Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

Year 21 Issue 3

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta MissionSept 2015 : Year 21 / Issue 3

Editor: Swamini Samatananda Saraswati

Published byInternational Vedanta Missionhttp://www.vmission.org.in / vmission@gmail.com

Space appears to be inside a pot, but when the pot breaks,the space inside doesnt break; so also the Atma of every individualis like space, when the body dies, the Atma does not die. It remainsas untouched & immaculate as the space.

?kVlao`rekdk'ka yh;ekus ?kVs ;Fkk A?kVks yh;sr ukdk'ka r}Tthoks uHkksie%AA

Amrutbindu Upanishad -13

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

Bhagwad Gita takes us from the perishable to the transcendental in a simple, logical & an amazing way.We begin from where we stand - from a changing & perishable world. All that which is an object of our experienceis termed here as the Kshar Purusha - the manifestation of Brahman in a changing way. Everything here is in astate of flux. It is coming & going. Birth & death is the story of everything that is seen, including our own body,mind & individuality. It is all so beautiful & amazing. We can see the signature of profound intelligence, love &beauty in everything around. The whole world is amazingly inter-connected and is throbbing as one organicwhole. There are no fragmentations of any kind whatsoever from the cosmic point of view. All of us are so uniqueand also connected with everything around. This perceptible manifestation which is continuosly changing iscalled the Kshar Purusha. Kshar because it is changing & perishable, and Purusha because basically it is all amanifestation of one divinity. We all see this world as a deliberate creation of & by some supreme intelliegnce &power. This is an effect of some cause.Akshar Purusha refers to the cause of everything that is Kshar. It is the seed from which this creationmanifests. Even an atheist knows that no effect can manifest without a cause. Every tree comes from a seed, andso too is the case with we humans. We were mere seeds at one point in time and then after the due processmanifested. Every art was once an idea in the mind of an artist, every litrature was once in the mind of an author.That was the seed from which it manifests. Akshar Purusha not only has the potential to visualize, think, dreambut also has the power to manifest. He is the Ishwar - God, with infinite intelligence & power, the so calledomniscience & omnipotence. Whatever we see outside in the manifest world was one day in the mind of thecreator - the Akshar Purusha. This is unmanifest stage, while the Kshar is the manifest one. Relatively speakingthe Kshar Purusha has birth, growth, decay & death - because it is a manifestation, while Akshar is a potential, soit is not afflicted by such modifications. Whatever a person can visualize & dream, can one day manifest as areality outside. This is what this principle is all about. One is the cause & the other is its effect. Vyakt & avyakt,creation, and then its dissolution and going back to the unmanifest state. Our waking & dream states aremanifestations of what all is there in our minds in an unmanifest state. Thus the cycle goes on endlessly. To wakeup tothe akshar is a great leap forward, one is empowered to create whatever one wishes, because such peopleknow that the secret lies in their clear & strong sankalpa - rest is as they say a history.However this Akshar Purusha too is not the ultimate truth. Manifest or unmanifest, cause or effect - thesewords are relevant from a particular point of view, and that point of view is - form. A material can manifest itself invarious forms. Initially the manifestation is potentially inherent, and later it manifests, this is what is cause & effectstage, but lets remember that we are just talking about the potential expressions of a material. A goldsmith cancreate various ornaments of gold, every ornament if a unique manifestation, and each has its own identity. Whenmanifested it becomes an object of our experience, it has a life span, a date of creation and also the possible dayof end. Initially the ornament was inherently present in unmanifest state in the gold, later a creative personmanifested it. Now all this talk is only about a particular dimension - and that is the various forms in which goldcan manifest. Another point of view is of the very nature of gold, not its possible manifestations. Kshar & AksharPurusha are unmanifest & later the manifest forms. Purushottam or Uttam Purusha is the very nature point ofview. Can we just keep aside this ephemeral dimension of manifest or unmanifest forms, and just look at the verynature of the substance. Just look at the glory of gold. It is there even when an ornament has been made or not.Gold is not born when a ring is born, gold doesnt die when the ring is melted. Even when the ring is born or it diesgold remains untouched by all this and as though revels in its glory. This realization of the fundamental substanceis the transcendental dimension. We just need to look at the whole play from a different angle. Thats Purushottam.

Kshar, Akshar & Uttam Purusha

from Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji

Vedanta Sandesh

Tattva BodhaTattva Viveka

Before we go into understanding what isReal let us first understand what is Unreal. It isthe Unreal world which appears to be real tous today. This is our realm of present exist-ence. Hence the journey starts from where westand today. Only when we understand what isUnreal, then shall the doors of Real open.Mithya:The word Mithya means Unreal. It isthat which appears in the present but does notexist forever. The Unreal has the following at-tributes:It has conditional existence:It has a conditional existence, based oncertain factors or conditions. Just as a rainbowappears in a particular condition when there issome rain and it is sunny at the same time.Likewise, there are so many things which apearin this manner. The scriptures reveal that ev-

erything in this world is conditional. Our physi-cal existence is conditional, based on certainkarmas that we have done in the past. Einsteinsaid everthing has a relative existence. Every-thing that as though appears actually is allmatter. At a particular time certain required con-ditions all fall into the right place and some-thing appears. An apple tree when it gets theright climate, right amount of water & sunlightit is born and grows. All these conditions varyfrom one thing to another, from one person toanother.It is dependant on another:Another important feature of Mithya orthe unreal is that it is dependant on somethingelse for its existence.It is limited in time & Space:It is born in one particular time, goesthrough changes and then dies away. Mithya

The text began with the invocation of blessings at the Lotus Feet of the Guru and the resolve towrite this text Tattva Bodha. The Acharya went on to discuss the four fold qualifications which are neces-sary to gain and imbibe the knowledge of Truth. Having discussed about these qualifications a verysignificant part of the text now begins with a statement which is the exact nature of the viveka of Tattva.The entire text is a detailed explaination of this pregnant statement-Atma satyam tadanyat sarvam mithyaiti. One can say the question & answer put forth here is the backbone of the entire text.

- 7 -

is that which is temporary. It comes and goesconstantly. We are ignorant about the realityof the world and the Self and so catch thatwhich meets the eye, and that which as thoughgives us some fulfillment. Even the appearanceof God as an avatar is time bound. At one timeGod takes an incarnation and then even thisform of Ishwara goes away one day. If a per-son wishes to know the truth of life then oneneeds to know this fact of life that everythingis mithya or an illusion. Yet everything is verybeautiful, everthing is a blessing and every-thing has a worldly purpose. Yet, nothing hasany substantial existence. If one is aware ofthis one can establish the right relationship withthe world. Knowing it is a dream there is nogrief A knowledgable person knows it is all adream. Everything that is born must die oneday-Jaatasy hi dhruvo mrityuhu. TatvaViveka is to see that all the objective world thatcan be identified seperately from the Self , isunreal. One who cannot see this truth alonegrieves on the changes and death of variousthings.If everything is Unreal then what is Real?There is a truth other than that what wesee with our physical eyes. This truth is thereality of the seer himself. He is the one whosees everything, enlightens everything. Thisconsciousness is not dependant on any thingelse. Atman is that who is the subject within. Itis the word used for the self. It is my reality.

This is specially thought about because thereis something else too can be understood asthe atman. An identity can be made on the ba-sis of all that which is mithya-illusionary-mybody, mind, intellect, relationships, sex, pro-fession, colour, etc. I am a human being, I ama man, a woman, I am a wife, I am an engi-neer, doctor, I am knowledgable or I am igno-rant and so on and so forth. These are my iden-tities but this not my reality. These identitiesare all conditional, second hand and tempo-rary. They are all transitional, limited in timeand space and constantly change. If this is notmy reality then what is my reality? My reality isthat which does not change, which is not de-pendant, which is not relative. When I am nota father, son, daughter, wife, officer then whatam I? The discovery is that all these are myroleswhich I adorn as per the demand of thesituation. These are all changing and depen-dant on someone else. Does my identity ceaseto exist when I am not any of these? There isanother dimension of the Self which is the Truthof the Self. That Truth is I am eternal, I am thelight of all lights and I am the blissful one. Theobjective of Tattva Vivekah is to understanddeeply these two facets of Real & Unreal. Thisalone is the crux of the entire spiritual journey.This discrimination and the subsequent deter-mination of what is real (Self) and what is un-real (the not-self) constitutes the enquiry intothe truth.Janmashtami Camp, IndoreA five days Janmashtami Camp is being organized at Vedanta Ashram,Indore from 31st Aug to 5th Sept. Poojya Guruji will give talks on the 10thChapter of Panchadasi. Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will conduct classes onAvatara Rahasya Section of Bhagwad Gita. Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji willconduct Meditation classes and also conduct chanting sessions.

Vedanta Sandesh

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point heasked:Are you writing a story about what weve done? Is it a story aboutme?His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is thepencil Im using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didnt seem very special.But its just like any other pencil Ive ever seen!That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if youmanage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peacewith the world.First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forgetthat there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and Healways guides us according to His will.Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner.That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, hes much sharper.So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because theywill make you a better person.Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out anymistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarilya bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior,but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happeninginside you.Finally, the pencils fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the sameway, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, sotry to be conscious of that in your every action by - Paulo Coelho

The Pencil

Request for Sanyas

The knowledgewhich qualifies us forsanyas not only is avery clearappreciation of theephemerality of theworld, but moreimportantly therealization thatseeking per sereveals our limitedidentity. If by the veryseeking we accept ourlimited idenity, thenhow can we expectthat endeavors basedon accepting ourlimited identity will oneday culminate in myrealization that I amone, non-duallimitless Brahman. - PoojyaGuruji

Hari om !It is always nice to hear such a desire, however the implication of this desire is soprofound that all wise people will first check out the exact motivation of such adesire. While Sanyas is indeed the fourth & final Ashram of we people, andshould indeed be the goal of every thoughtful person - but before one desires totake up sanyas one needs to know very deeply as to what it is all about. Sanyaswithout the required knowledge may just be a glorified escape.Why do you want Sanyas? It is very important that you be fully truthful to yourselfand appreciate the real motivation. Is it because of some failures in life, youwanted something desperately and inspite of your best efforts could not fulfillyour dreams, and that has brought about a deep-rooted dejection &disenchantment? or Is it because of some bitter or failed relationship? or maybeyou wish to enjoy more lasting joys & security, rather than work for somemomentary ones? Well, if any of the above motive is the reason of your wish,then please note that you are not yet ready for Sanyas. You may say that I wantMoksha, then the obvious question would be What is your understanding ofMoksha? Is Moksha a synonym of some divine, ecstatic, mind-blowing experiencein which you transcend time etc? If so then please understand that this is notwhat Moksha is all about.Whenever anyone wants Sanyas then most often some of the above motivationalone is the cause. When however you wish to get knowledge of the truth of life& yourself, then the whole scene changes. Sanyas is a means and not the goal.We dont aspire for sanyas, we aspire for knowledge, and with right knowledgethings start just dropping off. Sanyas naturally happens, thereafter the ritual ofsanyas is just a validation of this development by ones Guru. We dont go to aGuru for sanyas, but for knowledge, and it is the guru who after getting satisfiedwith the knowledge & sincerity of the student proposes that he may now preferablytake formal sanyas. This knowledge which qualifies us for sanyas not only is avery clear appreciation of the ephemerality of the world, but more importantly therealization that seeking per se reveals our limited identity. If by the very seekingwe accept our limited idenity, then how can we expect that endeavors based onaccepting our limited identity will one day culminate in my realization that I amone, non-dual limitless Brahman. Sanyas is rejection of all seeking. Sanyasi isnot motivated by any desire whatsoever, even of infinite ecstatic bliss etc., he/she just wants the knowledge of truth, and moreso has the inner strength to liveas per his conviction. If anything is untrue, then he will not be a part of that game.There will be no second thoughts about it. That is Sanyas - samyak nyasa,complete & effortless giving.Love & om,Swami Atmananda - 9 -

bySwaminiSamatananda

In the opening of the seventh chapter Sri Krishna speaks of three verysignificant qualities which open the doors for a seeker of knowledge. The knowl-edge of truth requires very definite qualifications without which the portals of knowl-edge are closed. The amazing thing about this knowledge is that its absorption isan inbuilt system taking place by the very qualities of a person. If a person has thequalities the secrets are revealed and if one does not have the qualities then evenif a person may acquire word knowledge, wisdom never dawns upon such a per-son. He will never be blessed by this knowledge. The blessings of this knowledgetoo are not dependant on any certificate given by a teacher or institute of learning.The success of this knowledge reflects in the life of a person. It is an absolute foolproof knowledge. If one sincerely gains this knowledge and lives it one will live alife of contentment and selflessness otherwise situations will speak for themselves.A student with right attributes involes the knowledge from his Guru, who himselffeels blessed to impart the knowledge to the student and gives hhim the best ofwhat he has. Here Sri Krishna is happy to have a student like Arjuna who is de-voted, dedicated, open minded and open hearted too and so glorifying the valueof this knowledge he speaks of three important attributes necessary for this knowl-edge. They are:1. Mayi aasakt manah - Be attached to Me (Ishwara)2. Yogam yunjan - Connection with God3. Mad ahsrayah - Be dependant on Me (Ishwara)Be Attached to Me Alone :Here when Sri Krishna uses the word Me he is not speaking of an indiviualor the manifested form of Sri Krishna but the implication is being attached toIshwara. To understand this concept of being attached to Ishwara let us under-stand the various facets of attachment.What is Attachment?Attachment is a very commonly used term which is often mistaken to belove. Not many people are able to discriminate between love and attachment.Attachment per se is a part of all ignorant people who are unaware of the truth oflife. Therefore attachment is as normal to a worldly person as fragrance is to aflower. We cannot expect worldly people to be devoid of attachment. A mother isattached to her child, a wife to her husband, a human being to money and fame,some people are attached to their work. Attachment shows its play in so manydifferent manners. Attachment is so inevitable that life appears to be impracticaland impossible without it. Infact it appears extremely necessary to have attach-ment to live ones relationships. But what is attachment? Attachment is a effect ofignorance. Ignorance gives birth to a limited, insecure being who then gets at-tached to all those things and people who are instrumental in giving love andsecurity. This limited being is the Jiva. The jiva gets attached to various things andpeople. This jiva gets trapped in his own circle of misunderstanding and getsattcahed to his worldly source of joy and security. This jiva jumps like a monkeyfrom one branch of attachment to another. It becomes an existential problem. Allattachment are borne out of self-centerdness & only bring about more attach-

One Wh

ose Min

d is att

ached t

o me

Vedanta Sandesh

A l lattachment areborne out of self-centerdness &only bring aboutmore attachment.In ignorance myrelationship withthe world aroundonly becomes amedium to fulfillmy attachments.

ment. In ignorance my relationship with the world around only becomes a mediumto fulfill my attachments. But is attachment same as love or is it different? Howisattachment different from love? Attachment is when we fully depend on some-one and that someone is like a crutch for me. On the other hand love is selflessand it reflects living for the happiness of the beloved.How to grow out of Attachment?The scriptures hav given us the medium of righteous living to give thissense of attachment a direction and to overgrow it. Righteous living is where wegrow over attachment and learn to live a life of true love. What is the differencebetween attachment & love? Love is selfless & attachment is self centric. Love forsomeone at the same level & love for some greater person is devotion. So thescriptures speak of changing focus from the self to Ishwara. Attachment withIshwarah. Growing over attachment is shifting attachment from worldly things &people to god. but there is another form of relation which god sets an example inhis leelas, which wise men live. That relationship is of love. Sometimes attach-ment is misunderstood for love. but one should be able to discriminate betweenlove & attachment. Attachment with worldly things & people is known to be love, &attachment to god & anything greater than us is called bhakti. When we have lovefor someone greater than we feel secured. In attachment ones own fulfillment ispriority & in love there is no worry about the self, but there is concern for the other.In attachment there is mutual expectation. in love everything eating drinking totalliving is for the happiness of the beloved. It is nice to b attachment to a potent one.Connect with ishwara to get over attachment. depend on me god says. This is thekey to opening the doors to knowledge. A potent one lifts the other person also.He will make us strong and knowledgable. Make god your inspiration.2 - Yogam Yunjan :Always be con- nected to God. Being connectedto God all the time does not mean that one needs tosit in a temple and constantly do japa or puja.Being connected to God means that the pres-ence of God is re- tained all the time. Thisretention of aware- ness is basically feel thepresence of God within and everythinh thatone does, eating, sleeping, taking care ofother family mem- bers, doing puja oryogasana, all in all whatever we do and not dobeing aware of the pres- ence of God and seeing theSelf as an instrument of God, seing the Self as a part ofthe whole creation and offering all activities at the Feet of the Lord. Making work aworship is the crux of this entire discussion. This idea is being constantly in con-nection with God. At the same time freeing the mind of the anxiety of the frits ofaction, having a balanced mind in convinient and adverse situations, being dy-namic in action and making work a worship are all a means of being constantly inconnection with God.3 - Mad Ashrayah :Sri Krishna speaks of his Godhood and as though offers us a covering thatkeeps us protected and at peace at all times. It implies that even if one feels theneed to depend on someone then one should depend on God, who is the omnipo-tent one. The all powerful. Depending on the learned Masters and taking therefuge of God is not a medium to fulfill ones desires but being in their connection- 11 -

Vedanta Sandesh

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in highesteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher andsaid, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?""Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before you talk to me aboutmy friend, it might be good idea to take a moment and filter whatyoure going to say. Thats why I call it the triple filter test. The firstfilter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you areabout to tell me is true?""Well, no," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and""All right," said Socrates. "So you dont really know if its true or not.Now, lets try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you areabout to tell me about my friend something good?""Umm, no, on the contrary""So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad aboutmy friend, but youre not certain its true. You may still pass the testthough, because theres one filter leftthe filter of Usefulness. Iswhat you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?""No, not really.""Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neithertrue, nor good, nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The Triple Filter Test

Wanderingin Himalayas

Badrinath

Excerpts fromthe

Travel Memoirsof

Param PoojyaSwami

TapovanjiMaharaj

From April to October several Mahatmas make these caves their abodeand practise penance in them. The Alaknanda coming down from a snow-ridge,in the north-west, and the Saraswati, which flows down from the Lake of theGods in the North, meet here, and this Holy place of junction is described in thePuranas as Keshava Prayag. From there a path proceeds in the direction ofTibet, over the Mana Pass, 18000 feet high. Leave aside that path and go straightwest along the bank of the Alaknanda and you reach a waterfall calledVasundhara. This spot is regarded as a Holy Pilgrimage centre.

If you cross the Alaknanda here, using the boulders of snow that stretchacross the river just like a dam, and go westward, you reach a beautiful placecalled Lakshmivanam. Birch trees with their dark green foliage and slightly red-dish bark and various kinds of plants, both big and small, covered over withflowers of different colors, flourish here, making it fit to be Lakshmi Devis owngarden. The beauty of the place filled my heart with joy.

I plucked a number of these fragrant flowers smelt themand decked myhead with them in reverance. It is a well-known fact that during the summermonths when the snow melts on the Himalayas, many rare kinds of plants andflowers, hardly met with elsewhere, make their appearance. These flowers arecapable of fascinating not only human beings, but also cows and other animals.They appear to be quite ordinary plants, but the wise know them to be plants ofgreat medicinal value.

Along the foot of Narayana Parvata you wend your way to the west andthen turn South. From here it is all trackless. To move forward you have to tackleclusters of rocks and masses of snow. From the high top of Narayana Parvatayou may see many waterfalls, everyone of which is regarded as a place ofpilgrimage by Hindus. On reaching the difficult and dangerous place, your mindcannot but revert to Yudhishthira and his perfect indifference to worldly com-forts. Although a mighty Emperor who could be rolling in worldly pleasures, heleft his court and kingdom to walk along the terrible gorges all alone.

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Story of Lila continues as she was able to recollect her and her husbandspast lives, and visit several places of their previous births. In all these travels, timeand place constraints, and even cause-effect relations appear to be discordant - afew days contain long years of very detailed life with many happenings, anduniverses are contained in a room, and dead come back alife. All these things areamazing from the common point of view, yet, from the point of view of absolute,their only reality is the pure Consciousness.

Though from the spiritual standpoint the whole universe is experiencedhere, from the physical point of view, millions of miles separate the planes. In theinfinite consciousness, in every atom of it, universes come and go like particles ofdust in a beam of sunlight that shinesthrough a hole in the roof. These comeand go like ripples on the ocean. Notjust our life, but the existence of thewhole world is compared to a ripple!The world is born, exists for some time,changes a lot, and at some other time itwill perish. The reality behind that birth,existence and destruction is ever thesame, and it is the same reality whichsustains every object and very livingbeing. It is your reality also. And you areThat. Anything besides that, what youmay believe to be yourself or the world, arejust transient appearances. And, as we already saw, anything transient cannot betrue or real.

Vasishtha says: To an immature and childish person who believes in hisconviction that this world is real, it continues to be real - even as a child whobelieves in ghost is haunted by it. If a person is enamoured of the appearance ofthe bracelet, he does not see that it is just gold; and he, who sees the glory ofpalaces, elephants and cities, does not see the infinite consciousness which aloneis true.

Vedanta Sandesh

AdhyatmicTeachingsofGuruVasishthatoSri Ramji

bySwaminiVidyananda

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This universe is but a long dream. The ego-sense and also the fancy thatthere are others, are as real as dream-objects. The sole reality is the infiniteconsciousness which is omnipresent, pure, tranquil, omnipotent, and whose verybody and being is absolute consciousness, and therefore not an object or anythingknowable. Because the substratum is real, all that is based on it acquires reality,though the reality is of the substratum alone. This universe and all beings in it arebut a long dream.

Truly, all that appears to your eyes is nothing but the infinite consciousnessalone. Everything is as it is; nothing has ever been created. You may say that whatappears to be is the creation of Maya, but then Maya itself is not real! All this is butMaya, for there is no contradiction between the infinite consciousness and theapparent existence of the universe. It is like a marvellous dream of a person whois awake.

Liberation is the realization of the total non-existence of the universe assuch. This is different from a mere denial of the existence of the ego and theuniverse! The latter is only half-knowledge. Liberation is to realize that all this ispure Consciousness, and you are that pure Consciousness.

Wind, Water, StoneWater hollows stone,wind scatters water,stone stops the wind.Water, wind, stone.Wind carves stone,stone's a cup of water,water escapes and is wind.Stone, wind, water.

Wind sings in its whirling,water murmurs going by,unmoving stone keeps still.Wind, water, stone.Each is another and no other:crossing and vanishingthrough their empty names:water, stone, wind.

By Octavio Paz

Vedanta Sandesh

Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every otherrelationship you have.If you are unwilling to question your beliefs you will never knowyou are following truth or lies.Take care of your body. Its the only place you have to live.Whenever you can find time for just being, drop all doing.Life is art in the purest form."The earth is large enough for all to share, but mankind's heartis not large enough to care."Before Truth can set you free you must first recognise whichlies are holding you hostage.Its never too early or too late or a bad time to start anything.Anyone who is angry is fearful.Before you speak...- Is it kind?- Is it necessary?- Is it TRUE?

Quotes

Once upon

a time ...

StorySectionVishnu in his many forms is an icon of protection and Krishna was

(among other things) an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. It is said that theresidents of Vrindavana were sometimes aware of this and at times dependedon Krishna to protect them. A good example was when Krishna liftedGovardhana Hill. Every year the residents of Vrindavana worshiped Lord Indrafor supplying rain. One year when Krishna was a youth, He asked Nanda toworship Govardhana Hill instead of Indra. Krishna argued, "We do not de-rive any special benefit from Indra. Our specific relationship is withGovardhana Hill and Vrindavana forest. Let us have nothing to do with Indra."

King Nanda finally agreed with Krishna and prepared to offer the sac-rifice to Govardhana Hill. This made Lord Indra angry and jealous. Forgettingthe divine position of Krishna, Indra reasoned, "These cowherd men inVrindavana have neglected my authority on the advice of this talkative boywho is known as Krishna. He is nothing but a child, and by believing thischild, they have enraged me." Indra then sent a storm to devastateVrindavana. All the people and animals came to Krishna for shelter, and in amiraculous show of strength, Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill with one fingerto make the mountain into a huge umbrella. Everyone crowded underneathit and remained safe until the rains stopped. Later, Lord Indra realized hismistake in attacking Krishna and apologized. This is an example of one of thedemigods behaving like a demon. Krishna Book explains, "Indra became an-gry because he thought that he was all in all within this universe and that noone was as powerful as he."

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Goverdhan Parvat

Vedanta Sandesh

8th Aug was celebrated as the Savan Utsav Day at Ashram. It is the beautiful &rainy month of Savan, devotees worship Bhagwan Shiv, and 8th Aug is also the birthday ofP. Swamini Amitanandaji. We combined all these to have a Savan-Utsav on that day. Itwas more of a devotional & cultural program. We brought a Shiv-Parivar idol in a processionto the hall above and placed it in a specially decorated Jhula. Bhajans & dances werepresented and also judged and the winners presented with gifts. Later everyone had prasad.

Every Monday, special puja and beautiful decorations (Jhanki) of Bhagwan SriGangeshwar Mahadev was done at the Ashram Mandir - throught the month of Savan. Inthe evening the devotees living near Ashram gathered for darshan & Aarti.

A new format of Monthly Satsang of Vedanta Mission members & devotees hasbeen started at Lucknow. It is a combination of prayers,, dhyana, bhajans, charcha &finally a short aarti. The first such satsang was organized on 25th Aug at Hariom Mandir,and was moderated by Sh Shekhar & Smt Asha Khanna. There were 18 members. Thesubject of discussion was sent from Ashram at Indore.

On 23rd Aug, Poojya Guruji alongwith some Ashram Mahatmas & few devoteesdecided to visit the newly made Sangam of River Kshipra & Narmada. It is a great &commendable project by the Govt of MP, by which the River Kshipra has been regenerated.Kshipra starts from a place which is around 20 Kms from Indore, and then slowly becomesa nice river on whose bank the Ujjain city is situated. Narmada river was brought to thatpoint in huge pipes and a lovely Sangam has been made. Devotees throng the place andhave a dip in the sangam. We also had darshan of the ancient Shiv Mandirs of DevGuradia & Kevedeshwar.

On 30th Aug was the day of the monthly Hanuman Chalisa Satsang. The campersof the Janmashtami Vedanta Camp had started coming too, which was beginning from thenext day. After the lovely bhajans for about 45 mins, everyone chanted the HanumanChalisa, and then there was the pravachan of Poojya Guruji. He spoke on the 5th chaupayiof the Chalisa, and told about the significance of each & every description of Hanumanji -whose upasana is being done by this immortal composition.- 19 -

Vedanta Sandesh

Bhajans, dances & bhandara presented by various devotees, with Shivji on Jhula. Birthday of SwaminiAmitanandaji. Organized & presented by devotees at Vedanta Ashram, Indore - on 8th Aug 2015

Poojya Guruji, P. Swamini Amitanandaji, P. Swamini Poornanandaji and devotees.

Planned & executed by P.Swamini Amitanandaji, and assisted by other Ashram Mahatmas.Darshan opened for devotees at evening Aarti time - on all four Savan Somvar

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Devotees tie Rakhi to Poojya Guruji and all Swaminijis on 29th Aug

Bhajans by devotees and Pravachan by Poojya Guruji- 30th Aug

By All Ashram Mahatmas - Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji / P.Swamini Amitanandaji /P.Swamini Samatanandaji and P.Swamini Poornanandaji - at Vedanta Ashram. From 31st Aug to 5th Sept2015

Poojya Guruji, P. Swamini Amitanandaji, P. Swamini Poornanandaji and devotees.

Vedanta Sandesh

His words are sweet, His character is sweet, His garmentsare sweet, His posture is sweet,His movements are sweet & His roaming is sweet.Everything about the King of Sweetness is sweet.His flute is sweet, the dust of His lotus feet is sweet, Hishands & His feet are sweet, His dancing is sweet & Hisfriendship is sweet.Everything about the King of Sweetness is sweet.His song is sweet, His drinking is sweet, His eating issweet, His sleeping is sweet, Hisbeautiful form is sweet & His tilak (mark adorning the fore-head) is sweet. Everything about the Kingof Sweetness is sweetHis deeds and activities are sweet, His path of salvationis sweet, His thieving/stealing is sweet, His love-sportsare sweet, His oblations/offerings are sweet & His coun-tenance is sweet.Everything about the King of Sweetness is sweet.

The Sweetness of Lord Sri Krishna

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Janmashtami Camp, Indore :A five days Janmashtami Camp has started at Vedanta Ashram, Indore on 31st Aug

and will conclude on 5th Sept. Poojya Guruji is discussing Natakdeep Prakarana of Panchadasi.P. Swamini Amitanandaji is talking on the Avatara Rahasya based on Gita Chap-4. Sri KrishnaJanmashtami will be celebrated on the 5th Sept - by all ashramites & campers.Gita Gyana Yagna, Jalgaon :

A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by P. Swamini Poornanandaji will be organized atDutta Mandir, Jalgaon from 9th to 15th Sept. Subs: Gita-5 / Kathopanishad 2-2.

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

Ramdas Ashram, Bhavnagar from 25th to 31st Oct. Subs: Gita-8 /Kaivalya Upanishad.

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

Hariom Mandir, Lal Bag, Lucknow from 4th to 10th Oct. Subs: Gita-8 /Kaivalya Upanishad.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Indore :A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji has

been planned to be organized at the Main Hall of Hindi Sahitya Samiti Sabhgruh, RNTMarg, Indore from 23rd to 29th Nov. Subs: Gita-3.Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow :

A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by P. Swamini Samatanandaji will be organized atRamnaam Bank Community Hall, SBI Colony, Lucknow from 27th Nov to 3rd Dec. Subs:Gita-1 / Tattva Bodha.

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