Shankaracharya - Sanatana Dharma

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

18 May was Adi Shankaracharya's birthday and Swami Sivananda Maharaj had written summary of his life and what he did for Sanatana Dharma in India, which otherwise had taken the form of Jainism and then followed by Buddhism.

He is responsible for the current Sanatana Dharma in India, which he accomplished in 33 years of his short life.

SANKARA by Swami Sivananda Maharaj.


Introduction

Chaos pervaded all through India in the matter of religion and philosophy. Sect after sect, such as Charvakas, Lokayathikas, Kapalikas, Shaktas, Sankhyas, Buddhas and Madhyamikas sprang up. The number of religions rose as high as seventy-two. There was fight amongst sects. There was no peace anywhere. Chaos and confusion reigned supreme. There was superstition and bigotry. Darkness prevailed over the once happy land of Rishis, sages and Yogins. The once glorious land of the Aryans was in a miserable state. Such was the state of the country at the time which just preceded the Avatara (incarnation) of Sankaracharya.

The existence of Vedic Dharma in India today is due to Sankara. 

The forces opposed to Vedic religion were more numerous and powerful at the time of Sankara than they are today. 

Still, single-handed, with in a very short time, Sankara overpowered them all and restored the Vedic Dharrna and Advaita Vedanta to its pristine purity in the land. 

The weapon he used was pure knowledge and spirituality. 


The previous Avataras, like Rama and Krishna, used physical forces because the obstacles to Dharma in those days arose from the physical obstructions and molestations by the Asuras (demons). The menace to Dharma (Righteousness) in the Kali age (age of destruction) arose from obstacles that were more internal than external, more mental than physical. The seeds of Adharma (unrighteousness) were then working in the minds of almost everyone. Hence the evil had to be combated purely by the weapon of knowledge and self-purification. It was in order to forge this weapon and wield it with efficacy that Sankara took birth in the Brahmin Varna (caste) and entered the Sannyasa (renounced) order early in life. The previous Avataras like Rama and Krishna took birth in the Kshatriya Varna (warrior caste), because in their days they had to wield military weapons in the restoration of Dharma.

All are no doubt aware of the very important position assigned to Sankaracharya in the history of Indian philosophy. It can be affirmed, without any fear of contradiction, that Bharata Varsha would have ceased to be Bharata Varsha several centuries ago and would never have survived the murderous sword, the devastating fire and the religious intolerance of the successive invaders, if Sankara had not lived the life he lived and taught the lessons he taught. And those lessons are still pulsating in every cell and in every protoplasm of the true aspirant and the true Hindu.

Birth

Sankara was born in a very poor family in the year 788 A.D. in a village named Kaladi, six miles to the east of Alwaye, Kerala. Kaladi is a railway station, on the Kochi-Shoranur rail link. Sankara was a Nambudiri Brahmin. Rajasekhara, a Zamindar (a rich landlord), built a Siva temple in Kaladi and formed an Agrahara for Brahmins who were in the service of the temple. Vidyadhiraja was doing Puja (worship) in the temple. He had only a son named Sivaguru. Sivaguru studied the Shastras and married at the proper age. He had no child. He and his wife Aryamba prayed to Lord Siva to bless them with a son. A son was born to them in the Vasanta Ritu or the spring season at noon, in the auspicious Abhijit Muhurta and under the constellation Ardhra. This son was Sankara.

Sivaguru died when Sankara was seven years old. Sankara had none to look after his education. His mother was an extraordinary woman. She took special care to educate her son in all the Shastras. Sankara's Upanayana or thread ceremony was performed in his seventh year, after the death of his father. Sankara exhibited extraordinary intelligence in his boyhood. When he was only sixteen, he became a master of all the philosophies and theologies. He began to write commentaries on the Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras when he was only sixteen years old. What a great marvel!

Sankara's mother was consulting astrologers about horoscopes of suitable girls for her son's marriage. But Sankara had a firm resolve to renounce the world and become a Sannyasin. Sankara's mother was very much grieved that there would be no one to perform her funeral rites after her death. Sankara gave full assurance to his mother that he would always be ready to serve her at the death-bed and perform the usual funeral rites. Even then his mother was not satisfied.

One day, Sankara and his mother went to take bath in the river. Sankara plunged into the water and felt that a crocodile was dragging him by the foot. He shouted out to his mother at the top of his voice: "O dear mother! A crocodile is dragging me down. I am lost. Let me die peacefully as a Sannyasin. Let me have the satisfaction of dying as a Sannyasin. Give me your permission now. Let me take Apath-sannyasa”.

The mother immediately allowed him to take Sannyasa. Sankara took Apath-sannyasa (the adoption of Sannyasa when death is near) at once. The crocodile let him go unharmed. Sankara came out of the water as a nominal Sannyasin. He again repeated his promise to his mother. He left her under the care of his relatives and gave away his little property to them. He then proceeded to find out a Guru with a view to get himself formally initiated into the sacred order of Sannyasa.

In Search of a Guru

Sankara met Swami Govindapada Acharya in a hermitage in Badrikashram (Badrinath) in the Himalayas and he prostrated at the teacher's feet. Govinda asked Sankara who he was. Sankara replied: "O revered Guru! I am neither fire nor air nor earth nor water-none of these, but the Immortal Atma (Self) that is hidden in all names and forms". 

He also said in the end: "I am the son of Sivaguru, a Brahmin of Kerala. My father died in my childhood. I was brought up by my mother. I have studied the Vedas and the Shastras under a teacher. I took Apath-sannyasa when a crocodile caught my foot while I was taking bath in the river. Kindly initiate me formally into the holy order of Sannyasa".
Swami Govinda was very much pleased with the truthful narration given by Sankara. Having initiated him and invested him with the robe of a Sannyasin, Swami Govinda taught him the philosophy of Advaita which he himself had learnt from his Guru-Gaudapada Acharya. 

Sankara learnt all the philosophical tenets from his Guru Govindapada. Govinda asked Sankara to go to Kashi. Sankara proceeded to Kashi where he wrote all his famous commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Gita and successfully met all the criticisms levelled against them. He then began to propagate his philosophy. Sankara had the greatest esteem for his Guru Govindapada and his Parama Guru or the teacher's teacher, Gaudapada.

Sankara's Digvijaya

Sankara's philosophical conquests are unique in the world. He had his triumphant tour all over India. He met the leaders of different schools of thought. He convinced them by arguments and established the supremacy and truth of the religion that he expounded in his commentaries. He went to all the celebrated seats of learning. 

He challenged the learned men to discussion, argued with them and converted them to his opinions and views. He defeated Bhatta Bhaskara and condemned his Bhashya (commentary) on the Vedanta Sutras. He then met Dandi and Mayura and taught them his philosophy. He then defeated in argument Harsha, author of Khandana Khanda Kadya, Abhinavagupta, Murari Misra, Udayanacharya, Dharmagupta, Kumarila and Prabhakara.

Sankara then proceeded to Mahishmati. Mandana Misra was the chief Pundit of the court of Mahishmati. Mandana was brought up in the Karma Mimamsa faith and so he had intense hatred for the Sannyasins. He was performing a Sraaddha ceremony when Sankara somehow dropped down there. Immediately Mandana Misra became very furious. An ugly conversation was started when the Brahmins, who were present there for dinner, interposed and pacified Mandana Misra. 

Then Sankara challenged Mandana to a religious controversy. Mandana agreed. Bharati who was the wife of Mandana Misra and who possessed scholarly erudition was appointed as the umpire. It was agreed beforehand that Sankara, if defeated, would become a householder and marry; and that Mandana, if defeated, would become a Sannyasin and receive the robe of a Sannyasin from the hands of his own wife. 


The controversy began in right earnest and continued for days without any interruption. Bharati did not sit and listen to their controversy. She threw two garlands, one each over the shoulders of each of the disputants, and said: "He whose garland begins to fade first should consider himself defeated". She left the place and began attending to her household duties. The controversy went on for seventeen days. The garland of Mandana Misra began to fade first. Mandana Misra accepted his defeat and offered to become a Sannyasin and follow Sankara.

Bharati was an Avatara of Sarasvati, the Goddess of Learning. Once the sage Durvasa chanted the Vedas before Brahma and his wife in a big assembly. Durvasa committed a small mistake. Sarasvati laughed at it. Durvasa became enraged and gave a curse that she would take birth in the world. Hence Sarasvati had to take birth as Bharati.
Bharati now interposed and said to Sankara: "I am the other half of Mandana. You have defeated only one half of Mandana. Let us have a controversy". 

Sankara objected to have controversy with a woman. Bharati quoted instances wherein there had been controversies with women. Sankara then agreed and this controversy also went on uninterruptedly for seventeen days. Bharati passed from one Shastra to another. At last she found out that she could not defeat Sankara. She decided to defeat him by means of the science of Kama Shastra.

Sankara asked Bharati to give him an interval of one month for his preparation to hold controversy with her in the science of Kama Shastra. She agreed. Sankara went to Kashi. He separated his astral body from his physical body by means of his Yogic powers and left his physical body in the hole of a big tree and asked his disciples to take care of that physical body. He then entered into the dead body of Raja Amaruka which was about to be cremated. 

The Raja rose up and all the people rejoiced at the astounding incident.
The ministers and queens soon found out that the revived Raja was a different person, with different qualities and thought. They realised that the soul of a great Mahatma had entered the body of their Raja. Therefore, messengers were sent out to search for a human body hidden somewhere in lonely forests and caves and to burn it when found. They thought that if they did so, the new Raja might remain with them for a long time.

Sankara was acquiring all the experience of love with his queens. Maya is very powerful. In the midst, of those queens, Sankara entirely forgot all about his promises to his disciples about his going back to them. The disciples began to search for him. They heard about the miraculous resurrection of Raja Amaruka. They immediately proceeded to the city and had an interview with the Raja. 

They sang a few philosophical songs which at once revived the memory of Sankara. The disciples immediately repaired to the place where the physical body of Sankara was kept hidden. By that time the messengers of the queen had found out the physical body and had just begun to set fire to it. The soul of Sankara just then entered his own body. Sankara prayed to Lord Hari to help him. There was a shower of rain immediately and that extinguished the flames.

Then Sankara returned to the residence of Mandana Misra. He resumed the old controversy and answered all the questions raised by Bharati satisfactorily. Mandana Misra gave all his property as a gift to Sri Sankara and Mandana was made to distribute it to the poor and the deserving. 

He then became a disciple of Sankara. Sankara initiated him into the holy order of Sannyasa and gave him the name of 'Sureswara Acharya'. Sureswara Acharya was the first Sannyasin who took charge of the Sringeri Mutt. Bharati also accompanied Sankara to Sringeri and there she is worshipped even today.

Sankara ascended the seat of omniscience after inviting Vedic scholars from all parts of India and answering their numerous questions. Sankara, by vanquishing all the religious opponents of his day-and they belonged to no less than seventy-two different schools-and establishing the superiority of the Vedic Dharma, had become the Jagadguru of all.

Sankara's success over the other religious sects was so complete that none of them have since been able to raise their head in the land. Most of them have disappeared altogether. After Sankara's time, although a few Acharyas have appeared, none of them have been able to vanquish those who differed from them as Sankara did and establish unquestioned supremacy.

Mother’s Funeral Rites

Sankara received news that his mother was seriously ailing. He left his disciples and proceeded to Kaladi alone. His mother was then bedridden. Sankara touched her feet in reverence. He praised Lord Hari. Hari’s messengers came. Sankara's mother gave up her physical body and went along with those messengers to the abode of Hari.

Sankara encountered serious difficulties in performing the funeral rites of his mother. Usually, Sannyasins do not perform any of the rites or ceremonies which are enjoined on the householders. The Nambudiri Brahmins were all against Sankara. Sankara's relatives also did not help him. 

They did not come forward to assist him even in carrying the dead body to the place of cremation and refused to give fire for igniting the funeral pyre. At last Sankara determined to perform the funeral rites all alone. As he could not carry the entire dead body, he cut it into pieces and removed the pieces one by one to the backyard of the house. He then made a pyre there of stems of plantain trees and set fire to it by his Yogic power. Sankara wanted to teach the Nambudiris a lesson. 

He then made the local chief issue an edict that a corner should be set apart in each Illam or house of the Nambudiri Brahmins to burn the dead of the family and that they should cut the dead body into parts and then burn the same. This practice continues even today amongst Nambudiri Brahmins.

Sankara then returned to Sringeri. From there he went out on a tour through the eastern coast with a large number of followers. He preached his Advaita philosphy wherever he went. He established the Govardhana Mutt at Puri. He went to Kancheepuram and attacked the Shaktas. He purified the temples. He won over to his side the rulers of the Chola and the Pandya kingdoms. 

He went to Ujjain and put down the atrocities of the Bhairavas who were shedding human blood. He then proceeded to Dwaraka and established a Mutt there. He then travelled along the course of the Ganges and held religious controversies with great personages.

Sankara's End

Sankara proceeded to Kamarup-the present Guwahati-in Assam and held a controversy with Abhinava Gupta, the Shakta commentator, and won victory over him. Abhinava felt his defeat very keenly. He made Sankara suffer from a severe form of piles through black magic. Padmapada removed the evil effects of the black magic. Sankara became quite alright. He went to the Himalayas, built a Mutt at Joshi and a temple at Badri. He then proceeded to Kedarnath higher up in the Himalayas. He became one with the Linga in 820 A.D. in his thirty-second year.

Sringeri Mutt

In the north-west of the State of Mysore, nestling in the beautiful foot-hills of the Western Ghats, surrounded by virgin forests, lies the village of Sringeri and here Sankara established his first Mutt. The river Tunga-a branch of the river Tungabhadra-runs through the valley closely touching the walls of the temple; and its pure and limpid waters are as famous for drinking purposes as the waters of the Ganges are for bath (Ganga Snanam, Tunga Panam). Sringeri is a place of great sanctity and its beauty has to be seen to be appreciated. The Mutt is 'still going strong' as the phrase goes. The homage paid to the Mutt by countless aspirants and devotees is as much due to the greatness of illustrious men like Vidyaranya who have been at its head ever since its foundation as to the renown of the founder himself.

It may not be out of place to mention here that it took thirty years for the well-known Sanskrit professor Max Muller to translate the commentary on the Rig Veda, written by Vidyaranya, also known as Sayana. The learned professor, in his preface, says that not a single day passed in the thirty years without his devoting at least ten minutes on the translation. There is also a little interesting incident that when the manuscript was found to be illegible in some places, he got an authorised transcription from the first original still preserved in the Sringeri Mutt, through the influence of the then Maharaja of Mysore.

The famous holy shrine of Sri Sarada is an equal source of attraction to the devotees. Many are the Mutts and monasteries in India where holy men or their successors sit, and where Hindus from all parts of India gather, but none so great or so famous as Sringeri, the original seat of Adi Sankaracharya. The Sringeri Peetha is one of the oldest monasteries of the world flourishing for over twelve centuries now. It is the first of the four seats of learning established by Sankaracharya, the other three being Puri, Dwaraka and Joshi Mutt, each one of them representing one of the four Vedas of the Hindus.

Sankara placed his four eminent disciples (Sureswara Acharya, Padmapada, Hastamalaka and Trotakacharya) in charge of the Sringeri Mutt, Jagannath Mutt, Dwaraka Mutt and Joshi Mutt respectively. The most famous Sannyasin in the succession of Gurus of the Sringeri Mutt was, of course, Vidyaranya, the great commentator on the Vedas and the father of the dynasty of Vijayanagar. He was the Dewan of Vijayanagaram. 

He became a Sannyasin about 1331 A.D. The eleven Sannyasins before Vidyaranya were Sankaracharya, Viswarupa, Nityabodhaghana, Jnanaghana, Jnanottama, Jnana Giri, Simha Girisvara, Isvara Tirtha, Narasimha Tirtha, Vidya Sankara Tirtha and Bharati Krishna Tirtha.

The historic and sacred pontifical throne of the Sringeri Mutt is known as Vyakhyana Simhasana or seat of learning. Tradition has it that this seat was given to the great Sankara by Sarasvati, the Goddess of Learning, in appreciation of the philosopher's vast scholarly erudition. Thirty-five Acharyas had sat on the pontifical throne before his present holiness in regular and uninterrupted succession.

Dasanami Sannyasins

Sankara organized ten definite orders of Sannyasins under the name 'Dasanamis' who add, at the end of their names, any one of the following ten suffixes: Sarasvati, Bharati, Puri (Sringeri Mutt); Tirtha, Asrama (Dwaraka Mutt); Giri, Parvata and Sagar (Joshi Mutt); Vana and Aranya (Govardhana Mutt).

The Paramahamsa represents the highest of these grades. It is possible to become a Paramahamsa by a long course of Vedantic study, meditation and Self- realisation. The Ativarnashramis are beyond caste and order of life. They dine with all classes of people. Sankara's Sannyasins are to be found all over India.

Some Anecdotes.

Sankara was going along the street one day with his pupils to take bath in the Ganges when he met a Chandala who was also passing along the street with his dogs by his side. The disciples of Sankara shouted and asked the Chandala to clear off the road. 

The Chandala asked Sankara: "O, venerable Guru! You are a preacher of Advaita Vedanta and yet you make a great difference between man and man. How can this be consistent with your teaching of Advaitism? Is Advaita only a theory?". Sankara was very much struck by the intelligent query of the Chandala. 

He thought within himself, "Lord Siva has assumed this form just to teach me a lesson". He composed then and there five Slokas called the ‘Manisha Panchaka’. Every Sloka ends thus: “He who learnt to look on the phenomena in the light of Advaita is my true Guru, be he a Chandala or be he a Brahmin”.

In Kashi, a student was cramming the Sutras in Sanskrit grammar. He was repeating again and again "Dukrin karane, Dukrin karane....". Sankara heard it and was struck by the perseverance of the boy. He immediately sang a small poem, the famous Bhaja Govindam song, in order to teach the uselessness of such studies in the matter of the liberation of the soul. The meaning of the song is: "Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, O fool! When you are about to die, the repetition of these Sanskrit Sutras will not save you".

Once some mischief-mongers offered meat and liquor to Sankara. Sankara touched those items with his right hand. The meat turned into apples and the liquor into milk.
A Kapalika came to Sankara and begged for his head as a gift. Sankara consented and asked the Kapalika to take his head when he was alone and absorbed in meditation. The Kapalika was just aiming with a big sword to sever the head of Sankara. Padmapada, the devoted disciple of Sankara came, caught hold of the arm of the Kapalika and killed him with his knife. Padmapada was a worshipper of Lord Narasimha. Lord Narasimha entered the body of Padmapada and killed the Kapalika.

Sankara's Philosophy

Sankara wrote Bhashyas or commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Gita. The Bhashya on the Brahma Sutras is called Sareerik Bhasya. Sankara wrote commentaries on Sanat Sujatiya and Sahasranama Adhyaya. It is usually said, “For learning logic and metaphysics, go to Sankara's commentaries; for gaining practical knowledge, which unfolds and strengthens devotion, go to his works such as Viveka Chudamani, Atma Bodha, Aparoksha Anubhuti, Ananda Lahari, Atma-Anatma Viveka, Drik-Drishya Viveka and Upadesa Sahasri”. Sankara wrote innumerable original works in verses which are matchless in sweetness, melody and thought.

Sankara’s supreme Brahman is Nirguna (without the Gunas), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without attributes) and Akarta (non-agent). He is above all needs and desires. Sankara says, "This Atman is self-evident. This Atman or Self is not established by proofs of the existence of the Self. It is not possible to deny this Atman, for it is the very essence of he who denies it. The Atman is the basis of all kinds of knowledge. The Self is within, the Self is without, the Self is before and the Self is behind. The Self is on the right hand, the Self is on the left, the Self is above and the Self is below".

Satyam-Jnanam-Anantam-Anandam are not separate attributes. They form the very essence of Brahman. Brahman cannot be described, because description implies distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than He.

The objective world-the world of names and forms-has no independent existence. The Atman alone has real existence. The world is only Vyavaharika or phenomenal.
Sankara was the exponent of the Kevala Advaita philosophy. 

His teachings can be summed up in the following words, from ब्रह्मज्ञानावलीमाला



ब्रह्मा  सत्यं  जगन्मिथ्या  जीवो  ब्रह्मैव  नापरः  |
अनेन  वेद्यं  सच्छास्त्रमिति  वेदान्तडिण्डिमः |२० |

Brahman alone is real, this world is unreal; the Jiva is identical with Brahman.
Sankara preached Vivarta Vada. Just as the snake is superimposed on the rope, this world and this body are superimposed on Brahman or the Supreme Self. If you get a knowledge of the rope, the illusion of the snake will vanish. Even so, if you get a knowledge of Brahman, the illusion of the body and the world will vanish.

Sankara is the foremost among the master-minds and the giant souls which Mother India has produced. He was the expounder of the Advaita philosophy. Sankara was a giant metaphysician, a practical philosopher, an infallible logician, a dynamic personality and a stupendous moral and spiritual force. His grasping and elucidating powers knew no bounds. He was a fully developed Yogi, Jnani and Bhakta. He was a Karma Yogin of no mean order. He was a powerful magnet.

There is not one branch of knowledge which Sankara has left unexplored and which has not received the touch, polish and finish of his superhuman intellect. For Sankara and his works, we have a very high reverence. The loftiness, calmness and firmness of his mind, the impartiality with which he deals with various questions, his clearness of expression-all these make us revere the philosopher more and more. His teachings will continue to live as long as the sun shines.

Sankara's scholarly erudition and his masterly way of exposition of intricate philosophical problems have won the admiration of all the philosophical schools of the world at the present moment. Sankara was an intellectual genius, a profound philosopher, an able propagandist, a matchless preacher, a gifted poet and a great religious reformer. 

Perhaps, never in the history of any literature, a stupendous writer like him has been found. 

Even the Western scholars of the present day pay their homage and respects to him. 

Of all the ancient systems, that of Sankaracharya will be found to be the most congenial and the most easy of acceptance to the modern mind. So I hope this clears that Adi Shankaracharya did not use physical force or killed anyone to restore dharma.

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

Sianala, Montreal Jun 2010

Sun :The Eye Of The World

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

In Sanskrit, Makara Sankranti means the time when the sun crosses the tropic of Capricorn. The day is of special significance to all those leading a spiritual life and mention has been made of the commencement of this new period in such scriptures as the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita. 

The sun comes to the North, energising and invigorating all life wherever it is, and on whatever he sheds his light. In esoteric parlance, in mystic terminology, the sun is regarded as the presiding deity over the self of man, while the moon is the presiding deity over the mind of man. 

The self or the soul is different from the mind; the Atman and the Manas are differentiated by their metaphysical and psychological characteristics, respectively. The self of man is presided over by the sun or Surya. 

The sun is designated as natural Atmakaraka. "Surya atma jagatas tasthushascha," says the Veda. The Rig Veda proclaims the spiritual presiding principle in the sun as the invigorator, energiser of the self of all created beings. 

That is the meaning of the Vedic prayer mentioned above, of all the things that move and do not move, of all that is organic or inorganic, of everything in creation, the solar principle is the self, as it were, the pivot around which all individual energies revolve. 

We live by the sun and die if the sun is not to be. spiritually envisaged, esoterically conceived, the sun is not merely a huge orb of atomic energy as the physicists would tell us, but a radiant mass of life-giving vitality to everyone. 

The sun is not merely a heating principle, like an electric heater or a fire-like burning mass, or a huge conflagration of fire, because these cannot give you that energy which the sun supplies to you. I shall give a small analogy to give you an idea as to what the sun can contain and does contain.

Do you know what the earth contains? 

Can you imagine what energy, what vitality, what abundance, what resources are contained in the earth? You have the gold, you have diamonds, you have mineral resources lying under different parts and bowels of the earth, you have gas and petrol and what not; and where do you get this energy from, for the sake of the living beings on earth? 

The trees vigorously rise from the earth, sucking energy from the bottom of the earth, and they seek energy from above - from the rays of the sun, when we geologically and physically look into the structure of this earth, and chemically examine its contents, biologically investigate into its resources, as a pure scientific mind, we will realise that the earth is not dead matter, it is energy-embodiment, on whose bounties we are alive here. 

The food that we eat is not dead matter, otherwise it cannot give us energy. From where do we get energy? from the food that we eat, from where do we get the food? from the earth, If energy is to come from food, naturally the source of it must be full of energy, the earth cannot be inanimate, as we generally dub it to be, it is not inorganic; there is something organic and living, meaningful and significant in it, and even many millions of years ago the earth had been declared to be a part of the solar constitution. 

As our wise men tell us, once upon a time a mighty gigantic star happened to rush by the side of the electromagnetic field of the sun - some light years away from the sun, of course, not merely a few miles, the impact of this upon the orb of the sun was such that it broke off a little piece of the sun. That little piece, being a flaming, diverging, powerful energy-block, rushing from the sun, boiling with the flame of what the sun is, is supposed to have come down after thousands of years, cooling down gradually from the flaming condition in which it was to a cooler condition, and from the cooler condition to a still cooler condition, then from that condition into the gaseous condition, from the gaseous to the liquid condition, and from the liquid condition to the solid condition that we see today.

 So, all this wonderful earth is nothing but a part of the sun, and its greatness can be traced back to the greatness of the sun which cannot be, by logical deduction, a mere physical or inorganic form as uninformed science may tell us.

There is something wonderful and mysterious in the sun and there is some great significance in connecting the principle of the sun with the self of man, as there is also equal significance in connecting of the moon with the mind of man, you may know that during the full moon and the new moon days the mind gets affected. 

Those who are weaklings and who are not mentally strong will feel this impact more than normal persons, normal persons do not feel it, but those who are not normal in their minds will feel the effect strongly, the moon, the stars, the sun and all the stellar system exert a mutual influence amongst themselves, you may know that during the full moon the ocean rises up, swells up as if to greet the rising moon and, naturally, the pull must be felt everywhere on earth, but you cannot see it.

Such is the invisible impact of the higher forces of nature, whose father is the sun, when the sun's influence is felt more and more, the self is supposed to also exert influence in its activity, operation. So, this particular day, we call Makara Sankranti, is holy.

The Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita tell us that those who die during these six months of the northern course of the sun, rise from the earthly entanglements to the higher regions presided over by noble deities, finally piercing through the orb of the sun, crossing the barrier of the sun, the soul crosses still higher regions of resplendence and spiritual magnificence.

The Upanishads and such scriptures describe that while the passage of the moon during the six months of the southern course of the sun is the passage of return to the earth, the passage through the sun is the passage to salvation, liberation of the spirit.

Those who cross the barrier of the sun come not to this mortal world again, they go to higher regions until the soul reaches universal salvation, until the soul becomes everything, enters into everything everywhere, as the Mundaka Upanishad tells us. Seekers of Truth, aspirants on the path of Yoga, devotees of God, lovers of mankind - all these have to pay tribute to the supreme father of energy, vitality, deathlessness, which is Surya. "Suryah pratyaksha devata": The sun is the visible God.

If you have any visible God, it is the sun before you. You cannot see God in His pristine excellence, but you can see God through the operation of his powers in nature. In the Purusha Sukta, the sun is compared to the eyes of the Virat Purusha, the Cosmic Person. These are true comparisons and symbols which give us an idea of the magnitude and the importance of the sun in our life. People pray that their death should take place during the six-month period of the northern movement of the sun. 

In the Mahabharata we are told that Bhishma waited for his departure until the sun moved to the north. So there is not merely an astronomical or physical significance to our lives in the movement of the sun towards the north, but there is also a biological, vital and psychological as well as spiritual meaning in this northern sojourn of the sun. 

Devotees and seekers of Yoga have, therefore, to bring to their minds this internal world and its significance which is beyond and farther than the physical world. The inner world is deeper than the outer.

In some of the scriptures we are told that there are twelve suns. 

Where are the twelve suns? We see only one sun in the sky. 

We can regard these twelve suns as the principle inherent within the physical sun, one behind the other. Just as we have the vital body behind the physical body, the mental body behind the vital body, the intellectual body behind the mental body, and the spiritual principle in us behind the intellectual body, so also there are energies behind energies, powers within powers, one transcending the other, until the twelfth sun is reached. 

It is identified with Maha-Vishnu or the Supreme Benefactor of Creation, the Ruler of the Cosmos. The twelfth sun is Vishnu Himself. He cannot be seen with the physical eyes because these esoteric suns are internal to the physical sun. You cannot see the vital body or the mental body, intellectual body or the spiritual principle in yourself. You cannot see anything inside the body. In as much as we live in the physical body and see a physical world, we see also a physical sun. When we enter the vital body, we will enter the vital world and see a vital sun, and so on and so forth, and when we reach the ultimate principle within us by the practice of Yoga, we will see the hidden essence behind the world. It is not a country; it is not a realm, a village or a city, or any locality populated by people. 

A marvellous ocean of light and energy is presided over by the twelfth sun, says the scripture.

There is much behind these great observances such as the Makara Sankranti and many others of a similar nature, in the spiritual destiny of man. We live a material life, not knowing what we really are, what the world is. 

We seem to be so ignorant of the values that are inherent and within us that we are dashed hither and thither by the winds of fate, controlling the physical world and the physical body of people. The more you move inward into yourself, the more you will also see the inner mystery of the world. When you go to the vital body within you, you can see the vital body of other people seated here. Because you are now in the physical body, you see the physical body of others. When you enter your mental body, you can see the minds of other people, and when you enter your intellectual body, you can see the intellects of other people seated here. And when you enter your spiritual principle within, you can see the spirituality in the world and the spiritual principle in the whole cosmos.

The twelve suns described in the Srimad Bhagavata and other scriptures are not twelve physical suns hanging in the sky, but twelve layers of principle, one behind the other, culminating in the spiritual reality as the sun, wherein the individual, the world and God become one. In the physical realm you are different, the world is different and God is different. There is no connection apparently between one and the other. When you go deeper, the three principles come nearer and nearer to one another. The world is absolutely isolated now. You have no control over it; it threatens you every moment. You are afraid of the world. Why? Because it is physically isolated from your physical body. And so God is also a transcendent something of which you have no concept today. 

But when you go inwardly by a power of concentration and meditation, you simultaneously, as a parallel movement, also enter into the subtler realms of the world outside, so much so that the outsidedness of the world becomes less in proportion to the internal experience that you have in your own self. The more you are physically conscious, the more the world also is external to you. The more you are inwardly conscious, the nearer is the world to you. 

The inimical world, the so-called unfriendly world, becomes friendly when you enter into the subtler and subtler realms of your own being. And when you reach the divine principle within you, the world does not merely remain as a friend but becomes an inseparable experience of your own. The world ceases to be an outer phenomenon. 

There will be no world as such. The thing called the world ceases to be the moment you enter into the spiritual principle within you, which is the same as the spiritual principle within the world, which is also the same as the spiritual principle of the universe. It is only here that God, world and the soul become united. This is the liberation that we are ultimately seeking.

So there is much of a message in this religious observance of Makara Sankranti and we shall all, as humble seekers of Truth, do well to contemplate this inner divinity presiding over the solar symbol in our creation and endeavour to be more and more spiritual in our life - which is not to change to a different order or kind of life from the one in which we are, but to enter into a new meaning of life in this very life. To be spiritual, to enter the realm spiritual, is not to enter into an order of life as people mistakenly imagine. It is not shifting from place to place, moving from one corner of the earth to another corner of the earth, or changing the mode of living in this world. 

This is not spirituality. What is really meant is to enter one step inward into your life rather than move outwardly, diametrically. It is not a horizontal movement but an inward gesture of the soul towards its own centre.

It is difficult to understand what spirituality is, however much you may read philosophy. Spirituality is not a kind of life that you lead. It is the inner meaning of all kinds of life in the world. It is not isolated from other types of life. It is the meaning and significance behind every kind of life, whatever be your profession or the duties you perform in the world. There are people who imagine that spirituality is for the later period of one's life. It has nothing to do with 'doing'. 

As I mentioned to you, it is the significance behind what you are and what you do. So you cannot fix it for a period of time - tomorrow or the day after. No such thing is possible in spirituality, because the spiritual is the meaning behind things. How can you fix the meaning to a distant future, as if you do not want to live today? The meaning behind existence and activity is what is meant by the spiritual. If there is any worth in what you are and what you do, that is spirituality.

This is what the Upanishads and other scriptures like the Bhagavadgita speak of. They speak of the interpretation of God in the world - such as the sun whose northern movement commences today, and on account of which we regard this day as auspicious Makara Sankranti. So, you should take all this seriously to your heart on this auspicious day and contemplate for a moment the deeper truths of your own personal lives, the deeper truths of nature outside and the deeper truths implied in the relationship between yourselves and the nature outside. 

 There are three implications, three meanings, three significances or three hidden realities - the one within ourselves, the second in nature outside, and the third which is implied in the relation between ourselves and the nature outside, which is called God, invisible to our physical perception.

Those who are Brahmacharis may do more Gayatri Mantra Japa, which is presided over by the sun, from today onwards. Those who have other Mantras as their Ishta-Mantra may do more Japa of that Mantra from today onwards. Those who are advanced enough to take to pure contemplation and meditation will do well to bring the true God into their lives - not the visible God or the imagined God, but the real God in the sense of what spirituality is - into their own lives as the meaning and the significance behind what anything is and what anything can be in this world. 

The spiritual reality, finally, is the significance behind what anything is and what anything does, whatever we are and whatever we do - which means to say, there is no life without spirituality because life without spirituality is a misnomer; it is meaningless; it is absurd. This is the kind of life that every individual being has to endeavour to live, and we should utilise this opportunity as another happy occasion to contemplate God in His real nature, thus accelerating the speed of our movement towards Him, approximating ourselves more and more nearer to that Supreme Absolute and making our life blessed by living it practically in our day-to-day existence, and thus also to assist the atmosphere around so that we and all people in the world may become fit for the supreme union with that ideal Godhead, the Absolute. 

We pray that by this influence which we exert in the world, love, solidarity and peace may prevail everywhere.

An Article by Swami Krishnananda ji- on eve of Makar Shankranti Jan 14, 1972.

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

Sianala, Montreal, Jan 2008

Life And Its Purpose

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

Have you understood the significance and the glory of human life? Have you realized what a precious gift and veritable divine power this human birth is? Do you not feel that life is meant for the fulfillment of a most sublime purpose? Truly it is meant for the attainment of a lofty goal, namely divine perfection and perennial peace and bliss. You all know quite well that life is not merely the act of breathing, digesting, eliminating, thinking, feeling, knowing, willing, etc. Life is not meant for eating, seeing, sleeping and dying miserably in the end.

You truly live your life when you strive manfully for working out and driving the mind to spiritual realization and service of humanity. A little toast, butter and jam, a little stylish clothing, a bungalow and a motor car and a round of cinemas, attendance at parties—these do not really constitute life. This is not the end of the real man who has been ‘made in the image of God.’ Mere sensual life is after all only the life of an animal. Every day you must polish it and make it look divine and be divine. Egoism, desire and sensuality—all this is ignorance; it is deep delusion. Can material comforts elevate the souls of the people? Can gross physical prosperity alone confer upon you solace, courage, peace, joy, immortality and eternal perfection in the spirit? Certainly not.

O blessed children of immortality! Reflect yourself over what I say. Think deeply. Discriminate. You will realize the truth about this most transitory pain-filled life on earth. In the dizzy whirlpool of fleeting sensual pleasures and ceaseless seething desires, do not forget the true purpose of life and its real goal. No greater blunder than to think, to feel, to mistake the unreal for the real, the transitory for the permanent and to forget the most important duty in life. What greater folly, what greater tragedy is there than when a man neglects to reach the goal of life?

You are helpless when you are a baby, you are helpless when disease overtakes you and when you are seriously ill and you are helpless when powerful calamities like fire, flood, earthquake, cyclone, etc., strike down mankind, you are helpless and you are miserable when you become old and senile. Why then are you so proud and eccentric? Rise above this delusion and attain your goal through discrimination and dispassion, analysis and inquire of your real spiritual nature. Inquire ‘Who am I’ and try to realize your essential natural self. Then alone you will transcend your body and mind and realize the Self. Then alone you will be really free and ever blissful.

Virtue is the way to peace and Light. Righteousness is the real secret of Self-realization. Purity is the path to perfection. Goodness leads you to godliness. Strive for ethical perfection. Live a strictly ethical life. Adhere to truth and righteousness, even at the cost of your life. Base your life upon absolute righteousness. Cultivate noble qualities with diligence and care. Be sincere, friend! Actively practise all virtues in right earnest and with real zeal. Become an embodiment of goodness. Think no evil. Speak no evil. See no evil. Do no evil. Be good in thought, speech and action.

Remember the Lord daily and every moment of your lifetime. Pray to him fervently with humility and devotion for purifying your nature and helping to attain the glorious goal of life. Live for God. Boldly face all the difficulties and tribulations of this petty earthly life. Be a man. With courage, struggle for the great attainment. Climbing a mountain, crossing a channel, bombing a city or blasting a fort, these are not the true acts of heroism and real courage. Controlling your mind and senses and overcoming anger, passion and egoism, by attaining self-mastery; these constitute the real heroism in man. How long will you be a slave of passion and the senses? Assert your real divine nature and your mastery over your lower nature and lower self. This is your most important duty.

Do not identify yourself with this perishable body. Do not run after fashion and passion. Do not cultivate the habit of clinging to the glittering names and forms. Do not be ignorant, O man; and think of no delusion. Do not feel: ‘I am an Indian,’ ‘I am an American,’ ‘I am an Italian’, etc., "I am black, I am white, I am yellow"; ‘I am superior, I am inferior’; ‘I know everything, he knows nothing: I have done this, I have done that—I am a Hindu, I am a Christian, I am a Mohammedan and I am so and so, I am a Parsi, I am a Jain’, etc.

All this is the worst type of ignorance. Hear the great truths declared boldly by the prophets and god men, saints and men of real deep wisdom. Thou art neither this perishable body nor this impure mind. Thou art in truth eternal, ever free and ever perfect and ever blissful spirit Immortal. Thou art in essence Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman. Thou art imperishable. This is thy real glorious nature.

Feel this, meditate over this and assert this. Realize this and attain the Wisdom of the Self. Be for ever in bliss. Life is meant for the practice of Yoga. Strive ever to attain this great goal. Practise the Yoga of saintliness. Do selfless service in a spirit of pure worship. Cultivate devotion to the Lord and worship Him daily. Purify the heart through charity and generosity. Meditate daily upon the Lord.

Through ceaseless discrimination, reflection and inquire attain the Wisdom of the Self. Love, give, purify, meditate, Realize. Be good. Do good. Be kind. Be compassionate. Inquire ‘Who am I?’ Know the self and be free. The one Lord indwells all beings. Feel his presence everywhere. See Him alone in all men and things. Give up all distinctions and differences. Feel oneness with all beings. Embrace all. Love all. Feel the bliss with all in a spirit of brotherhood and live to kindle the light of life in your heart. Be all-inclusive. Radiate pure love throughout your life. Start the good life right from today and fight from now.

Cast aside all doubts, fears and misgivings. Do not hesitate, be bold; life is short. Time is fleeting. You have to be practical O man! Do not be weak in thy faith. You must have faith that can move mountains. Never forget your Immortal nature. Never forget your true purpose in life. Wake up from your long sleep of ignorance. Realize thy hidden real nature. Stop not till the goal is reached. Stop not till you attain the wisdom of the Self. O Wanderer in this quagmire of Samsara! Overcome all evil. Annihilate all lust, greed and egoism and come back to your sweet original home, the abode of eternal peace, eternal bliss and eternal sunshine. Through sincere struggle with the lower nature and the lower self and through a life of practical goodness and Yoga, attain perfection in thought, word and deed in this very life. To whatever nation you belong, to whatever race you belong, to whatever society you belong, your real duty and the most important work is this, the attainment of the highest spiritual perfection and bliss. May the Lord, the one God who is known variously bestow upon you all the highest bliss and perfection in this very life. May love alone prevail everywhere. May peace and prosperity be unto all living beings.

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

SIanala, Montreal, Jan 2008

Secret of Success

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

I Wish All My Readers A Very Happy New Year 2008,

As everyone will be planning to make new resolutions for the brand new year 2008, (please note the number 8 in the new year, and no 8 is guarded by Sani (Saturn)), here is an Article by Sri Swami Sivanand Maharaj, which would help to guide your minds to decide on your new year resolutions.

What is real success in life? Is it material prosperity and thriving on well in this world with plenty of money and children or something else? Success is of two kinds, viz., worldly success and spiritual success. If you are in good affluent circumstances, if you have everything that this world can give you, this is worldly success. This alone will not suffice, because this world is imperfect. You must have success in the path of realisation as well. Then only will you have complete or perfect success.

What are the ways of attaining real and lasting success in life? It is easy to preach to twenty than to become one of the twenties in following the dictates. An ounce of practice is thousand times better than tons of theories. Now come to the solid field of practice. Become a practical Yogi of this world and the world beyond. Then alone will material and spiritual success ever attend on you.

Life is of two kinds, viz., life in matter and life in Atma or spirit of pure consciousness. Biologist and psychologist hold that life consists of thinking, feeling, knowing, willing, digestion, excretion, circulation, respiration, etc. This kind of life is not everlasting. This is attended with dangers, pain, fear, cares and anxieties, worries, exertion, sin, birth and death with their concomitant evils, viz., old age, disease, etc. Therefore sages, Seers, Rishis, prophets and saints, who have realised the inner self by discipline of the mind and the organs by Tyaga (renunciation) and Tapas (austerities), by Vairagya (dispassion) and Abhyasa (spiritual practice), by leading a life of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and self-abnegation have empathetically, without a shadow of doubt—like Amlaka fruits in their hands—declared that a life in the Atman or pure spirit alone can bring everlasting peace, infinite bliss and supreme joy, eternal satisfaction and immortality. They have prescribed various definite methods for self-realisation according to diverse temperaments, capacity, and taste of individuals. Those who have implicit faith in their teachings, in the Vedas and in the words of the Guru (spiritual preceptor) march fearlessly to the field of spirituality or truth and obtain freedom or salvation or perfection. This is the real goal of human life. This is the highest aim or purpose of human life. Self-realisation is your highest duty.

All these does not mean that your life in the physical plane is absolutely to be ignored. Matter is the expression of God (Brahman) for his own Leela. Matter and spirit are inseparable, like heat and fire, cold and ice, flower and fragrance; power and the possessor of power, are one. Brahman and Maya are inseparable and one. A life in the physical plane is a definite preparation for the eternal life in Brahman. World is your best teacher. The five elements are your Gurus. Nature is your mother and director. Prakriti (Mother Nature) is your silent master. World is the best training ground for the development of various divine virtues, such as mercy, forgiveness, patience, tolerance, universal love, generosity, nobility, courage, magnanimity, patience, strong will, etc. World is an arena for fighting with the diabolical nature and for expressing the Divinity from within. The central teaching of Gita and Yoga Vasishtha is that one should realise one’s self by remaining in the world. Be in the world, but be out of the world. Behave like the water on the lotus leaf. Give up the lower Asuric nature which consists of selfishness, lust, greed, anger, hatred and jealousy. Assert the Divine Nature, a life of mental renunciation and self-sacrifice.

Science and religion, politics and religion are inseparable. They always go hand in hand. Politics prepares the ground for the reception of the spiritual seed. If there is no economic independence, if there is no freedom and peace in country, how can the spiritual seed be sown in the land? How can dissemination of knowledge be made to the children of the land? How can prophets bring home to the minds of the people the subtle philosophical truths and facts when there is absolute chaos in the country, when their minds are perturbed and when they have not got sufficient food, clothing and other auxiliaries of life. The mind can receive the teachings of the sages only when it is beyond cares and anxieties and when everything for Sadhana is fixed up.

Rajas (Kings) like Janaka were looking after the Sadhus and Sannyasins in the days of yore very carefully. Rishis had to be protected with plenty of cows and fruits in their Ashram to carry on nicely in their Sadhana. This was an important duty of all Rajas of old. They had to pay a very heavy penalty before God if they were negligent in the above affairs. They could not escape from the immutable law of God. Scriptures speak that a Raja is an Amsa of God and Lord Vishnu and that he is the real protector of the people. He is really an embodiment of Lord Vishnu. 

A portion of the Tapas of all the religious people goes to him if he administers true justice and if he looks after the spiritual people very carefully. He gains great spiritual strength and peace of mind, if he has good Sadhus and Mahatmas in his land, by taking recourse to their Satsanga. If a beautiful ideal Ashram for Brahmacharins, Vanaprasthis and Sannyasins with isolated Kutias in a solitary place with all the requisite convenience and a good library is established in every state, it will be a blessing for the state and for the world at large. Time and money spent in foreign travels is a sheer waste, if you really want peace of mind. If we really want lasting peace, and real happiness, every one of us should close our eyes, withdraw our senses and Indriyas and mind and plunge deep into the perennial Atmic spring within. Let us all tap the fountain of bliss and unalloyed felicity. Then alone supreme satisfaction will come.

If the householders observe the rules of life laid down in the scriptures, there is absolutely no necessity for so many Sannyasins in these days. It is only just because the householders are failing to observe the injunctions of the Shastras or the code of Manu, there are many blunders in the daily conduct of the householders. It is only to save the householders that Sannyasins grew up in our country, to lead a life of truth and sincerity so as to enable the householder lead a similar life by copying them. This is the real value of Satsanga with great men.

A close study of the observation and revelation of science brings a man nearer to God. Who gave the power to the electrons? What is that power that has combined four parts of Nitrogen and one part of Oxygen? What is the intelligence which moves nature? Can scientific inventions really make man happy? What has science done to us all these days? All scientific knowledge is mere husk when compared with the knowledge of the Self. Brahma Vidya is Para Vidya; All sciences are founded on the knowledge of the Atma. Man is growing more and more restless as his wants and requirements go on increasing with the advancement of science.

The only remedy for improving this deplorable state of man from all ills of modern scientific inventions is to go back to nature and natural thinking and natural living. We will have to adopt simple living and high thinking of our forefathers. Lead a simple natural life. Wear simple clothing. Walk daily; give up cinema and novel reading; eat simple food. Lead a hard and laborious life. Be ever self-reliant. Reduce your wants. Be ever straightforward. Ever strive to control the Indriyas or the senses. Develop noble qualities. Take recourse to the company of wise men. Remember God. Sing His Name. Feel His divine presence. Think aright. Speak truth. And act righteously. Learn how to lead divine life while remaining in the world. Serve society with Atmabhav. This is the best way for your salvation. You will have success in every walk of life and undertaking. Keep this master key with you and open the chambers of Elysian Bliss.

Truth cannot give pain to anyone. Truth alone can triumph. Truth alone can bring lasting happiness. We should live in truth only. Man is an embodiment of truth. You live and have your very being dissolving your mind and body in Truth. Realise the ultimate truth. It is very difficult to get a human birth. Having got it, you cannot afford to waste a minute, as time is ever fleeting. Become a successful man in your life’s career and become a godman right from now and this very second. This is my fervent prayer. All glory and joy be unto thee. Rest in thy Sat-Chit-Ananda Swaroopa.

"All the best to one and all for the New Year 2008"

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

Sianala, Montreal, Dec 30

Real Education -Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj

Our present-day schools and colleges give secular education। There is neither ethical discipline nor spiritual instruction. The students have no spiritual, high ideas of life. They learn something in order to eke out their livelihood. They study only to get high salaries. This is very sad indeed. That is the reason why they turn out to be spiritual bankrupts in the end.

Owing to the influence of dark, antagonistic, materialistic forces most of the students of the present day become irreligious। There is no moral culture in them. They have no understanding of the principles of Brahmacharya and right living. Hence they suffer much when they come out to face the battle of life.

Students are pure generally before marriage। As soon as they marry and beget a child, the whole Maya envelops them. They become selfish, greedy and lustful. They lose all their virtuous qualities. Egoism becomes very stiff. There is hankering for money.

This can be obviated if they take to the study of some good religious books on Yoga, Bhakti, Philosophy and Vedanta. The students are the hope and glory of India and of the world at large. They are the bulwarks of the state. They should be moulded properly when they are young. The teachers and professors should take up this noble work in right earnest.
Spiritual culture is a sine qua non and a great desideratum for national regeneration.

The goal of life is Self-realisation. Spiritual culture alone can develop the will-force (Atmabala) and make people unselfish, fearless, courageous, strong, and remove Moha (bondage) from the body. Those who are unselfish alone can really serve the country, can work in terms of unity and can have real cosmic love for all (Visva Prem).
Education should teach the pupils to love God and man. Education should instruct the students to be truthful, moral, fearless, humble and merciful. Education should teach the students to practise right conduct, right thinking, right living, right action and self-sacrifice and to attain knowledge of the Self.

Education aims at cultivating good ideas and expressing them in a beautiful, intelligible manner after clarifying them, with scientific or mathematical accuracy.

Sattvic Ahara or wholesome good food rich in vitamins, or a well-balanced diet, systematic practice of Asanas and Pranayama, right living and simple living are the important requisites for the preservation of health and attainment of high standard of vigour and vitality. These are the basic essentials on which the Rishis and Yogins of yore lived a long peaceful life. These are the very fundamentals on which they based the system of Yoga to achieve perfection in health of body and mind. These are the indispensable requisites on which sinking nation must fall back if it wishes to regain her lost glory and divinity.

The real work of all Universities must be to unite man with man. The main purpose of education must be to make man a real man with all divine attributes.

Education must be best calculated to promote plain living and high thinking. Each student must be taught that his first and foremost duty is to attain Self-realisation and to cultivate universal brotherhood.

Educate your eyes to see God in all faces, to behold unity of Self in all beings. Educate your ears to hear the Upanishadic teachings and the sweet melodious Kirtans of Lord Hari. Educate your tongue to sing the praise of the Lord and to utter pleasant, loving and truthful words. Educate your hands to do charity and to serve the poor. Educate your mind to be always cheerful and calm and to think of the Immortal Atman. This is real education.

The Gita, the Upanishads, the Ramayana, the Bhagavata, the Mahabharata, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Brahma Sutras, comparative religion and philosophy must be taught in schools and colleges. Their study must be made compulsory. Practical instructions on ethics, Yoga and meditation, control of mind should be imparted to the students. Study of Sanskrit must be made compulsory. Without the knowledge of Sanskrit, the depths of philosophy cannot be comprehended.

One may be a very able judge, another may be a world-renowned surgeon or physician or eye-specialist, a third may be a reputed scientist and a fourth may be a world figure in the art of poetry. All these persons may lack in spiritual behaviour. Behaviour in spiritual field is different from behaviour in worldly parlance. Worldly behaviour is artificial and composed of etiquette and worldly manners. What is called etiquette or manners in worldly parlance is mere show. It is something of a physical drill. It consists of movement of certain parts of the body or some artificial gestures or artificial smiles and laughter without any real mental or ethical discipline or moral culture on spiritual basis, without any understanding of the existence of one supreme soul in all beings. It is best calculated to gain some material ends by pleasing another for the time being. It is a sort of mind cunningness with a tinge of diplomacy to attain one’s selfish ends.

It changes very often. When he fails to realise his material gain, his behaviour changes at once. He becomes quite a different man. He separates and divides. He sees differences everywhere. Whereas, the behaviour of a real aspirant or spiritual man is unchanging and is marked by nobility, pure love, humility, forbearance, patience, forgiveness, mercy, spirit of service, self-sacrifice and disinterestedness. He understands and knows that one Immortal Self abides in all creatures.

The spiritual or divine behaviour can hardly be learnt in Universities or colleges. It is a rare moral discipline that can only be learnt by the thirsting or hungry aspirant by serving the real spiritual preceptor wet with Bhakti or devotion for some years.

Dear Prem, study diligently. Apply tenaciously. Behave politely. Obey implicitly. Pray whole-heartedly. Sing melodiously. Speak sweetly. Eat slowly. Walk gently. Stick resolutely. Think usefully. Act righteously. Endure courageously. Persevere patiently. March boldly.

Concentrate attentively. Meditate seriously. Realise quickly. God be with you. Peace be with you.

The Devas, (Demi Gods) the Asuras (Demons)and the men received education under Prajapati. They learnt the triad of self-restraint, liberality and mercy. This is real education.
Indra remained as a student under Prajapati and learnt that the soul is immortal, self-luminous and distinct from the waking, dreaming and deep-sleep states that the individual soul is identical with the supreme Soul. This is real education.

Saunaka approached his teacher Rishi Angiras and learnt that this Atman or the Self is to be verily obtained by the continual practice of truth, penance, perfect knowledge and abstinence. This is real education.

Narada was a student under Sanat kumara and learnt that the Infinite is bliss, that there is no bliss in anything finite and that one should wish to understand the Infinite. This is real education.

Uddalaka taught Svetaketu: "That which is the subtle essence. The root of all that exists has its Self; That is the Self; That is the Truth; That thou art, O Svetaketu". This is real education.

Instead of learning many sciences, try to know the one Adhyatmic Science, the science of sciences, the supreme science of the highest Self or Atman. Then you will know everything.
Brahman is Sat. Brahman is Existence. Brahman is the root for the world, body and mind.

Direct knowledge of the root through intuitive perception will bring knowledge of everything, knowledge of all worldly sciences.

"Brahma vidyam sarva vidya pratishtham" Mund. Upanishad.

The Sruti emphatically declares: "In the beginning there was only Sat, one without a second.

Ekam sat vipra bahuda vadanti

Existence is one. Sages call it by different names."

Learn the principles of divine life and apply them to daily conduct in life. Become a practical man in the spiritual path. Enough of idle talking.

May we hear with our ears or see with our eyes nothing but what is pure so that with our senses unperturbed, remembering God, meditating on Him, singing His praise, we may attain life as that of the Gods. Rishis of yore sing like this along with their students before starting their class lessons. What do you find now in schools and colleges? I need not tell you much. Is this not a deplorable state? Will the Professors and Headmasters set matters aright immediately?

The Principals and Professors of colleges, Headmasters of the High Schools must be guided by learned and realised Sannyasins and Yogins. Then only real education can be imparted to students. If students who are equipped with real education come out of the Universities of India every year, we will have a glorious New India and a new era of peace, plenty and prosperity.

A Sadhu or a Sannyasin should be requested to stay in every college hostel. He should give daily lessons to the students on ethical and spiritual culture and practical training in meditation and worship. He should teach them Gita, Bhagavata, Ramayana and Upanishads. Then only they will be properly moulded and will possess good character. The condition of the boys is deplorable at the present moment. They have lost faith in God and in the Holy Scriptures. They have become irreligious.

May we all be endowed with true knowledge and real education. May the world be filled with real educated persons. May the Universities, schools and colleges become dynamic centres of real education and culture. May you all understand the real purpose of education and the goal of life. May the heads of educational institutions possess right understanding and divine knowledge to guide the students in the right path. May you all enjoy the supreme bliss of the Eternal!

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

Sianala, Montreal, August, 2007

The Real Sadhu- Ego and God

ॐ नमः शिवाय!


Instead of rewriting everything which already had been written and said many many times by many great saints, here is a discourse from Shri Swami Sivananda ji on the real sadhu (Saint) Ego and God.

"If you find mercy and humility in a person, then alone can you know that he is a Sadhu.
His heart will melt at the suffering of others. 
Man has a sin-hardened heart. 
When it begins to melt.
 A Sadhu need not deliver lectures on the Panchadasi.

He need not necessarily be able to deliver eloquent discourses on the Gita (Discourse by Shri Krishna given to Arjun in the battle ground of Krukshetra-Sacred scripture of Hindus or Sanatana Dharma).

He may not be able to comment for three hours on a single verse of the Brahma Sutra, but a sweet aroma will always be emanating from him. This will attract you to him. It will give you peace and inner bliss when you approach him. All your worry and anxiety will disappear as you approach him. His very look will elevate you. His words will inspire you and engrave themselves on the tablet of your heart. Your nature will be transformed by his very look. You will turn a new page in your life. Such will be his power! Such is the glory of true mercy and humility!"
People have a hard heart, a heart harder than granite, harder than diamond, on account of wrong actions done life after life. This heart should melt. Only then can they have Self-realization. Note well that there is no short-cut to Self-realization. A man without mercy, love and humility cannot realize the Self. You must understand this clearly. You must engrave these words in your heart. You must write them in bold letters on placards and place them in your rooms and offices. The Shri cannot manifest Himself in a sin-hardened heart. It must melt like butter before He can reveal Himself."This melting is done by Kirtan and untiring selfless service rendered with the feeling that all are forms of Shri Narayana. Then you will develop a feeling of oneness with all. Listening to the scriptures and contemplation will be of no avail if there is no purification of the heart.

Vedantic Sadhana at this immature stage will only fatten your egoism and harden it. The bonds of worldliness will grow tighter and the veil of ignorance become thicker."Without purifying the heart no progress in Sadhana is possible. Therefore, practise Japa, sing Kirtan, do untiring selfless service. Be generous. Give, give, give. Kill vanity. Worldly people have their own vanity, but much harder is the egoism of a Sadhu. He thinks that he is superior to a householder because he knows the Gita by heart and he can deliver thrilling lectures for weeks on end on each verse of the Upanishads. This spiritual pride is extremely difficult to eradicate."Maya assumes many different forms.

The ego assumes various shapes. Just as water takes on the form of the vessel into which it is poured, so also the ego adjusts itself to all circumstances and persists in its work.

"You renounce the world so that you can get rid of the vanity of wealth and material desires. Now you acquire another vanity--the vanity of renunciation. In order to crush the ego you do scavenging, though you are highly educated. Now the ego assumes the subtle form of the vanity of service. You bow to all, you prostrate to all, in order to develop humility. This indefatigable ego comes up there also--you now have the most dangerous vanity of humility. You feel inwardly that you are humbler than others. This ego is your terrible enemy. It wages guerrilla warfare with you. Beware! Beware! Beware!".

If you are sincere you can eradicate this ego through Japa, Kirtan and selfless service. Sincere people are very rare in this world. You can count them on your finger-tips. Sincerity--it is a very rare virtue! It is a combination of several virtues--of truthfulness, straight-forwardness, simplicity, absence of vanity, courage, fearlessness, tenacity of purpose, love and humility. All these go to form sincerity. A sincere man is immediately respected and trusted by all. Only if you have this virtue will there be rapid spiritual progress. Only then will you realize the fullest benefits of the Japa, Kirtan and meditation that you practise daily.

"Introspect and find out how you are progressing in the cultivation of these divine virtues. You are not practising introspection regularly. You have not the strength of mind or the power of discrimination to introspect. You think that you are very much advanced, but when a test comes you fail miserably. It is because there has been no real progress, no real spiritual advancement. It is vanity that makes you think that you are very advanced."

Apply this acid test on yourself: does your heart melt at the suffering of others? Has charity and generosity become your very nature? Your money belongs to the Lord. You have no business to keep more than you need. How can you accumulate wealth when your God in the form of a poor man is starving? How can you take food four times a day when the beggar--Lord Narayana--is starving outside the door? These are the tests of spiritual progress.

"Do you run to a poor man walking along the street and offer him food? Do you rush to the aid of a sick or injured man lying on the roadside and ask, 'My Lord, in what way may I serve thee?' If you do so, then you are really advancing on the spiritual path. You will soon develop cosmic love, which is the threshold of liberation."

If you really want God, then all these things must be done. You should have mercy. You should feel that you are only a trustee of your money; you are like a gatekeeper. God has given you money. You should share it with others. Purchase blankets in winter and distribute them to the poor lying on the roadside. What a joy you feel! The man who has not shared what he has with others has a poor heart indeed, though he may be a millionaire. Even the man who has nothing to eat is the richest man in the world if he has a large heart, if he shares what he has with others.

"The real Sadhu is one who has nothing to call his own except a large, magnanimous heart--not one who can skillfully argue about the existence of God or the falsehood of creation, who is an expert in intellectual acrobatics, who is proficient in the coining and use of a few phrases. You can discover him on the station platform. He will quarrel for half an hour with a porter for the sake of two annas!"

(Annas = 16 annas make One Indian Rupee)

If you are Ramprasad, feel that all are Ramprasad. One Divine Consciousness pervades all. It sees through all, It works through all. All ears are yours. Feel as such. What an expansion of heart you experience! All barriers are now broken down. Everywhere you behold the one Lord, one Krishna, the God who is both immanent and transcendent.

"The aspirant should be very careful. Not even an angry look or the slightest trace of irritability should arise in his heart. He should possess a sweet heart and a sweet tongue."

"May God bless you all with health, long life, peace, prosperity and eternal bliss!"
-----------------------------------------------------

"If you take one step towards God, He takes ten steps towards you." - Swami Sivananda

-------------------------------------------------------
I can only add to this great teachings is, to reach GOD one has to be like GOD, all the time and always and yet remain anonymous.

ॐ नमः शिवाय!

Sianala, Montreal, June 2007