Daily Katha: 2024

Saturday 27 April 2024

Vivekananda Kendra Calling

People of our country are, by tradition, religion- minded and this country is therefore described as a land of religion and spirituality. Swami Vivekananda used to say that the soul of our country is in religion. The highest and the ultimate goal or Purushartha aspired for by the people of this country is Mutri, so much so that the traditional treatises dealing with even mundane arts and sciences, including those on Ayurveda and even statecraft, strive to tell, in their prefatory remarks, how the ultimate purpose behind them is to facilitate progress of every human being towards the common spiritual goal Moksha. If going to temples, visiting places of pilgrimage, participating in Bhajans, Yajnas and Anushthanas as also listening to philosophical and religious discourses by millions of people or the presence of numerous religious teachers, Gurus and such other men of God all over the country are the manifestations of a growing religiosity, our country, perhaps, is more religious today than it ever was at any time in the past. But, unfortunately, the natural impact of this apparent God-wardness on the general society is little in evidence today. Purposeful living, discipline, character, truthfulness, fellow-feeling, fearlessness, subordination of the self and a zest for works of public good, which are some of the traits that develop in a Godward society and which, we have enough evidence to say, existed in a good measure in our country in the past, are seen fast disappearing from our midst. Ironically enough, with the apparent religious fervour presently on the increase, general corruption, indiscipline and other kinds of moral degradation are also in the ascendant. How is this paradox to be explained? Certainly, it will not be reasonable to ascribe all these evils solely to inefficient governance of the country. Because, after all, the people, especially in modern democracies, get the government they deserve!

So, what is wrong with us and what is the way to save the country from the impending social disintegration that seems to be fast overtaking us? Any discerning mind will be able to see that a distorted conception of religion is the root cause of most of our evils for the last several centuries which persist even today. It is rightly said that religion is the soul of our country. But as that itself is blurred, we have the sorry spectacle of deterioration all round. Religious awakening means experiencing the presence of God in one's self and the world. That makes one conscious of the divine within and urges one to work for its enfoldment and to grow spiritually. Simultaneously it generates in one a sense of oneness with God's creation and, consequently, an intense fellow-feeling for the members of one's own species the human race and prompts one to work with zest for human welfare and progress. If, and as long as, the religious awakening intensifies on these lines, it is dynamic and full of tremendous potentialities for the transformation of humanity into higher and higher planes of existence. But, if it remains limited to rituals, forms of worship and offerings to God, or prayers and praises addressed to Him, it becomes static and has hardly a role to play in human advancement. Swami Vivekananda was the foremost among the modern religious teachers who strove to take out religion from that static condition into which it had degenerated over the centuries, and drew the attention of the people to its real role. He pointed out in no uncertain terms that ceremonies and forms are not the essence of religion, but it is rather the realisation of a higher life.

He said, "We may study all the books that are in the world, yet we may not understand a word of religion or of God. Temples and churches, books and forms are simply the kindergarten of religion, to make the spiritual child strong enough to take the higher steps. Religion is not in doctrines or dogmas, nor in intellectual argumentation. It is realisation in the heart of hearts; it is touching God, it is feeling, realising that I am a spirit in relation with universal spirit and all its great manifestations." To those who lost themselves only in forms and rituals, turning their back on the people and the misery' that had befallen them, he said, " What vain gods shall we go after and yet cannot worship the god that we see all around us, the Virat (Janata Janardan)? When we have worshipped this, we shall be able to worship all other gods. "The remedy for the ills of our country, therefore, lies in launching a mighty movement of right thought flooding the entire country. It has to be a two-pronged move. It is to be aimed, on the one hand, at (1) transforming our people's inherent God-wardness into right spiritual urge rising out of the Vedic teachings, namely, (i) each soul is potentially divine and (ii) faith in God, in turn, means faith in one's self, i.e., in one's potentiality to rise to divine heights. On the other hand, it is (2) to convert the spiritual fervour thus released into works of national reconstruction.

The movement described above has recently been born and the name it bears is Vivekananda Kendra. The seed of this movement was in fact sown as far back as three quarters of a century ago by Swami Vivekananda himself, when he brought into being the Sannyasi Order of the Ramakrishna Mission. This Order has been preparing the ground since then by propagating the twin ideals of renunciation and service, especially among the intellectuals. The time is now ripe and the present conditions also demand that enlightened people of this country yoke themselves to these ideals, and rouse the masses to intense activity towards national reconstruction. The coming into being of the Vivekananda Kendra is only an expression of that deep urge felt in the country.

- Eknath Ranade (Yuva Bharati, Special Commemorative Volume, 1973 Sept, editorial)

कथा : विवेकानन्द केन्द्र { Katha : Vivekananda Kendra }

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मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्ध‌‌यसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥

Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26

Friday 26 April 2024

The Water Story

Our life in this world is conditioned by several other existences—the most fundamental of which are elements of nature like water, soil, air, and sunlight. Our relationship with these natural forces is always delicately balanced. Today, this balance is being seriously impaired, especially in our relationship with water.

The Water Perspective

About 50% - 65 % of an adult human being's body is made up of water. It is the building block of cells, tissues, and organs; it regulates body temperature, aids in digestion, eliminates waste from the body, and performs a host of other vital functions. Again, 70% of our earth is covered with water. Of this, only 3 % is fresh water and again only 0.4% of this fresh water is accessible to us because the remaining 2.6% is locked in polar ice-caps, glaciers, or deep inside the earth.

Traditional Engagement

The Vedic rishis recognised the central role of water in creating and sustaining life. Water was recognised as divine, and the rivers as personified goddesses with motherly love for mankind. The Vedic literature has a number of prayers reflecting this attitude towards water. Some lines in the Apah Suktam, or the Hymn for Water sing:

O Water, this auspicious sap of yours, please share with us,
Like a mother desiring (to share her best possession with her children).
O Water, may the auspicious divinity which is wished for
be present in you when we drink (water).
May the auspiciousness which supports you, flow to us.
O Water, may the divinity in Water dwell in the farm lands,

O Water, I implore you to give nutrition (to the crops).
O Water, you are abundantly filled with medicinal herbs;
Please protect my body, so that I can see the Sun for long (i.e., live long).
O Water, please wash away whatever wicked tendencies are in me,
And also wash away the treacheries burning me from within,
And any falsehood present in my mind.

Truly, water has this dual power – it nourishes and strengthens the material world outside starting from our own body, and it purifies and transforms the subtle inner dimensions of our personality. In traditional homes, even today, the seven sacred rivers are invoked into the water being used for worship, cooking, and even bathing. Sri Ramakrishna too had a deep devotion to Ganga. He called Her Brahma-vari, i.e., Brahman in the form of water. If anybody talked of worldly things for a long time or mixed with worldly people, he would ask that person to drink a little of Ganga water and purify himself.

In sharp contrast to this traditional filial attitude towards water, is the modern approach which commodifies water and all the other natural resources. It is an attitude born of the understanding that the world is created for man's enjoyment. This mercenary perspective is in a sense at the root of the imbalance in our relationship with Nature.

Mother Earth's Response

What happens when we exploit Nature? An interesting story from Srimad Bhagavata gives the answer.

A number of people reduced to skeletons due to starvation approached their newly crowned king Prithu who, born in the line of Dhruva, was a part of Mahavishnu. They asked him to alleviate their sufferings and provide them sustenance. Prithu found out that by withdrawing into herself all her vegetation, goddess Earth had created this suffering. In great anger when he sought to punish her, goddess Earth took the form of a cow and ran away. But Prithu followed her in all directions. Finally, goddess Earth took refuge with Prithu himself and explained her actions.

She told him, 'O King! I saw how bad men, devoid of self-restraint, ate up all the cereals that Brahma had created for the purpose of Yajna. When the whole world became full of thieves, I took into myself all these cereals in order to conserve them for the Yajna. Because of the long lapse of time, these are lying in me in a decayed condition. Find a suitable calf and a pot for milking, and then milk, in the form of all your wants, can be drawn from me. O King! Also level me in such a way that the water that the rainy season brings, may spread everywhere and be available even after the season is over.'

Accordingly, using Swayambhuva Manu as the calf, Prithu milked out all plants into his own palm. The rishis used Brihaspati as calf and milked the Vedas and other scriptures into the vessel of the senses. Then the devatas, asuras, gandharvas, animals etc., using their best representative milked whatever they wanted from Earth. Exceedingly pleased with Earth for providing all the requirements of his people, Prithu adopted goddess Earth as his daughter and she came to be known as
Prithvi.

Two key points are to be noted here. Lack of self-restraint made men greedy and they ate up more than what they needed and thus disrupted the yajna-chakra or the cycle of sacrifice where each one contributes for the good of the other. The second point is that when approached with the love of a calf, Mother Nature will unlock all her treasures!

The Imbalance

Today, population growth, mismanagement of natural resources, and our selfishness are upsetting our relationship with Nature. We are witnessing heavy rainfalls leading to floods, and deficit or no rainfall creating famine-like conditions. Aggravating this is the pollution of rivers and water bodies by sewage and chemical effluents, excessive groundwater pumping and wasteful use of water. All these are seriously affecting our food security, health, energy generation, and economic growth. Water scarcity is also becoming a point of social tensions and regional conflicts.

The NITI Ayog's Composite Water Management Index released last year has some alarming statistics and predictions regarding water. It states that currently '600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress and about two lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water.' In its assessment for future, it predicts that by 2020 the groundwater in 21 major Indian cities could be depleted, and by 2030 the water demand in our country could be twice the available supply. In the face of this dim prospect, it is disheartening to know that only 8% of the water received from rains in the entire year is harvested in our country. We have to now act on Mother Earth's advice to King Prithu and conserve water!

The Call

Recently, the Prime Minister called upon the nation to start a mass movement, as was done for Swachh Bharat, to create awareness about water conservation, and to share knowledge of traditional and innovative methods of water conservation.

Achieving water security is the responsibility of every Indian. This Independence Day, let us pledge to educate ourselves first and then create awareness in others about water conservation and water recycling. Let us work out ways to limit our daily water consumption. Indeed, a mind that wastes natural resources will also waste its mental and spiritual energies. Let frugality be our watchword. This is the duty of every awakened Indian. Virtues have to be first practised by awakened citizens. Only then will it grow and become national virtues.

(courtesy : Vedant Kesari 2019 Aug, Editorial)

कथा : विवेकानन्द केन्द्र { Katha : Vivekananda Kendra }

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Thursday 25 April 2024

Worship of the Living God

When swamiji returned from americato India in January 1897, he gave five lectures in Madras. In his last lecture on The Future Of India, he summoned the people of India in these stirring words:

For the next fifty years this alone shall be our keynote, this, our great Mother India. Let all other vain Gods disappear for the time from our minds. This is the only God that is awake, our own race—'everywhere his hands, everywhere his feet, everywhere his ears, he covers everything.' All other gods are sleeping, what vain gods shall we go after and yet cannot worship the god that we see all around us ... the Virat? Worship it. Worship is the exact equivalent of the Sanskrit word, and no other English word will do... These we have to worship...'

He used the word worship here and not the word service. When service is combined with devotion and reverence, it becomes worship. Devotees go to a temple and cut grass around the temple. That they call worship. Why? There is service combined with devotion and reverence. So, Swami Vivekananda exhorted our people that when they deal with other human beings, they should combine service with reverence. That becomes worship. Reverence? Why? Because divinity is present there. There is that divine spark in every individual.

These teachings had been there in our books. Beautiful, clear enunciations are there and our people have been hearing them all these centuries. All over the country Bhagavata saptahas are conducted often. Our people have heard these teachings for seven days again and again and yet they have never understood their importance nor implemented them.

There is this subject of service as worship in the third skandha, chapter 29, of the Srimad Bhagavatam where the sage Kapila, God's incarnation, is giving spiritual advice to his mother Devahuti. I am quoting three verses from that beautiful exposition: (3.29.21)

अहं सर्वेषु भूतेषु भूतात्माऽवस्थित: सदा ।
तमविज्ञाय मां मर्त्यः कुरुतेऽर्चाविडम्बनम् ॥

'I exist in all beings as the Self; but people insult Me there and elaborately worship Me only in an image in the temple.'

The next verse (3.29.24) says:

अहमुच्चावचैर्देव्यैः क्रिययोत्पन्नयानघे ।
नैव तुष्येऽर्चितोऽर्चायां भूतग्रामावमानिनः ॥

I don't accept the worship of those who insult me in every form of living beings and yet worship me in the temple in an image with costly rituals—Naiva tushye—I am not at all pleased. And finally comes a very positive statement (3.29.27):

अथ मां सर्वभूतेषु भूतात्मानं कृतालयम् ।
अर्हयेद्दानमानाभ्यां मैत्र्याभिन्नेन चक्षुषा ॥

'Therefore, worship Me in all beings in whom I exist as their Self and have built a temple fo myself in them, by dàna, removing their felt wants, and màna, by showing due respect to the recipient, and in an attitude of friendliness and non-separateness.'

How to worship god in all beings? How to worship God in man? If to a man going on the street, you say, 'Stop, I shall do your arati,' you will become a nuisance to him. So, the correct way to worship God in human beings is expressed in two words: Danamanabhyam—through dana and mana. If he is sick, give him medical treatment. If he is poor, get for him food to eat or a job. And while doing so, respect him, mana. Don't look down upon him, as if you are superior.

Then come the two more important words: maitrya—with a friendly attitude. You go to a village. People suspect you. They have been exploited all the time. You are another such, they think. Make them realise that you are their friend. And, lastly, the important Vedantic teaching comes: abhinnena chakshusha—with an attitude of non-separateness. We are one; you and I are not separate. The same Atman is present in you and in me. What wonderful words! These words convey to us the practical application of Vedanta.

- SWAMI RANGANATHANANDA (Swami Ranganathananda is the President of the Ramakrishna Mission. This extract has been taken from the concluding talk delivered at the Devotees' Convention at the Belur Math on 8 February 1998)

(courtesy : Vedant Kesari 1998 Dec.)

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Wednesday 24 April 2024

The Birth Of The Ramayana - 7

Thus the essential condition for the birth of the best sahitya is a happy combination of self-control, supra-sensuous vision, humility, acquisition of facts, innate inclination, blessings of the teachers, appreciation by the good, divine inspiration, purity of character, and a passion to do good to others. When the heart is rent in grief, when the mind melts in sympathy, when the soul dissolves in devotion, when the heart expands in exhilaration, when the mind burns with righteous indignation to- wards wrong-doing, when the soul softens and sweetens with the love of the Lord, when the milk of mercy overflows, out of the fullness of such a heart flows poetry, pure and perfect.

The Ramayana, the first and best poem, contains all the rasas. It is the life story of Rama and Sītā. Rāma is God, and Sītā is the world. The world, in and through God, is grand and glorious; without Him, it is nothing by itself. The world as an end in itself spells man's doom. Rāvana kidnapped Sītā and despised Räma. And he met with his inevitable doom. Human life is a glorious opportunity if it instals Rama in its heart. Then life becomes beautiful and fruitful. Then there will be the kingdom of God both within and without.

Küjantam Rama Rameti madhuram madhurākşaram;

Āruhya kavitāśākhām vande Vālmākikokilam

'Salutations unto that sweet-singing Välmikikokila, who pours forth in melodious tunes the sweet name of Rama incessantly, sitting on the tree of poetry!'

- by Swami Siddhinathananda (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 1965 Oct)

कथा : विवेकानन्द केन्द्र { Katha : Vivekananda Kendra }

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Tuesday 23 April 2024

The Birth Of The Ramayana - 6

Valmiki, so the story goes, one day went to the river Tamasä to take bath, accompanied by a disciple. While he was enjoying the natural scenery, his eyes lighted on a pair of doves on a tree. As he was looking at the doves, an arrow brought down the male dove. The female dove cried its heart out seeing her mate rolling on the ground soaked in blood. The scene touched the heart of Valmiki. His heart melted in sorrow and sympathy. Overpowered by the sorrowful sight, he turned on the cruel hunter in rage and spake:

Mã nişāda pratisthâm tvamagamah

śāśvatiḥ samāh;

Yat kraunca-mithunäd ekam avadhih kāmamohitam

O thou cruel man, as thou hast shot dead this love-stricken dove, thou shalt not live long. (Balakanda, II. 15)

As this curse in the form of a couplet fell from his mouth, Valmiki was surprised. 'What is this? What is this that has fallen from my mouth? he asked himself. He told his disciple, Bharadvāja: "These words, musical and metrical, that have flowed from my grief-stricken heart must be a śloka; it cannot be anything else. Kivya flowed from karuna. Soka expressed itself in sloka. From grief grew poetry. Valmiki had a heart which could reflect the surroundings and which could reverberate in sympathy with them. Yes, Valmiki was a born poet.

However much may be one's acquisition and endowment, one does not gain self- confidence unless the experts in the line approve and appreciate. Välmīki returned to his cottage after his bath. There came to his cottage Brahma, the Creator. Valmiki welcomed the venerable guest. Valmiki's mind was still hovering over the scene he had espied and the words that had fallen from his mouth. Brahma, the inspirer of the Eternal Wisdom, consoled Välmīki, saying: 'Please don't worry about it. What you uttered was a sloka, and it sprang from you because of my wish.

You please write the life story of Sri Rama- candra in mellifluous poetry in this form. You have heard his life from Närada. Whatever else you require will occur to you as you go on writing.' Brahma went away. The disciples of Välmīki recited the stanza again and again, and they were charmed and surprised. According to the command of Brahmā, Vālmīki wrote the Ramayana.

- by Swami Siddhinathananda (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 1965 Oct)

To be continued ..

कथा : विवेकानन्द केन्द्र { Katha : Vivekananda Kendra }

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Monday 22 April 2024

The Birth Of The Ramayana - 5

It is not sufficient if the student alone is properly equipped; the teacher also must be well equipped, endowed with wisdom and enlightenment. Välmīki got as his master the saintly Narada, who is described as tapassvādhyāyanirata, muni pungava, and vägvidam vara; that is, he was devoted to study and self-control, was a great seer, and master of the art of speaking. Knowledge of the Self alone will do to attain liberation for oneself. But to be a teacher of humanity, a thorough knowledge of the great scriptures is necessary, in addition to Self-knowledge. Narada, who was a teacher of Valmiki and Vyāsa, was a student of the eternally perfect Sanatkumāra. Närada was well versed in all the branches of secular and spiritual lore. He had pored and pondered over them for long and deeply, and had imparted his mature wisdom to many a worthy seeker. He was a master of the art of speaking and teaching. And that is very essential for a teacher. The word 'Narada' means one who makes man realize his real nature by imparting to him spiritual knowledge: Naram paramātma- vişayakam jñānam dadāti iti Näradah.

Thus, Valmiki's teacher was one who was well versed in the scriptures and endowed with spiritual insight and attainments, one who had a tender heart for his fellow beings and who expressed his fellow feeling by devoting himself heart and soul to the enlightenment of mankind about God.

What will a discerning disciple want to learn from such a great soul, if he were lucky enough to meet one? A good man will speak only of things which are beneficial to the world at large as well as to himself. And what did Välmīki ask of Narada? About a man then alive who was the best of men, the most virtuous, honest, grateful, self-controlled, sympathetic, beautiful, non-jealous, fearless, and a terror to the wicked. A man endowed with these virtues is verily God Himself. In reply to Valmiki's question, Narada narrates the history of Rama of the Iksväku dynasty, and assures that the noble
Rämäyana, which is as sacred as the very Vedas, washes away all stains of man:

Idam pavitram päpaghnam punyam vedaiśca sammitum;

Yah pathed Ramacaritam sarvapāpaih pramucyate.

(Balakända, 1. 98)

Concentration, instruction from a master, the blessings of the great ones, and transcendental vision alone will not make one a poet. Something more is necessary. The gift of the muse must be inborn in oneself. That, too, is not enough. There must be favourable situations that will invoke and provoke the innate gift. All these were happily combined in Valmiki.

- by Swami Siddhinathananda (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 1965 Oct)

To be continued ..

कथा : विवेकानन्द केन्द्र { Katha : Vivekananda Kendra }

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Sunday 21 April 2024

The Birth Of The Ramayana - 4

Swami Vivekananda says that the first requisite for proper education is concentration. The greatest tapas is the control and concentration of the senses and the mind (manasaśca indriyānām ca aikāgryam paramam tapah). And Välmiki was endowed with this prerequisite abundantly, as is evi- dent by the use of the adjunct 'tapasvī' in the verse quoted above. The story goes that the poet was a robber in his early days, who, on the advice of some sages who fell victim to his villainy, performed severe austerities for such a long period that he was covered over with valmika, white ants' mound. When he came out of the mound, he was a changed man: he had turned out to be a sage. Since he had a resurrection through the valmika, he came to be known as Välmiki. So his very name is indicative of very severe tapas. Tapas makes one a qại, a mantra- drastā, a seer of the saving truths about God. The Ramayana is the result of Val- miki's spiritual vision; it is a garland of mantras. The poet promises an honour- able place at the feet of the Lord for the man who devoutly listens to the Ramayana in full or even in part:

Srunvan Ramayanam bhaktyā yah padam padamova va;

Sa yati Brahmanaḥ sthānam Brahmaņā pūjyate sadā.

(Uttarakanda, CXI. 24)

This is the reward the poet offers to the student of his sacred book.

Thus far we have spoken of one-pointed- ness and transcendental vision. But these alone are not enough to make one a great poet. One has to acquire knowledge from a noble teacher. How can one gain knowledge from another? Humility, earnest ness, and obedient service are the essential pre-conditions to acquire wisdom from others. An enlightened teacher will most gladly transmit his knowledge to such an earnest student. How did Välmīki approach his teacher Narada? The opening verse says, paripapraccha, humbly and earnestly did he inquire.

- by Swami Siddhinathananda (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 1965 Oct)

To be continued ..

कथा : विवेकानन्द केन्द्र { Katha : Vivekananda Kendra }

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Saturday 20 April 2024

The Birth Of The Ramayana - 3

Judged by this standard, only those works are worthy of being called sähitya which speak of the Lord or those that show us the way to the Lord. In this sense, the Ramayana, the magnum opus of the sage Valmiki, will shine in the forefront. of the best literature. If there is anyone who can be considered an equal to Valmiki, it is only Vyāsa. None has yet been born, and it is highly improbable that any- one will ever be born, who can rank with these two immortal bards of India.

What makes the Ramayana the best poetry? What are the conditions that are essential for the production of poetry nonpareil? Let us have a look at the circum- stances that gave birth to the first poetic muse to find out the answer.

The author of the Ramayana, the great sage Välmīki, is described as a great tapa- svin, man of self-control and concentration, in the opening verse of the Ramyana, which gives a picturesque description of the visit of the itinerant divine minstrel, Narada, to the hermitage of Valmiki on the Tamasa river. When the minstrel arrives, the verse narrates, Valmīki greets him respectfully and questions him about the best of men then living:

Tapassvādhyāyaniratam tapasvi vigui- dam varam;

Nāradom paripapraccha Välmäkirmuni pungavam-

"The self-composed Välmīki respectfully asked the most saintly Narada, who was devoted to discipline and study and who was a master of the art of speaking, about the best of men then living."

- by Swami Siddhinathananda (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 1965 Oct)

To be continued ..

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Friday 19 April 2024

The Birth Of The Ramayana - 2

Heart is the seat of love. And love is bliss. One derives bliss from a true work of art. This bliss is the essence of the ever-blissful Lord. Rasa, the enjoyment of this bliss, is the essence of poetry. We enjoy not only the gladdening rasas such as brigāra, hāsya, and adbhuta, but also the saddening ones such as karuna, raudra, and bhayankara in sähitya.

A great literary work makes the reader forget his surroundings, time, and place. He transcends space-time entanglement. Time and space are the constituents of Mayä. A real work of art makes one transcend the shackles of Maya. That is to say, the best literature is that which confers on the student freedom from the mundane bondage and makes him realize his 'at-one- ment' with his own true self.

Emerson has said somewhere that a work that cannot stand a second reading is not worth reading. If one were to judge the worth of books with this criterion, how many books are there which may be considered readable? Very few, indeed. The Upanisads, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Maha bharata, the Bhagavata, the Ramayana, the Dhammapada, the Bible, and the Koran, and a few other similar books which treat of the glory and greatness of God alone are worthy of study. Other works are worthy of attention only in so far as they reflect these godly virtues. Those books which deal with ephemeral matters will be put aside as soon as the ephemeral needs are fulfilled. The immortal scriptures that speak of the eternal verity are an invaluable treasure until we realize the eternal Truth. The eternal and the external are always at loggerheads. The external is fatal to the truth-seeker. Sense enjoyments carry their own revulsion. Revelry repels. The supra-sensual will always attract the soul for that is the soul's true nature. The life in the senses is soaked in the brine from the cradle to the grave. Yet it is bearable only because there is the dim glow of the ever blissful even in the midst of this procession of tears, euphemistically called life. The sense- objects seem attractive because in them also there is a reflection, distorted though, of the ever-blissful Self.

- by Swami Siddhinathananda (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 1965 Oct)

To be continued ..

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Thursday 18 April 2024

The Birth Of The Ramayana - 1

Before the introduction of English in India, by sahitya or literature was commonly meant the poetical compositions of great poets. As the Indian languages came into contact with English, the prose works in various languages grew in bulk and importance, and in course of time, all knowledge gained through the written word came to be considered as sāhitya. How far is this justified? There are various claimants to the title of sahitya, such as vaidika sahitya, laukika sahitya, padya sāhitya, gadya sahitya, and so on. Are they all entitled to be called so? What is sāhītya? It is sahita-bhāva, together-ness. Together- ness implies the simultaneous presence of two things in one and the same thing. Now, what are these two things that are present simultaneously in sähitya and are bound together? The most well-known and the only thing that does not stand in need of anybody else's certification is one's own self or the jiva. And who is the iiva's companion? True friendship is possible only between equals. Who is iiva's equal and friend? God. And where do they meet? In the heart of every being (sarvabhūtānām hrddeśe Gitā, XVIII. 61). The Chandogya Upanisad (VIII. iii. 3) says that the hrdayam (heart) is so called because the Lord or the Atman dwells there (hrdi ayam iti). So sahitya means the meeting of the jiva and God.

A person who understands and appreciates sahitya is called a sahrdaya. Because the heart is the nidus, the dwelling-place of the swans of golden plumage, the soul and the Over-soul. What does a man attain from the enjoyment of sahitya? Tanmayată, atonement' with 'That', that is, with Brahman. 'Tat' (That) is a pronoun which stands for Brahman, according to the Gita (XVII. 23): Om tat sad iti nirdeśo Brahmanas-trividhah smrtah. But it should not be a complete merger; for, then, there will be none to enjoy. Brahman is Sat-cit-ananda. Of this triad, the jiva, the 'Sat', realizes his 'cit' aspect through 'ananda'. Then he becomes 'at one' with Brahman, and that 'atonement' is sahitya par excellence.

- by Swami Siddhinathananda (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 1965 Oct)

To be continued ...

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Tuesday 16 April 2024

Nava-Ratri Special : Devi Sarada - 6

After Sri Ramakrishna's mahasamadhi, Holy Mother was about to remove the bangles in conformity with the status of widowhood. At that moment Sri Ramakrishna appeared before her in a tangible vision and asked if she thought he had actually died. He instructed her to continue wearing the bangles, and she did so until her growing un- ease over public disapproval and ridicule led her to remove them. Again he appeared, this time telling her that Gauri Ma would set things right. That very afternoon Gauri Ma came to visit and explained that Sri Ramakrishna's physical death had no bearing on his divine being, and that as his consort, Holy Mother was herself Lakshmi. As the goddess of prosperity, she was not only entitled, but duty-bound, to wear the bangles. Her doubt removed, Sarada Devi wore the bangles for the rest of her earthly life as a symbol of her divine nature.¹⁶

Devi Bagala

When Sri Ramakrishna fully awakened the Divine Mother's presence in his wife through the Shodashi Puja, he consecrated every part of her body with mantras infused with the Mother's manifold
powers.¹⁷ Shodashi, or Tripurasundari, is one of the ten Mahavidyas or wisdom aspects of the Divine Mother, which include Kali. Since they are all ultimately one, it can be said that Tripurasundari
contains the other nine within herself. Among them is Bagalamukhi, one of Mother's fierce forms. On rare occasions Sarada Devi would reveal a fiercer aspect of her divine motherhood, and in one
such incident she showed herself in the form of Bagalamukhi,¹⁸ whose unique power is to immobilize the evil impulses of an enemy.¹⁹ Bagalamukhi's dhyanamantra describes her as of golden complexion, dressed in yellow, and adorned with ornaments and a yellow garland. Serious in demeanour, she holds a club in her right hand, poised to strike, while with her left hand she grasps the
tongue of the enemy (193).

Holy Mother revealed herself in this startling form once while staying at Kamarpukur. At that time a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, named Harish, came to the village. His constant visits to Dakshineswar
and the Baranagore monastery had led him to neglect his wife and family. To turn his mind back to his worldly responsibilities his wife had administered drugs and spells, and now he was clearly
deranged. One day, when Holy Mother was on her way home after visiting a neighbour, Harish began to chase her. Entering the family courtyard, she found that no one was at home. She began to
circle the granary, all the while with Harish in pursuit. After she had gone around it seven times, she stopped, unable to run any longer. What happened next is best told in her own words: 'Then I stood
firm working myself up to my full stature (lit., assuming my own form). And then, placing my knee on his chest and taking hold of his tongue, I slapped him on his cheeks so hard that he began to gasp
for breath. My fingers became red.²⁰ Not long afterward, Harish left Kamarpukur and went to Vrindavan, where he regained his sanity.²¹ This incident illustrates that even the Mother's fiercer powers
are in fact benevolent.

While Sri Ramakrishna made no attempt to hide his spiritual moods and would frequently go into samadhi before the eyes of astonished onlookers, Holy Mother made every effort to keep her powers well under control. However, hiding her true identity was more than a matter of mere reticence or modesty. There can be no doubt that the cloak of motherhood that concealed her divinity made her
more accessible to her children.²² Even so, she would reveal a momentary glimpse now and then, as the recollections of many disciples and devotees show.

Devi Kali, Devi Ma

A particularly charming incident took place soon after Sri Ramakrishna's death in 1886. Holy Moth- er was travelling on foot from her native village of Jayrambati to Kamarpukur, accompanied by her young nephew Shivaram, known affectionately as Shibu. The boy was carrying her bundle of clothes, and when they came near to Jayrambati, he sud- denly stopped. When Holy Mother urged him on, he replied that he would continue only if she told him something.

She asked what he wanted to know, and Shibu said, 'Will you tell me who you are?'

She replied that she was his aunt. Who else could she be? At this response, the nephew told her that in that case she could go on by herself. She reasserted that she was his aunt and a mere human
being, and he told her again that she could go on alone. At his unwillingness to budge from the spot, Holy Mother said at last, 'People say I am Kali'.

'Are you really Kali? Is it true?' Shibu asked.
'Yes', Holy Mother replied, and then the two continued on to Jayrambati, the delighted young Shibu contentedly following the Mother of the Universe.²³

References :

16. Swami Atmajnanananda, 'Sri Sarada Devi's Bangles, Samvit 54 (September 2006), 22-25. 17. 'Sarada Shodashi', 31.

18. Swami Nikhilananda, Holy Mother, 106.

19. David Kinsley, Tantric Visions of the Divine Femi- nine: The Ten Mahavidyas (Berkeley: University of California, 1997), 199.

20. Swami Gambhirananda, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi (Madras: Ramakrishna Math, 1969), 157-8. 21. Swami Nikhilananda, Holy Mother, 106.

22. 'The Fulfilment of Sri Ramakrishna's Mission', 77. 23. Swami Nikhilananda, Holy Mother, 185-6.

23. Swami Nikhilananda, Holy Mother, 185-6

-by Devadatta Kali (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 2007 April)

To be continued ...

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Monday 15 April 2024

Nava-Ratri Special : Devi Sarada - 5

Devi Saraswati, Durga, Lakshmi

The Shodashi Puja belongs to the Tantric tradition known as Srividya, which has a surprising connection to Shankaracharya, the great exponent of Advaita Vedanta, and to the Ramakrishna Order. The connection goes all the way back to Shankara's famous debate with Mandana Mishra, an adherent of the Mimamsa school. In the debate, Shankara upheld the superiority of knowledge over Vedic ritualism; Mandana defended the supremacy of Vedic ritual; and Mandana's wife, Ubhayabharati, by virtue of her superior wisdom, acted as the moderator. When Mandana was defeated, his wife, who was regarded as an incarnation of the goddess Saraswati, revealed her intention to leave her body. Shankara tried to dissuade her, saying that if she were to withdraw from the world, the knowledge of Brahman would leave with her. Ubhayabharati then instructed Shankara to install a Srichakra, the yantra of Tripurasundari, in his math at Sringeri, saying that her presence would abide there to protect the knowledge of Brahman."¹⁴

Because Sri Ramakrishna achieved nirvikalpa samadhi under the tutelage of Totapuri, a sannyasin of the Puri tradition of Shankara's monastic orders, the Ramakrishna Order belongs to the Puri lineage at Sringeri. The presiding deity there is the Divine Mother Sharadamba, also called Saraswati. And the Srichakra represents that same aspect of the Divine Mother called variously Srividya, Tripurasundari, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Rajarajeshwari. In accordance with this long line of tradition, we can determine that in performing the Shodashi Puja, Sri Ramakrishna installed the knowledge of Brahman in the human form of Sarada Devi (34) and made her the presiding deity of the future Ramakrishna Order."¹⁵

Although the goddess Saraswati figures in the story of Shankara's debate and therefore in the Shodashi Puja, Sri Ramakrishna had already identified his wife with Saraswati long before. When Sarada was five years old and about to be married to the young priest from Dakshineswar, the groom's family could not afford to purchase the traditional bride's bangles. The immediate solution was to borrow the bangles from the Laha family and to return them after the marriage ceremony. Apparently no one took into account that little Sarada would not want to relinquish the beautiful ornaments, which had to be given back to the rightful owners. That night, while the girl slept peacefully, Ramakrishna carefully removed the bangles, which were then re- turned to the Lahas. Imagine the little girl's distress on waking the next morning and finding them gone. Her mother-in-law consoled her with the promise that some day Gadai (Ramakrishna) would give her more precious ornaments than those.

Thirteen years later, when Sarada went to live with her husband at Dakshineswar, the promise was fulfilled. Considering Sri Ramakrishna's aversion to money and his inability to store up anything for future use, the fact that he made good on his mother's pledge illustrates its great importance. With funds that had been saved for him from his priestly salary, Sri Ramakrishna instructed his nephew Hriday to have a pair of gold bangles made for Sarada. And not just any gold bangles. Ramakrishna remarked to Hriday that Sarada was none other than the goddess Saraswati, and that the bangles should be incised to resemble the many tiny facets of a diamond. The importance of the bangles' appearance harks back to a vision of Sita that Sri Ramakrishna had had sometime around 1859. She was the first aspect of the Divine Mother to appear before him. As she was about to merge into his own body, he noticed her diamond-cut bangles, and in his mind they came to symbolize his relationship with his wife. As Rama had his Sita, so had he his Sarada, and the diamond-cut bangles he had made for her became a symbol of his recognition of her divinity.

References :

14. 'Sarada Shodashi', 33-4.

15. Pravrajika Amalaprana, 'The Spiritual Legacy of Indian Women', in Eternal Mother, 54.

-by Devadatta Kali (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 2007 April)

To be continued ...

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Sunday 14 April 2024

Nava-Ratri Special : Devi Sarada - 4

As the worship proceeded, Sarada and Sri Ramakrishna lost outer consciousness and were united in the transcendental unity of samadhi. Both realized their identity with the Absolute. Long after midnight, regaining some awareness of the outer world, Sri Ramakrishna offered himself to the Divine Mother, now manifest in the form of Sarada. He surrendered himself, along with his japamala and the results of all his sadhana, at her feet and then recited a sloka from the Chandi: 'O Consort of Shiva ings! O , the most auspicious of all auspicious be- Doer of all actions! O Refuge of all! O three-eyed goddess of golden complexion! O Power of Narayana, I salute You again and again' (352).

Ordinarily one performs the worship of Tripurasundari, the Shodashi Puja, with some intent of personal gain or a desired result. What was Sri Ramakrishna's motive? We can certainly rule out personal gain. The Bhairavi Brahmani had already declared at the end of Sri Ramakrishna's Tantric sadhana that he was established in divyabhava, a state of consciousness in which he experienced the whole universe as the Divine Mother¹⁰. We find his own vivid description of that exalted mood in his account of his experience in the Kali temple when he saw everything as consciousness. We can rule out personal gain as his reason for performing the Shodashi Puja, but was there another result that he wished to bring about? For him the puja was the culmination of twelve long years of sadhana, an act of complete self-surrender to the Divine Mother. At the same time, it was the means to awaken Sarada to the great spiritual power that was potential in her. With this worship Ramakrishna
acknowledged her as a partner in his earthly mission. No other divine consort, not even Sita or Radha. has played such an active role in spreading the avatara's message¹¹." As his shakti, Sarada Devi was Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual equal, destined to become the guiding and protecting force of the monastic order that would some day be established in his name. For these and other reasons, the significance of the Shodashi Puja cannot be overestimated; yet even after this defining moment in her earthly life, Sarada Devi remained to outward eyes the simple, devoted, hard-working wife of the holy man of Dakshineswar.

Since everything Sri Ramakrishna did was guided by the Divine Mother, so was this Shodashi Puja. He did not divulge the details of it to anyone, not even to Hriday and Dinu, who had assisted with the preparations. They had no idea that he would evoke the Mother in the form of Tripurasundari, which was a total break with precedent on the new- moon night of the Phalaharini Kali Puja¹². The shastras enjoin that Tripurasundari, or Shodashi, be worshipped on the night of the full moon. Different times are auspicious for the worship of different aspects of the Divine Mother. Kali, during Maharatri (cosmic dissolution), is in her nirguna state; it is then that mind, form, and all other attributes dissolve into 'no-thingness' (not nothingness, but a positive state devoid of all qualities), leaving only infinite, self-luminous consciousness. Tripurasundari is just the opposite. Rather than revealing 'no-thingness, she manifests purnatva, the divine fullness of beauty, grace, and all other virtues. In invoking Tripurasundari, Sri Ramakrishna revealed Sarada Devi as the power of divine fullness and universal motherhood (28-9). That explains why when Holy Mother was once asked if she were the mother of all, she replied, 'Yes.' When pressed further with the question, 'Even of these birds and animals?' her reply was, 'Yes, of these also'.¹³

References :

10. Pravrajika Vedantaprana, 'Sarada Shodashi', in Eternal Mother, 32-3.

11. Pravrajika Bhavaniprana, "The Fulfilment of Sri Ramakrishna's Mission', in Eternal Mother, 78.
12. 'Sarada Shodashi', 23-4-

13. Her Devotee-children, The Gospel of the Holy Mother (Chennai: Ramakrishna Math, 2000), 75.

-by Devadatta Kali (courtesy : Prabuddha Bharat 2007 April)

To be continued ...

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