Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

Year 19 Issue 5Opw! 3123

Starting ‘Yoga Vasistha’ Series

Published byInternational Vedanta Mission

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

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

Oct 2012 : Year 19 / Issue 4

Editor: Swamini Samatananda Saraswati

Js;’p izs;’p euq’;esr&Js;’p izs;’p euq’;esr&Js;’p izs;’p euq’;esr&Js;’p izs;’p euq’;esr&Js;’p izs;’p euq’;esr&LrkS lEijhR; fofoufDr /khj%ALrkS lEijhR; fofoufDr /khj%ALrkS lEijhR; fofoufDr /khj%ALrkS lEijhR; fofoufDr /khj%ALrkS lEijhR; fofoufDr /khj%AJs;ks fg /khjks·fHk izs;lks o`.khrsJs;ks fg /khjks·fHk izs;lks o`.khrsJs;ks fg /khjks·fHk izs;lks o`.khrsJs;ks fg /khjks·fHk izs;lks o`.khrsJs;ks fg /khjks·fHk izs;lks o`.khrsizs;ks eUnks ;ksx{ksekn~o`.khrsAAizs;ks eUnks ;ksx{ksekn~o`.khrsAAizs;ks eUnks ;ksx{ksekn~o`.khrsAAizs;ks eUnks ;ksx{ksekn~o`.khrsAAizs;ks eUnks ;ksx{ksekn~o`.khrsAA

Both the good and the pleasant presentthemselves to a man. The calm soul exam-ines them well and discriminates. Yea, heprefers the good to the pleasant; but thefool chooses the pleasant out of greed andavarice.

In This Issue

1. Message of P. Guruji - 52. Atma 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

from Poojya Guruji

The message of Vedanta is class apart. It is amazing, it is liberating. It truly gives respect & dignity to one &

all, in a way no one ever has. It reveals that you & I, including every being & thing in the world is basically divine. We

are all basically Brahman, the one infinite divinity, who is just not aware of his/her truth. So all it takes a person to be

really free is just some knowledge. No saviours, no actions, no yoga, or for that matter any duality based practices of

various devotional practices. Just pure & simple knowledge of 'You are That'. This knowledge is no doubt extremely

subtle but lets not forget, it is just pure & simple realization & awakening to the truth - by valid Sravana, deep Manana

& Dhyana. Thats the 'Hindu-Good-News' - as Rajiv Malhotra, the US based Indian philanthropist, and a so called

cross-cultural ambassador would like to call it, tongue-in-cheek style :)

The message of Vedanta stands in stark contrast with other religious thoughts, wherein we need a saviour to

motivate us to follow a set rules of common sensical values & sanity. The belief of the sin-in-the-garden-of-eden

theory is specially so childish and rather degrading that it should be rubbished straight away by any right thinking

person. First sex, the loving union of our parents for our procreation is termed as sin, thereafter the whole innocent

progeny is eternally damned as sinners, then we have a virgin-born obliging saviour who suffers to just redeem us

from a so called sin, which none of us has really commited, and which in the first place is no sin at all. Then we have

the hordes of seminary products coming out to tell us the 'Good-News' that HE is coming to redeeem us soon. All so

childish, just to tell us things like that we need to love our neighbours. Religious values are always basically good but

just to communicate some good values with such levels of stories is an insult to all right-thinking people. We dont

even tell our children such level of stories to follow any good values. The world needs Vedanta, all thinking, self-

respecting people need the darshan of Vedanta, which starts with sensible diagnosis of human problem and culmi-

nates in awakening to the infinite divinity of our own self. In other thoughts even in their so called heaven such luxury

is not imaginable. They continue to remain seperate from their God whom they loved & believed all their lives. God is

just a host of all such virtuous 'guests', and inspite of all the gyana of their saviour they are not truly freed from the

curse of eternal damnation - they continue their separate limited existence & identity.

The fundamental thing to be understood is that freedom or liberation is never ever possible by any karma

whatsoever. Following someone, believing someone, praying etc is never the way to moksha. Belief’s and worship

etc are all for channelizing the energy of ignorant ones so that they can get the inner strength & capacity to enquire

deeply. Then it is just a matter of some fundamental realizations. This is way of the self-respecting ones.

The ‘Hindu-Good-News’

- 5 -

Vedanta Sandesh

Swamini Samatananda

Atma is the very ‘Self’ of everythingThe previous sloka and the following one too describes the vision of a Yogi, who has attained direct knowl-

edge . In the previous sloka the Acharya revealed that an enlightened person sees the whole creation in himself as anexpression of his very own self and sees himself pervading the entire creation.

In the following sloka the Acharya explains that the entire universe is nothing other than the Atman. The Selfalone manifests as the multiplicity of this entire creation. The whole creation is borne of the Self, is sustained in theSelf and dissolves back into the Self.

Atmaivedam jagatsarvam

When one looks at the world and when one thinksof the Self, at the surface level there appears to be aduality between the two. The Self and the universe ap-pear as two different spectrums, one being living and theother the objective world, being inert. As long as onepercieves the Self and the world at the level of names andforms there will be a relative duality. It is true that there is amultiple variety of beings at the level of names and forms.Each form is unique in its own way, in its appearance, inits attributes, its utility etc. A man is different from a woman,an animal is different from a bird, a tree is different from aflower. Not only this we see a variety of differences in thesame community itself. One flower is different and uniquefrom the other. So, undoubtedly the world of names and

48

forms is magnanimous in its multiplicity. But, this is whereour Vedic Scriptures and the Rishis of yore have had aninsight into the reality of the multiple names and forms.Everything in the world, all the people, all the objects, na-ture , everything that we can concieve is beautiful, differ-ent and unique but in and through all this multiplicity lies adivine substratum of unity that is all pervading, one withouta second and that alone being the very nature of Myself. Iam the life principle that is ever-existent at all times, allpervading and blissful in nature. This nature of the Self isthe nature of everything living or non-living. Therfore I aloneexpress as the whole cosmos and I alone pervade every-thing. In this sloka the Acharya thus says Atma eva idam

jagat sarvam-the entire universe is nothing but the Atman.

Aatmaivedam jagatsarvamaatmanah anyat na vidyateMridoyadvat ghataadini swaatmaanam sarvam eekshate

Aatmaiva:verily aatman; idam jagatsarvam: the entire universe; aatmanah: othet than aatman; anyat:another; na vidyate: does not exist; mridaha: of clay; yadvat: like which; ghatadini: pots and so forth;swaatmaanam: as his own self; sarvam: all; eekshate: sees.

The entire universe is verily the Atman. There is nothing at all other than the Atman. He sees everything ashis own self, as one sees pots and the like as none other than clay.

- 7 -

I alone manifest as this vivid picture of the cosmos.

Atmanah anyat na vidyate:

The Revered teacher further goes on to say thereis nothing at all other than the Atman or the Divine Self. Ifat all we see and experience the world of matter it is likewaves and bubbles playing as an expression of thewater’s ecstasy. All sorts of play, of high and low tides, ofsmall and big waves, of bubbles big and small, all this isan expression of the blissful nature of water, which revelsin its ecstasy and effortlessly and playfully manifests in allthese forms and yet its wholeness, its blissfulness is un-affected by anything at all. Everything comes and goes,the life of a wave is of a few moments but the reality ofwater remains as it is. Water alone is. A person standingat the shores can identify himself with the play of the wa-ter as high and low tides, big and small waves and feelelated or disheartened or a person may identify with wa-ter itself which appears to take the form of waves. This isthe freedom of a person. Likewise nothing other than theAtman exists as real in this entire creation. Atman aloneis. It is the ignorant ones who identify with the manifestednames and forms as real and keep searching for bliss inthe world of objects and keep swinging to & fro from joy.

Mrido yadvat ghataadini

The Acharya explains the truth of onness of every-thing in the universe with the example of clay and the vari-ous forms of clay. The different shapes of Pots, big andsmall, pots, flower vases, toys, utensils, which the pottermakes are all made out of the same mud. The Potter seesthe same mud in all the pots with different names andforms. While people with superficial vision see the potswith different names and forms but fail to see that all ofthem are made of the same mud only. So also a yogi ofperfect kowledge sees one substratum the Atman as thesoul of all different names and forms but an ignorant mind

identifies with that which appears to be seen on the out-side. Mud is the permanent reality and Pots are imper-manent. On destruction, they again merge into the mud.Likewise, all names and forms in the universe are imper-manent and changing. They all come from the same Atmawhich is all pervading and eternal. All names and formsdissolve into the same Atma.

Swaatmanam sarvam eekshate

Two different kinds of people view the world in twodifferent ways. People of knowledge and people with ig-norance. The ignorant one’s see the world at the level ofmanifestation alone. Different names and forms, humanbeings, animals-birds, plants, the stars, the five differentelements, all this realm of plurality constitutes the worldfor them and this alone is Real for the ignorant ones. Herethe acharya speaks of the unique vision of People of wis-dom. A person who has directly seen the Reality of theworld and the Self sees the unity between the Self and allthe plurality of names and forms. The Atman is the sub-stratum of all existence and it is one without a second.The Atman is the ‘I’ the very nature of myself. I alone per-vade all existence, everything is born of me, is sustainedin me and is dissolved in myself too. In other words theAtman being the common substratum of all living and non-living existence it alone pervades everything and the Atmanalone manifests as this beautiful variety of the world. Thisvision is the very goal of Vedantic knowledge. A non-frag-mented vision towards one and all. Bhagwan Sri Krishnaexplains this same import in Gita chapter 6 while explain-ing about a yogi:Aatmaupamyena sarvatra samam pashyati yorjuna

sukham vaa yadi vaa duhkham sa yogi paramo

mataha.

“Who so, by comparison with himself, sees the same ev-erywhere, O Arjuna, be it pleasure or pain, he is deemedthe highest Yogin.”

Ejqbxbmj!HsffujohtBest wishes to all for an enlightening and joyful Dipawali.

Vedanta Sandesh

The Three Ants-(The Madman by Khalil Gibran)

Three ants met on the nose of a man who was lying asleep in the sun.And after they had saluted one another, each according to the custom ofhis tribe, they stood there conversing.

The first and said, “These hills and plains are the most barren I haveknown. I have searched all day for a grain of some sort, and there isnone to be found.”

Said the second ant, “I too have found nothing, though I have visitedevery nook and glade. This is, I believe, what my people call the soft,moving land where nothing grows.”

Then the third ant raised his head and said, “My friends, we are standingnow on the nose of the Supreme Ant, the mighty and infinate Ant, whosebody is so great that we cannot see it, whose shadow is so vast that wecannot trace it, whose voice is so loud that we cannot hear it; and He isomnipresent.”

When the third ant spoke thus the other ants looked at each other andlaughed.At that moment the man moved and in his sleep raised his hand andscratched his nose, and the three ants were crushed.

Letter ofthe Month

‘The rootcause of all fears,insecurity etc. for allhumans all over theworld, is basicallysomething verydeep. It concernsthe ignorance of thetruth of ourselvesand the world.’ - Poojya Guruji

Clubbing Gyana & Karma

Hari om A...,

Thanks for your kind mail. I was happy to go through it.

VM is not only my Mission, but it is equally the mission which inspires all of us, and thatis what binds us together and makes the team. I have been trying my best to reveal theprofound and liberating teachings of Vedanta to all of you for last two decades. It isgreat that the Mumbai Chapter of Vedanta Mission is celebrating the 20th anniversarywith great enthusiasm & gratitude. Lets focus very nicely on pure Vedantic teachingwithout ever compromising or even diluting it. May that alone be our common prayer.

If you go deeply into the teachings of Vedanta, then it is very clearly stated that ‘Self-Knowledge’ requires complete & unfragmented attention, and that also with profoundhumility and without ego. Social work is undertaken by the ego, the individuality, whichis technically called as a ‘fragmented state of mind’ wherein the Seer and the Seen(Dryshta & Dryshya) and taken as basically different from each other, then alone Karmais possible. A student of Vedanta is one who wants to know the one unfragmentedtruth, thus the unanimously accepted principle of Vedanta is to first keep aside all egoand also the burden of doing any Karma whatsoever, at least temporarily, and givecomplete attention to Atma-Gyana, otherwise we will tend to continue our studies withoutever getting anywhere. The proposition wherein we think that Atma-Gyana can co-exist with Good-Karma’s is technically called ‘Samuchaya Vada’ and is very stronglyrejected by all our Vedantic scriptures and subsequent Acharyas. Even in the recentlyconcluded Ram Gita Camp, Bhagwan Sri Ram tells Laksman very clearly that if youreally want to go beyond ego then keep aside ‘all’ karma and give complete attentionto Atma-Gyana. Now this is what Vedanta is all about, and here we have my disciplestrying to club these two incompatible things together just to garner some funds. Werespect social service, but only when done with complete heart & soul and also withoutego. Ego is the cause of all ills in the world today, so one has to first remove this thornand then alone think of doing anything for others, till that time the person is basicallydiseased. In fact all such problems of the society are because of such egoistic &fragmented people. To efface the ego, which is basically our erroneous identity, werequire Atma-Gyana, and for Atma-Gyana, we ‘should’ have the wisdom of keepingour ego & karma aside - till we really know ourself. Thereafter such an enlightenedman will be ready for anything whatsoever without any problem.

Blessings & Best Wishes,

Lots of love & om,

Guruji

- 9 -

Vedanta SandeshVedanta Sandesh - April 2009Vedanta Sandesh - Mar 2012

by

SwaminiSamatananda

The truth about the Self revealed in the Vedas is that the Self is eternal, unfleeting,blissful and the very life principle. The Vedas are the authentic source of the truth oflife and hence the authority of the Vedas is unquestionable. They reveal that whichhas been directly seen by great Rishis of the Vedic age and thereafter too a numberof Mahatmas have directly seen this truth and realized the Self as the divine supremebeing. These Men of wisdom have then compassionately passed on the knowledgeto mankind since time immemorial. Yet it is the glory of the wrong understanding ofthe Self that in spite of the scriptures revealing this truth and the realized ones makingcountless efforts to show us this truth, man continues to identify with that Self which isan imaginary entity based on the physical expression of the body, mind and intellect.As a fruit of such wrong convictions of the Self Man continues to suffer in the name ofdeath, rebirth, decay and diseases.

As all of us Arjuna too identifies with the body and sees the Self as the onewho is born and the one who is going to die. As a consequence he is shattered withthe very thought of the death of so many warriors and that too his own kinsmen. Insuch a situation in the second chapter of the Gita Bhagwan Sri Krishna logically explainsto Arjuna and says, “Ok Arjuna! If you think the Self dies and the Self is born let us fora while accept this, that I am born and I will die. Even in that case there is no reason togrieve, because birth and death are then the facts of life. Everything that is born willdie one day, and all that dies is reborn again. So there is no reason to grieve. Majorityof people who are prey to ignorance and misapprehension about the Self continue tosuffer the pains and fear of the Self dying. Let us explore this fact as Lord Krishnaexplain it logically in the Gita.

The Real Self is eternal and beyond time:The true nature of the Self is eternal, that which is pure existence. The Self is

beyond the realms of time. It transcends that which we experience as the past, presentand future. Time is a product of the mind, which has an existence to bring about aconvinience of living at the level of the body and the mind. The phyical body and themind traverse their journey into time. We celebrate the birthday of the physical bodyand so also remember the death of the physical body. The Atman is the substratumthat was present even before the birth of the body, it sustains the body in the presentand will be there after the death of the body. The Self is never born nor does it everdie.

The body goes through a graph of six inevitable changes:Right from conception to death a living being goes through six inevitable

changes-coming into the mother’s womb, taking birth in the world outside, slowlygrows up, matures, decays and dies. These are inevitable and all living beings mustgo through this. This is a fact of life at the level of the body. Life for everyone one

Jaat

asya

hi d

hruv

o m

rity

uhu

Dea

th is

inev

itab

le t

o al

l tha

t is

bor

n

A man of com-plete and directknowledge toolives in the sameworld as anycommon man. Butit is his state ofmind that makeshis conduct andinteraction withthe outside worldunique and divine - Gita Chap 2

- 11 -

expresses in this wave like pattern., wherein every pattern has its own grace. If a newborn baby is beautiful, divine and pure, youth is full of energy then old age too reflectsa wealth of experience, knowledge and grace of maturity. Even the mind and theintellect continuously change. A person who identifies with the body and sees it asreal must see this fact of life and in that case too there is no reason to grieve becauselife and death are inevitable for all those who are limited in the realm of time.

Lessons from life and death:If at all birth and death are true for the ignorant ones then too life and death

teach us some significant lessons. Whenwe are blessed with life let us live it with aholistic vision of being a part of a hugecosmic family whose head is Godhimself. Let us live life to the fullest, servingthe Self and the others with love,sensitivity, creativity, enthusiasm andintelligence. If the cycle of life and deathexists for us then surely it must function onthe basis of our actions, meritorious orunmeritorious. If life, death and then life agianhave to cntinue then let us perform actions thatwill make my journey ahead a blessing and here too may my life be a blessing forone and all.

Death too is a blessing as it provides a new lease to life. A new attire of lifewith renewed energy and opportunities to grow. Life and death both open the doorsfor each other.

Life and death are the very nature of anything that manifests within the realmsof time. If this is the truth of the physical body then it is only wise to accept this fact andrelate with the body and mind accordingly. it is only foolish to have false expectationsthat may the body live for ever. It is only when we do not accept this fact of life that weare in for shocks and pain. Death is not a hit by God on my self and my people alone,but this is the truth of all manifested beings. Accepting this truth alone frees one of unnecessary grief and pain.

Transcending from the bondages of life & death is liberation:Ultimately being able to see that reality of the Self which is beyond the limitations

of time and space, beyond the realms of birth and death is the goal of human life.Birth & death by themselves do not give pain, but the wrong identification with thebody as the Self brings about the pain of attachment towards the body and the painof having to leave it. It brings about a sense of limitation and contant seeking. Seeingthe truth of the Self as timeless, self effulgent and blissful liberates a person of allsense of limitation and seeking. Manifestation of life and then death is as imaginaryas seeing a dream. Liberation is to wake up from the imaginary dream world andsee the true nature of the Self.

Life and death infact are a great blessing to raise some significant questionsabout the reality of the Self and of this world.

Vedanta Sandesh

Quotes

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,Love like you'll never be hurt,Sing like there's nobody listening,And live like it's heaven on earth.” -William W. Purkey

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” -Oscar Wilde

“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” -Mark Twain

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget whatyou did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -MayaAngelou

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”-Oscar Wilde

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” -Mother Teresa

“It takes much bravery to stand up to our enemies but we need as muchbravery to stand up to our friends.” -J.K. Rowling.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”-Confucius

When the mind is weak, a situation becomes a problem, when the themind is balanced it becomes a challenge and an opportunity.

Visionof a

Jivanmukta

Wanderingin Himalayas

Excerpts fromthe

Travel Memoirs

of

Param PoojyaSwami Tapovanji

Maharaj

The Vedas say: When a mortal’s desires are destroyed rootand branch, he becomes immortal. Even in the earthly body he be-comes one with Brahman.

But the conquest of esires is not easy. Only the devotees ofJnana can overcome desire. A man may fast and leave aside his fooduntouched, but his mind will still revert to the thought of food. By forceof will, he may keep away from worldly enjoyments, but his mind willstill remain attached to such pleasures. Infact, until a man fully real-izes the Self, his mind cannot be completely free from desire. He whoseeks to conquer desire, except through the realization of the Self isverily attempting the impossible. There is nothing as holy as knowl-edge. There is nothing so great, so divine.

In 1920, I passed some time in Rishikesh as a Brahmachari. Inthose days, I met and talked to many Mahatmas deeply learned in theVedas-men who had detached themselves completely from the world,who had conquered desire and realized the Self. Many of them werevery old, and now I find them no longer here.

Their chief abode in those days was a small, thickly woodedisland called Jhati, sorrounded on all sides by the sacred Ganga. Noweven that island is almost gone, owing to the fluctuations in the courseof the river. In this way, and in several other ways the number of theholy men, who once inhabited Rishikesh has dwindled and is still dwin-dling, but there was a time when their number was considerable.

Just one look at them could lift up a man’s soul, far more thanthe reading of several holy texts and numberless commentaries. Tocite one instance, there was the mahatma who oblivious of all senseof danger, went on repeating “Shivoham, Shivoham” (“I am the bliss-ful self”), as he was being carried away by a ferocious tiger. If listen-ing to his story can invoke courage in the heart of the hearers andraise them to high levels of thought, how much more effective shouldhave been the sight of that holy person!

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5

Vedanta Sandesh

Overviewof

YogaVasistha

Summary of theeternal teachings

of

Guru Vasistha

to

Sri Ram

Yoga Vasistha is a highly reverential scripture of Advaita Vedanta, but surpris-ingly not very commonly known. It comprises the entire teachings of Guru Vashistha tohis disciple Sri Ram. Bhagwan Sri Ram is highly revered in Hinduism, all the devo-tees sing his glories, there are hundreds and thousands of his temple all over thecountry & the world. Devotees emulate his life, are inspired by his steadfastness indharma, and keep him in their hearts by his fame of being maryada-purushotama. Hewas an embodiment of ananda, intelligence, profound strength and above all dharma.Every disciple is a creation of what his teachers taught him, so those who really wantto know what made Sri Ramji what he was - then one should go into this profoundscripture called 'Yoga-Vasistha'. It reveals the vision which was always there in theheart of Sri Ram, as revealed so lovingly and painstakingly to him by his Guru. It hasbeen written by the author of Ramayana itself - Sage Valmiki. It contains 32,000 shlokasand after Mahabharata is the next longest text. It includes numerous short stories andanecdotes which are used to help illustrate its message of 'Brahma Satyah JagatMithya' and 'Ayam Atma Brahma'. It is a complete compendium of the various prin-ciples of Vedanta philosophy pertaining to self-realization, creation theory, the role &place of karma and other sadhanas etc. It is a scripture for Moksha. Other names ofthis text are Maha-Ramayana, Purva-Ramayana, Arsha Ramayana, VasisthaRamayana, Yogavasistha-Ramayana and Jnanavasistha.

The knowledge of the truth of life is given only to those who have become freeof the fascination and attachment to the world around. Detached people alone canobjectively analyse everything without bringing in their likes & dislikes. Those whoseminds are contaminated with likes & dislikes can never enquire properly and there-fore can never see the truth, because they are already conditioned by the notion as towhat is that which really matters. Just as a cup which is already full, cannot be furtherfilled up, so also all such conditioned people can never know the truth of life andthemselves. Detachment is the gateway to objective enquiry, and as luck would haveit, once, Ram after coming back from a long pilgrimage was very disillusioned anddisturbed on seeing the pains, problems and sufferings of people all over. He de-tached himself from all the pleasures an comforts of his palace and was very quiet,thinking & deliberating about what is life all about and why is the sufferings there inlife. He wanted deep factual answers of the truth of man and his mind. His parentswere very disturbed seeing such a state of their son, and after doing everything intheir hands failed to cheer him up, they finally approachd their Gurudev Rishi Vasisthaand shared the problem. The great teacher understood the real problem and saw his

1

deep and sincere inquisitiveness, and asked his parents not to worry. He was ratherhappy because all this showed that the young man was ready for going deep into thetruths of life. He assured them that he will handle the problem. Ram was sent to theashram of Vasistha and it was there this upadesha was given to him, and out of thisteaching was metamorphosed the real Ram.

Yoga Vasistha is divided into six parts: dis-passion, qualifications of the seeker,creation, existence, dissolution and liberation. In the process of its teachings it re-veals that there are seven Bhoomikas in anyone’s spiritual process. They are:

1. Subheccha (longing for the Truth)2. Vichara (right inquiry)3. Tanumanasa (attenuation – or thinning out – of mental activities)4. Sattvapatti (attainment of sattva, "reality")5. Anasakti (unaffected by anything)6. Pararthabhavani (sees Brahman everywhere)7. Turiya (perpetual samadhi)

There are some old sanskrit commentaries available on Yoga Vasistha:- Vasistha Ramayana-Candrika by Advayaranya- Tatparya Prakasa by Ananda Bodhendra Sarasvati- Bhasya by Gangadharendra- Pada Candrika by Madhava Sarasvati

Yoga Vasistha was translated into English by Swami Venkatesananda, SwamiJyotirmayananda, Vidvan Bulusu Venkateswaraulu and Vihari Lal Mitra, while thereare lots of translation in Hindi and other Indian languages.

Some Quotes from Yoga Vasistha:

- "The great remedy for the long-lasting disease of samsara is the enquiry, 'Who amI? To whom does this samsara belong? "- "Nothing whatsoever is born or dies anywhere at any time. It is Brahman alone,appearing in the form of the world."- "O Rama, there is no intellect, no consciousness, no mind and no individual soul(jiva). They are all imagined in Brahman."- "That consciousness which is the witness of the rise and fall of all beings – know thatto be the immortal state of supreme bliss."- "Knowledge of truth, Lord, is the fire that burns up all hopes and desires as if theyare dried blades of grass. That is what is known by the word samadhi – not simplyremaining silent."- "The moon is one, but on agitated water it produces many reflections. Similarly,ultimate reality is one, yet it appears to be many in a mind agitated by thoughts."

Intr

oduc

tion

to

Yoga

Vas

isth

a

- 15 -

Vedanta Sandesh

Seven Stepsto

Holistic Living

Goal Of Life

Life has infinite possibilities. Explore it

fully. Make the best of your life, by aiming to

live it fully, both in the objective field and also in

the subjective realm. Do not miss out on any of

the opportunities available to you. Aim for all

the four goals of life-Dharma, Artha, Kama &

Moksha.

Once upon

a time ...

StorySection

Markandeya

Mrikandu was a great rishi. Marudvati was his wife. For a long time they had no children.

The rishi prayed to lord Siva. Lord Siva appeared to him, and said, "I am pleased with you,Mrikandu. Tell me, do you want a hundred sons, who will live for a long time, but will all befoolish? Or, do you want one very intelligent son, who will live for only sixteen years?"

The rishi at once said, "Lord, give me that one intelligent son."Lord Siva said, "Good! You shall have him."

Soon the rishi got a son. He named him Markandeya. The boy grew to be very intelligentand handsome. The rishi invested him with the sacred thread. Markandeya learnt theVedas and Sastras, easily. Everyone liked him.

As the boy was getting on to be sixteen, Rishi Mrikandu became sadder and sadder. Oneday Markandeya asked his father: "Father, why do you look so sad?" The rishi said, "Son!What shall I say? When Lord Siva gave you to me, he said you would live only sixteenyears. You are now about to reach that age. How can Iand your mother bear to lose you aswe will at the end of this year?" Markandeya said, "Father! Is that the reason? Lord Sivais very kind to His devo- tees. You yourself told me that. He has saved many from deathbefore. I have read about it in the Puranas. I shall therefore worship Lord Siva day andnight from today. I am sure, He will save -me too! "

Rishi Mrikandu was very happy to hear his son say this. He blessed his son.

Markandeya built a Siva-Linga at a spot on the sea-shore. He started worshipping LordSiva morning, noon and night. He sang bhajans, and often danced in joy.

On the last day, Markandeya was about to sing bhajans, when Yama, the Lord of Death,came to him. Yama rode on a buffalo. He held a noose in his hand. He spoke toMarkandeya, "Stop your bhajan! You boy! Your life in this world is over. Be ready to die."Markandeya was not afraid. He clung to the Siva-Linga as one clings to one's mother.

Yama threw his noose round the boy's neck, and pulled him along with the Siva- Linga.

Then the Siva-Linga burst open and Lord Siva came out of it and said, "Yama, Pleasespare this child. I am pleased with his devotion. He is now blessed with a long life.

Markandeya then prayed to Lord Siva more fervently than ever. He came home, and fell atthe feet of his parents. They embraced him, and wept with joy. Markandeya became agreat rishi, and lived very long.

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Vedanta Sandesh

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Hjub!Hzbob!Zbhob-!Mvdlopx;A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji was conducted at

Hari om Mandir, Lucknow from 7th to 13th Oct 2012. The subject-matters of the morningand evening Discourse series were Gita Chapter 15, and Panchadasi Chapter 10(Natakdeep Prakarana).

In her 15th chapter discourses Poojya Swaminiji revealed how Bhagwan Sri Krishnareveals the cause and effect of Samsara tree. She said that the root of this tree with all itsdiversity, joys & pains is basically divine, and it is just its ignorance which brings all theprojections and all subsequent seekings. So one needs to awake to the Purushottam Tattvaand make the best of their lives. In Panchadasi the Witness consciousness was exploredtill it culminates into one, non-dual divinity. On the last day was a Bhandara, very lovinglyoffered by the Mandir authorities.

Tbozbt!Ebz!Dfmfcsbujpot!pg!Qppkzb!Hvsvkj;Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmananda Saraswatiji was given Sanyas by Param Poojya

Gurudev Brahmaleen Swami Chinmayanandaji on 10th Oct 1988 at his SandeepanyHimalaya Ashram at Sidhbari. Since then this day is very piously celebrated by his dis-ciples & devotees with gratitude & blessedness.

A special program was organized at Vedanta Ashram to celebrate this occasionwith a get together of devotees & disciples. There was a special ‘Flute Recital Program’presented by the well-known Flute artist of Indore, Sh Salil Date and his son. Salil pre-sented more than a dozen immortal bhajans & songs on his flute. This was followed by aBhandara - free langar prasad for all.

28ui!Wfeboub!Btisbn!Ebz!Dfmfcsbujpot;Vedanta Ashram was established on the pious occasion of Dasshera in 1995, and

since then Dasshera has an added significance for us here at Ashram. We have a traditionof having Shiv Puja on that day by children, as such a very nice puja was organized andconducted by Balvihar children in the morning, and in the evening there was a Bhajan Pro-gram followed by Ravana-Dahan Progrm. This was the first time we had such a program.The effigy of Ravana was made in-house and it was all great fun & frolic.

Pomjof!Tbutboh!Qsphsbn;The weekly Online Satsang Program which started last month is going on in full

swing. Poojya Guruji is giving elaborate talks on Sadhana Panchakam of Bhagwan Sri AdiSankaracharya. First there is an hour long discourse - in Hindi, and this is followed by livequestion & answers. Due to net connectivity issues there have been some changes yet theprogram continues unhindered. A new rich online resource is being created in this process,which is being appreciated by many people all over the world.

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Vedanta Sandesh

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Vedanta Sandesh

Vedanta Mission started in Mumbai in 1992 with a grand GitaGyana Yagna at Patwardhan Park. The organizer was an old devoteeof Poojya Guruji Sh Mangaram Wadhwani, who has since expired.Thereafter there were series of GGY at Arya Vidya Mandir, and itwas at that time the foundation of VM, Mumbai was laid.

Its been a long journey since and many Gita Gyana Yagnas,Sadhana Camps, Seminars, Workshops, Study Groups, CulturalPrograms etc have been organized since then. A Charitable Trustwas formed - Indian Cultural Foundation. A core group of devoteeshave been managing the activities with great devotion & enthusiasm.

VM Mumbai has decided to ceelebrate the occaion with allenthusiasm it deserves. In Dec 2012 special celebrations are beingorganized, which include:1. Organizing a grand cultural event ‘Sufiyana’ at Maniksabha Gruh2. Organizing a grand Gita Gyana Yagna at Vivekananda Auditoriumat Ramkrishna Mission Ashram Complex.3. Releasing of a Souvenir

Special fund drives are being organized, special brochuresare being published and effforts are being made to involve as manypeople as possible. For more information pl contact:

Indian Cultural Foundationc/o Elite Builders, 12th Road Khar (W), Mumbai

Email: indcul.foundation@gmail.com / Mb: 9820027141

20 Years of Vedanta Mission

Forthcoming

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Gita Gyana Yagna, Bhavnagar:A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will be conducted at Sri

Ramdas Ashram at Bhavnagar from 23rd Nov to 1st Dec 2012. The texts of discourses will beGita Ch-15 and Natakdeep Prakarana of Panchadasi.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow:A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji will be conducted at

Hanuman Setu Mandir, Lucknow from 17th to 23rd Nov 2012. Poojya Swaminiji will conductdiscourses on Kathopanihad - Ch-1-valli 1, and Gita Chapter-1 in the morning & evening.

‘Sufiyana’ Cultural Program, Mumbai:On 9th Dec a big Cultural Event will be orgnaized at Manik Sabhagruh Hall, Bandra by the

Indian Cultural Foundation, Mumbai, the parent Trust of Vedanta Mission, Mumbai. Folk singerslike Mir Mukhtair Ali and Parvathy Baul etc have already given their consent to participate.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai:A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji will be con-

ducted at Ramkrishna Mission Hall, Khar, Mumbai from 10th to 16th Dec 2012. This will be justafter the Sufiyana Program at Maniksabha Gruh on the 9th.

Gita Jayanti Celebrations, Indore:This year Mokshada Ekadashi i.e. Gita Jayanti is on 23rd Dec. Special mega functions

are organized at Indore from 20th Dec onwards on the occasion. Poojya Guruji and other AshramMahatmas are special speakers on the occasion at Agrasen Dham and Gita Bhavan.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Ahmedabad:A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will be conducted at

Ramkrishna Kendra, Ahmedabad from 23rd to 29th Dec 2012. Poojya Swaminiji will conductdiscourses on Gita Chapter-15 and Panchadasi Chapter-10 in the evening and morning ses-sions respectively.

VisitInternational Vedanta Mission

athttp://www.vmission.org.in/

Vedanta Mission News Blog:http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/

Om Tat Sat