Gfc!3122Year 16 Issue 8

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

In This Issue

1. Vedanta Section: Atma Bodha - Shloka-27

2. Letter Section: Is Buddha a Vishnu Avatar

3. Devata Section: Narmada Jayanti

4. Katha Section: Kubera’s Feast

5. VM Programs: Mission / Ashram Progs

From Poojya Guruji

Vedanta SandeshSpreading Love & Light

Monthly eMagazine of theInternational Vedanta Mission

Sharing the message of Vedanta and Sanatan Dharma

Feb 2011

On the Net since 1995

Started by:

Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji

Editor:

Swamini Samatananda

Published from:

Vedanta Ashram

E/2948-50, Sudama Nagar

Indore-452 009, India

Web:

www.vmission.org.in

Email:

vmission@gmail.com

Hari om!

Yagna-bhava is highly glorified in Gita. Orginally revealed in Vedas, yagna-bhava is that art of doing karma which not only helps to invoke the best in us,but also therefore assures the best returns in terms of getting the desired fruitsof action. It is not merely getting the desired fruits of actions but more impor-tantly getting that fruit with the love, pleasure & resolve of the giver. Wheneveractions are performed with yagna-bhava the priority is the happiness of somereverential one with all the love & respect they deserve. From the point of viewof the devotee it is an act of getting a place in their heart rather than anythingelse, rest is the natural & inevitable consequence of this. So the devotee justserves in the best way they can, keeping aside their likes or dislikes, and work-ing simply as per the pleasure of their master. When the ignorant and incom-petent ones ‘want’ something then the anxiety is inevitable, because the fruit ofaction is not assured, and it is burden all the way; but when the knowledgableand competent ones ‘resolve to give’ something, then not only the result isassured but the whole exercise is not a burden to any of the two concerned,the reciever is rather blessed & gratified by the showering love of someonegreat. Bhagwan Sri Krishna compares this art of karma with a wish-fulfillingcow, wherein nothing shall ever remain impossible.

A student goes to a teacher and serves him so as to just get a place in his heartby his sincerity, sraddha and service. Thats all. Thereafter the teacher expresseshis love & feelings for his own beloved in the best way he can - by giving thatwhich is his true love & tapasya, his knowledge. The student is already tunedto him, and respects all what the teacher stands for. There is no worry in thestudent, he is at the masters disposal, and the master looks upon the need ofthe student as his own need, and gives out his heart & soul to the student,rather than the student worrying about it. So in yagna-bhava one has someinspiring & glorious person or devata in his/her life, and just has to serve himso as to become a recipient of his love. He aspires for a place in his heartrather than anything else. What follows is the expression of the blessings ofthe master, in his own way so as to efface the vacuum of something in the lifeof his dear student. One can inculcate the spirit of yagna-bhava in any sphereof life. No wonder Bhagwan Krishna in Gita Chapter 4, suggests incorporationand application of yagna-bhava in all ‘actions’, whether it is invoking the bless-ings of god, studying, meditating, eating, drinking, yoga etc. This needs to bebasis of every healthy relationship too, you give out your best for the well-beingof others, and let it be the freedom & discretion of the other to give you the bestthey can, in the way they can. Relationships of self-centered expectations andcompulsions are the very anti-thesis of Yagna-bhava.

Love & om,

Swami Atmananda

Vedanta Section

Atma Bodha - Shloka 27

Rajju sarpavat atmanam:The Acharya explains that just as sometimes

in the absence of full light one mistakes a rope to

be a snake so too in the absence of real knowl-

edge of the Atman(Self) the Atman is superim-

posed with the identity of the Jiva and this Jiva

thus becomes subject to various fears and in-

securities. Let us analyse this example:

A man is walking at night through a jungle.

There is some light of the moon, making the

place vaguely visible. In such a situation when it

is neither totally dark nor it is fully lit up, it is an

ideal situation for imagination or misunderstand-

ing. As the man walks in the dim light he cannot

clearly see what lies ahead of him, this igno-

rance of what lies in front of him makes him imag-

ine the rope to be a snake. Once he imagines

Vedanta Sandesh - Feb 2011

Fear a product of baseless Self-Perception

Rajju sarpavadatmanam Jivo gyatva bhayam vahet

Naham Jiavah Paramatmeti gyatashchet nirbhayo bhavet

Rajjusarpavat: Like in the case of Rope & Snake example; Atmanam: the Self; Jivo Gyatva:taking it as a limited individual; Bhayam Vahet: carries the burden of Fear; Naham Jivah: I am

not this individuality; Paramatmeti: but Paramatma; Gyatah chet: If someone knows like this;

Abhayo Bhavet: He shall become fearless.

Mistaking oneself to be a mere individual, like taking a rope as serpent, one is subject to

fear. Gaining the knowledge that ‘I am not a Jiva, but Paramatman, one becomes fearless.

27

that there is a snake, immediately fear takes

over. Fear of being bitten by the snake, fear of

dying, further fear and imagination of his family

being orphaned and so on and so forth. One

wrong and imagined notion of seeing the rope

as a snake leads to a chain of wrong and imagi-

nary notions leading to fear and anxiety. The

Master explains that similar is the situation in

case of the Atman. Ignorance of the true nature

of the Self brings about imagined and superim-

posed identity of the Self as being the Jiva i.e.

the limited Individual Self.

Jivo gyatva bhayam vahet:The wrong notion of knowing the Atman

to be a Jiva brings about fear. Jiva is a limited

and individualistic state of existence. When we

In the previous sloka the Acharya explained that the Atman is of the nature of pure conscious-

ness and that there is no sense of doership in the Atman. The intellect being inert also has no independent

pottential to become conscious of anything. Yet the Jiva(the individual self), ignorantly conceives itself to

be the doer, seer etc.

In the following sloka the Acharya explains the grave consequences one faces by imagining the

Self to be a Jiva, a limited being. All the sufferings of Samsara, fear and anxiety are born once we see

ourselves as a limited Jivah with a sense of doership and enjoyership. But knowing the Self to be a Jiva is

only born ot of ignorance and imagination and can be effaced with the right knowledge is explained in the

following sloka.

Page # 5

see ourselves as a limited being, identified with

the Body, Mind and Intellect it gives birth to a

seeker with a sense of doership and enjoyership.

This entity with an individualistic identity is known

as a Jiva. A Jiva’s biography is all about con-

stant seeking of happiness in worldly experi-

ences outside him. Life becomes a constant

struggle to work for and attain joyful moments

which are not only dependant on constantly do-

ing something but also gaining experiences

which are very momentary. It is a journey of ups

and downs, of joys and sorrows as one some-

times successfully gets what one wishes for and

at times fails to fulfill his desires. Life is a con-

stant struggle to gain and sustain. Such a

mindset obviously invites fear, pain, insecurity,

and attachment. A Jiva pays a heavy price for

his wrong convictions about himself and the

world. But the silver lining in this scenario is that

the existence of a jiva is imaginary since it is

brought about by ignorance. Therefore once a

person unveils this curtain of ignorance and gets

the true vision of himself he is liberated from

this bondage of ignorance-desire and constant

seeking to fulfill these desires. This is explained

in the following part of the sloka.

Naham jivah paramatmeti:

I am not the Jiva but the Supreme, eter-

nal, pure consciousness and blissful Self is the

realisation that dawns having gained knowledge.

The Jiva is an imaginary entity born out of igno-

rance. It is a reflection of this Supreme Con-

sciousness, the identity of which is super-im-

posed on the Real Self. The Real Self is

Parmatma that which is ‘Param’. The scriptures

explain Param as that which is free of the limita-

tions of Time, Space and Objectivity.

Gyatashchennirbhayo bhavet:As light dispels darkness and along with it

the mistaken notion of a rope to be a serpent, so

too knowledge dispels ignorance and the mis-

taken notion of seeing the Self as a limited Jiva.

Knowledge alone frees oneself of the shackles of

seeking. No amount of action and its consequent

achievements, can liberate us from the sense of

limitation. Shabda alone is the means to libera-

tion. Once a person realises the limitations of

acquiring happiness through worldly actions and

achievements then alone such a person becomes

qualified for knowledge. Right knowledge is then

brought about by an authentic Preceptor and the

teachings of Vedanta. The study of vedanta alone

reveals one is not the Jiva but the ominipresent,

omnipotent and the omniscient one. As long as

one sees himeself to be the Body, mind and intel-

lect one will be constantly subject to fear and in-

security, but when this limited being is seen to be

the immaculate Supreme, then one is free from

all fear and entanglements. The knowledge of

Vedanta effaces all misapprehensions, dropping

the identity of the Jiva and illumines the self as

the limitless and blissful being.

Such an awakened one also lives in this

same world, amidst the same play of the objec-

tive world, amidst the highs and lows of situations

but he lives as Lord Krishna says in the Gita as

‘Atmani eve atman tushtah-He lives satisfied

within his ownself. He does not fear being a part

of the magnanimous play of objects, situations

and people nor does he get hooked on to any-

thing with attachemnt. There is nothing for him

that is unattained because he has discovered the

joy of all experiences within is ownself.

What is swarg?

American salary,

British house,

Chinese food,

Indian wife.

What is narak?

American wife,

British food,

Chinese house,

Indian salary.

Heaven & Hell Defined

Hari Om.

Thanks for the New Year Greeting. My blessings to you all too for a

happy and enlightening year ahead.

Regarding your query about Buddha, I discussed the matter with Poojya

Guruji, and as per our understanding the resolving of such an issue is

as follows: While it is right that the Puranas do refer to Buddha as one

of the avatars of Bhagwan Vishnu, but ‘Gautam’ Buddha was apparently

not that avatar, he did some very good & great things in his lifetime, but

was certainly not a spokesman of Sanatan Dharma, on the contrary he

was a founder of non-vedic Dharma, now known as Buddhism.

In order to understand this issue properly it is necessary to appreciate

two points nicely: 1. The Principle of Avatar 2. Some facts about Buddha.

1. Regarding the first issue of Avatar please understand that an avatar

is that divine manifestation of God which, one, ‘destroys adharma’,

and two, re-establishes Dharma (Ref. Gita Chap-4). However all

avataras do not necessarily accomplish both these tasks. Most of them

are very short lived manifestations who by their divine intervention just

destroy some extremely powerful forces of adharma. This is specially

true in cases like Narsimha avatar etc. The avataras which not only

destroy Adharma but also establish Dharma are called 'Poorna Avatars'

- like Bhagavan Ram and Krishna. So the shastras use this Avatar

word in a very broad manner. Buddha avatar was also one of those

avatars which merely helped in the negation of adharma at some point

in time. The first Buddha avatar did negate thoughtless, mechanical &

blind ritualism, and thus indirectly facilitated the establishment of Vedic

Dharma. As that earlier Buddha did not negate Vedic dharma but just

negated adharma, he very well qualified to be called as one of the

avatars of Bhagwan Vishnu. The word ‘Buddha’ literally means the

'Awakened-One' and it is more of a generic word which has been used

many times in the Vedas, much before ‘Gautam’ Buddha came on the

scene. It is basically a sanskrit word which was apparently borrowed

by later Buddhist scholars etc to refer to their Master also.

Knowledge is all

about being aware

of the truth of what

is, while Yoga and

Bhakti aim to

change the mind for

the better, so

technically they fall

in the category of

karma, working to

change something.

For knowledge even

a sankalpa to

change anything is

an impediment,

because then our

priorities change

from knowing what

is to working for

what should be.

- Poojya Guruji

Is Buddha an Avatar?Letter of the

Month

As per our

understanding the

resolving of such

contention is as

follows: While it is

right that the

Puranas do refer to

Buddha as one of the

avatars of Bhagwan

Vishnu, but ‘Gautam’

Buddha was

apparently not that

avatar, he did some

very good & great

things in his lifetime,

but was certainly not

a spokesman of

Sanatan Dharma.

Vedanta Sandesh - Feb 2011

Page # 7

2. The Buddhist people themselves accept & declare that there have been many manifestations

of Buddha before ‘Gautam’ Buddha was born. Obviously Gautam Buddha was also a very

inspired, dynamic, compassionate & enlightened Master, and incidentally he also raised his

voice against mechanical, thoughtless ritualism which also included animal sacrifices. While

this aspect was common in earlier Buddhas also, but Gautam Buddha did something different

also, he started negating and condemning the Vedic religion. Not only Vedic religion but he

was against any kind of Philosophy as such. In his eight fold noble path he focuses more on

ethical values and mental purity, he did not encourage intellectual deliberations. The present

day Buddhism more often traces its antecedents to Gautam Buddha, rather than any of their

earlier Masters. Buddhism as a philosophy is indeed fundamentally different from the Vedic

Philosophy and therefore even at the time of Sri Adi Shankaracharya there were big debates

amongst scholars of Sanatan Dharma and Buddhism. A few years back there was a big

conference here in India between the Hindu and Buddhist Scholars and both of them later

said that Gautam Buddha was not the avatara which is referred to in the Puranas.

So in short please understand that the Buddha avatar referred to in the Puranas and which

was much earlier than Gautam Buddha was a different manifestation; but he also did not

directly establish the rule of Dharma but just worked to remove some of the negativities which

had cropped up in our religion. This helped a lot to again re-establish the rule of Vedic Dharma

by the existing Masters & Mahatmas of that time. So while we do respect any person with

compassion, magnanimity, austerity etc., but this by itself doesn’t qualify anyone to be called

as an Avatara – as per our tradition. I hope this additional information will help you to resolve

the issue.

Best wishes and love to all at home.

Love & om

Ten Avatara’s of Bhagwan Vishnu

1. Matsya (the fish)

2. Koorma (the tortoise)

3. Varaha (the boar)

4. Narasimha (the human-lion)

5. Vamana (the dwarf)

6. Parasurama (the angry man, Rama with an axe)

7. Lord Rama (the perfect man, king of Ayodha)

8. Lord Krishna (the divine statesman)

9. Buddha or Balarama (brother of Krishna)

10. Kalki (the mighty worrior)

Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009 Page # 10

Nar

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dau

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Shiv

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Vedanta Sandesh - Feb 2011

Narmada Jayanti

Narmada Jayanti is a religious festival marking the birthday of river Narmada. It

is celebrated with spectacular extravagance in Amarkantak and also in the bathing ghats

of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh. This great festival is observed during the month

of February.

The celebrations at Amarkantak continue through the day. At Hoshangabad, the

devotees float traditional oil lamps on the waters of the Narmada, from the sprawling

bathing ghats. Thousands of people attend the festival. This year Narmada Jayanti will

be celebrated on 10th of Feb 2011.

On the occassion of this pious festival let us see the glories of Maa Narmada:

The Narmada happens to be one of the most sacred of the five holy rivers of

India; the other four being Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari and Kaveri. It is believed that a

dip in any of these five rivers washes ones sins away. According to a legend, the river

Ganges is polluted by millions of people bathing in it. To cleanse herself, Ganges ac-

quires the form of a black cow and comes to the Narmada to bathe in its holy waters.

Legends also mention that the Narmada River is older than the river Ganges.

The Rewa Khand of Vayu Purana and the Rewa Khand of Skanda Purana are

entirely devoted to the story of the birth and the importance of the river and hence

Narmada is also called Rewa. According to the Puranas, the Narmada is also called the

Rewa, from its leaping motion (from the root 'rev') through its rocky bed.

There are many fables about the origin of the Narmada. According to one of

them, once Lord Shiva, the Destroyer of the Universe, meditated so hard that he started

perspiring. Shiva’s sweat accumulated in a tank and started flowing in the form of a river

– the Narmada. Another legend has it that two teardrops that fell from the eyes of Lord

Brahma, the Creator (*of the Universe, yielded two rivers – the Narmada and the Son.

Legends also say that for Lord Shiva, the Hindu God, the river is especially sa-

cred on account of its origin, and it is often called Shankari, i.e., daughter of Shankar

(Lord Shiva). All the pebbles rolling on its bed are said to take the shape of his emblem

with the saying, "Narmada Ke Kanker utte Sankar" (a popular saying in the Hindi belt of

India), which means that ‘pebble stones of Narmada gets a personified form of Shiva’.

Page # 9

These lingam shaped stones (cryptocrytalline quartz), called Banalinga also called

(Banashivalingas) are much sought after for daily worship by the Hindus. The

Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, constructed by Rajaraja Chola, has

one of the biggest Banalingas. Adi Shankara met his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada on

the banks of river Narmada.

Important religious places and Ghats along the course of the river, starting with its

origin at Narmadakhund at Amarkantak hill, are: a) the Amarkantak (in Sanskrit: Neck of

Shiva) or Teerathraj (the King of Pilgrimages), b) Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, and Mahadeo

temples, Nemawar Siddeshwar Mandir in the middle reach of the river – all named after

Shiva, c) Chausath Yogini (sixty four yoginis) temple, d) Chaubis Avatar temple, e) Bhojpur

Shiva temple and Bhrigu Rishi temple in Bharuch. The Narmada River is also worshipped

as mother goddess by Narmadeeya Brahmins.

The importance of the Narmada River as sacred is testified by the fact that the

pilgrims perform a holy pilgrimage of a Parikrama or Circumbulation of the river. The

Narmada Parikrama, as it is called, is considered to be a meritorious act that a pilgrim

can undertake. Many sadhus (saints) and pilgrims walk on foot from the Arabian Sea at

Bharuch in Gujarat, along the river, to the source in Maikal Mountains (Amarkantak hills)

in Madhya Pradesh and back along the opposite bank of the river. It is a 2,600-kilometre

(1,600 miles) walk. Important towns of interest in the valley are Jabalpur, Barwani,

Hoshangabad, Harda, Narmada Nagar, Omkareshwar, Dewas (Nemavar, Kity, Pipri),

Mandla and Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh, and Rajpipla and Bharuch in Gujarat. Some

places of historical interest are Joga Ka Quilla, Chhatri of Baji Rao Peshwa and Bhimbetka,

and among the falls are – Dugdhdhara, Dhardi falls, Bheraghat, Dhuandhara, Kapiladhara

and Sahastradhara.

During Lent, even in the locality of strict Catholics, Santa continued to

cook wonderful aromatic tandoori Chicken. His neighbours got very distracted

and finally approached the Church Priest, who decided to come over to Santa to

convert him to Christianity, and after few sittings he was successful to convert

him. Finally Santa attended the Mass. Sprinkling holy water on him, the priest

said, “You were born a Sikh, and raised a Sikh, but now dear, you are a Catholic.”

Come Friday, Santa was back to his delicious cooking, and the neighbours

were surprised. They peeped inside his house and were utterly amazed when

they saw Santa standing with a bottle of holy water, sprinkling the water on the

grilled chicken he was saying: “Oye, you waz born a chicken, you were raised a

chicken, but now dear…. you are a potato”!

Conversion Blues - Santa style

Vedanta Sandesh - Feb 2011

Wise Sage

There once was a wise sage who wandered the

countryside. One day, as he passed near a village, he

was approached by a woman who told him of a sick child

nearby. She beseeched him to help this child.

So the sage came to the village, and a crowd gath-

ered around him, for such a man was a rare sight. One

woman brought the sick child to him, and he said a prayer

over her.

“Do you really think your prayer will help her, when

medicine has failed?” yelled a man from the crowd.

“You know nothing of such things! You are a stupid

fool!” said the sage to the man.

The man became very angry with these words and

his face grew hot and red. He was about to say some-

thing, or perhaps strike out, when the sage walked over to

him and said: “If one word has such power as to make

you so angry and hot, may not another have the power to

heal?”

And thus, the sage healed two people that day.

Page # 13Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009

Kubera’s Feast

Page # 11

Once upon

a time ...

Stories fromPurana’s

Kubera, god of wealth, had become arrogant. One day he decided to host

an extravagant feast for the gods, such a feast as never had been hosted before.

It would increase his prestige and show all men and gods the extent of his wealth

and influence.

Accordingly, he went to Mount Kailash to invite Lord Shiva. Shiva was his patron.

Kubera owed all his wealth to Shiva who, pleased with his devotion had given him

the boon that his wealth would never diminish, no matter how much he spent.

Shiva declined to come but said he would send his son, Ganesha. Kubera was

disappointed. Shiva’s presence would have been a feather in his cap. But at least

he was sending Ganesha. It would have been a terrible snub if no one from the

family were to come. Kubera resolved to make the feast so grand that Shiva’s

absence would not be felt.

The guests were many, thousands of them, both gods and men. They were

accommodated in a huge hall built especially for the purpose. The chief guest,

Ganesha, was the last to come. The moment he entered, he began to ask for food.

He was shown to a seat of honour and tantalising dishes were set before him. He

gulped them down and asked for more. He was given a second helping and then

a third but his appetite remained undiminished.

Kubera ordered his army of cooks to produce more food but they could not keep

pace with Ganesha’s eating frenzy. The elephant-god was eating food meant for

thousands. When he had finished all the food set before him, he began to shout,

“Give me more, give me more!” and then getting impatiently to his feet, rushed to

the enormous kitchen and devoured all the food there.

Kubera was aghast. All the food was gone and the guests had not been fed. Worse,

Ganesha was still hungry. “You call this a feast?” Ganesha admonished Kubera.

“There’s no food here. I’m going home.” Kubera pleaded with him to stay, promising

him more food in a little while but his young guest was in no mood to listen. He got

on his mount and sped away. Kubera, fearing Shiva’s wrath, followed in his own

vehicle.

When he arrived at Kailash, he found Ganesha complaining loudly to his father

about the lack of food at his feast. “What’s this I hear, Kubera?” asked Shiva,

turning to the god. “No food at your feast?” “I....I....,” mumbled Kubera. “Go in

and ask your mother for some food,” said Shiva to his son. “I’m sure Kubera did his

best.”

“I did, I did, my lord,” said Kubera, feeling miserable. His feast had turned into a

farce. Instead of adding to his prestige it had made him a laughing stock. But he

was relieved to see that Shiva did not appear to be angry.

He fell at his patron’s feet and begged forgiveness for his pride.

Sadhana Camp, Vedanta Ashram - Indore:

A five days Sadhana Camp started at Vedanta Ashram, Indore on the

morning of 22nd Jan 2011. The Camp was full house, the entire capacity

which Ashram can comfortably acccomodate.

The subject matter of the discourses of the camp were, Laghu-Vakya

Vritti, and Gita Chapter-16. Laghu Vakya Vritti is a beautiful and very thoughtful

text, and is basically a free commentary on the Mahavakya ‘Aham

Brahmasmi’. Composed by Sri Adi Sankara, this eighteen shloka text is in-

deed like an ocean in a pot. There were two classes per day for this. The

other text was Gita, whose 16th chapter was explained. It is the Daivasur-

Sampat Vibhaga Yoga. It enumerates the positive and negative qualities.

Bhagwan tells that all the posiitive qualities are that which facilitate freeedom,

while the negative ones bind us.

Jan’11 VM / VA ProgramsV

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Pro

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Vedanta Sandesh - Feb 2011

Chanting Class at Camp:

Apart from two above main discourse series, the Sadhana Camp is a

package various things, including chanting. Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji

taught the campers two beautiful sanskrit stotras. One was Lingashtakam

and the other was also a Lord Shiva’s Dakshinamurhty Roopa Sanskrit

bhajan.

Sanskrit Chanting is a simple yet effective inspirer & elevator. It cre-

ates a great ambiance for deeper contemplation. It not only removes all the

various problems of diction & audition but makes the mind alert too. No

wonder the Upanishads too say that ‘Swadhyaya-Pravachanabhyam na

Pramaditavyam’, never ignore this sadhana. As Vedanta Ashram has a Shiva

Temple, so the devotees used these new chants to best use, chanting them

morning & evening after the Aarti.

New Dining Hall at Ashram:

A new Dining was finally & formally inaugurated for use during the

Camp. Made on war-footing in record time, it has come out to be a great

modern and desperately required facility. Various devotees liberally gave

donations for its construction, and it had jade-blue polycarbonate translu-

cent walls, profile-sheet roof, glass walled doors, and a big granite serving

table. There is a separate table for Ashram Mahatmas, and tables & chairs

for campers.

There was a small puja on the first day as a mark of its formal inaugu-

ration. With kitchen also on top floor, serving hot food was convenient. With

new serving bowls & plates complementing the new facilities, the devotees

did self-service like buffets and later washed their utensils too, in the newly

made wash-basins outside.

Check out the detailed Photo Albums of the various functions on

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

Jan’11 VM / VA ProgramsV

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Camp Fire at Camp, Indore:

One of the days there was a Camp Fire organized after dinner. Ev-

eryone gathered around the fire, which was lit in the open hall on the ground

floor, so that all the young & old, healthy and not-so-healthy could enjoy the

event.

First there was the Corn & Gram Party, where fresh corn, green-

gram and sweet-beet were baked directly in the camp fire by sewaks &

kitchen staff. Then there was Hanuman Chalisa chanting, bhajans and then

Antakshari. It was surprising to see how much stock the campers had of

songs, bhajans, shlokas and verses. It kept spontaneously flowing & flow-

ing and finally it was a tie. The weather was great, a slight lovely chill in the

air, made everyone wrap light wollens around and enjoy the evening fully.

Pada Puja at Camp, Indore:

The Sadhana Camp concluded on 26th Jan. First there was the flag

hoisting of the tricolor by Poojya Guruji. The Ashram flag was changed that

day to the tricolor and all the campers sang the National Anthem.

Both the discourses completed on 26th morning and after lunch there

was the concluding program of the Camp - the Pada Puja and sharing of

Camp experiences by the devotees. This year the honor of doing the Pada

Puja went to Savitri Jethmalani. The puja was got done by Poojya Swamini

Amitanandaji. The campers later shared their experiences of the camp. It

was great joy to see that everyone enjoyed the camp to the fullest. The

discourses, ashram facilities, silent sewa by all the sewaks and Mahatmas

touched one & all. Everyone went drenched in gratitude & wisdom.

Cultural Program at Camp:

Every evening there were lovely bhajans during the Camp. On the

second last day Poojya Guruji dealt with the qeries of the campers on vari-

ous subjects.

During the Camp Fire, there were three special programs after the

Antakshari. One was a group bhajan prepared by the campers ‘Om japa

kar’ based on the tune of an old & famous Kawali. Then there were dances

& mono-acting presentations by children. Anagh Sharma presented a nice

dance on the bhajan ‘Amar Atma Satchitananda Main Hoon’, and she won

lot of applauses and blessings. Finally there was a Jokes Program by

Manohar Agarwal. His lovely style in hindi mixed with the sweet Malwi lan-

guage made it all the more beautiful. He overall presented three sessions

and everyone enjoyed them to the utmost - bursting in loud laughters.

Vedanta Sandesh - Feb 2011

Quotes

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're

here we should DANCE - Anony

The best things in life aren't things.

- Art Buchwald

It all depends on whether you have things, or they have you.

- Robert A. Cook

"Laughter is the closest distance between two people."

- Victor Borge

RICHNESS is not Earning More, Spending More Or Saving More, but

"RICHNESS IS WHEN YOU NEED NO MORE"

When we always worry and hurry through the day, it is more like an

unopened gift thrown away.

“We first make our habits, and Then our habits make us.”

- John Dryden

No man was ever wise by chance.

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“Life like a mirror, never gives back more than what we put into it”

"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the

spoon." - Edward Morgan Forster

Forthcoming Programs

Page # 15

Mahashivratri Camp, Indore:A three days Mahashivratri Camp will be organized at the Vedanta Ashram from 28th

Feb to 2nd Mar.

The subject matters of the discourse series will be announced later.

Mahashivratri Celebrations 2011:Mahashivratri will be celebrated at Vedanta Ashram, Indore on 3rd March 2011. There

will be Rudrabhisheka three times a day, early morning, afternoon and night. As usual the top

Shivlinga will be opened for public on that day too.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow:A Gita Gyana Yagna will be organized at Hari om Mandir, from 10th to 17th Mar, a

week before Holi, which is on 19th March.

The subject matters of the discourse series will be Gita Chapter 2, and continuity of

the Kathopanishad.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Ahmedabad:A Gita Gyana Yagna will be organized at Ramkrishna Kendra, Ahmedabad in the first

week of April by Poojya Guruji. The subject matters of the discourse series will be Gita Chap-

ter 2, and continuity of the Kathopanishad.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai:A Gita Gyana Yagna will be organized at BHA Hall Mumbai in the first week of May.

The subject matters of the discourse series will be Gita Chapter 4, and continuity of the

Kathopanishad.

Hari om !

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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