Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

Year 16
Nbz!3122 Issue 11

Pn!Tsj!Hvsvcizp!Obnbi!"
 In This Issue

1. Vedanta Section: Atma Bodha - Shloka-30

2. Letter Section: Dhyana & Vedanta

3. Devata Section: Sri Adi Sankaracharya

4. Katha Section: Indra and Virochana

5. VM Programs: Mission / Ashram Progs

 From Poojya Guruji

Vedanta Sandesh Hari om!

Spreading Love & Light

India saw a unique four days movement last month - no arms, no violence, no
war, yet the gargantuan surrenders. Corruption has indeed become a terrible
Monthly eMagazine of the scourge in India. It has become very rampant, and nothing moves without greas-
International Vedanta Mission ing the hands of someone. Leaders & govt officials seem to have got license to
Sharing the message of Vedanta and Sanatan Dharma
loot the tax-payers money, and at times become the licensed extortionists too.
Privitisation made sense because anything associated with govt was a guar-
anteed low-quality stuff & service. Naxalism & separatism are in fact a helpless
May 2011 last resort of poor people, because the men in power are rarely seen as friends,
On the Net since 1995 but more often as foes alone. It is mind-boggling to hear the amount of black
money stashed in Swiss Bank accounts by Indians. All the national debt can be
repayed many times over. No wonder the infra-structure of all those countries
is world-class. India has indeed lot of wealth, but alas it is a wealthy country of
poor people. A milking cow. Indeed there is something fundamentally wrong
Started by: with the system, and we need to go into all this thoroughly. The very objective
Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji of independence is lost if our own people dont have food, water & clothing, and
are neither empowered to do anything about it. The proposed Lokpal will be a
new constitutional authority in India to go into any complaint of corruption
Editor: againgst any govt authority, including PM & judiciary, and hopefully the men in
Swamini Samatananda power will have something to fear, but a more fundamental question is whether
fear is the real deterrent for stopping us to lead a truly conscentious & ethical
life, or will such hanging swords help invoke ingennuity to discover better ways
of corruption. It is all a matter of intention and faith, about which there is a
terrible deficit. What if the Lokpal himself becomes corrupt? We had earlier
Published from: thought that elected representatives will assure honest governance, but that
Vedanta Ashram was not to be. Today our tragedy is that we are being looted by our own people.
E/2948-50, Sudama Nagar History has proved us time & again that deterrents are never the best
Indore-452 009, India motivator to lead an ethical life, that is why communism with all its noble inten-
tion failed. Purity of intention has to come from within, then alone it sustains,
inspite of anything. If we 'really want’ to lead a noble & ethical life, then we
know that nobody can stop us, but how do we assure that everyone really
Web: 'wants' that & that alone. What are we doing at the level of law & education to
www.vmission.org.in assure this? What is the role of visions & values? What role philosophies &
religion played for this? It should not be too difficult to discover such systems,
after all history tells us that so many earlier visitors to our country were amazed
Email:
at the purity & nobility of the people of this land. We will win such wars only
vmission@gmail.com when we can assure 'sincere noble intentions' in our leaders & people. Real
revolutions are possible only by subjective transformations, and not by just
external checks & pressures. Such realization is yet to come.

Love & om,

Swami Atmananda
 Atma Bodha - Shloka 30
Vedanta Section
Mahavakya’s reveal Identity
In the previous sloka the Acharya explained the Atman is Self-luminous. It does not need another
light to illumine it. The sense organs, the mind and the intellect cannot illumine the Atman but the Atman is
the illuminator of all things. If this is the case then a question arises how then can the nature of the Atman
be known. If it is said that the Atman is known by the scriptures then it implies that the Atman is objectifiable
and if something can be objectified it means that it is inert and dependant on another source of light for its
existence and also to be known. The following sloka answers this query and reveals how the scriptures are
the only valid means of knowledge and how the Upanishads beautifully reveal the Atman even though it
cannot be known as an object.

30
Nishiddhya nikhila upadhin neti neti iti vakyatah
Vidyataikyam mahavakyaihi: Jivatmanah paramatmanoh:
Nishiddhya: Negating; nikhila upadhin: all limiting adjuuncts; neti neti iti vakyatah: with the
expression not this, not this; Vidyat: know or come to realise; aikyam: identity; mahavakyaihi:
with the help of the Great Statements; Jivatmanah paramatmanoh: of the individual and the
Supreme Self
.
Eliminatining all limiting adjuncts with the expression ‘not this, not this’, one should realise
the identity of the individual and the Supreme Self with the help of the great Mahavakyas.

Nishiddhya nikhila upadhin of knowledge here is the ‘word’, which is communi-

The kowledge of Vedanta or Self knowledge
is a very tricky knowledge. Usually we are condi-
tioned to know something as an object, that which
is seperate from the knower. So there is a knower
and an object of knowledge and this knowledge too
takes place in the mind. Anything that is known by
the mind becomes an object of the mind and any-
thing that can be objectified becomes inert and is
seperate from the subject, the knower. But in case
of knowing the Self, it is the very ‘I’, the knower which
is to be known. The ‘I’ or the Atman is ever existent
and therefore it is only to be seen in its true es-
sence. It is not to be attained. Attaining something
implies its absence at one time and then being at-
tained at another time. We are the pure effulgent
and blissfull truth even now. So the only valid means
Vedanta Sandesh - May 2011
cated by a Preceptor who has seen it for himself
and is also able to communicate equally effectively.
Hence the role of the preceptor and the scriptures
becomes a very delicate affair where the Master
unlocks the meaning behind the word without giv-
ing rise to any imagination or new conditioning.
The role of the scriptures and Teacher is to
awaken one into the truth that which already ‘is’. It
only has to be realised. Although all of us do have a
general awareness of the Self. I am aware of my
existence. I know ‘I am’. So there isn’t a total igno-
rance of the Self. But surely we are ignorant of the
real nature of the Self as being the limitless, eternal
and blissful. Not only are we ignorant of the reality
of the Self but we have superimposed various lim-
ited adjuncts and identities of the body, mind and
intellect on the Self. The nature of awakening thus
implies negating all such super-impositions like I am
the body, mind and intellect and all that is born of
this identification. Today our identity is based on our
association with the manifested form of our exist-
ence, the BMI. The scriptures reveal, know this iden-
tity to be relative, ephimeral and limited and negate
all that is limited at the level of time, space, and
object. The process of negation is the art of the scrip-
tures to reveal that which already ‘is’.
Neti neti iti vakyatah:
The process of negation under discussion is
brought about by discriminating between the Real
and the Unreal. That which is the ‘Real’ is the eter-
nal, unchanging, lifegiving factor, whose very na-
ture is bliss.The ‘Unreal’ engulfs all that is other than
the Self and hence can be objectified by the Self.
Everything begining from the objects of the world,
the gross physical body, the subtle bodies of the
mind and intellect, the causal body of ignorance, in
short all that comes into the realm of objective knowl-
edge. All these things and the various experiences
born of them are constantly changing and dying.
They are inert because they are dependant on ‘Me’
for their existence. They are born at one particular
time, are limited to space and are bound by specific
attributes. A student of Vedanta aspiring for self
knowledge drops all these by seeing them as Un-
real. He eliminates all that which is seperate from
the Self. Although it is also significant and interest-
ing to understand that negation does not imply physi-
cally negating manifested forms but it implies cast-
ing off the undue and excessive importance of real-
ity that we have given to that which is unreal. Such
negation reveals to us the divine nature of the Self,
just as the Sun is revealed as the clouds move away
from the Sun.
Vidyataikyam mahavakyaihi:
The Acharya further goes on to prescribe
having done the discrimination between the Real
and the Unreal now come to see the truth by see-
ing the unity between the jiva (the individual) and
Ishwara (God). A spiritual aspirant begins his jour-
ney by seeing the insignificance of that which is
Best Wishes on the occassion of Sri Adi Sankaracharya Jayanti
unreal. He also sees the existence of a divine power
who is the creator and controller of this universe. An
individual jiva’s life is a continuous blessing of this
divine entity whom we refer to as God. In the begining
an individual lives a life of a devotee offering all his
actions and desires as a humble service to God. Hav-
ing established such a divine relation a jiva lives a life
of peace, contentment and selfless happiness. But
the fact still remains that this Jiva is seperate from
Ishwara. There is not only a duality between Jiva and
Ishwara but also a sense of limitation that the Jiva is
small and limited and Ishwara is the one with infinite
power and knowledge. Ultimate liberation comes
when the Jiva sees the unity between himself and
Iswara by negating the manifested form of the indi-
vidual Jiva and the magnanimous form of Iswara. This
truth is revealed in the great statements called the
Mahavakyas like ‘Tat Tvam asi’ i.e. That Thou Art-
You are that, implying there is no duality between Jiva
an God. This may come as a shock for many a
sadhakas who have humbly seen themselves as
devotees of God , God who is omnipotent, whereas
myself as an indiviual limited in every way. Although
this mind set is iportant to purify the mind of various
ego-centric attitudes and negativities but liberation
comes by seeing the unity between jiva and Iswara.
Hence the journey then begins to realise this unity.
This process is brought about by negating the mani-
fested form of the individual body, mind and intellect
and also by negating the manifested form of Iswara
which was invoked by his Maya. Once the manifesta-
tions are negated what then remains is pure exist-
ence and pure consciousness that simply ‘is’.
Jivatmanah paramatmanoh:
This realisation of oneness frees an individual
of his sense of limitation and continuous seeking. The
jiva or the Individual becomes one with the Supreme.
In the state of ignorance there is the existence of in-
dividuality and totality where consciousness manifests
at the level of the individual and totality known as the
Jiva and Ishwara. Once this manifestation of individu-
ality and totality i.e. the Jiva and Ishwara are both
negated what remains is pure consciousness. This is
the oneness between the Jiva and Ishwara realised
by the Mahavakyas like Tat tvam asi.
Page # 5
 Letter of the Dhyana & Vedanta
Month
Hari om M...,

Further to your question regarding the role of Dhyana & Bhakti in

Vedanta.

Knowledge is all
Well, if we define Dhyana as a means of paying complete unflinching
aboutIf being aware
we define
attention, along with humble inquisitiveness to the words of our Guru,
of the truth
Dhyana as a of what
means
who removes the veil of ignorance and thus reveals the unknown, then
ofis,paying
while Yoga and
complete
certainly Dhyana has an important role in Vedanta. When an enlightened
Bhakti aimattention,
unflinching to
master reveals and the student pays complete, unconditioned attention
change thehumble
alongwith mind for
to comprehend the subtlest of implications, then such attentiveness is
the better, so to the
inquisitiveness
indeed part & parcel of effective communication, it becomes a facilitator
technically
words of ourthey fall
Guru,
to further our journey from darkness to light, from unknown to known.
in the
who category
removes of
the veil
But if by Dhyana we simply imply focusing intensely on something which
ofkarma, workingand
ignorance to
is 'already known', then such a sadhana doesn’t really help the getting
change
thus something.
reveals the
of any new knowledge. This is what Upasana is all about. Upasana
For knowledgethen
unknown, even
and Karma have initial preparatory role to play, but are never a revelatory
a sankalpa
certainly to has
Dhyana
means for new knowledge, so a student of vedanta keeps aside all
anchange anything
important is
role in
such karmic sadhanas, physical or mental, for entering the portals of
an impediment,
Vedanta... But if by
vedanta. That is what karma sanyasa is all about, and is extremely
becausewe
Dhyana then our
simply
necessary, because any kind of karma basically ignores 'what is' for its
priorities change
imply focusing
imaginary preference for 'what should be'.
from knowing what
intensely on
is to working
something whichfor is
There is a shloka which says that if you do not know the truth, then
what should
'already known', be.
then
dhyana doesn’t make sense, and if you know the truth then it is not
such - aPoojya
sadhanaGuruji
required. So obviously dhyana has a limited role. People who practice
doesn’t help.
Dhyana seem to aim an experience of a particular state of mind rather
than aiming to efface ignorance of their Self. Any karma, whether
physical or mental is prompted only by conclusions about what is that
which is presumably something worthwhile & great etc, so such people
start with a conclusion, and do not have the humility of an open minded
seeker. So in Vedanta we prefer to just see the role of dhyana as capacity
to pay complete unflinching attention to the ‘teachings of an enlightened
Vedanta Sandesh - May 2011
masters’, rather than simply absorption of a doer in some so called divine object/being/state.
Here we are more bothered about the subject rather than any objects, howsoever great it
maybe.

So, listening to Sad-gurus with complete attention is the essence of studying, thinking deeply
on them to sort out any of our doubts & conditionings is reflection, and reveling in this knowledge
all the time so as to drop our habitual errors is the real meditation. Regarding Bhakti, it is all
about having deep, selfless love for something. We prefer to see the role of bhakti as the
deep & intense ‘inquisitiveness to know the truth’. With such love alone the Sravana, Manana
& Niddidhyasana are truly possible.

Love & om

Swami Atmananda

Time Bank
Imagine for a moment that there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400.

It carries over no balance from day to day.

Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use
during the day. What would you do? Draw out ALL OF IT, of course!!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.

Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.

It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.

If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow."
You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health,
happiness, and success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today.

Treasure every moment that you have!
And remember that time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!!!

Page # 7
 Sankaracharya Jayanti falls on the 5th day of the bright half of the month of
Vaishakh (around Apr-May). This year as per the english calendar in 2011 it falls
on 8th of May.

The existence of Vedic Dharma in India today is primarily due to Sankara.The

Sri Sankaracharya Jayanti

forces opposed to Vedic religion were more numerous and powerful at the time of
Sankara than they are today. Still, single-handed, within a very short time, Sankara
overpowered them all and restored the Vedic Dharrna and Advaita Vedanta to its
pristine purity in the land. The weapon he used was pure knowledge and spiritual-
ity.

Sankara is the foremost among the master-minds and the giant souls which
Mother India has produced. An expounder of the Advaita philosophy, Sankara
8th May 2011

was a giant metaphysician, a practical philosopher, an infallible logician, a dynamic

personality and a stupendous moral and spiritual force. His grasping and elucidating
powers knew no bounds. He was a fully developed Yogi, Jnani and Bhakta. He
was a great Karma Yogi. Bharata Varsha would have ceased to be Bharata Varsha
several centuries ago and would never have survived the murderous sword, the
devastating fire and the religious intolerance of the successive invaders, if Sankara
had not lived the life he lived and taught the lessons he taught.

His teachings can be summed up in three crisp aphorisms:

‘Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya, Jeevo Brahmaiva Naparah’, meaning Brahman
alone is real, this world is illusory; and every Jiva is basically that one, infinite
blissful divinity alone, and we have no separate identity apart from him.

Brahma Satyam:
Brahman is that which is the life principle, pure conscousness. It is the
substratum of the entire creation just as water is to waves and bubbles. The word
‘Satya’ is that which exists in all three periods of time. Past, present and the future.
That which transcends time and is thus timeless. That which exists at all times
and that which cannot be effaced by time. In that sense Brahman is that Reality
which existed before the creation, is there inspite of the creation and will be there
even when the creation dissolves. Hence Brahman is not the manifested
consciousness reflecting as the ‘I’ in our mind but it is that pure consciousness
which is beyond all manifestations. Infact it is that which exists first and then
everything follows. When we look at the creation, it is so beautiful, orderly and
perfect. Such a creation cannot happen by itself of inert matter, but there has to be
an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent power which creates and sustains all
living and non-living things. This power alone is the Atman of everything. It is our
basic essence which we all must aim to awaken into.
VedantaSandesh
Vedanta Sandesh- -May
April2011
2009 Page # 10
Jagat Mithya:
The word Jagat embraces in itself the entire world. Anything that can be
objectified and can be known other than the Self comes into the realm of ‘Jagat’.
The objects of the world, our physical and subtle bodies, all our experiences and
the concept of time everything comes under this word Jagat. The word Jagat means-
Jayate Gachhati iti jagat i.e. that which is born and dies in the realm of time is
Jagat. The scriptures reveal that the nature of this world or jagat is ‘Mithya’ i.e. it is
illusionary in nature. It is comparable to a dream world. We have some experiences
but it does not have any real existence. This is Mithya. Mithya is that which is not
there in all three periods of time. It was not there in the past, will cease to be in
future but as though appears to be there in the present. The aphorism ‘Jagat Mithya’
thus implies that all experiences are transcient and have no real existence. Another
important feature of Mithya is that it does not have the capacity to give us that
fulfillment which we seek. It is like eating dream food. How much ever we eat we
are still hungry on waking up. So too we experience the best of pleasures in this
world yet we remain where we are. Empty and seeking. The world surely helps us
to make life comfortable and organised but it does not fulfill the seeker within. True
contentment lies within the Self. That which is Mithya does not have an independant
existence. It is dependant on a living entity, on the life giving principle. How then
can it give the Self happiness. This aphorism helps us direct our life towrds knowing
the reality of things.

Jivo Brahmaiv Naparah:

This sutra reveals that the Jiva who sees himself as a limited, finite being is
truly infinite and limitless in nature. It is Brahman. The existence of the Jiva or the
individual comes about due to ignorance of the Self and wrongly identifying the
Self with the the body and various roles that we play through this body. The body
and all the experiences borne of this body are limited in time & space hence we
come to see ourselves as limited in the same way too. Our basic serach is for
limitlessness, for bliss because that is our very nature but by identifying with the
limited body, mind and intellect we are constantly seeking and getting more and
more trapped with the sense of limitation and seeking outside. The only path to
liberation from this sense of limitation and seeking is knowing the Reality of the
Self, the world and its creator. One needs to observe the limited and transcient
nature of the world and all the experiences in this world. This alone will help us turn
our focus on that which is eternal. The journey of awakening from a limited Jiva to
the limitless Brahman is a journey of knowledge, of awakening. It is a state or
reality of the self which one does not have to attain through any actions but by
knowing that which is already there. I am the limitless, self effulgent and blissful
Brahman right now. All one needs to do is to see the ephimeral nature of the
objective world and see that which is untouched by change, untouhed by birth or
death.
Awakening into this truth one is freed from the bondages of dependancies
and constant seeking. The world is a beautiful place but it’s true beauty is lived
when a person lives in it knowing its reality and also the reality of the self.
Page # 9
 Offering the Best
One rainy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife en-
tered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the
storm, the couple reached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the
night.
"Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husband asked. The
clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and ex-
plained that there were three conventions in town. "All of our rooms are
taken," the clerk said. "But I can't send a nice couple like you out into the
rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in
my room? It's not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you
folks comfortable for the night." When the couple declined, the young man
pressed on. "Don't worry about me; I'll make out just fine," the clerk told
them. So the couple agreed.
As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the
clerk, "You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best
hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I'll build one for you." The clerk
looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they
drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed
exceptional,as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn't easy.
Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when
he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and
enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay
them a visit.
The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth
Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a
palace of reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the
sky. "That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to
manage." "You must be joking," the young man said. "I can assure you I
am not," said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth.
The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnifi-
cent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who
became its first manager was George C. Boldt. This young clerk never
foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the manager of
one of the world's most glamorous hotels.

Vedanta Sandesh - May 2011

 Stories from
Purana’s Indra & Virochan
po n Once Prajapati, a knower of Brahman, declared: 'The Atman which is free

e u ..
from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger

On c .
and thirst, whose nature is truth should be sought. He who has found out and who

me understands that Atman attains all the worlds and all the desires.'

a ti Both gods and demons heard this proclamation. Indra among the gods and
Virochana among the Asuras, then approached Prajapati and said : 'We have
heard that the Atman has to be known, the Atman that is not touched by sin, or old
age or death or sorrow or thirst or hunger. Please instruct us about this Atman'.

Prajapati asked them to practise austerities and celibacy for thirty-two years, and
then instructed them thus: 'The Purusha (the Self) visible in the eyes, reflected in
the water or in the mirror is the Atman. Look at yourselves in water and let me
know what you see.' When they did this Prajapati asked them, 'What did you see?'
'We saw the whole body', they said. Prajapati asked them to dress well and again
look at the image and they said that the images also looked well-dressed. Prajapati
said, 'This is the Atman that you seek', and they went away satisfied.

Virochana went back to the Asuras and proclaimed, 'The body is the Atman, serve
it well and you will obtain all your desires here and hereafter'.

Now let us follow Indra. As a result of living a right type of austere life, Indra
became endowed with intelligence, the power of discernment. On his way back he
reflected, 'If the Atman becomes lame if the body is lame, and blind if the body is
blind, and is well-dressed if the body is well-dressed, and is destroyed if the body
is destroyed—I see no good in this teaching.'

So he went back to Prajapati who asked him to live a life of celibacy for another
thirty-two years. Then he said: 'He who moves about as the Lord in the state of
dream, is the Self, the Atman.' Indra, again reflected on the way back: 'Though this
dream Purusha is not affected by any damage to the body, yet at times he is being
chased or hurt or that Purusha feels pain or weeps. This certainly cannot be the
Self.'

Again he went back to Prajapati. After thirty-two years more of celibacy, Indra was
told, 'The Self in the state of deep sleep is the Atman, immortal, fearless, he is
Brahman'. Indra again expressed doubt: 'The Self is not affected by dream, or
damage to or destruction of the body, but it seems not to know itself, and is, as it
were, dead in this state of deep sleep (sushupti). I do not see any real good in this.'

He again went to Prajapati and was told to practise celibacy for five more years. At
last Prajapati found Indra fit to receive the true teaching and instructed him: 'O
Indra, mortal indeed is this body, held by death. But it is the support of this death-
less, bodiless Atman that enlivens everything. This Atman is of the nature of truth
life and bliss. Know this Atman. He obtains all the worlds all the desired objects,
who having known that Atman revels in it.'

Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009 Page

Page##13
11
 Apr’11 VM / VA Programs
Gita Gyana Yagna at Sevalia:
A Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji was organized
at Sevalia, a small township near Godhra in Gujrat. The subject matters of
this Gujrati language Gyana Yagna were Gita Chapter 17, and Bhaja
Govindam.
Vedanta Mission / Ashram Programs

The Yagna shala was lovingly made in one of the open areas by erect-
ing pandal etc. It was the first time such a Gita Gyana Yagna was organized
and the inspiration and initiative was by Kaileshbhai of Ahmedabad, who
basically belongs to this town. The response to this first ever Gyana Yagna
was good. A good crowd regular attended and appreciated the initiative to
bring the message of Bhagwad Gita. Normally they just heard Ramayan &
Bhagwad. P. Swaminiji’s room was near the fields & forest, with chirping
birds, peacocks and greenery.

Special Session for Hastamalaka Stotram, Sevalia:

Apart from the two regular discourses at Sevalia, P.Swaminiji used
the time there to conduct two more sessions for advanced devotees and
conducted special discourses on Hastamalaka Stotram. Even though this
session was meant for select few, many more joined to take a dip in the
Gyana Ganga.
Hasstamalaka Stotram is a profound text revealing the vision of
Vedanta, and is attibuted to Hastamalakacharya, one of the well-known dis-
ciples of Sri Adi Sankara. This stotram pertains to the first introduction of
himself to his great Acharya by Hastamalakacharya, and in & through the
introduction beautiful pointers are given about one’s Atma. A great stotra to
chant & revel. On the last day a session of conducted meditation was also
conducted, so as to directly appreciate what had been studied so far.

P.Swaminiji visits an old Temple near Sevalia:

On one of days Poojya Swaminiji along with a group of devotees
went for an outing to get darshan of Valteshwar Mahadev. This is a very old
temple, whose shikhar had been dececrated and broken by Moghul invad-
ers. Till date the temple stands without its shikhar, waiting for some resur-
rection & renovation. Regular puja is conducted, and the structure contin-
ues to bring resolutions in the mind of devotees to do something substantial
to protect their dharma and its institutions.
Before the darshan everyone took a dip in the Mahisagar river nearby.
The river originates from a place near Sevalia, and takes a big form even
after 10-15 Kms, where this spot was. Obviously it must be sourced by some
good underground watersprings, and thus it is a perenial river flowing in the
same way throughout the year. The dip was refrshing in the clean waters of
the river.

Vedanta Sandesh - May 2011

 Apr’11 VM / VA Programs
Ram Navami Celebration, Indore:
This year Ram Navami was on the 12th of April. On that day a beau-
tiful altar was made in the Shiv Tample and all the ashramites alongwith
Gita class students and various neighbours got together to celebrate the
‘birth’ of their beloved & reverential Bhagwan Ram.
Apart from bhajans, everyone chanted the Vishnu Sahasranama, the
Vedanta Mission / Ashram Programs

thousand names of Lord Vishnu, whose avatar Bhagwan Ram is. Bhagwan
Vishnu protects and sustains this beautiful creation by presenting and pro-
tecting the order of Dharma. Dharma is that which sustains the world and
also the individual. Dharanat Dharmah. When everyone appreciates their
swadharma and lives as per it in the attitude of being an instrument of Lord,
then one gets tuned with the cosmos, and is blessed in every way. Dot at 12
everyone chanted the appropriate sections from Ramayana celebrating the
manifestation of Bhagwan. Later there was Maha-Aarti & prasad.

Satsang at Bharuch:
On her way back from Sevalia, Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji visited
some acquaintances at Bharuch, an well-known industrial township on the
banks of Narmada River. This is the place where Narmadaji meets and
merges in the Arabian Sea, and thus the place has a great religious signifi-
cance too. The place thus has many ashram’s too.
On 30th April evening a Satsang was organized in a temple hall in
one of the residential societies. The temple stands like a gem in the middle
of multi-storeyed buildings and thus there was good attendance in the
satsang too. As in Sevalia, here also the devotees heard a Gita discourse
for the first time. Swaminiji talked on the famous shloka of Gita,
‘Karmanyevadhikaraste...’ It was very nicely recieved and appreciated. Later
everyone chanted Hanuman Chalisa.

Sanyas Deeksha Day of Sw. Samatanandaji:

On 30th April was the Sanyas Deeksha day of Poojya Swamini
Samatanandaji. This year was its seventh anniversary.
Sanyas is all about dropping all compulsions for doing any kind of
‘karma’ whatsoever. While karma is a very powerful & potent means avail-
able in the hands of human beings, and that is where every devotees and
sadhaka starts his or her spiritual journey, but the very scriptures which re-
veal to us the potential of karma, also reveal to us the limitations of karma.
Karma can change, create or purify, and all this is good for our worldly goals,
but insistence on change denies us the knoledge of ‘what is’, and such a
person is always bothered about what should be. This is the very anti-thesis
of knowledge of ‘what is’, and thus scriptures rightly advise all the students
of truth of be a sanyasi first.

Check out the detailed Photo Albums of the various functions on

VM News Blog at : http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/
Page # 13
 Quotes

“If you see a friend without a smile; give him one of yours.”

“Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart.”

“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.”

“There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile

speaks them all.”

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes

your smile can be the source of your joy.”

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity

“The robb'd that smiles, steals something from the thief”

“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.”

You haven't lost your smile at all, it's right under your nose. You
just forgot it was there.”

“If someone is too tired to give you a smile, leave one of your
own, because no one needs a smile as much as those who have
none to give”

Vedanta Sandesh - May 2011

 Forthcoming Programs

Gita Gyana Yagna, Dehradun:

A Gita Gyana Yagna will be organized at the residence of Dr Bhatia in Dehradun from
6th-10th May for five days. The subject matters of the discourse series will be Gita Chapter 2,
and Kathopanishad 1-2.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai:

A Gita Gyana Yagna will be organized at BHA Hall Mumbai from 7th to 12th May. The
subject matters of the discourse series will be Gita Chapter 4, and 3rd valli of the first chapter
of Kathopanishad.

Sadhana Camp, Rishikesh:

A Sadhana Camp will be organized at Arsha Vidya Peetha, Rishikesh from 7th to 11th
June 2011 by Poojya Guruji. The subject matters of the discourse series will be Isavasya
Upanishad and Chapter 4 of Bhagwad Gita.

Guru Poornima, Indore:

Guru Poornima will be celebrated at Vedanta Ashram on the 15th of July. As earlier,
first there will be a pujan of Bhagwan Sri Sankaracharya and Poojya Gurudev by Poojya
Guruji. There after a Pada Pooja of Poojya Guruji will be done. Later there will be a Bhandara.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Wellingborough:

A Gita Gyana Yagna will be organized at the Hindu Temple at Wellingborough from
23rd July by Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji. The subject matters of the discourse series will
be Gita Chapter 2 and Atma Bodha.

Page # 15
 Hari om !

Web Site of the International Vedanta Mission:

http://www.vmission.org.in/

International Vedanta Mission News Blog:

http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/

Checkout the new ‘Gita Section’

of VMission Web Site at:
http://www.vmission.org.in/vedanta/shastras/gita/index.htm

This is a Net Publication of the

International Vedanta Mission

Om Tat Sat