Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

Year 21 Issue 11Nbz!3126

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta MissionMay 2015 : Year 21 / Issue 11

Editor: Swamini Samatananda Saraswati

Published byInternational Vedanta Mission

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

The mind needs to be understood, managed & quietenedtill it becomes quiet and merges back into ones heart - its place oforigin. This alone is the essence & objective of all the variouspractices of knowledge & meditation, rest all is a commentary onthis objective.

rkonso fujks)O;a ;kon~ g`fn xra {k;e~A

,rn~ Kkua p /;kua p vrksU;ks xzUFkfoLrj%AA

Amrutbindu Upanishad - 5

Section Index

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

Creation is amazingly beautiful & useful too. In fact it appears divine. Poets are awestruck by itsbeauty, and photographers keep clicking & capturing the awesome vibgyoric presentations. If this creationis so beautiful, useful & divine, then why do the scriptures ask us to negate all 'names & forms'?Why dowe use words like Mithya to describe it? Why is Samsara associated with these names & forms?

Well, before we are told about things like Mithya & Samsara etc, these very scriptures first initiateus to see the beauty & divinity around. They first tell us that not only every thing is created by God, buteverything is a manifestation of God himself. God alone has presented himself as this creation. So firstcomes the sensitization & awareness of beauty and then everything else. Just as a book is not aboutaccumulation of some words, but is about a message, so also the world is all about the message of God.God is talking to us through these forms & world. No wonder all the scriptures use various examples - ofthe world - to explain the various intricate & subtle principles of life. The objective of calling the names &forms as Mithya is to help us turn our attention to the truth & also the message the world is giving us.World may be various names & forms put together, but it is living, intelligent, harmonious, beautiful &useful too. The scriptures in fact help us read the book of life properly. A changing form is telling us thatit is just an effect, it is a creation of some creator, so basically it is turning our attention to that intelligent& loving creator - God. Capacity to turn our attention from effect to the cause is the 'negation' of theeffect. Thereafter even when we see the effect we see something else in it. This is the implication of allthose statements like - everything is pervaded by God.

Names & forms are very interesting facts, they not only help us identify some unique manifestationbut both basically 'freeze'. A form is basically a small moment in the ever changing life of a manifestation,every form is all about freezing a part of its life; and name further freezes that particular moment bygiving an identity to it. Anyone who keeps giving importance to 'a particular' form lives in a small world,which many a times is no more. Instead of appreciating an object in its entirety we just hold on to oneparticular moment or aspect and that also of its past, and thus all names and forms also become limitingadjuncts. We need to be aware of this aspect also. So basically we need to have the capacity of holisticperception to see everything in its entirety. If we do not have this capacity then we just live in deadimages, and a life in images is one of endless & hopeless seeking & seeking. This endless seeking iscalled Samsara. We need to wake up to the truth that basically there is no limitation, no freezing of amoment and thus there shall be no seeking too.

Truth of Creation

from Poojya Guruji

Vedanta Sandesh

Tattva BodhaSix Divine Qualities: Titiksha

Titiksha is Forbearance. it is such an importantquality that it has been enlisted in the qualified studentslist.It has been defined as a quality wherein we acceptall ups & downs of life with equipoise & maturity, be ita bed of roses or a path of pricking thorns.

Life always comes in pairs of opposites:Just as waves are the nature of the ocean so

too dual situations are the nature of life. Day & night,heat and cold, respect & disrespect, success andfailure, all are a natural part of life which cannot beavoided. In such situations forbearance is a quality thatbecomes a blessing taking us through all situationswithout any anguish. One who does not have this qualitygets unnecessarily anxious and grumbles andcomplains about all that he does not have. Such aperson is kicked by situations like a ball who is elatedin convinient situations and drowns in sorrow ininconvinient ones. Titiksha or forbearance is that qualitywhich in spite of these worldly changes helps sustainthe goodness of the mind.

Acceptance of situations without retaliation:The bearing or endurance of all afflictions,

physical, emotional, or intellectual without retaliatingto them is endurance. We usually retaliate to situations.We should develop the ability to suffer a little bit, toendure. This will only make us more stronger to gothrough any kind of adverse situations in life. Too muchof convinience and comfort makes a person weak.There can never be a perfect situation or what we callan agreeable situation and we have to accept this factof life.

All pairs of opposites are relative to time, people,place and situations:

There is one flower but different people mayhave different opinions and tastes about it. In the urbanareas people have a lot of value for gold and diamondbut for the African tribes it may not be so, for themornaments made of elephant tusks may be morevaluable. So every situation is relative to differentpeople. There cannot be people who are totallyagreeable to us. We may also encounter agreeableand disagreeable behavior from the same person ondifferent occasions. My own opinion about somethingmay change. I may like a book in the first instance butI may dislike it at another time. We always want to

The six divine qualities which are under discussion here, all these qualities are not merely means to takeus to the realm of total freedom, but are stepping stones for experiencing greater & greater freedom too. To theextent these qualities are assimilated to that extent we shall experience freedom from our own self createdbondages. The next quality to be discussed is Titiksha which means Forbearance.

Q: What is Titiksha ?A: It is the capacity to endure the ups & downs of life like cold & heat, happiness & sorrow.

- 7 -

change everything around us so that everything isagreeable to us. Forbearance teaches us to acceptsituations as they are and learn to live and enjoy thepresent moment. In life there are only situations andno problems. We label it as good or bad, pleasant orunpleasant based on our personal conditionings andexpectations. Lack of forbearance or non-acceptancegives the string of our lives to other people, situationsand things. We are governed by them. Whensomeone smiles at me or speaks to me nicely, I amhappy. When someone does not smile at me or doesnot speak to me, I am unhappy. Such a mind set notonly disturbs us but also exhausts us of our valuableenergy. We need to understand that it is all a play ofour minds. It is my own mind that labels a given thingas honor or dishonor, pleasant or unpleasant, andhappiness or unhappiness. Having the capacity ofendurance is the door to freedom.

Forbearance culminates in bringing about anequipoised mind:

Forbearance is accepting a situation how everit is by the strength of one's resolution to gracefullygo through all ups and down, by having faith in God.We cannot change the nature of things, people,situations, or values. At the moment, we can onlychange ourselves and perhaps some people andsituations who may be under our influence; other thanthat, we cannot change anything. We can see that allsituations are given to us by God, and moreimportantly whatever the situation ultimately it is forthe benefit of the self. At such times we accept thesituation do our best possible intelligently and moveon. But this power of endurance must culminate inbringing about 'samatva' i.e. bringing about anequipoised mind. This is a balance of the mind broughtabout not by the power of one's resolve but means of

discrimination resulting in balance of mind. It is a formof detachment brought about by discrimination andunderstanding of certain facts.

Significance of Forbearance for a spiritual student:Forbearance reflects an intelligent living in day

to day life and holds more significance for a spiritualstudent. A person lacks forbearance when his visionis extraneous. Such a person looks for solutions tohis problems in the outside world always trying to bringabout changes and conviniences outside amongstpeople, objects and situations. The roots of this beingthe presence of the Jiva, a lacking being who is onlyseeking to somehow fulfill his ego by extraneousexperience. Often it is relatively easier to overcomeheat and cold but to forbear the inconviniences broughtabout by people is what brings about greater anxietyand imbalance of the mind. This calls for an intelligentart of living brought about by understanding the realityof the Self, the world, people, objects, situations, thelaw of karma and so on. Herein comes the role of theknowledge of the scriptures. The scriptures & itsMasters show us the path of devotion and knowledgeto bring about such a positive mind set. In the beginingholding the hands of God with faith & surrender in allups and downs paves the path of mental strength andforbearance without any pains and complaints. Animbalanced mind that loses its balance and poise inevery little situation is going to be unable toapply itself to the study or to contemplation. Endurdetaches you from outside and the mind is avail forfirm application in adhyatma. That which isexperienced after all conviniences I can experiencethe same balance in inconvinient situation also. I havnot used anything outside but I hav used a qualityfrom within which gives me the benefit of allconviniences and within I am balanced.

Om Namah Shivaya!Our Prayers for all those people who died an untimely & unnatural death in

the recent Earthquake in Nepal & India.

May God give strength & wisdom to all to help all these unfortunate people.

Pl remember this could have happened to anyone.

Vedanta Sandesh

Let me share this story about myself. When I firstcame to the United States, a friend took me for a drive ona beautiful scenic route. My friend introduced me to theclimate control in the car. I started turning the knobs Itbecame a little cold, so I turned it the other way to makethe car a little warmer. Soon, the sun started shining andit became too warm so I turned the knob down. All of asudden clouds came and it became too cold, so I turnedthe heat up. Thus, I went on turning the knob up and down.After 45 minutes my friend asked me, How did you likethe scenery? What scenery? I asked. Why, we passedsuch a beautiful scenic road! I had not observed anythingbecause I had been too busy turning the knob! Thus, weare too busy turning the knobs, trying to make everythingagreeable. We cannot accept situations as they are; wealways want things according to our preferences. We areso busy making things agreeable that there is no time toappreciate life as it is.

Accepting situations as they are

Prayers for Nepal

Whether it is

scientific research

or philosophicaldiscernments, we

finally need to live as

per our wisdom &k n o w l e d g e ,otherwise all

knowledge isuseless. All this is a

call to wake up.

- PoojyaGuruji

Hari om !

On behalf of myself and all the Mahatmas, devotees & members of the InternationalVedanta Mission we offer our heartfelt condolences & prayers for all the people of Nepal,various visitors to the religious & beautiful mountain country, & of course scores of thepeople of North Indian states who were struck by the sudden & terrible earthquake. Infact we at Indore also experienced the shaking of the earth on that day, so we canimagine how big & devastating it would have been for the people around epi-center.

Such testing times not only test our strength & faith but also reveals to us our truefriends. We, the people of India are very happy to see the prompt sewa by the presentGovt of PM Modi, he personally lead the way and as some Nepalese leaders said thatIndia literally offered us a blank cheque. All are very happy by the service. We do realizethat the death of thousands of people and also of the roads, property, infra-structure etcis a difficult task to deal & set-right. But there is no other option but to face life & live onwith all the strength at our command. The true test of religion is seen during thesetimes. We need to keep our balance during these testing times and do our best & thatwhich is right. The aid by India is no aid-diplomacy as some media people have termedit. We pity their pathetic perception. All this is just plain & simple humane expression oflove & brotherhood - that which our religion & culture have been advocating from ages.All this shows how far all such people have gone away from their roots. Obviously theycant imagine the possibility of selfless loving service. Real nishkama karma has noselfish motivations & calculations, and even a simple, poor & an uneducated personcan see & feel this. There will always be many who are so drenched deep into selfishcalculations that even when they smile they apparently have some axe to grind. We arehappy that the present dispensation at Delhi reveals the fragance of the real culture &values of this ancient land.

This is also the times to re-evaluate our fundamental perceptions of life & the world. Lifeis changing, and all our data reveals to us that an earthquake was due in the Himalayanregion, in fact if we had given due respect to this data, then we would have been betterprepared. The leaders & wise people of both the countries need to be better prepared.Quake-proof houses need to be a must for these lands. Architects can certainly guide &help us on this count. Let the obvious not be ignored. The philosophy of Hinduism,Vedanta, too has always made us aware of the perishable nature of the world. Whetherit is scientific research or philosophical discernments, we finally need to live as per ourwisdom & knowledge, otherwise all knowledge is useless. All this is a call to wake up.

With Prayers & Blessings to all.

Swami Atmananda

- 9 -

by

SwaminiSamatananda

In the journey of life when one comes to realize that he is only swirlinground and round in the whirlpool of samsara and so desperately wishes to comeout of it, he as a true spiritual aspirant honestly and sincerely reflects on thefundamental problem in his life. He comes to realize that his worldly trip is a productof wrong understanding of the Self and the world around. He comes to see thatthe life which appears to be a life of freedom and great achievements is actually alife bound by likes & dislikes and is a mirage of constant seeking. Such a seekerof truth humbly accepts his state of sheer ignorance and starts to walk on the pathof enquiry. In such a case any spiritual aspirant who aims to awaken to the truth ofoneself must go through the process of studying the scriptures at the feet of theGuru, clarifying one's doubts in knowledge, contemplating, and practising a firmabidance in knowledge. But this path of knowledge too requires a qualified andsubtle mind which can glide into knowledge just as a duck takes to water. Knowledgegiven to an unprepared mind becomes a burden, or leads to an imaginaryawakening or will not sustain at all. This is applicable in all worldly knowledge too.No knowledge can be owned up if the person acquiring the knowledge is notmentally prepared for it. In the sixth chapter of the Gita Sri Krishna uses a termwhich very significantly reflects a qualified student for Self-Realisation. This termis 'Yogaarudhah'. Yogarudhah or 'Yogayuktah' is one who lives a God-centric lifeand who with his strong association with God has acquired divine qualities of abalanced mind, is free from the conditionings of likes & dislikes, performs actionsselflessly, lives with a sense of fulfillment, is free of any kind of worries towardsthe fruits of actions and one who humbly yet dynamicaly performs his actions.Here is a person wherein all the facets of life, his field of action, his situations andresponses all reflect a strong presence and awareness of God. Such a person isa Yogarudha-one who has established himself in the yoga of action. Only aYogarudha has the doors of spiritual knowledge opened for him. Having describedthe extreme importance of this qualification, in the sixth chapter itself Lord Krishnagoes on to say that even though the blessings of God are ever present with all ofus yet one has to make his own efforts too, to adorne the qualities compatible tothe journey of knowledge ahead. The importance of such self-effort is being talkedabout in the following sloka.

Being your own friend or your own enemy:If one wishes to get out of the continuous trip of worldly seeking and climb

the first step of being a qualified student then how does one do it? By your ownwill 'atmana'. You question yourself and your values. One re-evaluates one's ownvalue structure and re-organizes it. One seeks the blessings of the scriptures andthe Guru who direct us into right understanding but the very will to question theself and make efforts to turn around has to come by the Self alone. This is what

Udhar

et-

Atm

ana-

Atm

aana

m

Vedanta Sandesh

One seeks theblessings of thescriptures and theGuru who direct usinto rightunderstanding butthe very will toquestion the self andmake efforts to turnaround has to comeby the Self alone.This is what thescriptures call as'Swa-kripa'. - Samatananda

the scriptures call as 'Swa-kripa'. The blessings of God is unquestionable, it isconstantly and harmoniously showering on one and all, the Guru comes as anembodiment of God who gives us authentic knowledge by means of the scriptures.At the end of it we too have to help ourself with our firm resolve & desire to learn.Being able to do this Sri Krishna says that we become are own friend and well-wisher and failing to do so we become are own enemy. When our own mind is notused but abused we become the cause of self-destruction. It is important to realizeone's own faults & reject them, realize one's weaknesses, and try to live a life thatwhich is not superficially or momentarily attractive but that which may be hard tolive up to in the begining, but that which finally brings about our true welfare.

May one not destroy oneself:May one not destroy oneself 'atmanam na avasadayet'. Do not look down

upon your self. Believe that these are the words of God himself and this itselfproves the possibility of such a revolution. It is truly a revolution of one's way oflooking at things and in one's understanding. In fact it is not only a diffferent way oflooking at things but a new compassionate way of looking at the mind. The mindhas been like our own child who has been nursed and fed in a way that it is today.Now a new turn of compassion is needed to understand the mind, give it time andraise it from the lower levels of nature to the higher ones. May one lift oneself up.Having taken this path Sri Krishna also warns that do not allow the self thereafterto fall down and be dragged again to a lower level of existence. Do not let lethargyor a lose resolve or procrastination overpower you. This path of evolution surelycalls for an emergency.

Field of action-the best medium:The field of action is the best medium that brings about the quality of being

a yogarudha. God gives us situations and we have the freeom to responde to it. Itis the field of action that is featured with challenges, conviniences andinconviniences, hence it gives us the best soil to discovernot only the existence of God but to see the entirecosmos as a part of him, to see his blessings inand through everything, and to expressour gratitude by way of selfless service. This isthe soul that brings about divine qualities offaith, selflessness, mental equipoise,dynamism in action and a state offearlessness from the challenges of the world.Karmayoga is the best means to become ayogarudha. being a yogarudha is not an end byitself but this is the way to truly bring about the welfare of theSelf. By associating all actions with God and bringing about an equipoised, selfless,subtle and anxiety free mind. Our responses in the field of action can cultivate acultured, righteous and polished mind or they can be such that drown us moredeep into the ocean of samsara. Thus says Sri Krishna 'Let a man lift himself byhis own self'.

- 11 -

Vedanta Sandesh

Language... has created the word 'loneliness' to express thepain of being alone. And it has created the word 'solitude' toexpress the glory of being alone.Paul Tillich

Solitude is the place of purification.Martin Buber

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheerits own solitude with sweet sounds.Percy Bysshe Shelley

I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people:that each protects the solitude of the other.Rainer Maria Rilke

Solitude is creativity's best friend, and solitude is refreshmentfor our souls.Naomi Judd

Solitude sharpens awareness of small pleasures otherwise lost.Kevin Patters

Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is theschool of genius.Edward Gibbon

Quotes

Wanderingin Himalayas

Badrinath

Excerpts from

the

Travel Memoirs

of

Param Poojya

Swami

Tapovanji

Maharaj

34

Even in Badrikashram it is not easy to reach the stage ofSupreme Bliss, where all distinctions disappear, where all activityceases. There may be a few great souls who enjoy the state ofsamadhi, but even their minds and senses are not beyond the reachof the mighty illusion. One may ascend the highest peak of theHimalayas; but unless one is exceptionally fortunate and possessestireless industry, deep faith, true knowledge, and the highest degreeof detachment, one cannot overcome illusion completely and reachthat final blissful state of merger with the Supreme.

Badrikashram was the sacred place where Nara and Narayanaperformed their penance. It is ituated in the valley of the Alaknanda,between two mountains named after them. The ashram is describedin the Puranas as the home of Rishis and as covered with the smokeof sacrifices. But today it appears in a totally altered form. There aresome temples and rows of houses where priests and pilgrims lodgeand foodstuffs are offered for sale. The whole place is noisy with theconversation of travellers and the altercations of priests who demandgifts and rewards from them.

A hot water pool called Tapta Kunda and another, the Brahma-kapali, a short distance away, are the two chief pilgrimage centres inmodern Badri. The famous temple of Badri Narayana is situated ona rising ground above the Tapta Kunda. In the temple by the side ofthe image of Lord Narayana are installed the figures of Nara andNarayana, the orignal dwellers of the place. Outside is a small templededicated to Shree Shankaracharya. But it is remarkable that thereare no shrines here dedicated to Vyasa, Suka, or Gaudapada, allthree of whom once lived at this spot.

- 13 -

The pure Consciousness cannot be described by words and it cannot beimagined. It is the very substratum of words, speech, comprehension andimagination. Their reality is the reality of the pure Consciousness. Only becauseof their substratum, words and notions exist and can have a meaning and so wecan communicate. Words, being limited, can easily be used to delude and confusepeople who like to talk and argue and pay attention only to differences. Wisepeople are beyond confusion, knowing the substratum of all words to be the same.Uttered by the wise, words can become a mighty tool to indicate, point to theeternal omnipresent unchanging and unmoving truth, in which changes are onlyimagined by ignorant people.

The wise sages thunder - Brahma satyam jagat mithya, jivo brahmaivanaparah. Only Brahman is real, the world is illusion. Limited being (and the wholeworld) are not different from Brahman. Consciousness alone has spread aroundas space, air, fire, water and earth and bodies of living beings, without undergoingany change in itself. If you look upon names and forms only, which appear separate,their separate reality is mithya, illusory and unreal. But if you look for the basis,substratum of all names and forms, you realize this substratum is the same for allthings in the world, and it is not different from Brahman. As water, unmoving itself,may appear in different forms of waves, bubbles and ripples, so also thatConsciousness alone has spread around as the whole world. If you look at wavesonly, they are illusion of separate existence. If you look at water, and see wave aswater, you realize it never was separate from water.

And see what an amazing transformation happens when a limited being,using working methods, discovers itself to be that undivided pure Consciousness,which fills everything and everyone! Before, taking himself to be limited by bodyand the mind, one has to take upon himself all the problems of the body and themind. If the body is old, fat, tall or limpy, he himself becomes old, fat or limpy. Ifmind is dumb, he himself has to become dumb. But if you know yourself not to bethe mind or the body or the intellect, if you realize the pure bliss and consciousnessthe wise are talking about as your very own self, you yourself become the greatSelf of everything! No limits, no constraints, no problems of limited being. One

Vedanta Sandesh

Adhyatmic

Teachings

of

Guru

Vasishtha

to

Sri Ramji

by

SwaminiVidyananda

28

- 7 -

realizes his own immortality - death is certain only for the one who was born, butunborn is never going to die. Ones outlook towards the world and people andnature also changes. Everything becomes my very own, I look upon everything asmy own self. I recognize myself in every child, flower and animal. Before, my lovehas been limited only to the things and people I considered my own (and manymore being NOT my own) - my country, my city, my village, my classmates, myfriends, my family.

But now the whole world becomes my family, because I see everything andeveryone as countless reflections of the pure Self in various reflecting media. Andonly reflected image can bedisturbed or agitated, thevery Self which is reflected isnever perturbed by theagitations of the i m a g e .Knowing myself as the one who isreflected, multiple r e f l e c t i o n scannot deceive me to be manyindependent and s e p a r a t ebeings. Now, knowing myselfas the self of all, I love, care andserve everyone as my own self.Being the bliss absolute, I dontseek joy with limited objectsand relationships, I enjoy non-ending bliss of my own being inmyself. I do not depend ontransient objects, and so they cannot leave me helpless and desolate. I cannot bebetrayed or disillusioned, because I am out of illusions all together. I am wholeand complete, and my search for better life is over - I myself is somethingtranscending even the best.

Self

=Kno

wle

dge

to

Mok

sha

He for whom everything has become just his Self, forsuch a wise person & knower of non-duality - where is the

question of any delusion or grief.

Isavasya Upanishad - 7

Vedanta Sandesh

This is my prayer to thee, my lord---strike,strike at the root of penury in my heart.

Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.

Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.

Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bendmy knees before insolent might.

Give me the strength to raise my mind high above dailytrifles.

And give me the strength to surrender my strength tothy will with love.

- Rabindranath Tagore

Strength

Once up

on

a time

...

StorySection

Krishna was well aware that Karna is more than a match for Arjuna in hisskills with the bow and arrow. It was not a battle that Arjuna could be sure ofwinning. And Karna nursed a deep wound in his mind from the day he was insulted

in public. He had Arjuna as his target and was focusing all his energies for theultimate battle.

It was most important to mentally break him down as the first step. So

Krishna let him know about his real parentage he knew the Pandavas were his

younger brothers. This always weighed down on Karnas mind when he took on

any Pandava in battle.

The second strategy was to ask Kunti to visit Karna with a request to

defect to the Pandava side. It was well known that Karna considered his loyalty

to Duryodhana over eveything else and he would never leave the Kauravas

Duryodhana started the war with the confidence of having Karna on his side. The

reason for the visit was to pressurise Karna to make more concessions to

Pandavas. He did and boxed himself into a poor position in the battle. He gave

Kunti the promise that he would not kill any Panda other than Arjuna even if hegets the opportunity. Krishna and Kunti carefully kept the secret of Karna away

from Pandavas. So Arjuna could freely fight the battle seeing only the enemy inKarna. But Karna had the burden of seeing a brother in his enemy.

Karna had a spear called Vyjayanthi, given by Indra. It would work onlyonce and Karna had kept it for use against Arjuna. Krishna was aware of this andwanted to ensure that the spear was used before Karna and Arjuna met. Hestrategised to sacrifice Khatotkacha (Bhimas son ) for the purpose. Khatotkachawas a rakshasa and the cost of his life would have been considered low. Krishna

unleashed the might of Khatotkacha on the Kaurava army. They were unable to

bear the brunt of the whirlwind warrior. Karna was forced to use Vyjayanthi to killKhatotkacha rendering the spear unusable for the battle with Arjuna. Khatotkachaslife was a small price to pay to protect the higher prize.

- 17 -

Krishna the Strategist

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Vedanta Sandesh

Hjub!Hzbob!Zbhob-!Civcboftxbs;1. Visit to Jagannath Puri : Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji reached Bhubaneswar on5th evening, and the next morning she accompanied Sh Rajesh Kumar & his family to thetemple town of Puri. They were blessed to have very nice darshan of the Lord of Universe.She also visited the Sankaracharyas ancient Goverdhan Math closeby.2. Gita Gyana Yagna : The first Gita Gyana Yagna at Bhubaneswar was organized at theSivananda Samskrutik Kendra of the Divine Life Society from 6th to 12th April. The head ofthe Ashram Poojya Swami Shivchidanandaji Maharaj lighted the lamp to inaugurate theweek-long discourse series. The subject matter of the twin discourse series were Gita-1and Kathopanishad 1-1. The whole program was organized & also received very well.3. Vishnu Sahasranama Archana : On the last day a Vishnu Sahasranama Archana wasorganized, in which large numbers of devotees enthusiastically participated.

Hjub!Hzbob!Zbhob-!Kbmhbpo;1. Gita Gyana Yagna : Poojya Swamini Poornanandaji conducted her bi-annual GitaGyana Yagna at the Dutta Mandir Sabhagruh from 14th to 19th April. This time she continuedher discourses on the next chapters of Gita & Kathopanishad. Chap-4 and Katha 2-1.2. Visit to Temples/Ashram : During the Gyana Yagna she also visited various temples ofthe city and organized some Satsangs. She also visited the Kanvashram at Kanalda.3. Vishnu Sahasranama Archana : On the last day there was a Vishnu SahasranamaArchana, in which various devoted people religiously participated.

Tbolbsbdibszb!Kbzbouj!Gvodujpot-!Joepsf;This year the Adi Sankaracharya Jayanti was on the 23rd April. In the morning after

the study of the Shankara Bhashya (on Mundaka Upanishad), all the ashram inmates &devotees offered special puja at the feet of the great Acharya. Later in the day, the statueof Sankaracharya at the Sankaracharya Gate was cleaned & washed with Ganga Jal, andgarlanded. In the evening the local parshad Sh Devendra also came over with his team tooffer his respect to the Acharya at the gate. He went up on a ladder and put a garlandaround the Acharya.

Ibovnbo!Dibmjtb!Tbutboh!.!Bqs!3126;On 26th Apr was the last Sunday of the month, and as such it was the day for the

monthly Hanuman Chalisa Satsang. As usual it was full house, and first there were lovelyspirited bhajans, chanting of Hanuman Chalisa and then the pravachan. Poojya Gurujicontinued his deep reflections on the third chaupayi.

- 19 -

Vedanta Sandesh

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Vedanta Sandesh

by Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj

1. Develop a clear-cut aim

2. Draw up a wise programme

3. Guard your health

4. Conserve your energy

5. Value Character

6. Adopt Virtues

7. Pray to God

8. Reflect upon ideal personalities

9. Be kind

10. Be absolutely truthful

11. Serve others

12. Think nobly

Twelve keys to Happiness & Success

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Gita Gyana Yagna, Ahmedabad :A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by P. Swamini Amitanandaji will be organized at the

Ramkrishna Kendra, Maninagar, Ahmedabad from 13-19th May. The subject matter ofthe discourse series will be Gita Chapter 11 and Kathopanishad 2-2.

Guru Poornima Camp, Indore :A four days Guru Poornima Camp will be organized at Vedanta Ashram, Indore

from 27th to 30th July. For four days Poojya Guruji will talk on just one mantra - ParikshyaLokan (of Mundaka Upa) . Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will conduct classes on GuruPaduka Stotram.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai :A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Guruji will be organized at the RK Missions

Vivekananda Auditorium at Khar, Mumbai, from 25th to 30th May. The subject matter ofthe discourse series will be Gita Chapter 12 and Mundakopanishad 3-1.

Hanuman Chalisa Satsang - May15, Indore :The last Sunday in May falls on the 31st. As Poojya Guruji will be back from Mumbai

by that time, there will be the monthly HC Satsang on that day in the evening. He is likelyto continue the pravachans on the third chaupayi of the Chalisa.

Guru Poornima Celebrations, Indore :This year Guru Pornima, the spiritual teachers day will be on 31st July. There will

be special puja of our Guru Parampara by Poojya Guruji, and then some devotee will doPada Pooja of Poojya Guruji, followed by Bhandara for all. All are welcome to join.

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

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

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

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

Om Tat Sat