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SADHANANANDA KRIYA YOGA FELLOWSHIP Email: info@sadhansangit.org

Website: www.sadhansangit.org

NEWSLETTER Issue # 12 Summer 2013

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In This Issue:

1. Continued Translations from SadGurubani: A Catechism 2. 2004 Lecture of Swami Sadhanananda Giri Maharaj – Part 2 3. Article: He Is Everything by Janakirani

4. Article: SadGuru, Supernatural Powers, Etc. by Gurudas Nundi 5. Article: ParamGurudev’s Birthday Celebration by Annette Estevez

6. SKYF Updates and Events

Cont. Translations of a Few Pages from

SadGurubani: A Catechism

Swami Sadhanananda Giri

During the time Swami Sadhanananda Giri was a Brahmachari, He used to sit for hours at His Guru’s feet and ask His Guru questions. He would then write down the answers in a notebook. Later He published His notes in a book entitled SadGurubani.

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Question 48: Do you mean ahankara disturbing?

Answer: Yes, ahankara or egoism (to be precise, the i-ness) is disturbing. That is why I advise you to carry on. Remember the song,

“Oh, my mind, go on rowing. God is there, steering your boat. The time is auspicious. Row with utmost exertion when the boat struggles with the current. When the sail will be swelled by favorable wind, you will get time for rest. Carry on, oh my mind, carry on. Don’t look toward the sky, be it full of light or darkness. Don’t worry about when you will reach the destination or whether there will be high tide or low ebb. Remember all the while the Owner of the boat and the Owner of the river are the same person. The person who confronts you to a bore or eagre and the person, who is steering the boat are one and the same.”

We will have time for respite. But now we have to go on struggling. We have to go on rowing. Instead of procrastinating on what will happen, good or bad, light or darkness, or even brooding about where I am I going, what I may obtain and so on, you have to proceed, surrendering all the while to that eternal path. There is no other way to achieve success. Breathing should be your base. You also have to surrender completely and absolutely.

At the same time, in order to dispel ahankara, combine action, wisdom and devotion. If ahankara does not depart, your journey to the path of eternity will remain very much disturbed. Initially proceed with action and wisdom. The role of bhakti or devotion comes later. In the later part of journey, our senses will no longer disturb but the antahkarana or inner instrument will not deviate. Our anthakarana will help us surrender and lead us towards the path of the greatest and the biggest (i.e. God). For that purpose we have to come to the feet of Guru and inculcate the Eternal Truth as also its quintessences as per His advice. This is the only path of our sadhana.

Question 49: Wherefrom this trio of karma (action), gyan (wisdom), and bhakti (devotion) originate?

Answer: All these three stay within us. We have to exercise our wisdom with action. Action without any aspiration or resolution is to be practiced. Action (Kriya) without any materialistic hankering or preplanning (sankalpa) will lead us to the path of the greatest and the vast. The Veda has spoken of this type of work. It is desire or aspiration related with action which goad us on to take birth one after another and do not allow us to go to the vast and the great.

Question 50: What do you mean by action or work without any aspiration?

Answer: That is pranayama. Breathing does not need any resolution. Without making any desire or aspiration, we are carrying on our respiration. No one says “I have to breathe now. I did not do it for a long time.” It is spontaneous. This is the only work where an action is being performed without any prior resolution. Preparation of action such as this will lead us to the path of the vast and the biggest. Hence, we have to proceed with preparation such as this.

Translations from SadGurubani to be continued in future newsletters.

_______________________________________________________________ Editor’s Note: The book, SadGurubani, has a wealth of in-depth knowledge. It is a difficult and formidable task

to translate this compendious book. A sincere attempt was made to bring the reader the closest possible English meaning. We acknowledge that in some cases, the translated text has English words that may not reflect the “exact” meaning of the Bengali words used by Sri Sri Gurudev and/or Sri Sri ParamGurudev. Portions of the original text which require extensive explanations of Indian scriptures were summarized for this newsletter with Sri Sri Gurudev’s permission.

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2004 Lecture of Swami Sadhanananda Giri Maharaj – Part 2 Translated by Riddhi Sanyal

Bhakti (Devotion):

Devotion cannot be gifted. From my realization, I can say that devotion will appear in a person’s heart only if the person practices Guru Karma sincerely and performs Guru Seva. Devotion will automatically arrive in the person’s mind without notifying the mind.

There is no perfect definition of Bhakti (Devotion). Every definition is close in defining. Sri Vyasadeva* said that Bhakti (devotion) stands for intense attraction for or interest in worshipping the deity with food, water, chanting gospel songs, spiritual songs, ragas and also serving the deity. Lord Shiva gave the definition of Bhakti to Goddess Durga saying that devotion can be attained or gained by worshipping the deity, which nonetheless leads to spiritual wisdom. Sri Narada, a famous devotee of Sri Krishna, defined bhakti as true love for God.

A person can overcome all materialistic desires by attaining Bhakti or true devotion. The person can get rid of all sorrows. He or she can control anger and all other evil habits. The person can finally perceive God’s presence with unlimited happiness. Such a devotee cannot perform day to day activities with all desires and aspirations like any other human being. A true devotee overcomes all materialistic desires and performs all worldly duties according to God’s wish and desire.

*Sri Vyasadeva: Son of Saint Sri Parasara. Saint Sri Vyasadeva, aka Vedavyasa, classified 4 Vedas and authored 18 Puranas. Brahmasutra or Vedanta philosophy originated from him. Sri Vyasadeva was the most knowledgeable person on Hindu theology. He was also called Krishnadwaipayana. He was born on the day of Guru Purnima which is also known as Vyasa Purnima.

Koli Yuga* (this era):

Human life span is much reduced in Koli Yuga*. So what should we do to attain true

devotion? The answer is complete surrender to Gurudeva or the deity.

In this era not only is human lifespan reduced, the nature of human life becomes lazy, dull headed and human beings get bad luck. People are affected by drought, flood, scarcity of food, disasters, etc. Not only humans, but all living beings on this earth are affected in this harmful era of Koli Yuga.

* In Sanskrit ‘Yuga’ means era. The eras (Yugas) in chronological order are: Satya, Treta, Dwarpara, and

Koli. Although Koli Yuga is sometimes spelled in English ‘Kali Yuga’, ‘Koli Yuga’ can be accepted as an alternative spelling because without the use of the appropriate diacritical mark, one may miss the subtle phonetic difference between ‘Kali’ as used in the Goddess Kali’s name and the period known as Koli (Kali) Yuga.

Satya Yuga is characterized by 4 quadrants of religion. These 4 quadrants are Meditation, Purity, Compassion or Mercy, and Truth. In Treta Yuga, Meditation was lost from human life due to the egoistic nature of human beings. In Dwapara Yuga, materialistic desires destroyed the second quadrant, Purity, from human life. The third quadrant of religion, Mercy, is lost in Koli Yuga due to the harmful nature of human beings and the temptation of harmful activities to humans. As a result, Koli Yuga retains only a single part or quadrant of religion and that is Truth. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhanshadeva would often say, “Telling truth is a very hard practice. People can’t tell truth easily. They will avoid the environment, change the topic, tell five lies to establish a false statement, but can’t tell the truth simply.” So to tell the truth we need meditation, and practice and more practice to tell the truth. It is easy to say, but difficult to perform. There will be lots of obstructions like motivation,

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temptation, attraction, anger, etc. but we have to overcome all of these and practice to tell the truth. In this context it will be relevant to remember Sri Sri Lahiri Mahasaya said:

Meditation should not be performed with an egoistic mind.

Detachment from worldly desires makes one pure in mind and body.

We should be full of mercy without any ego.

We should establish truth in our words and in our personal life.

One can establish Satya Yuga in one’s personal life if one can follow and practice these dictums perfectly.

Body, life, mind, and intelligence are compared with Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Koli. Body, life, mind, and intelligence - these 4 elements were pure and well balanced in human life during Satya Yuga. In every era, right from Satya Yuga to Koli Yuga, one of these 4

elements is constantly deteriorating in human life. In Koli Yuga, man’s greatest attachment is with his body. All the time we are looking at the mirror, putting our hands on our head and having concerns about how our face looks. Through worshipping, one loses attachment with the body and thereby does not work for self-interest. In Dwapara Yuga, the mind tries to free itself from attraction to the outside world and retains undivided attention to sadhana. In Treta Yuga, wisdom becomes pure and it directs the person towards the Supreme Being. In Treta Yuga, by practicing Pranayama (Kriya) one can control the mind and soul. In this process the senses become pure. The diversities of the mind become completely aloof from the materialistic world and thereby the person enjoys mental calmness. Thus the person realizes the absolute truth during Satya Yuga. Wisdom become very pure in Satya Yuga and the person enters into the world of Brahman.

In Koli Yuga, some persons will take initiation just in order to know the process of Pranayama (Kriya). They will practice only for 2-4 months. Most of them won’t be able to continue the Kriya practice due to laziness. Entertainment of mind and body brings the person down and away from God. The evil effects of Koli Yuga remove the 4 elements (Meditation, Purity, Compassion and Truth) from the mind. In Koli Yuga, man gets trapped in thousands of desires and temptations. As a result, sublime qualities cannot develop. So we should pray to our Guru or God, “O my Guru, my Lord, please save us from the evil effects of Koli.” The attraction of this world, created by Goddess Mahamaya keeps us tethered tenaciously. Escape from it is possible only through Gurukarma or persistent meditation on the Guru.

But, seclusion is necessary. Kriya is not a mass program. It is to be practiced in seclusion. The feelings and realizations one experiences from Kriya should be confided to Guru. The more you make it public, the more you lose. In other words, one, who keeps his Kriya secret and does not indulge in self proclamations, receives spiritual wisdom and gets accomplished easily. According to Sri Krishna, a person of wisdom has control over his sense organs.

Dharma* (Religion/Spirituality):

Dharma* stands for religion or spirituality. It helps us to realize the relationship between the spiritual world and the materialistic world. According to Swami Vivekananda, religion is a piece of realization and it can’t always be explained logically. Religion keeps an ideal in front. Striving hard one can attain it. In order to maintain spiritual aspirations one has to inculcate the qualities mentioned above. For spiritual development one should perform Satsanga** after faithfully carrying on one’s own spiritual practice.

* Dharma: The breakup of the word “Dharma” is “Dhre” + “Man” = “Dharma”. “Dhre” means to hold, to obey, and to follow. A spiritual person must have the good qualities like non-violence (ahimsa),

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forgiveness, control of senses, compassion, benevolence, purity, divine contemplation (Tapasya) and truthfulness.

** Satsanga: Assembly with holy people, saints and performance of religious activities like reading Gita, Srimadbhagbat or chanting for Gurudev, etc.

Perform Guru Karma Amidst Day to Day Activities – Two Parables:

A person asked Guruji if he could wait a few more years and take initiation after the marriage of his son. Someone else said that he would try for initiation after the birth of his grandchildren. A nice Sanskrit line from Mahatma Saint Vyasadeva is: "Yah ichhati harim smartum byaparantargatairapi, Samudre santakollole gantumichhati durmati." That means one who intends to remember God after getting rid of all worldly chores is like one who

wishes to have a dip in the sea only after the sea becomes free from waves and surf.

An illustration can be given from the epic Mahabharata to explain the condition of human life in this worldly day to day living. One day Lord Krishna and King Yudhisthira went together for a walk inside a forest. Suddenly, under the influence of the Goddess Mahamaya,

Yudhisthira saw a honeycomb hanging from a tree. Honey was dripping from it. He also saw a young boy sitting under the tree. The boy had his mouth wide open and was eagerly waiting to catch each drop of honey as it fell. The boy was so eager to catch and enjoy each drop of honey that he was unaware of the huge poisonous snake right behind him ready to bite.

Alarmed at the scene, Yudhisthira shouted for the boy to escape from the dangerous snake, but the boy ignored his cry. So Yudhisthira rushed to the tree and reached out his hand to save the boy. Still the boy was so eager to taste the honey that he replied to Yudhisthira that he would come only after receiving one more drop. Alas! Before receiving that eagerly awaited drop, the boy was bitten by the snake and fell dead on the ground.

Yudhisthira became very upset. In spite of trying hard he was unable to save the boy. Then Sri Krishna told Yudhisthira not to be despaired as this is the common scenario of the world. This same show is going on every day in our lives. The honeycomb is our daily life. The honey drops are our worldly desires, pleasures and traits. The poisonous snake in the story is the human lifespan which is mortal. We are always thinking of some unattainable, unfulfilled wishes and in that way we pass through life carelessly without ever thinking that this mortal life itself will someday come to an end. We never think of the inevitability of death. We never think of who will stay and who will depart leaving us behind. We never realize that all of us have to go one day. In this manner, when we are alive, we never feel death because of all our earthly pleasures. Our lives are just looping through unsatisfied pleasures and unfulfilled desires. Ultimately we get resting time when we die. We spend our entire lives performing thousands of earthly activities and only at the end do we get a chance to take rest.

One more example will illustrate the matter. One man thought that he would start religious activities in his life only after his son grew a little older. After some time the son became older and was mature enough to take on all the responsibilities and duties of family life. Some more years passed. Then the man (father) developed another desire. He thought that unless his granddaughter would get married, he would not be fully able to concentrate on religious activities. More time passed and the man was blessed with a great grandson. Now his full target was to arrange for the rice-ceremony (Annaprasana) for that baby. The man

thought that after that event, he would be able to successfully start religious life. But then, after the rice-ceremony, his family had some internal troubles which involved court cases with close relatives. There was no time for his religious activities.

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What a painful life!!! Once the court case was resolved, several of his grandchildren were older and getting ready for their marriages. Like this, the man was occupied in day to day activities and earthly problems throughout his life. Sometimes he was fulfilling his own desires. Other times, he was arranging some events or was busy handling family troubles and problems. There was almost no time spent in religious activities. Suddenly the call came from Yamraj (the Lord of Death) and his life ended.

From the above examples we can conclude that one can never escape from problems and events of mundane life. Everyone in this world will have too many day to day duties. A complete peaceful state in this material world is very rare. Hence within our earthly activities, we have to set a particular time for meditation. We should overcome all negative forces of this material world and sit for spiritual activities. We are cooking, watching movies, performing official duties, etc. but we get no time to sit for meditation. Is this acceptable? No way. Forcefully we have to set the time for meditation. Otherwise this holy human life will only carry the pains of materialistic activities.

Divine Human Life:

Among all living creatures, only humans are capable of performing divine contemplation (Tapasya) and reaching the absolute path to God. But after getting this rare divine human life, most of us are spending our life within the loop of earthly desires like other animals. In this manner, we will go on rotating in the painful world of birth and death. Lord Vishnu has mentioned in the Vishnu Purana that the rotation of life in the birth cycle is close to 84 lakhs (Note: 10 Lakhs = 1 million).

“JolojaNavalaksham,

SthabareLakshabinsati,

StreemoyRudraShankhaka,

Pakshiyang Dash Lakshang,

TrinshaLakshaPashya,

Char LakshManaba.” Vishnu Purana

We are circulating in the cycle of various lives. 20 lakhs of lives we have passed in the plant kingdom. 9 lakhs of lives we have spent as aquatic creatures, 11 lakhs of lives as insects, 10 lakhs as birds, 30 lakhs as reptiles and mammals and 4 lakhs as human beings. Again and again we are circulating within the loop of birth and death. We go and come back and we go and come back and ultimately we are not getting any peace.

Please utilize the time you have in this life. Perform spiritual activities. If you try hard with determination, you definitely will reach your destination, and yes, in this life time.

Editors’ Note: Continued translation of this 2004 lecture by Gurudeva will appear in future SKYF newsletters.

He Is Everything! By Janakirani

This world is blessed to have a Divine Guru in our SadGuru, Swami Sadhanananda Giri. We are most fortunate to have met Him. I felt His greatness from day one when I first saw Him in Dublin, Ireland. In every meeting with Him, new doors opened to me. I was in ecstasy during the 2 days of initiation and was in heaven when He stayed with us.

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Gurudeva is The Universe; He is God incarnate. We need not search for anymore paths or gurus. We have reached the right place. He is The Great Wisdom in mortal form just for us. I realized this only after my visit to His Ashram last September. You too may realize this after you read my life experiences towards this spiritual path.

I had been searching for the right marga (path) to spiritual life since I was a child. Although at that tender age I didn’t know what it was, I was attracted to the state of mind I experienced when I performed puja (prayer and rituals) with devotion. I met many Gurus, Saints, Gnanin (a sage possessing religious wisdom) in my life. Each one was different and so were their teachings. I learned yoga and meditation but I felt something was missing and thought maybe I was not fit enough in mind and body. Finally in 1997 I found a Gnanin in Chennai who was very simple and loving. I prayed to him to show me the marga (direction) for my life. He asked me to do abhishekam (worshipping deity by consecrating, bathing, anointing, etc.) for the Shiva Lingam which he blessed and prepared for my puja. I did puja sincerely but I didn’t understand then, how this ritual would help me in attainment of Self-Realization, in mukti (salvation) and beyond mukti. I kept doing puja and I kept yearning for a Guru who would teach me, train me and prepare me to attain the Ultimate. Later I learned from our Guru, Swami Sadhanananda Giri, that this puja helped me to find Him.

My life experiences were a good teacher; all I had to do was to sit and think everything over and realize. I was shown that spiritual life is the only life for a human. Just before I met our Guruji, an incident occurred which I think led me straight to Him. It was in 2006. I was feeling lost and was praying for direction in my life. I realized it was high time I found the Guru I had been patiently seeking for so long. Like most young Indian ladies, I had restrictions about going out and meeting new people. My only option was to pray to God as advised by my Chennai Guru, so I kept praying. All of a sudden one morning I was asked by my family members to get married. I didn’t want to, but to my own surprise I agreed. I got married and then with my husband, Gomes, moved to Dublin which is where I met our Guruji. I could have met Him in India, but I feel my karma had kept me away all those years. I still profusely thank my husband for introducing me to his Guru, Swami Sadhanananda Giri, when He came to Dublin. If not for my husband and Phyl, whom I thank too, I wouldn’t have found our Guruji.

When I first saw His Holiness, Swami Sadhanananda Giri, in Dublin, I was immediately attached to His teachings. I loved every word He uttered, His every action, His simplicity, His love for everyone, His capacity to make everyone feel so special, and His childlike plays which actually were giving us very important messages. A special miracle occurred when He stayed in our home. I felt blessed cooking for Him, but I always felt I should have done more and better while serving Him and our gurubrother Kalyanji. I knew I had met the Guru I had been seeking from childhood. I felt so light and peaceful in His presence. I immediately realized after initiation, that the Kriya He taught was what I had been waiting for. I loved doing Kriya Yoga. It was both interesting and fun. It definitely made some changes in me, but I was too distracted to see the subtle differences it brought to me and my life until I had a beautiful dream. This dream answered my big doubt. I now had two Gurus, our Guruji and my previous Guru from Chennai. I respected them both but I was confused about which Guru to follow and wondered if it would it be right if I followed and devoted myself to only one Guru. In my dream, I saw both of them in the karpagraha (the place where the idol of God is kept in a Hindu temple) and then saw them merge into one person. I felt I was blessed and my doubt removed. It was just after this dream that I became pregnant and had our daughter, a blessed child.

Our Great Guruji is not like any Guru I have met. Not many Gurus openly tell you all the secrets. Especially notable is the knowledge found in SadGurubani. While reading the

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newsletter’s translations of SadGurubani, I felt many of my own questions were being answered. I had thought I might have to take another birth to find those answers. This made me realize what I have got in the form of our Guru. It made me wonder if I am worthy of being His student, a disciple to this Great Energy in the form of a human on earth. When I saw His devotion to His Guruji, our ParamGuru, I wished I could lose my entire ego and become a simple person devoted only to our Guruji.

My trip to the ashram in September 2012 is the crown of all my experiences in life. The ashram is a paradise on planet earth; everyone there is just an angel. The place is filled with energy. Our Guruji is the Universe, the Energy and my God. We were there for three days and we never remembered the world even for a moment. My daughter wanted to be with our Guruji all the time and couldn’t bear His separation when He had to go to His room for bathing. A special eye opening came through my daughter during our ashram visit. She wanted to sit near Guruji. Our Guru took her in His lap. Her face changed instantly as if she remembered something, she knew Him and was waiting to see Him for a long time. As I felt this, Guruji told her, "It is okay, Yogomaya, after many years of tapasya, you have finally come to me, so don’t worry." I had no words; when she was in His lap, she really remembered her previous birth. She didn’t want to come away from Him. She was in tears when we made her come to us.

While at the ashram without me asking, Guruji answered two major doubts that I had for so long that I had forgotten about them. He told me a story about the Bilva leaf and said if one does puja to Shiva Lingam with Bilva, he or she will get their prayers fulfilled. This answered my doubt about why I was doing all the rituals and puja to Shiva Lingam. Another story He told us was about the holy grass used during puja; I always had doubts about why this particular grass was used for all prayers and rituals.

When I returned home to Hyderabad from the ashram, I felt very different. I saw the real meaning to many things that had happened and were happening in my life and I could even see the future. I felt I have become more intelligent and wise. There was a different energy level in me, something very fine, subtle and divine. If just three days at the ashram with our

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Guruji can make so much change in me, what can it do if I can go there often? What a blessing it is for the devotees and disciples who are there and for those who visit there often. I try to be with Him through Kriya. It pains me to be away from Him. One must visit the ashram as many times as our Guruji blesses.

Pranam, O Great One! We have no words to express your greatness. Please bless us to be your devoted disciples! Jai Guru Swami Sadhanananda Giri Maharaj!

Please forgive me if I got carried away with my emotion and love to my Guruji and made a long article for you to read.

Editor’s Note: All individual articles and facts presented in articles are solely the opinion of the authors. The

authors’ views or facts may or may not reflect the opinion or view of the Sadhanananda Kriya Yoga Fellowship.

SadGuru, Supernatural Powers, Etc.

By Gurudas Nundi

Once Mr Sibram Chakraborty, the Mark Twain of Bengal, was asked to differentiate between a teacher of Bengali literature and a teacher of English literature. He retorted, “The teacher who smartly speaks incorrect English is teacher of Bengali literature and the teacher who smartly speaks incorrect Bengali is definitely an English teacher.” The truth lurking behind the joke is also unmistakable in many other walks of life and that is why we find one ex-executive in the business and management world with questionable knowledge and acumen in the spiritual domain did not hesitate to evaluate the spiritual world with a materialistic yardstick. Moreover, with that erroneous outlook he indulged in passing a delirious verdict about one of the most respected spiritual personalities of the day and then disseminated the same to the cyber world in the style of delivering an expert opinion.

In a democratic country everyone has liberty to pass opinion. We are not going to argue about that. What I like to emphasize is that any opinion, which someone is fascinated to make public, should at least be flawless. That is why I find a purported oppugning imperative. Now, let us discuss the faux pas ab initio.

It was fourth week of November 2012. One of our guru brothers rang Guruji. In the course of the phone conversation that guru brother came to know that Guruji was unaware of his father’s death. At this ignorance, he went berserk. His father’s death took place 17 days earlier, but Guruji did not know about it! He became confident about Guru’s dearth of supernatural powers to perceive past, present or future. He could remember some of Guruji’s forebodings or premonitions which he found not yet materialized. From this data he concluded that his Guru was not a SadGuru. After this revelation he could not delay any more to intimate the world about his discovery.

My guru brother misconstrued the role of SadGuru. But it was an imbroglio for me. My idiosyncrasy is not to interfere in any personal opinion, whatsoever. But when I find anyone with spurious knowledge of scriptures and spirituality is producing some inane opinion which makes others confused, I cannot but make overtures with my entire mite to reveal the truth, hence, this dissertation.

I recalled an episode from page 201 in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Further reading of the same episode instantly quelled my umbrage. I was happy to discover the fact that my gurubrother was not a solitary exception. Even 130 years ago there were people who thought along the same line! I cannot resist the temptation of quoting the relevant portion. Here it is:

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April 1883. Manilal Mallick, a businessman returned from Benaras.

Sri Ramkrishna asked him, “Did you see any holy men there?”

Manilal: “Yes sir. I paid respects to TrailangaSwami, Bhaskarananda and others.”

Master: “Tell us something about them.”

Manilal: “TrailangaSwami is living in the same temple where he lived before on the

Manikarnika Ghat near the Benimadhab Minaret. People say he was formerly in a more

exalted spiritual state. He could perform many miracles. Now he has lost much of that

power.”

Master: “That is the criticism of worldly people.” (Underlined by article’s author)

From the aforesaid conversation it becomes clear that we worldly people are often allured by incantations, miraculous activities or supernatural powers. We did not spare even the legendary monk, TrailangaSwami, when it was found that he preferred to abstain from exhibiting supernatural powers. Not only TrailangaSwami but also Swami Nigamananda Saraswati, Bisuddhananda Saraswati (the Perfume Saint of Autobiography of a Yogi, Ch.5) and many other saints and sages with whose names exhibition of supernatural power and activities is inextricably juxtaposed, preferred to do away with the same in the later part of their mortal lives. When questioned about this abstinence, they frankly admitted that these activities did not help anyone in spiritual progress. Hence redundancy. But this banality is unacceptable to us. We, the so called worldly people, the materialistic multitude, start conjecturing about decadence of their holiness. The question obviously arises, “Will supernatural power be considered the hallmark of a SadGuru?” Again, if a SadGuru, around whom supernatural power and activities flaunt from time to time does not display the same in one or two cases; will he be extirpated of his honor simply for that reason?

Like a slow unfolding of rich tapestries, one after another, some other incidents started flashing in my mind.

The first incident I recapitulated involved the man who introduced me to Guruji. It was Sri Amitansu Roy, the renowned Sanskrit scholar. When Sri Amitansu Roy himself first met Guruji, he was accompanied by one of his colleagues, a highly spiritual person, who had been practicing celibacy for quite some time. Seeing that man, Guruji said, “You have to marry someday.” The man became angry and did not visit Guruji again. But 19 years after that incident, at the age of 59 he got married.

Spring1980: I, with revered teacher Sri Amitansu Roy and some gurubrothers from Siliguri were staying at the ashram for the night. We were planning to form an association of guru brothers and sisters. Like a soliloquy during supper I heard Guruji uttering, “Smelling robbery…Yes, it is robbery,” then He joined our conversation. We did not understand what Guruji was implicating. However, we took food and slept. In the early morning we boarded a bus to return home. We travelled for nearly one kilometer from the ashram and arrived at a bus stop named Kalitala. In utter dismay we found some dead bodies lying about here and there. There also was an unusually large crowd for that early in the morning. We asked someone what was up. He related that it was an act of robbery. The villagers caught them red handed and they were beaten to death. I remembered what Gurudeva was murmuring during supper. I also remembered Lahiri Baba and how a shipwreck incident in the ocean near Japan became tangible to him!

Another incident: At one time, Guruji had neither a ration card nor any voter id. When one of our guru brothers said, “You have no identity to prove your citizenship. You should get it,” Guruji was convinced and applied for those papers. After much effort He got them. Then

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came our general election. We said, as a citizen of state you should exercise your voting right. Initially He was not interested, but later He agreed to exercise His franchise. He selected a candidate, voted for him and said, like a child, “You will see, he will win.” We knew as per political analysis that guy had very little chance of winning. As we expected, on the day results were declared, the name of his opponent was announced as the winner. But Guruji was confident and emphatically said, “Some mistake is somewhere. Don’t worry. The announcer will soon apologize and declare the name of the winner.” When the subsequent news bulletin announced that news, we were left speechless.

Haruda’s passing: We must not miss mentioning Haru Jetty. It was March 1981. After the Foundation Day Ceremony, Guruji left the ashram and went to Siliguri in North Bengal to stay for a few months. No one knew when He would return. After nearly a fortnight Guruji suddenly arrived at the ashram because Haruda was lying on his death bed. It was Haruda who brought Guruji to the village of Jujersa and gave Him shelter. Haruda had very eagerly been aspiring to touch the feet of Guruji before crossing the bar. From Siliguri Guruji went straight to the house of Haruda and said, “Haru, I have come for you. Touch my feet.” Haruda did as He said and then left the mortal frame. We must remember telephones were a rarity in those days, but the sincere call from Haruda’s interior reached the proper place.

Another incident involved gurubrother Biswanath Sengupta’s escape from the December 2008 tsunami in Chennai. Since this event is already known to all by the help of the cyber world, I am not going to repeat it. But my point d’appui is that these episodes are not cock and bull stories. Many witnesses to these incidents are still alive and moving around us.

Now let us shift the paradigm to considering whether ignorance about the death of somebody nullifies a Guru’s credentials to be a SadGuru. Here I can cite several examples. The first involved Krian Chand Darbesh, a disciple of revered Sri Bijoy Krishna Goswami. Darbeshji was a SadGuru of the last century. He came to the home of one of his disciples and stayed there for the night. In another room in the same house a child died. The disciple’s family performed funeral rites silently, keeping all bereavements pent up lest Guruji’s sleep be disturbed. The next morning when Darbeshji learned what had happened he was surprised. Here the disciples’ actions may be regarded as one of the highest examples of guruseva. But, why did Darbeshji remain ignorant of such an incident which took place just in the next room?! The entire spiritual world respects Darbeshji as a great SadGuru of the last century.

We can also look at the life of Swami Vivekananda. While travelling through South India, one night Swami Vivekananda had a bad dream and became anxious about his mother’s health. After some time he met a pisachsiddha (occult practitioner) who assured him about his mother’s health and said that in the morning Swamiji would receive a letter regarding his mother’s health. It happened exactly so. Now, may I ask who will deserve respect as a SadGuru, the occult practitioner or Swami Vivekananda?

If forebodings or premonitions are regarded as one of the essential criteria for designation as a SadGuru, then also I have something to say. I am again quoting from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Here Adhar says, “May I ask if Narendra would accept a job?” and Sri Ramakrishna answers, “Yes, he would. He has his mother, brothers and sisters to support.” We know Narendra did not receive any job to support his brothers, sisters and mother. To be precise, he worked for just a few months. Will we count the same here?

Reading the biography of Sadhu Naag Mahasaya we learn that Lokenath Brahmachari once had a foreboding that Naag Mahasaya would die of blood vomiting in just seven days. But he did not. As a SadGuru, Lokenath Baba’s rating is quite high; then why this misfire? For nearly similar incidents of failure one can refer to spiritual personalities like respected

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Ramdas Kathia Baba or Sri Shyamacharan Lahiri Mahasaya. Shall we raise questions about their credentials as SadGuru?

There are specific courses and curricula in Tantra for various supernatural powers and activities. By such powers one can see invisible things including the future, go to inaccessible places or do many miraculous activities and the like. In course of intense spiritual practice, a sadhaka may also come across some such powers. It is always said that if a sadhaka, before reaching the destination, pays more importance to these types of powers and activities, his or her spiritual development is destined to be disturbed; but we, the denizens of the material world, think in a different line. We measure a sadhaka with his or her capacity to perform supernatural activities. Nothing can be more fatuous than that. An example may be cited here. At a certain age every man grows some beard and mustache but to measure manhood by the length and breadth of beards and mustaches is definitely not an intelligent endeavor.

Sri Ramakrishna alludes supernatural power or ‘siddhai’ to defecation of a prostitute. Notwithstanding all such disparaging remarks, what we observe is that occurrence of miraculous or supernatural incidents is not infrequent in the life of most spiritual personalities. In the Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali, the chapter entitled Bibhuti Pada deals with the rationale of metaphysical mysteries known as ‘siddhai’. This appears paradoxical, but the bathos is not as enigmatic as we think. True, an aspirant sadhaka is often beckoned with esoteric aspects, but if the sadhaka can ignore such temptations, he can reach his destination safely. Only those sadhakas who surrender completely and absolutely to Guru can overcome temptations such as these. Obviously, after attaining Self-Realization these sadhakas do not develop any penchant for supernatural power and activities. Yet the radiance of divinity delved in them by that time remains inescapable. That is why supernatural aspects remain attached with their existence and flash forth whenever and wherever necessary. Sometimes the sadhaka herself or himself, remains ignorant about the happenings revolving round their existence. But what is true is that these blessings shower only on those who pray, beseech sincerely, are devoted or surrendered exclusively.

I was reading a biography of Radharaman Charan Das Babaji, one of the famous Vaisnab Saints of Bengal. It was written by Jibankrishna Das, his disciple. He was talking about Nabadwipda, one of his senior guru brothers. One morning very early Nabadwipda prepared the oven for cooking, chopped vegetables like potato, aubergine, etc. and started cooking a hot dish. Everyone was surprised because the time for bhog (food offering to the deity) was at 11 am. They could not resist the temptation of asking Nabadwipda what he was doing. He said, “Today I will offer this preparation to the deity before 8 am because Guruji is returning from Cuttack. He will be hungry and will ask for this type of food preparation. You know he would never take food other than prasad (food offered to deity).”

Nabadwipda prepared everything he desired and offered the same to deity and then asked other guru brothers to prepare the regular/ usual meal for the deity. In no time Guruji came and said, “I am hungry. Last night I had no meal. But you probably will not be able to offer bhog to deity before 11 am.” The guru sister in charge of distribution of Prasad said, “You please sit down. Everything is ready.” He said, “I am feeling a desire to get a hot dish prepared with vegetables like potato, aubergine, drumstick, etc. If you can prepare something like that, then I can sit.” She said, “Yes, yes, you will get the same, just after you sit.” Guruji was surprised and asked, “How could you offer bhog at 8 am and with exactly the same ingredients I was wishing for when I left Cuttack?” At the same time a thought came in his mind and he asked, “Is there Nabadwip here? No one except him can read my mind.” The sister answered, “Yes, it is all done by him.” He was now satisfied and ate. Everyone started discussing “Whatever thought rose in the mind of Gurudeva, its resonance reached

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the interior of Nabadwipda? How deep was Nabadwipda’s devotion!” In Chapter 19 of Autobiography of a Yogi a similar incidence of telepathy is mentioned.

Many times it is also seen that spontaneous effusion of powerful feelings acts as a precursor of supernatural exposition. I can cite another example: A few months ago my mother injured her leg. Such types of trauma to an octogenarian, we know, are always dangerous. I became anxious. Suddenly Guruji phoned and asked, “How is your mother?” I said, “She has got an injury but now I know she is going to be okay.” Later I asked Him, “How could you know?” Why not always and in all cases do we find these things to happen? Through interaction with Him what transpired to me is that no sincere prayer ever fails to reach its destination. My mother is absolutely devoted, so her feelings touched Him.

It also can happen without prayer. One who has full control over one’s mental faculty can know about anything or any person by deep concentration over the subject. For more than 35 years I have been accompanying Guruji. During that time, I have seen such things so often that recording them would take the shape of a big tome. Again, on many occasions Guruji appears to be completely ignorant about something. After enquiry and close observation what I could understand is that it depends on Guruji’s impetus to shift His mind to those matters which He does not consider imperative. He has placed His mind with His deity. He does not like to shift it to other places unless intensely urged (e.g. by prayer from or an impending danger to a disciple, etc.). Rather it can be said that supernatural activities are not His favorite playthings. He gives more emphasis on doing Kriya vis-à-vis Self-Realization.

We can remember Sri Ramakrishna again. Someone earned a magical power of walking above the waves of a river. Sri Ramakrishna reprimanded him and said that it was a power worth one penny because by just giving one penny to the ferry man one can easily cross the river. Similarly, why will it be necessary to exert supernatural power for a message which one can get simply by ringing a phone? Our Guruji considers such types of unnecessary administration of yogic powers superfluous.

Our target was to assess the criterion by which those of us in the material world could give passing marks to a SadGuru. With Biblical knowledge from John 8:7 “He that is without sin among you, let him first caste a stone” I would never dare to do so. But, the renowned humorist and educator, Stephen Leacock encouraged me. He said people living in glass houses can also freely throw stones if they want to scare away other enthusiasts (ref. Old Proverbs Made New). Even then I find it a really difficult task. Being deeply imbibed in the materialistic world, what I find is that I really cannot measure one who at a tender age renounced every materialistic attachment in search of Self-Realization and finally achieved it after utmost endeavor. I am not a realized person in the truest sense of the term. How can I evaluate one who is realized? Will it not be like what we find on page 739 in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: “A man asked a seller of eggplants [what was] the value of a diamond. He said, ‘I can give nine seers [kilograms] of eggplant in exchange and not one more.’”

What we must always remember is that a SadGuru is not a self-styled personality. In most of the cases he is selected by His Guru, to be precise, by another SadGuru. About this selection we cannot raise any question. In other words, doubting a SadGuru’s credentials is tantamount to doubting the lineage. Can we do that? On the other hand it will be perfect idiocy to render assessment based on the occult power he acquired or by the accuracy of his forebodings given to every individual. Here it also may be found that in some stray cases one may not find these features effective but there might be numerous occasions where this feature was tremendously successful. Of course, for that purpose also, a devoted disciple is always better placed, compared to one whose devotion is questionable.

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A SadGuru selects His successor on the basis of his capacity to guide others in the path of sadhana. It is the disciple who, in terms of our Guruji, performs “Kriya with full devotion to Guru” that becomes successful. In other words, only a perfect disciple transforms into a successful SadGuru. It will be pertinent here to quote some passages from SadGurubani Question 5:

“Guru is not confined only to his physical body. He is gagansadrisha or like the

limitless sky. He is God’s ethereal manifestation and beyond all attributes. Sometimes

a resonance of compassion develops in Him to save humanity from being lost in

materialistic pursuits. Then for the salvation of mankind, the Supreme Being Himself

appears through the lineage of Gurus. Therefore, the body of the Guru is a conduit. The

Cosmic Consciousness manifests using the physical body. This Cosmic Consciousness

does not appear hundred percent in everyone. In some cases, it is ten percent. In some

cases it is twenty five or fifty percent. Whenever this Cosmic Consciousness is present

one hundred percent, Guru manifests Himself and that body becomes pranamya

(worthy of respectful salutations). The starting point of meditation is the physical frame

of the Guru. In the advanced state, the object of meditation is the astral form of light.

After meditation is over, the physical frame of the Guru once again becomes the point

of devotion.

Elucidation: When an individual exhausted by material pursuits craves salvation and

sincerely prays and cries; the Supreme Self out of compassion appears before him in

the form of a Guru. When the majority of a nation or a community develops a craving

for something like this, God appears in the form of a Jagatguru, a Rishi or a Messiah

to establish a new religious path and to grace the world through the power of Jnana or

Self-Realization.

God Himself is the primordial Guru. He comes to the world to save mankind. He

liberates those who seek refuge in Him through the GuruParampara (lineage of

enlightened Masters). Vyasadeva is the first avatar of Gurushakti (power or energy of

Guru). Vyasadeva was also the first apostle of JnanaShakti (power of spiritual

wisdom).

After Him, the Gurushakti got transmitted through GuruParampara. Everyone cannot

be the carrier of Gurushakti. Only the chosen ones receive the Gurushakti. The

Gurushakti spreads far and wide through a Guru. The purpose of incarnation of a

SadGuru is to spread Gurushakti and thus to salvage the worthy souls. Guru is the

Absolute in the human frame. A disciple fails to develop Jnana (spiritual wisdom)

until or unless he can discern the Supreme Self in the frame of his Guru. The more the

disciple is convinced, the more he becomes blessed with the grace of Guru or God. In

order to attain spiritual wisdom, the disciple should be calm, serene, humble, and

eagerly desire to serve and follow whatever his Guru advises. The seeker must

constantly endeavor to be a good disciple. Everything can be achieved by sincere

practice of good discipleship. A disciple always remembers the presence of his Guru in

the kutustha. The disciple’s existence remains always charged with the aura of his

Guru. One can feel Guru’s presence within by the placement of prana or life-force in

the kutustha through pranayama techniques taught by one’s SadGuru. The spiritual

practice of a disciple must be with his Guru in his mind.

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A total and absolute surrender is a must. The disciple often understands that the Guru

resides in his interior and is developing him in the spiritual path. Mere initiation does

not mean one has got a Guru. Until one can identify Guru as the primal God, one’s

spiritual attainment remains inconclusive or incomplete. Although Guru is not confined

to His physical frame, the physical frame is no less one’s object of worship. The

Supreme Reality is nestling within the physical frame of the Guru. There is only one

Guru, the Absolute - “Atma boi Gururekah.” In other words, God is the primordial

Guru. Therefore, one cannot criticize anyone else’s Guru. After having a Guru as a

mentor, the disciple has to offer him tanu, mon, dhon and bani. Although tanu means

the physical body, offering tanu implies dedication of oneself to the service of one’s

Guru. Mon means the mind. Thinking of Guru as the Absolute or God leads to offering

mon. Dhon means wealth. One’s earning becomes meaningful if it is offered to the

Guru. Offering bani implies offering sincere words of praise and salutations to one’s

Guru. After a disciple offers all these things, the Guru's work begins. There is no rest

for the Guru until His disciple is liberated.” (Ref. SadGurubani Question # 5)

The rigmarole that our ex-executive brother presented was appalling to many of our guru brothers and sisters. It was highly disingenuous to one whose spirituality, divinity and dexterity in imparting Kriya Yoga as well as Self-Realization has been proved unquestionable by the test of time. I was searching for the inner reason. What may be the cue that can goad a disciple to hurl down such pesky parlance to the impeccable personality of a SadGuru? Swami Nigamananda Saraswati, one of the most respectable SadGurus of the last century, gave me the answer. I am quoting page 6 from Nigamananda Kathamrita, written by Swami Premananda Saraswati:

“Do not accept my utterances on face value. I do not always utter the same. On

different occasions I speak of different cogitations. All my disciples are not on the

same track. They have different mindsets also. But I need to speak for all. Hence I need

to talk of different cogitations. You have to receive only that portion of my advice by

which your cogitation can be nurtured. Otherwise there will be anarchy in the state of

cogitation.

Many persons go to sadhus (apostles of spirituality) for advice. There are persons who

go to sadhus for reasons other than spirituality. But, if those persons find that spiritual

personality not conducive to their idea or ideal, they give a bad name to that sadhu. It is

really very difficult to perceive a sadhu simply by common sense or intellect. A person

who has not yet been able to sublimate his or her personal self to the state of a sadhu,

can never perceive a sadhu properly. To be precise, his or her assessment or evaluation

in such a case is bound to culminate in utter fiasco. What does a sadhu say, when and

why, is not so easy to understand. Even then someone, not realizing the essence of the

sadhu’s utterances, may arbitrarily frame some unfavorable opinion. The outcome will

always be frustrating and devastating.”

After reading this quote, I had to pause and ponder. Yes, my gurubrother came to Guruji not for Self-Realization. He came for something else. Among my guru brothers and sisters there are many to whom materialistic needs are contrived more essential than Self-Realization, but I have not seen any of them slandering Gurudeva as an arch enemy. Searching intently I discovered another factor. It was ego.

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Quoting again from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, “In front of the door of God’s mansion lies the stump of ego. One cannot enter the mansion without jumping over the stump.”(Pg.

790) This ego makes surrender to God or Guru difficult. Without surrender, gnan (spiritual

wisdom) and bhakti (devotion) fail to flourish in the interior of the sadhaka. Without a combination of gnan, bhakti and karma (action or Kriya) spiritual development remains impossible. Swami Bhabanandaji, our ParamGuru said:

“A bird can fly by the help of two wings and a tail. Similarly one can attain Self-

Realization by a combination of the three, gnan, bhakti and karma. Without gnan and

bhakti, pranayama is simply a breathing exercise and nothing else.”

There is another point to ponder. If we consider biswarup darsan or exposition of cosmic appearance as the supreme example of supernatural power, then also another argument stands inevitable. Can every one perceive all such supernatural aspects properly? We know, apart from Arjuna there was another guy to whom God Krishna showed his cosmic form. Yes, it was Duryodhana, who wanted to imprison Krishna when Krishna, before the battle of Kurukshetra, came to the court of Dhritarastra as emissary of the Pandavas. Seeing Krishna’s multidimensional appearance Duryodhana was not at all impressed, though Dhritarastra, his father, was overwhelmed. Duryodhana rather called it an act of sorcery.

We know activities of God or Guru are understandable only to those who are successful in pruning their ego. Duryodhana’s proliferated pride dissuaded him from perceiving God’s omnipotence. We are also witness to numerous unexplainable activities of omnipotence and omniscience performed by Guruji, consciously or unconsciously, from time to time. But, as water flows from the upper to the lower surface, we also find only extremely devoted disciples are blessed with these gifts of compassion, whereas people with inflated ego remain myopic to others, even to a Guru or SadGuru.

To conclude we are quoting from Sri Rama Gita, where a differentiation between a Guru and SadGuru is done. Let us read the Sanskrit first:

“Adousvavarnasrama varnitah kriah

Kritva samasadita suddhamanasah

Samapya tat purvamupattasadhanah

Samasrayet sadgurumatmalabdhaye.” Sri Rama Gita, Sloka 7

Interpretation of these lines is very nicely done by Sri Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath, one of the most respected SadGurus of the last century. Here is a translation of that interpretation in English:

“After performing all worldly duties and activities in accordance with one’s station of

life when the inner self gets purified, then for Self-Realization one has to reach for a

SadGuru. The guru whose help one seeks for development of transitory worldly

necessities is called guru [e.g. vidyaguru or school/college teacher, sangit guru or music

teacher, etc.] but the guru to whom a disciple goes for Self-Realization is a SadGuru.”

To be precise, supernatural powers, the power to forecast, etc. are not considered essential in the syllabus of Self-Realization. On the contrary, a guru from any other discipline, an occult practitioner or even an astrologer may acquire such capacities, and almost always these capacities are utilized for worldly gains. A SadGuru may or may not play with such powers but He is far above all these metaphysical aspects. Nowhere in the scriptures are

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these aspects considered prerogative of a SadGuru. In other words, an absence of all these aspects cannot dismantle a SadGuru from His halo of divinity.

Thus I find that our guru brother’s view about SadGuru is purely his personal view. Our scriptures do not corroborate with what he thinks. The question is how we can give more importance to a personal view when we find scriptures say something different? Rather let us pray for him. Let us pray so that he may be free from woes, so that right views dawn on him, so that he finds his existence meaningful with all pervading blessings of SadGuru.

Synopsis

1. Supernatural power and Self-Realization are not synonyms. 2. Self-Realization does not develop from the practice of supernatural activities. 3. Supernatural activities do not lead to Self-Realization. 4. One who is bereft of Self-Realization can freely inculcate supernatural powers, but,

such persons are not respected by the spiritual world as SadGuru. 5. A realized person may also have supernatural power without any extra effort but his

SadGuruship does not and must not depend on the same. 6. On many occasions supernatural activities are seen to veer round a realized person. He

or she may not be conscious about the same. 7. A spiritually developed disciple gets his soul tuned with the SadGuru. The SadGuru

also remains in the know of events related with the disciple. But, for that purpose the disciple needs his heart and soul absolutely dedicated to the Guru.

8. Development in Kriya Yoga means overall development in gnan, bhakti and karma (pranayama). Otherwise development in pranayama is equal to better performance of breathing exercise.

9. Some are seen to scoff at Self-Realization and aspire after supernatural power from a SadGuru. They just prefer a glittering piece of glass to a piece of diamond.

10. In a moon blanched night, if a blind man cries hoarsely saying, “There is nothing called moon, nothing called sky,” we can just feel pity. If a boastful guy utters, “Sadhanananda Giri is not a SadGuru,” we just can pray, modifying a quote from the Bible (Luke 23:34) “Father, forgive him, for he knows not what he is doing.”

Editor’s Note: All individual articles and facts presented in articles are solely the opinion of the authors. The

authors’ views or facts may or may not reflect the opinion or view of the Sadhanananda Kriya Yoga Fellowship.

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ParamGurudev’s Birthday Celebration Eugene, Oregon - April 20, 2013

By the grace of our beloved Gurudev, Miguel and I were humbly blessed to host the April 2013 SKYF satsang in our new home in Eugene, Oregon. The occasion was a celebration of ParamGuru Sri Bhabananda Giri's abirbhab (auspicious birthday).

The altar that was assembled with loving devotion for the satsang exuded such a profound energy that still to this day I feel a deep introspection fall upon me as I recollect the altar’s beauty and presence. The weekend was filled with Kriya practice, a reading of our ParamGurudev’s life story and a group call to Guruji. Hearing Guruji’s voice in our new home was the highlight for me. Still today His love and energy radiates through and blesses our humble home. We humbly thank you for all your blessings, dear Gurudev.

Annette and Miguel Estevez

SKYF Organization Updates

Past 2013 SKYF Events: Two SKYF events have been held in 2013. The first on March 9 in Campbell, California celebrated Shivaratri. The second, on April 20 in Eugene. Oregon, celebrated ParamGuru Swami Bhabananda Giri’s Birth Tithi.

Upcoming 2013 SKYF Events: SKYF will celebrate GuruPurnima in Sausalito, California on July 20th and on October 12th will commemorate Sri Gurudev’s Birth Tithi in Baltimore, Maryland. SKYF events are held on the Saturday closest to the Jujersha Ashram events.

SKYF NEWSLETTER: SKYF encourages articles and feedback from the readers. Those who wish to send articles to the newsletter may do so by submitting their article along with a

passport sized photo to: info@sadhansangit.org. SKYF will make the final determination about if and when articles are published and may edit articles prior to publication. Comments, questions, and subscription enquiries can also be submitted to the same email address.

Contents of this newsletter are the property of the Sadhanananda Kriya Yoga Fellowship Inc. (SKYF), a registered New Jersey nonprofit organization.