As was the practise,
Vatapi’s flesh was served to Agastya as
mutton. Unconcerned, Agastya ate the whole
thing up, belched loudly, and sat indifferently.
When Ilvala called up Vatapi to come out,
there was no response. Instead, Agastya gave
an indulgent smile and informed Ilvala that
Vatapi had already been digested. The demon
Ilvala was so terrified at this unusual feat that
he immediately obliged the sage, and gave up
his nefarious habits forever.
Once Agastya was passing through a
forest with his wife, Lopamudra. As Lopa-
mudra had been brought in the comforts of a
royal life, she was not accustomed to much
~ 355 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

hardship. Consequently, she fainted in the
heat, which made the sage angry, and he
decided to punish the sun-god with his bow
and arrows. Afraid of the sage’s wrath, sun
appeared before Agastya and presented him
with an umbrella and slippers for Lopamudra
to use in the heat. It is believed that this was
the beginning of the use of slippers and
umbrella by human beings!
Agastya was always helpful towards the
gods, but disliked their arrogance. It so
happened that once there were no rains in the
country where Agastya lived, because Indra
had become annoyed with the people there.
When the sage came to know about it, he
became very angry and declared that there
was no need for Indra to be there, and that
from then onwards he himself would take up
the responsibility of making it rain wherever
it was necessary. Indra got so terrified with
the possible loss of his power that he imme-
diately released the rains on the parched land.
And yet, Agastya helped Indra by saving
the honour of his wife, Sachi. Indra had fallen
under a nasty curse, which made him go into
hiding. At that time, Nahusha was considered
to be a righteous king on the earth, so he was
made the king of the gods. Drunk with the
new power, Nahusha lost his sense of
propriety, and wanted Sachi to serve him. To
save Sachi from the dishonour, a plan was
hatched according to which Agastya and the
other sages of the saptarshi mandala were to
carry the palaquin of Nahusha to Sachi’s
palace. The plan was carried out, and Nahu-
sha, in his eagerness to reach the palace,
started shouting ‘sarpa, sarpa’ (walk quickly).
When he felt that the speed was not yet to his
liking, he hit Agastya on head with his feet.
This indignity towards Agastya destroyed all
the good karma of Nahusha. He was then
cursed by the sage, ‘You have been shouting
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
36
‘sarpa, sarpa’, so now go and become a snake
[sarpa also means snake] on the earth.’ That
was the end of pride and arrogance. Nahusha,
the king of gods, fell down to the earth as a
mighty snake!
To South India
According to Hindu Puranic traditions,
the sun moves around Mount Meru to bring
about day and night on the earth. Once the
Vindhya Mountain felt insulted at this, and
hence wanted to grow beyond the height of
Meru so that the sun could revolve around
him. No one, not even Brahma, could persuade
Vindhya not to transgress the laws and limits
of nature. Finally Agastya was approached to
persuade Vindhya. Agastya reached the
mountain range with his family. Seeing the
great sage in front of him, Vindhya bowed
down before him. The sage then touched the
head of Vindhya and told him to wait like
that, and also without growing its height till
he returned back from his tour of South India.
Agastya then crossed the mountain and settled
permanently in the south, giving up all his
old associations and friends forever. True to
its word, Vindhya never grew any further, and
the laws of nature were preserved. That is why
the term Agastya yatra is used to signify a
journey in which there is no coming back.
It is firmly believed that sage Agastya
first introduced and popularised Vedic religion
in the southern part of India. To the credit of
Agastya, the Vedic learning and traditions
have been kept alive in that land much better
than in North India.
During Agastya’s stay in the South, Sri
Rama came to the sage seeking guidance to
find a suitable place in the forest to make a
residence during his days of exile. Agastya
advised him to stay at Panchavati. Agastya
also gave Rama the famous bow and arrow
~ 356 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 37

with which Ravana was to be killed. According
to Ramayana, the sage also taught Sri Rama,
Aditya Hridayam, the well-known hymn dedi-
cated to the Sun. Sri Rama recited this during
his battle with Ravana and won the battle.
Agastya’s contribution was in the secular
fields too. According to some ancient Tamil
literary traditions, Agastya was the earliest
person to have written a grammar for Tamil
language.
The contributions by the great sage to-
wards the welfare of humanity has been so
much that quite a few temples have been dedi-
cated to him in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
This is slightly unusual because temples in
India are mostly dedicated to gods and
goddesses, and rarely dedicated to saints and
sages.
Agastya’s Message of Dharmic Life
In the Puranas we come across the story
of Gajendra (the king of elephants) and Graha
(the crocodile). This elephant once fell in the
clutches of the crocodile when he had entered
the waters. In the ensuing battle, Gajendra
started losing bit by bit. When all his hopes
were lost, he prayed to Lord Vishnu, who
came to his rescue and cut off the head of the
crocodile. Released from death, Gajendra was
seen to give up his elephant body and become
a divine being. This divine being had been
under the curse of Agastya. Gajendra had
earlier been a king named Indradyumna. This
king was so fascinated with spiritual life that
he completely neglected his household and
royal duties. Once when Agastya visited that
kingdom, he was annoyed with the king for
his negligence of duties, and commented, ‘The
king has not learnt formally from proper
teachers, and is abstaining from welfare of
others out of his stubbornness. Since his
intellect is as dense as of an elephant, so let
him become an elephant.’ That is why the
immature king had to learn the basics of
spiritual life the hard way.
Agastya wanted that people should
perform their duties with the attitude of
performing tapasya, and slowly wend their
way towards God-realisation which is the
ultimate goal of human life. To him the goal
of life was to utilise one’s resources in perform-
ing spiritual practices without neglecting one’s
duties, and also in helping the needy whenever
required.
This attitude of Agastya is reminiscent
of Swami Vivekananda’s motto of atmano
mokshartham jagat hitaya cha [‘for one’s own
liberation and for the good of others’] for the
Ramakrishna Movement. The grand ideal had
been the philosophy and a natural way of life
for all great sages and yogis, including
Agastya. †

What is [spiritual] progress? We become more and more selfless in our dealings with
others; we feel an inner joy and peace. Think of your mental state in the past and
compare it with your present state; you will see the difference wrought by sadhana.
Similarly, examine how many times in the day you think of God. How much
time is spent in contemplating on Him? Find out what thoughts come to
the mind when falling asleep and on waking up. That would give a true
indication of the contents of the mind. These are the ways to find out
spiritual progress.
—Swami Yatiswarananda, How to Seek God, p.159-160

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 357 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 Swami Vivekananda was a great storyteller. His talks and writings are interspersed with numer-
ous anecdotes, examples, similes, and illustrations mirroring his vast knowledge of human nature—its
potential and its relative limitations. Some of these stories are well known, many others are little
known. We present here some more of these insightful stories, selected from his Complete Works.

XXXXVIII
Your Doctrine Of Heredity!
With all our boasted education of
modern times, if anybody says a kind word
for them, I often find our men shrink at once
from the duty of lifting them up, these poor
downtrodden people. Not only so, but I also
find that all sorts of most demoniacal and
brutal arguments, culled from the crude ideas
of hereditary transmission and other such
gibberish from the Western world, are brought
forward in order to brutalise and tyrannise
over the poor all the more.
At the Parliament of Religions in
America, there came among others a young
man, a born Negro, a real African Negro, and
he made a beautiful speech. I became
interested in the young man and now and then
talked to him, but could learn nothing about
him. But one day in England, I met some
Americans; and this is what they told me. This
boy was the son of a Negro chief who lived in
the heart of Africa, and that one day another
chief became angry with the father of the boy
and murdered him and murdered the mother
also, and they were cooked and eaten; he
ordered the child to be killed also and cooked
and eaten; but the boy fled, and after passing
through great hardships and having travelled
a distance of several hundreds of miles, he
reached the seashore, and there he was taken
into an American vessel and brought over to
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
America. And this boy made that speech! After
that, what was I to think of your doctrine of
heredity! (3: 192-193)
Shraddha or Genuine Faith
We must always remember that our
backbone is spirituality, and to do that we
must have a guide who will show the path to
us, that path about which I am talking just
now. If any of you do not believe it, if there be
a Hindu boy amongst us who is not ready to
believe that his religion is pure spirituality, I
do not call him a Hindu. I remember in one of
the villages of Kashmir, while talking to an
old Mohammedan lady, I asked her in a mild
voice, ‘What religion is yours?’ She replied in
her own language, ‘Praise the Lord! By the
mercy of God, I am a Mussalman.’ And then I
asked a Hindu, ‘What is your religion?’ He
plainly replied, ‘I am a Hindu.’ I remember
that grand word of the Katha Upanishad—
shraddha or marvellous faith. An instance of
Shraddha can be found in the life of Nachiketa.
To preach the doctrine of Shraddha or genuine
faith is the mission of my life. Let me repeat
to you that this faith is one of the potent factors
of humanity and of all religions. First, have
faith in yourselves. Know that though one may
be a little bubble and another may be a moun-
tain-high wave, yet behind both the bubble
and the wave there is the infinite ocean. (3: 444)
~ 358 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

A New Sub-Centre

Gourhati Ramakrishna Ashrama, Dist. Hooghly in West Bengal, has been made a sub-centre of Ramakrishna
Math, Ichapur, and renamed ‘Ramakrishna Math, Gourhati’. Its address is Ramakrishna Math, PO Gourhati,
Dist. Hooghly, West Bengal 712613. Phone: (03211) 261209.

General News

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Puri served lemonade and drinking water to about 23,000 pilgrims
during the Ratha Yatra festival and treated 152 patients in the medical camp set up on this occasion. The
centre also served lemon water to about 900 passers-by every day during the summer.
Ramakrishna Mission, Limbdi (Gujarat) felicitated 25 students of Gujarat on 29 June for their brilliant
performance in the 10th and 12th standard examinations.
The new laboratory block and the new outpatient counter of Ramakrishna Ashrama Hospital at
Sasthamangalam in Thiruvananthapuram were inaugurated on 3 July.
The newly built devotees’ dining hall at Ramakrishna Math, Madurai was inaugurated on 7 July.
On 19 July Sri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Chief Minister of West Bengal, visited the check-dam at Charra
village in Purulia-II block built by Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia in collaboration with the
Science and Technology Department of the State Government.
Swami Smarananandaji, Vice-President of the Order, laid the foundation stone for the proposed new
school building at Vivekananda Vidyapith campus of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Bhopal on 24 July.
Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore and Ramakrishna Math Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram launched
their websites. One can access these websites at <www.rkmathbangalore.com>and <www.sriramakrishna
ashrama.org> respectively.
The following centres conducted summer camps for children. The programme included chanting, bhajans,
moral lessons, meditation, yogasanas, etc:

S.No. Centre Duration of the camp Participants

1 Chennai Math Four weeks (from 1 to 29 May) 350 children in the age group 8-14
2 Porbandar Five weeks (from 1 May to 7 June) 150 students from class V to VII

The school run by Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Viveknagar (Tripura) has received the Best School
Award for the year 2008-09 on the basis of the performance of its students in Junior Talent Search Test
conducted by Jagadis Bose National Science Talent Search, Kolkata. Three students of the Vidyalaya have
won Dasharath Deb Memorial Award, 2009 (cash award of Rs. 5000/- each) for their excellent performance
in AISS (Class X) Examination, 2008. †

Relief Work

1. Aila Cyclone Relief
Our centres in West Bengal continued relief operations among the victims of Aila Cyclone. Details of the
relief materials distributed during the last month are given below.

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 359 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 40

(a) Baranagar Mission – rice, dal (lentils),

biscuits, drinking water and milk powder to 477
families at 3 villages of Sandeshkhali-I block in North
24-Parganas district. Besides, the centre distributed
155 bales of used garments to thousands of victims at
Sandeshkhali-I & II and Hingalganj blocks in North
24-Parganas district.
(b) Belgharia – saris, lungis, mosquito-nets and
halogen tablets to 2995 families at 14 villages of
Gosaba block in South 24-Parganas district.
(c) Rahara –rice, dal, potatoes, muri (puffed rice),
salt, biscuits, saris and mosquito-nets to families at
4 villages of Hingalganj block in North 24-Parganas
district. Besides, the centre treated 940 patients and
provided bleaching powder for disinfecting some areas Distribution of Primary Relief Items from boat to Aila Cyclone
in Sandeshkhali block in North 24-Parganas district. Victims in Bangladesh
(d) Saradapitha –rice, potatoes, mosquito-nets and
used garments to 3559 families at 12 villages of
Sandeshkhali-I & II blocks in North 24-Parganas
district.
(e) Swamiji’s Ancestral House – chira, gur, sugar,
rice, potatoes, biscuits, muri, drinking water, etc to
560 families at 7 villages of Sandeshkhali-I block in
North 24-Parganas district.
2. Fire Relief : Vishakhapatnam centre distributed
chira, gur, potatoes, onion, salt, tamarind, spices,
candles, matchboxes, biscuits, towels, chadars, dhotis,
saris, etc to 29 families whose houses had been gutted
by fire at Pekeru village in Vishakhapatnam district.
3. Flood Relief: Porbandar centre distributed
11,740 food packets to flood victims in and around
Porbandar last month. Distribution of relief items from boat—Sikra Kulingram
4. Distress Relief: The following centres distributed
various items, shown in brackets, to the needy in
their respective areas: Belgaum (375 kg rice, 375 kg
flour, 75 kg dal, 75 kg edible oil, 1500 notebooks
and 250 pens), Kalady (400 blankets), Kanchipuram
(7500 notebooks, 1400 pencils, 1400 erasers,
150 geometry boxes, 200 dictionaries and 25 school
uniforms), Nattarampalli (1022 sets of school uniform
cloth, notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers and scales to
students), Porbandar (textbooks and notebooks to
684 students).
5. Refugee Relief: Sri Lanka: Our Colombo centre
continued relief operations among the victims of Sri
Lanka’s civil war which ended recently. The centre
distributed 1000 kg nutritional supplements, 1000 kg
Distribution of relief material—Sri Lanka
biscuits, 450 kg soya nuggets, 300 kg glucose, 2416
kg milk powder, 2500 tubes of toothpaste, 2000 toothbrushes, 5000 soap-bars, 2000 towels and 1000 pairs
of slippers to 1000 families at Vavunia-Cheddykulam refugee camp last month. †

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 360 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

G LIMPSES OF A G REAT S OUL —A
PORTRAIT OF SWAMI SARADANANDA
By Swami Aseshananda
Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math,
Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004. 2008,
paperback, pp.356, Rs.100.
Glimpses of a Great Soul is an
exquisite blend of scholarship and devotion,
painting a lucid account of Swami Saradananda’s
life and personality.
The role played by Swami Saradananda, a
direct disciple, for 30 long years in nurturing and
establishing on firm footings the fledging Rama-
krishna Math and Mission was indeed the work of
a pioneer. A well-built and cool-headed person,
Swami Saradananda (or Sharat Maharaj) could
wade through any problem. Swami Vivekananda
had great faith in his spiritual integrity and sent
him to America in 1896 to preach Vedanta. Later
he recalled him to India and entrusted him with
the responsibility of the Secretary of the Order
which the latter continued till his passing away.
Besides, Swami Saradananada’s service to Sri
Sarada Devi the Holy Mother, was an excellent
model in service. In order to build a residence for
her at Kolkata, which would also house the office
of Udbodhan, he took a huge loan, and to repay the
debts, he wrote the now monumental work Sri
Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga.
Swami Aseshananda, the author of this book,
was an initiated disciple of the Holy Mother and
served the Portland centre of the Order from 1955
to 1996. He served Swami Saradananda as his
personal secretary for five years from 1921 and 1927;
hence, we have this detailed account of Swami
Saradananda’s life from his facile pen.
As we journey through the pages of the book,
and many facets of this great personality unfold
gradually, we feel blessed to be in the holy company
of Swami Saradananda. The ‘doorkeeper of the Holy
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
For review in THE VEDANTA KESARI,
publishers need to send us
two copies of their latest publication.
Mother’ as he used to call himself, Swami Sarada-
nanda looked after the welfare of her relatives,
served the ailing persons patiently and tenderly,
accompanied the Mother on her pilgrimages, wrote
the Lilaprasanga and kept a close watch on the affairs
of the Udbodhan. He was truly a spiritual amba-
ssador to the West, propagating the Vedantic ideals,
through his lectures and his own example. Above
all, he was all an illumined soul whose conscious-
ness was rooted in the Vedantic principle of the
oneness and divinity of man, and was a fountain-
head of love, compassion and empathy. As Swami
Nikhilananda (the translator of the Gospel of Sri
Ramakrishna) narrates in his reminiscences in this
book, ‘Even a casual observer could see from his
ordinary conduct his infinite patience, unhurried
activities, unbounded compassion, deep under-
standing of human nature, total absence of any
pretence, child-like guilelessness and unfailing
courtesy.’
The book describes the various phases of
Saradananda’s life, his spiritual precepts, his
reminiscences, his talks, letters as well as his
writings. Well illustrated with sixteen photographs,
the book has a good glossary which enhances the
value of the book. The graphic account makes one
feel the living presence of this great soul.
The Chennai Math should be congratulated
for bringing out the first Indian edition of this book.
Surely it will serve as a profound inspiration for
devotees and spiritual aspirants.
__________________ DR. CHETANA MANDAVIA, JUNAGADH
THIRUPPAVAI
By Sri Vengrai V. Parthasarathy
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore,
Chennai – 600 004. 2008. xviii +
78 pages. Rs.20
Andal exemplifies the only
instance of a poetess becoming a
~ 361 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

goddess. We study her Nachiyar Tirumozhi and
Tiruppavai as devotional hymns that form a rich
portion of Tamil literature. At the same time, we
worship her as a goddess. Almost every temple
dedicated to Vishnu in south India will have a niche
for Andal’s image. 1500 years after her withdrawal
from the earth, she continues to be a living presence
for millions. Come Margasirsa month, the homes
of the devout and the temples to Vishnu reverberate
with the Tiruppavai verses. They are recited and
sung. Artists dance to their vision. Scholars
eloquently bring out the inlaid significances of the
Tamil verses in an atmosphere of total devotion.
This matin song is not simply a prayer though
it is planned as one in which one gopi wakes up
others and they all go for their morning bath and
pray to Krishna to give them the ‘parai’. Parai is a
drum but traditionally it is held to be a sign of
servitude to the Divine. There is plenty of drama
as we move from one verse to another and the
mellifluous Tamil of the book is the singer’s delight.
Vengrai Parthasarathy belongs to a distin-
guished Srivaishnava family and has had the
privilege of listening to expositions of Tiruppavai
from legends like Annangaracharya. However, his
garnered scholarship sits lightly on his English. An
excellent introduction, ‘Krishnabhakti of Sri Andal’
prepares the ground. The translation reads
smoothly with helpful English terms for important
words in the original such as ‘uthaman’ and ‘sillenru’.
The gist of each verse is given at the top, making it
easier to follow the thoughts imbedded in it. A
handy publication which provides the original
Tamil text, Tiruppavai gives us in addition the
translation of the verses describing Andal’s dream
in which the Lord had married her. Hence the
volume is also an auspicious publication. Occa-
sionally there is a lapse (for instance, the elephant
on which Krishna and Andal are seated in the
marriage procession is missing) but it does not
seriously mar the value of this slim paperback.
___________________________ PREMA NANDAKUMAR, TRICHY
SPIRITUAL VALUES TO LIVE BY
By Swami Prabhananda.
Published by Ramakrishna Mission
Institute of Culture, Gol Park,
Kolkata- 700 029.2007, paperback,
pp. 82, Rs.35.
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
42
This book contains a collection of articles on
spirituality written by Swami Prabhananda, the
present General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math
and Mission, in the monthly Bulletin of the
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture during the
period July 2004 to April 2007 under the caption
‘Observations’. This book is sequel to his earlier work
In Search of Spiritual Values on the same subject.
Different aspects of spirituality are dealt with in
thirty six articles grouped under four headings:
Cultivating peace in Society, Seeing God Within
and Without, Cultivating a Spiritual Outlook and
Incorporating Spiritual Values in our Mundane Life.
Values are abstract concepts and have their
ultimate source in the spirit; hence value education
must be rooted in the concept of the ultimate reality
or spirit. Religion, philosophy and spirituality in
the Indian tradition have always constituted an
integral whole that guides a person throughout life.
Unfortunately, due to incorrect understanding of
secularism and failure to differentiate between
religion and spirituality, in our education system,
value education has either been totally neglected
or relegated to the back benches. Also, the onslaught
of crass materialism has greatly eroded and
distorted the concept of values. Sure, everyone
knows what is truth, honesty, integrity, compassion,
forgiveness, etc, but how many of them practice
these in their lives?
In this book the author has brought out very
well the concept of values and how to instil them
in the mind so that they are assimilated. In order to
traverse the path of spirituality, one should strive
to bring about a total change in attitude towards
oneself, the world and God or the ultimate reality.
Equality, compassion, not finding fault with others,
forgiveness, pursuit of truth and developing a
culture of peace are some of the values highlighted
in this book. Each article highlights various facets
of one of these values, their importance in the
present day and the way they could be assimilated
in one’s personae. The last few articles dovetail
towards spiritual practices like prayer, solitude, and
finally, practice of the presence of God, the panacea
for all evils in the world and that which enables
the spiritual practitioner to attain the ultimate goal.
Treatment of the subject is simple and this
book is well worth reading by all in the present
day of conflicts, insecurity and uncertainty.
__________________________ H. SUBRAMANIAN, BANGALORE
~ 362 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

TEACHERS ARE SCULPTORS
By J.P. Vaswani
Published by Sterling Publishers
Private Limited, A- 59, Okhla
Industrial Area, Phase II, New
Delhi.110 020, 2008, pp.112,
paperback, Rs.100.
The title is self-explanatory and the metaphor
obvious—teachers mould, shape, chip away, pat
into shape until the final effect is artistic and as
perfect as any human endeavour can be. In turn,
young children are pliable and suggestible such that
teachers leave their imprint upon them.
The book itself is very interesting and full of
simple but profound advice. Every chapter has
some sterling words of counsel, put very succinctly,
in a way that strikes a chord in the mind of anyone
who has taught children.
Every chapter is brief, but covers what the
title of the chapter indicates. For example in ‘Two
Centres of Character Building’, (p. 27), Professor
Vaswani starts off by saying that while parents are
a child’s first teacher, it is the teachers in the child’s
school who carry on naturally from where the
parents left off. This aspect of teaching, the pastoral,
can never be neglected. A teacher must not think
only of money; the child comes first.
On the other hand, the author realises that,
in order to find their place in modern society,
teachers have to be paid well and be looked up to
(‘Hold Your Head High’, p. 80).
Nor is a teacher to forget that she is a friend
to her students. Vaswani defines this friendship:
‘Let me make it clear that I do not suggest
that you “hang out” with your students or allow
them the kind of needless “familiarity” which
involves back slapping. . . That is not what I mean
by friendship.’
Then what does he advocate? He wants a
‘benign elder, a protective guardian, a caring
mentor. . .’
The last chapter, ‘The Art of Living’, sums it
all up very nicely. Vaswani ends by saying that it
is very important for teachers to remember that
they are there to teach certain subjects, be it maths,
biology or physics. However, even more important
is the realisation that every teacher must have that
she has chosen to follow a calling and that it is this
calling she must honour. One might start off as a
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
43
teacher but must grow to be an educator, in the
true sense of the term—one who is instrumental in
‘drawing out’ what there is present in every child.
Every chapter is followed by a small activity
called ‘Reflect and Act.’ It is significant that the
word reflect, rather than think, has been used for
reflection involves processed thinking, just as
wisdom is processed knowledge.
An excellent little book, sure to be useful to
all teachers. The only aspect that could do with
some improvement is the illustrations, which are
amateurish. Other than that, this is a primer of
thought for the teaching fraternity.
___________________________ PREMA RAGHUNATH, CHENNAI
THE SHAPE OF ANCIENT THOUGHT
By Thomas McEvilley
Published by Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers Private Limited, 41 UA
Bungalow Road, Delhi 110007.
2008, hardback, pp731+xxxvi,
Rs.1595.
Here is book on comparative study of philo-
sophy, well-researched and well-written. Thomas
McEvilley, a teacher in Art History at Rice Univer-
sity and the author of this book, has opened a new
direction in the comparative studies of philosophy.
Possibly, the book is the first of its kind in the
History of Philosophy—with countless empirical
evidences to prove the diffusion of certain elements
between India and Greece from the hoary past.
Illuminating and consistently stimulating, this
voluminous work provides much inspiration for
continuing the discussion on why one should not
reject Kipling’s claim that the ‘East is East and West
is West; Twain will never meet’. Based on syste-
matic studies, research findings and critical analysis
of sculptural, linguistic, philosophical, and archaeo-
logical evidences collected by the author from 1970s
to 2000, the book has 25 chapters. It provides
striking similarities between Indian and Greek
thought in many areas of philosophy and logic.
Having spent 30 years in this investigation,
the author categorically refutes the statements of
WKC Guthrie (his teacher) with regard to the
unfeasibility of comparative study of Indian and
Greek philosophies. The author provides ample
proof and evidences to prove his view point. He
makes the comparative studies in two different
~ 363 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

ways i.e., Indian vis-à-vis Greek civilizations, and
art sculptures of the two countries.
A few general similarities between the Iliad
and the Mahabharatha and the Odyssey and the
Ramayana are worth noting. Continuous interplay
among the ancient cultures from 3000 BC to 2000
BC were proved by comparing the languages of
Indian and Greek Philosophical texts as also
through mythological legacies, excavated materials
such as snow-white shells, cylinder seals and
Persian Gulf type seals. During the oriental period
(about 7th century BC) ‘diffusion elements’ percola-
ted in both the cultures through Greek merchants,
mercenary soldiers, artists and tourists. Direct
diffusion occurred during the Persian Empire in
the 6th century BC.
Many Indian ascetics travelled far and wide
and contributed significantly for this diffusion of
ideas and practices. Even Indian traditional physio-
logy was also diffused into Greece. Rock edicts in
the period of Ashoka give clear evidences for such
diffusion. Vratyas (Mesopotamian Seers) carried
Mesopotamian elements to India. Jain and Ajivaka
traditions influenced Orphic tradition in Greece.
Religo-medical missions and migrant seers carried
doctrines, rituals and sacred plants from one place
to another.
The philosophical problems of ‘One and the
Many’ were thoroughly discussed both in India and
Greece in approximately the same period. The
nature of cosmic person in ancient Egypt, ancient
Mesopotamia, ancient Greece and ancient India are
discussed with many parallels. Many words, for
example apsu (a remnant of Akkadian mythological
names), are found in Atharva Veda. Heraclitus
response to Xenophonic monism is parallel to early
Buddhistic response to Upanishadic monism. The
doctrine of five fires connects intimately to the
doctrine of reincarnation and karma and to the
practice of meditation. Even Pythagoreans practised
religious vegetarianism and believed in reincar-
nation. Indian and Greek thinkers paralleled each
other in working out the concept of ‘Oneness’. The
mayavada of Shankara and Xenophones ‘dokas’ are
very similar. There are numerous examples given
to validate many more parallels.
In most of the places the author has tried to
summarize the positions of philosophies instead of
line by line analysis to make the reader easily
T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i
44
understand the difficult concepts. This reviewer did
not find the evidence of the author any where
struggling with the obscure original Sanskrit or Pali
Texts. This does not, however, affect its readability.
Parmenides concepts of only ‘names’, and the
Upanishadic teaching of nama-rupa (name and form)
are compared. The author writes about the meeting
of philosophical thoughts (such as cosmic cycle of
time) of Greece and India in the pre-Socratic period
due to diffusion. Empedocle’s four stages are
compared with four periods mentioned in Manava
Dharma Shastra of Manu and the cycle of time given
in Abhidhamma Kosha. All Western philosophies
were series of footnotes to Plato. It is highly
interesting to read the comparison between Plato’s
concept and Kundalini Yoga.
Five questions concerning the first civilization,
iconographic issue, Shamans, inheritance and
Sumerians hypothesis are highly significant in the
comparison process. Parallels are shown with
regard to concepts of time, history and space.
There are few books on this subject with this
vigorousness and quality.
Stoic concept of active or manifest Zeus and
Vedantic concept of Isvara (Manifest and Unmani-
fest aspect), stoic ‘amor fati’ (love of what is allotted
by Zeus) and ‘Isvara Pranidhana’ (submission of
Lord), Stoic ethics and Bhagavadgita are compared.
Both Shankara and Platonists refer featureless
absolute by the neuter demonstrative adjective
‘that’. In both traditions the illusion doctrine was
countered by and mingled with the transformation
doctrine. The author has proved that Upanishads
precede Parmenides in monism.
Series of exchanges between East and West
shaped the Indian and the Greek thoughts. Neither
mystical nor analytical intelligence is limited to one
side. Therefore exclusion of India from the history
of philosophy—as it is generally taught in academic
circles—is highly erroneous and ridiculous. The
book also provides a wide scope for scores
researchers to investigate this subject in new
perspectives.
The book is a brilliant demonstration of
creative philosophical criticism, lucid, clear, learned
and in the deepest sense, ‘research worthy of
emulation’.
______________ DR C GURUMURTHY, PROF-CUM-PRINCIPAL,
RIMSE, MYSORE
~ 364 ~ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
 45

The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme Continued from page 4

4060. Dr. R. Muniappan, U.S.A. Sri Gokulam Institute of Para Medical Sciences, Salem, T.N. - 636 004
4061. Dr. B.V.S.S.S. Prasad, IIT Madras Amity Institute of Bio-Technology, New Delhi - 110 024
4062. -do- ICFAI Institute of Science & Technolgy, Hyderabad, A.P. - 500 082
4063. -do- Viswam College of Education, Chittor Dist., A.P. - 517 325
4064. -do- Government T.I, Thanjavur, T.N. - 613 001
4065. Mrs. Kewalram Chellaram, Chennai Government T.T.I, Raja Street Bazaar, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 001
4066. -do- Government T.T.I, Ranipet, T.N. - 632 401
4067. Mr. G. Rajkumar, Secunderabad Sri Ramachandra Arts & Science College, A.P. - 507 111
4068. -do- Sri Venkateswara Hindu College, A.P. - 521 131
4069. Mr. K. Unnikidar, Chennai Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission, Wynad, Kerala - 673 122
4070. -do- Melur Damodaran Memoral Library, Kerala - 673 319
4071. Ramana Rajagopal, Maharastra Annie Besant Post Graduate College, A.P. - 531 110
4072. Dr. T.A. Srikanth, Bangalore Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, Punjab 144 023
4073. -do- Apeejay Inst. of Technology, U.P. - 201 306
4074. -do- Apex Inst. of Management & Science, Pune, Maharastra - 411 048
4075. -do- Apollo Inst. of Hospital, Andhra Pradesh - 500 033
4076. -do- Apex Institute of Management & Science, Jaipur, Rajasthan - 302 015
4077. -do- Aravali Inst. of Management, Jodhpur, Rajasthan - 342 006
4078. -do- Army Inst. of Management & Technology, U.P. - 201 306
4079. -do- Arulmigu Kalasalingam College, Madurai, T.N. - 626 190
4080. -do- Asia Pacific Inst. of Management, Saritavihar, New Delhi - 110 044
4081. -do- Apeejay School of Marketing, Papankalan, New Delhi - 110 045
4082. Mr. S. Ekambaram, Canada Srishti School of Art Design & Technology, Bangalore - 560 106
4083. -do- Bangalore Management Academy, Bangalore - 560 037
4084. Mr. S. Sivaprasanth Sivan, Dubai Thanagal Kunyu Muselia College of Engg., Kerala - 691 573
4085. K.V.Chanakya, Udupi K.M.E.D.C. Pvt. Ltd., Udupi - 576 107
4086. Mr. Guruprasad, Villupuram Sri Gnanananda Niketan, Villupuram Dist., T.N. - 605 756
4087. Mr. C.S. Gopalakrishna, Bangalore C.N.K. Reddy College of Business Mgt., Bangalore - 560 038
4088. -do- C.M.R. Inst. of Mgt., Studies, Bangalore - 560 084
4089. A Devotee, Allahabad Himalayan Namavati Inst. of Mgt., Maharastra - 411 054
4090. M/s. Adyar Bakery (P) Ltd., Chennai Lord Laxmi Narayan Durga Temple Trust, Orissa - 756 042
4091. A Devotee of Sri Ramakrishna Asian Workers Development Institute, Orissa - 769 002
4092. -do- Avanthi Degree & Post Graduage College, Hyderabad, A.P. - 500 036
4093. -do- Avinashilingam Inst. of Home Science, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 043
4094. -do- B.P. Poddar Inst. of Management & Tech., Kolkata, W.B. - 700 052
4095. -do- B.P.H.E. Societies Inst. of Management Studies, Maharastra - 414 001
4096. -do- Bangalore, Inst. of Management Studies, Bangalore - 560 059
4097. -do- Bapuji Inst. of Management, Davanagere, Karnataka - 577 004
4098. -do- Belgaum Inst. of Management Studies, Karnataka - 590 010
4099. -do- Besant Women’s College, Mangalore, Karnataka - 575 008
4100. -do- Best Inst. of Professional Studies, A.P. - 534 101
4101. -do- Bengal College of Engineering & Tech., Durgapur, W.P. - 713 212
4102. -do- Bengal Inst. of Tech., Kolkata, W.B. - 700 012
4103. -do- Babha Management Res. Inst., Bhopal, M.P. - 462 026
4104. -do- Bhadrak Inst. of Engg. & Tech., Orissa - 756 113
4105. -do- Bhai Gurudas College of Engg. & Tech., Punjab - 148 001
 46

4106. -do- Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore, Karnataka - 560 001

4107. -do- Bharat Inst. of Science & Tech., Selaiyur, Chennai - 600 073
4108. -do- Bhavan-Siet Inst. of Management, Karnataka - 560 019
4109. -do- Bharat Inst. of Technology, Meerut, U.P. - 250 103
4110. -do- Chh. Shahu Vasantraodadapatil Inst. of Mgt., Maharastra - 446 410
4111. -do- Chintamani Academy of Mgt. Studies, Wardha, Maharastra - 442 001
4112. -do- Chinmaya Inst. of Tech., Kannur, Kerala - 670 007
4113. -do- City College, Bangalore, Karnataka - 560 082
4114. -do- CMS College of Science & Commerce, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 006
4115. -do- Coimbatore Inst. of Mgt. & Tech., Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 109
4116. -do- BLS Inst. of Mgt. Ghaziabad, U.P. - 201 007
4117. -do- Brindavan College, Bangalore, Karnataka - 560 094
4118. -do- BRM Inst. of Mgt. & Information Tech., Orissa - 751 010
4119. -do- BV Women Inst., Rajasthan - 304 022
4120. -do- C.B.M. College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 042
4121. -do- C.K. Pithawala Inst. of Mgt., Gujarat - 395 007
4122. -do- C.M.R. College of Mgt. Studies, Bangalore, Karnataka - 560 084
4123. -do- C.P. Berar Education Societies, Nagpur - 440 002
4124. -do- Centre for Mgt. Studies, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa - 751 007
4125. -do- Bharathidasan Inst. of Mgt., Tiruchirapalli, T.N. - 620 014
4126. -do- Bharati Vidya Bhavan’s, Andheri-West, Mumbai, Maharastra - 400 058
4127. -do- Bharati Vidyapeeth Inst, Kadamwadi, Kolhapur, Maharastra - 416 002
4128. -do- Bharati Vidyapeeth Inst. of Mgt., Pune, Maharastra - 411 038
4129. -do- Bharati Vidyapeeth Yashwantrao Mohite Inst., Karad, Mh. - 415 110
4130. -do- Bharati Vidyapeeth Abhijit Kadam Inst., Solapur, Maharastra - 413 004
4131. -do- Bharati Vidyapeeth Inst. of Mgt., Sangli, Maharastra - 416 416
4132. -do- Bharati Vidyapeeth Inst. of Mgt., Navi Mumbai, Maharastra - 400 614
4133. -do- Sardar Patel College, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi - 110 001
4134. -do- Vivekananda College, Secunderabad, A.P. - 500 094
4135. -do- Bharatiya Vidyapeeth Institute, Kolhapur, Maharastra - 416 002
4136. -do- B.G.P.S.R.S.S.I, Aurangabad, Maharastra - 431 005
4137. -do- B.G.P.S.M.I, Mumbai, Maharastra - 400 037
4138. -do- Bharatiya Vidya Mandir College, M.P. - 474 011
4139. -do- Bhilai Institute of Technology, Chattisgarh - 491 001
To be continued . . .

India’s Timeless Wisdom

dm½d¡Iar eãXPar emóì`m»`mZH$m¡eb_²&
d¡Xwî`§ {dXwfm§ VÛØþº$`o Z Vw _wº$`o&&
Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the
scriptures, and likewise erudition—these merely bring on a little personal
enjoyment to the scholar, but are no good for liberation.

—Vivekachudamani, 58
 47

Sri Ramakrishna Math

New Natham Road, Reserve Line, Madurai - 625 014. T.N.
Ph:0452-2680224, 2681181, email:rkmath@dataone.in

Installation of Bronze Statue of Swami Vivekananda

at
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madurai
Swami Vivekananda delivered his world famous speech in the World’s
Parliament of Religions on 11th September, 1893. Before starting for America,
he visited Madurai for the first time.
Again on his return to India, in the year 1897, he
visited Madurai second time. Here he addressed a
gathering on 2nd February, 1897.
In honour of the memory of his visits to Madurai,
Ramakrishna Math, Madurai has decided to install a
10½ feet Bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda on a
½ feet high base.
The total cost of the Bronze statue of Swami
Vivekananda is Rs.6,50,001/-
We appeal to all of you to come forward and
support us whole-heartedly for this great cause.
We earnestly request you to make a generous
donation for completing this project. There is 80-G
exemption for all donations.
Kindly send your donations by Cheque/DD in
favour of “Ramakrishna Math, Madurai”, to the above
address. All donations, big or small, will be thankfully
accepted and acknowledged.
With prayers to Divine Mother Sri Sri Meenakshi
and Sri Sri Sundareshwara Shiva of Madurai, and also
to Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna, The Holy Mother Sri
Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda for yourself and
all your family members.
Yours in the service of the Lord,
Model of the Swami Kamalatmananda
Bronze Statue Adyaksha
 48

A comprehensive account of
Swami Vivekananda’s nine-day stay
at the Ice House/Castle Kernan
(now called Vivekanandar Illam—
the Tamil word for a house;
‘Vivekananda House’) after his
triumphal return in 1897, followed by the founding of Chennai Sri
Ramakrishna Math there and the hardships and challenges Swami
Ramakrishnananda underwent during the initial years. The book brings
alive, with the help of archival photographs and memoirs, the history of
the building, and its association with many eminent people of
contemporary India. It was at the Vivekanandar Illam that the first centre
of Ramakrishna Math in South India functioned for 11 years.
A source of inspiration to thousands of people who visit it every year,
it is located on the picturesque Marina beach road in Chennai and houses
a ‘Permanent Exhibition on Indian Culture and Swami Vivekananda’,
maintained by Chennai Ramakrishna Math.
The hardbound book (size 1 x 4 crown) has 256+viii pages, with more
than 300 photographs in colour—printed on glossy paper—spread over
18 chapters and 12 appendices.

Price : Rs.200/- + postage: Rs. 40/-. No request for VPP entertained

 49

Swami Vivekananda founded Belur Math in 1898.

Besides being the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math
and Ramakrishna Mission, the Belur Math is well
known for its architectural elegance, clean environs,
sacred associations and its spiritual atmosphere.
Located on the eastern bank of the Ganga, it is a
haven of peace, drawing thousands of people to it
every day from all over the world.
Devotees on a pilgrimage to Belur Math and
places associated with Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada
Devi and Swami Vivekananda often look for a reli-
able guidebook to make their pilgrimage fruitful.
This book is a humble attempt to fulfil this need.
Appendices at the end of the book provide addi-
tional information like distances between various
places and the time taken to reach them. A sketch
of the entire Belur Math premises adds to the value
of the book. Pages vi + 114
Price: Rs. 25/- + Postage: Rs. 23/- for single copy. No request for VPP entertained
Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004

Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama

(Hqs.: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Belur Math)
P.O. Kalady, Ernakulam - 683574
Ph: 0484-2461071; 09447051231

The Ashrama has been running a free hostel for the poor, underprivileged and orphan
children from classes V to X since 1936. There is an urgent need of creating a corpus fund
of Rs.2 Crores for maintaining the hostel of 100 children, providing them with food, accom-
modation and study materials free of cost.
We appeal to the generous public and well wishers to donate liberally for this purpose.
An Endowment of Rs.1 lakh and above may be created in memory of the loved ones.
Donations towards the Endowment/Corpus Fund are exempt from 100% Income Tax
under 35AC. Donations towards other activities of the Ashrama—Daily Puja, Charitable
Dispensaries, Celebrations, Maintenance etc.—are exempt from I.T. under 80G.
Cheques/Bank Drafts/M.O. may be drawn in favour of Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama,
Kalady and sent to the above address.
Foreign donors can send their contributions in foreign currency online to our Account
No. 338602010009164 at Union Bank of India, Kalady (IFSC Code: UBIN0533866).

Swami Amaleshananda
Adhyaksha
 50

Gita for Everyday Living

Bhagavad Gita is a perennial source of inspira-
tion and strength for millions of people all over the
world. Like all other scriptures, Gita, too needs to be
restated and reiterated with the change in circum-
stances. Its eternal teachings need to be rephrased
and rearticulated in order to meet the contemporary
needs.
This is what precisely the present volume at-
tempts to do. It contains the articles originally
published the December 2008 issue of The Vedanta
Kesari, and has 36 illuminating articles touching di-
verse aspects such as ‘Gita for commoners’, ‘Gita’s
way of right activity’, ‘Keeping calm—the Gita way’,
‘Gita for Teachers’, ‘Gita and Service’ and so on. Pages vii + 360

Price: Rs. 70/- + Postage: Rs. 25/- for single copy. No request for VPP entertained
Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004

Upanishads in Daily Life

‘Upanishads are a mine of strength,’ said Swami Vivekananda. But a mine
has to be excavated in order to obtain its treasures and profit
from it. The Upanishads have a timeless treasure of wis-
dom and practical guidelines waiting to become a
part of daily life. This book is a collection of
articles originally published in Decem-
ber 2007 issue of The Vedanta Kesari,
and explores the message of the
Upanishads from various angles. Also con-
tains several important sayings of the
Upanishads to be used as daily quotes.

Published by
Sri Ramakrishna Math,
Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004
Pages vi + 314
Price Rs 60 + Postage Rs 23 for single copy. No request for VPP entertained
 51

Sri Ramakrishna Math, Haripad

Alappuzha Dist, Kerala, Pin - 690 514
Ph: 0479-2411700, 9388655691

An Appeal
My Dear,
Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama in Haripad is the first centre of the Ramakrishna Mis-
sion in Kerala, started in 1912 by Swami Nirmalananda of hallowed memory. It was
in this Ashrama that many of the spiritual and social reforms were inaugurated in
Kerala. Swami Brahmananda, the first President of the Ramakrishna Order stayed here
for a few days in 1916. It was in this centre that many of the great monks of the
Ramakrishna Order received sannyasa vows. It was again here that the first commu-
nity feeding of all sections of Hindu society was held in 1916, at a time when
casteism was reigning supreme in the State. That event was a powerful motivation for
social change. It was here that a series of activities were initiated specially for the
welfare of backward communities.
The Ashrama activities were conducted right royally for several decades, creating
an all-round awakening in this region. But owing to many factors, the Ashrama’s
activities slowed down. All the old buildings of the Ashrama are in a dilapidated
condition and as centre’s centenary year is approaching, plans are afoot to rebuild the
Ashrama complex. The foundation stone was laid on the 28 January 2009 and we
hope to complete the constructions in about twelve to fourteen months.
It is the desire of everyone, including the residents of this area who are ac-
quainted with this great Ashrama, that the new Ashrama complex come up as quick
as possible. We invite and urge all our devotees, friends and well-wishers to join
hands with us to provide financial support for the planned activities. All donations to
the Ramakrishna Math are exempt from the payment of income tax under 8OG of IT
Act. Your contribution will be an offering to the Lord and it will be thankfully
received and acknowledged.
Looking forward to your active involvement and support.
Invoking the blessings of the Lord and with best wishes,

Yours in the service of Sri Ramakrishna,

Swami Golokananda
President

Donation can also be sent by cheque/DD/MO, or to State Bank of India, Haripad

Branch Account No. 30642551603 and to CanaraBank, Haripad Branch Account No.
50380.
52
53
54