10 the Vedanta Kesari October 2014

8/11/2019 10 the Vedanta Kesari October 2014

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TheVedanta KesariTHE LION OF VEDANTAA Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of the Ramakrishna Order since 1914

101st

YEAROFPUBLICATION

October 2014

Price:` 10

SWAMIBRAHMANANDASTEMPL

ONTHEBANKSOFGANGA, BELURMAT


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2T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4~ ~

Editor: SWAMIATMASHRADDHANANDAManaging Editor: SWAMIGAUTAMANANDAPrinted and published by Swami Vimurtananda on behalf of Sri Ramakrishna Math Trust

from No.31, Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, Chennai - 4 and Printed atSri Ramakrishna Printing Press, No.31 Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore,

Chennai - 4. Ph: 044 - 24621110

A person does not become an elder just because his hair turns white (that is,he has advanced in age). The devatas consider only him as elder, who is welllearned, even if, young in age. Traditional Saying

India's Timeless Wisdom


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OCTOBER2014

A CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL MONTHLY OF THE RAMAKRISHNA ORDER

Started at the instance of Swami Vivekananda in 1895 as Brahmavdin,

it assumed the name The Vedanta Kesariin 1914.

For free edition on the Web, please visit: www.chennaimath.org

VOL.101, No.10 ISSN 0042-2983

Cover Story: Page 6

CONTENTS

The Vedanta Kesari 101st

YEAROFPUBLICATION

Vedic Prayers 405

Editorial

Is it Possible?: The Question That We Ask Often 406

Articles

Pilgrimage to Mount Kailash 414

Swami Damodarananda

When Loss Becomes Gain 421

Pravrajika Virajaprana

Thakur-Ma, One Reality 424Sudesh

Knowing the SelfThrough the Path of Unselfish Work 431

Brahmachari Tridivachaitanya

Education For Self-development:Swami Vivekanandas Views On Education 435

Amulya Ranjan Mohapatra

New Find

Unpublished Letters of Swami Saradananda 428

Compilation

Insights into Some Keywords: In Swami Vivekanandas Words 430The Order on the March 438

Book Reviews 441

Feature

Simhvalokanam (With the Swamis in America) 410


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4T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4

The Vedanta Kesari

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SL.NO. NAMES OF SPONSORS AWARDEE INSTITUTIONS

5802. Mr. Dharam Vir Seth, Uttarakhand Dairy Science College, Hebbal, Bangalore - 560 024

5803. -do- Government Degree College, Medak Dist., A.P. - 502 1105804. -do- Dairy Science College, Hebbal, Bangalore - 560 024

5805. Mrs. Shanthi N. Kudva, Bangalore M.S.R.S. College, Karnataka - 574 116

5806. Mrs. Sudarshan Bhutani, Delhi Agra College, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

5807. -do- Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi - 110 029

5808. Mr. N. Seshadri, Bangalore Adarash Shiksan Samiti, Gadag, Karnataka - 562 101

5809. Mr. Anu V. Zachariah, Bangalore Vidyanikethan PU College, Bangalore - 560 040

5810. -do- Peet Memorial Training College, Allapuzha Dist., Kerala - 690

The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme

To be continued. . .

We invite our readers to join as patrons of the magazine. They can do

so by sending Rs.2000/- or more. Names of the patrons will be

announced in the journal under the Patrons' Scheme and they will

receive the magazine for 20 years. Please send your contribution to

The Manager, The Vedanta Kesari by DD/MO drawn in favour of Sri

Ramakrishna Math, Chennai with a note that the enclosed amount is

for the Patrons' Scheme. (This scheme is valid in India only).

THE VEDANTA KESARI PATRONS SCHEME

Cover StoryN N

Swami Brahmanandas Temple on the banks of Ganga, Belur Math

Dedicated to Swami Brahmananda, the spiritual son of SriRamakrishna and the first President of the Ramakrishna Order, thetemple is located in the holy precincts of the sprawling Belur Mathon the banks of Ganga. Also known as Raja Maharaj, RakhalMaharaj or simply Maharaj, Swami Brahmananda was a spiritualluminary. The temple in the picture stands on the spot where hisbody was cremated after his passing away in 1922 and was builtin a short period of two years. Shyam Ghosh, a disciple of SwamiBrahmananda, bore the expenses. Shyam Ghosh was the son ofNavagopal Ghosh, a householder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Thetemple was dedicated by Swami Shivananda, the second President

of the Ramakrishna Order, in 1924, on Sri Maharajs birthday. (Seenin the picture are the steps leading to the Samadhi Mandir of HolyMother Sri Sarada Devi).

Mr. Kagalkar A N, Mysore Rs. 5000

Mr. Sharath Srivatsa, Bangalore Rs. 2500

695. Mr. Kagalkar A N, Mysore

DONORS PATRON


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7

EACH SOUL IS POTENTIALLY DIVINE. THE GOAL IS TO MANIFEST THE DIVINITY WITHIN.

The Vedanta KesariVOL. 101, No. 10,OCTOBER 2014 ISSN 0042-2983

Vedic PrayersTr. by Swami Sarvananda

B


There may be weakness, says the Vedanta, but never mind, we want to grow.Disease was found out as soon as man was born. Everyone knows his disease;

it requires no one to tell us what our diseases are. But thinking all the time

that we are diseased will not cure usmedicine is necessary. We may forget

anything outside, we may try to become hypocrites to the external world, but

in our heart of hearts we all know our weaknesses. But, says the Vedanta,

being reminded of weakness does not help much; give strength, and strength

does not come by thinking of weakness all the time. The remedy for weakness

is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of the

strength that is already within them. Instead of telling them they are sinners,

the Vedanta takes the opposite position, and says, You are pure and perfect,

and what you call sin does not belong to you. Sins are very low degrees of

Self-manifestation; manifest your Self in a high degree. That is the one thing to

remember; all of us can do that. Never say, No, never say, I cannot, for you

are innite. Even time and space are as nothing compared with your nature.

You can do anything and everything, you are almighty.

Swami Vivekananda, CW, 2: 300


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Editorial

Is it possible?

We ask this question throughout the day

in different ways and contexts. When we look

at or observe or hear something, we often ask,

Is it possible? Either we ask this question

or have asked this question earlier and are

convinced about its answer and now carry on

with it as an accomplished fact. We believe it

to be true, requiring no question.

Indeed, Is it so, or is it possibleour

daily dealings are laced with this question.

A school teacher, for instance, looking at a

small, raw child, asks, Is it possible to reform

this unruly boy or girl and make him or her

a better person and a good student? A thief

on knowing that a house has many diamond

and gold ornaments asks, Is it possible to

steal ornaments from this house without beingcaught? A scientist, examining a physical force

or material, asks, Is it possible to find out a

cheaper and more efficient way of using it? A

musician, having heard a musical note, asks,

Is it possible to sing this note in a melodious

and smooth way? An athlete, impressed

with another athletes performance, asks,

Is it possible to run so fast?! A gardener,

tending an almost dead rose plant, asks Will

it survive and grow up to give good roses?An economist, concerned with matters of

money and wealth, asks, Can this decision

of the government make the economy grow?

A policeman asks, Can society be freed from

crimes and wickedness that I have to handle

day and night?

And above all, all men and women ask,

Is it possible to be happy and be without all

problems in this life? Can one be strong and

yet be kind? Can one be scientific and yet

spiritual? Can one change oneself for good?

All change and progress in life begins with this

question and end in making it possible.

Not only this. We ask this question also

when something goes wrong: Is this possible?

How could it happen? Here we question the

possibility of something that has happened.

Why should it have happened? It should not

have happened.

Life is a series of decisions based on

what we think of the answer (yes or no) to a

possibilityfollowed by actions. Not that all

our actions bring in the results we expected.

We thought it was possible, may be, that thisaction will bring a desired result but that is

not always the case. We plan many things but

not all of them become feasible or possible.

Understanding of the possibilities of life is

the key to living a meaningful life. Not just

possibly but surely!

Pushing the Limits

Every action behind it has a faith in its

possibility. However faint, however silentand invisible be the faith in some possibility

associated with that action, it has to be there.

There has to be a possibility-quotientthe

inherent potential of something that could

happen. It may refer to a probability, based

on facts and conditions that will make it

Is it Possible?The Question That We Ask Often


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9

happen. But our facts keep changing and so

also our possibilities. The early man living in

jungles, covering himself with tree barks and

eating raw flesh or fruits never thought it was

possibleto make a concrete house, weave andwear fine clothes and eat cooked food. It was

not possibleobviously.

No one thought, taking a more recent

example, a computer chip could become

such an all-pervasive part of modern living!

The first computer was so large in size and

heavy in weight that people thought that

what a burdensome invention it was! No one

believed in its possibility of becoming such

an indispensable part of life. In fact, such apossibilitywas considered impossible.

So, belief in the possibility or the

impossibility, questioning it and pushing the

limits that we put on its results is basic to

progress or a positive change. At the material

level, whenever such possibilities are explored

and actualized, we call it material progress.

The same holds true in our dealing

with our own selves. Dealing with oneself

is called in the Indian Tradition spirituality.

Sri Krishna says in the Gita, Svabhavo

Adhyatma UchyateOnes own being is

called spirituality (adhyatma). Facing oneself,

taming and refining ourselves, is the core of all

spiritual striving. When we grapple with our

own fears and anxieties, and try to discover the

ultimate core of our being, we are on the path

of spirituality.

There are profound possibilities in

man. Rightly did someone called Vedanta as

the science of human possibilities. SwamiVivekananda points out,

Do you know how much energy, how many

powers, how many forces are still lurking

behind that frame of yours? What scientist has

known all that is in man? Millions of years have

passed since man first came here, and yet but

one infinitesimal part of his powers has been

manifested. Therefore, you must not say that you

are weak. How do you know what possibilities

lie behind that degradation on the surface? You

know but little of that which is within you. For

behind you is the ocean of infinite power and

blessedness.1

Human beings may be compared to an

iceberg. An iceberg is an ice mountain, often a

broken part of a glacier, floating on the ocean

surface. Though it looks big on the surface, it is

several times larger, bigger than that which is

visible. What is visible is just the tip of a large

mountain. Likewise, man has tremendous

possibilities, only a few of which are visible.

Man the unknown is much bigger than man

the known.

The story is told of an elephant that used

to be tied at the end of the day with a strong

iron chain put around its hind legs. It was

a practice with it for years till one day the

elephant keeper had misplaced the chain and

was in a quandary as how to tie the elephant.

The keepers father, a wise and old man,

simply solved the situation by going near

the elephant and making a gesture of puttingthe usual chain around its legs, making the

elephant believe that it is tied up. Just gesture!

And the elephant stood tied whole night!

Likewise man has many imaginary

chains tied to his mental legs and hands. The

process of discovering new possibilities is to

discover the falsity of these mental chains and

step into higher and better realms of existence.

All Avataras and saints come in our midst to

set an example of how these inner shackles canbe torn apart and how one can live morally

and spiritually enriching lives.

For instance, we ask, God! Is it possible

that there is a God? As a young man Swami

Vivekananda too asked this question to Sri

Ramakrishna. During his second meeting


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10

with him, in Sri Ramakrishnas room at

Dakshineshwar temple complex, young

Naren asked him this question in his own way

and got his answer. Describing this meeting,

Swami Vivekananda said later,I sat and watched him . . . there was a marked

consistency between his words and life. He

used the most simple language, and I thought,

Can this man be a great teacher? I crept near

him and asked him the question which I had

asked so often: Have you seen God, sir? Yes,

I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much

intenser sense. God can be realized, he went

on, one can see and talk to Him as I am seeing

and talking to you. But who cares? People shed

torrents of tears for their wife and children, for

wealth or property, but who does so for the

sake of God? If one weeps sincerely for Him, He

surely manifests Himself. That impressed me at

once. For the first time I found a man who dared

to say that he had seen God, that religion was

a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely

more intense way than we can sense the world.

As I heard these things from his lips, I could not

but believe that he was saying them not like an

ordinary preacher, but from the depths of his

own realizations.2

At another time, Sri Ramakrishna spoke

of this possibility of existence of God in his

homely language thus,

You see many stars in the sky at night, but not

when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that

there are no stars in the heavens during the day?

O man, because you cannot find God in the days

of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.3

There are many possibilities but oneshould be open to explore them in a right way.

These possibilities should not be negated.

But a word of caution here: exploring new

possibilities must be understood in the right

perspective. For example, Swami Vivekananda

says, You can do anything and everything.

This does not mean that we should take to

wicked or destructive ways and damage a car

or harm a human being. Never! You can do

anything and everything, is an exhortation

to explore newer possibilities in constructiveand beneficial areas of life. We should not

misinterpret a statement!

Harnessing the Inner Possibilities

Now, just as there are numerous outer

possibilities in various fields of life such as

science, arts, economics, art and so on, there

are abundant inner possibilities as well.

These inner possibilities mainly lie in the

field of development of ones character and

personality. Why? Because man alone of all

known living beings can change his character.

A tiger remains a tiger and an elephant

remains an elephant but man, however

degraded he may be, he can change himself.

In Swamijis words,

Let a man go down as low as possible; there

must come a time when out of sheer desperation

he will take an upward curve and will learn to

have faith in himself. But it is better for us that

we should know it from the very first. Why

should we have all these bitter experiences in

order to gain faith in ourselves? We can see

that all the difference between man and man is

owing to the existence or non-existence of faith

in himself. Faith in ourselves will do everything.

I have experienced it in my own life, and am

still doing so; and as I grow older that faith is

becoming stronger and stronger.

As Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad

Gita,4

If even a very wicked person worships Me, with

devotion to none else, he should be regarded as

good, for he has rightly resolved.

Much depends on what we think is

possible. There may be many possibilities

in life but the point is what we think to be


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possible. That thinking, followed by action,

opens up the possibilities. Both good and good

possibilities linger around us. Says Swami

Vivekananda,5

We are the heirs of good and evil thought. Ifwe make ourselves pure and the instruments

of good thoughts, these will enter us. The good

soul will not be receptive to evil thoughts. Evil

thoughts find the best field in evil people; they

are like microbes which germinate and increase

only when they find a suitable soil.

Finding out a suitable soil refers to the

sum total of many factors which are necessary

for a good or bad thought to take roots in a

persons mind. Of all these factors, the mostimportant is Shraddha which includes, among

others qualities such as respect, humility

and courage, a faith in the possibility of

something. Is it possible is related to the faith

or Shraddha that we have in it. Shraddha is

the aggregate of all positive thoughts and

feelingsa joining together of faith in the

possibilities of our potential.

Swami Vivekananda says,6

The remedy for weakness is not brooding over

weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of

the strength that is already within them. Instead

of telling them they are sinners, the Vedanta

takes the opposite position, and says, You are

pure and perfect, and what you call sin does

not belong to you. Sins are very low degrees of

Self-manifestation; manifest your Self in a high

degree. That is the one thing to remember; all

of us can do that. Never say, No, never say,

I cannot, for you are infinite. Even time and

space are as nothing compared with your nature.

You can do anything and everything, you are

almighty.

Conclusion

We begin our journey with Is it possible

and finally end by It is possible. And not

only that it is possible but is most beneficial to

do. Thus we progress, journeying from lower

truth to higher truth. In this journey, what is

needed most? Renunciation. Renunciation?

One need not shrink on hearing the term

renunciation. It does not mean a loss or painful

giving up. It is a natural force working out all

grand changes in our lives. Explains Swami

Vivekananda,

Renounce the lower so that you may get the

higher. What is the foundation of society?

Morality, ethics, laws. Renounce. Renounce all

temptation to take your neighbours property, to

put hands upon your neighbour, all the pleasure

of tyrannising over the weak, all the pleasure of

cheating others by telling lies. Is not morality the

foundation of society?

Sacrifice! Give up! Not for zero. Not for nothing.

But to get the higher. But who can do this? You

cannot, until you have got the higher. You may

talk. You may struggle. You may try to do many

things. But renunciation comes by itself when

you have got the higher. Then the lesser falls

away by itself. This is practical religion.7

11

1. CW, 2.301 2. Life, 1.77 3. Sayings of Ramakrishna, p.23 4. Bhagavad Gita, 9.305. CW, 6.134 6. CW, 2:300 7. CW, 4.243

References

Have faith and dive deep into the fathomless ocean, and you are sure to nd the eternal

treasure, the pearl beyond price. Do not lose heart if, after a little struggle, you fail to nd it.

Swami Brahmananda


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From the Archives of THEVEDANTAKESARI

S i m h v a l o k a n a m

(August, 1924-25, Pp. 169 - 175)

With the Swamis in America

VIRAJ A DEVI

Early in March 1900, the Swami Vivekananda gave a series of

three lectures on Indian Ideals in Redmens Hall, Union Square, San Francisco, and it was

at the first lecture of this series that I had the blessed privilege of hearing him. Being in ill

health, both mentally and physically, it was a great effort to go to the lecture, and as I sat

in the hall waiting for the Swami to come, I began to wonder whether I had not made a

mistake in coming to hear him; but all doubts vanished when the Swamis majestic figureentered the hall. He talked for about two hours telling us of Indias Ideals and taking us with

him, as it were, to his own country so that we might understand him a little, and be able to

comprehend even in the least the great truths he taught. After the lecture I was introduced to

the Swami, but feeling overawed by his wonderful presence, I did not speak, but sat down

at a distance and watched him, while waiting for friends who were busy settling up the

business connected with the lectures. After the second lecture, I was again waiting, sitting

at a distance watching the Swami, when he looked across and beckoned to me to come to

him. I went and stood before him, as he sat in a chair. He said, Madam, if you want to see

me privately, you come to the flat on Trunk Street, no charge there, none of this botherationabout money.

I told him I should like very much to see him. He said, Come tomorrow morning

and I thanked him. Much of the night was spent thinking of all the questions I should ask

him, as many questions had been troubling me for months and no one to whom I had gone

was able to help me. On arriving at the flat next morning, I was told that the Swami was

going out, so could not see any one. I said I knew he would see me because he had told

me I might come, so I was allowed to go up the stairs and into the front sitting-room. In a

little while the Swami came into the room, dressed in his long overcoat and little round hat,

chanting softly. He sat on a chair on the opposite side of the room and continued chantingsoftly in his incomparable way. Presently he said, Well, Madame. I could not speak but

began to weep and kept on weeping as though the flood-gates had been opened. The Swami

continued chanting for a while, the said, Come tomorrow about the same time.

Thus ended my first interview with the Blessed Swami Vivekananda, and as I went

from his presence, my problems were solved and my questions were answered, though he


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13

had not asked me anything. It is now over 24 years since that interview with Swami, yet it

stands out in memory as the greatest blessing of my life. I had the wonderful privilege of

seeing Swamiji every day for a month, and was in the

meditation class, which he held in Trunk Street.

I used to stay after the class and help him cook

lunch, etc., or rather, he allowed me to be in the

kitchen with him and do odd jobs for him, while he

talked Vedanta and chanted and cooked. One verse

from the Gita he chanted a great deal is verse 61,

Chapter 18: The Lord dwelleth in the hearts of all

beings, O Arjuna, by His illusive power, causing all

beings to revolve as though mounted on a potters

wheel.

He chanted it in the Sanskrit, and every now and

then would stop and talk of it. He was so wonderful,

his nature so many-sided, at times so child-like, at times the Vedanta Lion, but to me always

the kind and loving parent. He told me not to call him Swami, but to call him Babaji, as

the children did in India. Once when walking along the street with Swamiji after a lecture,

all at once he seemed to me so big, as though he towered above the ordinary mortals. The

people on the street looked like pigmies, and he had such a majestic presence, that people

stepped aside to left him pass by. One evening after the lecture, Swamiji insisted upon taking

a party of about 10 to 12 of us to have ice-cream. Some ordered ice-cream and some ice-

cream soda. Swamiji was fond of ice-cream but did not care for ice-cream soda. The waitress

who took the order made a mistake and brought ice-cream soda for the Swami; she said she

would change it for him. The proprietor spoke to the waitress about it, and when Swamiji

heard him, he called out, Dont you scold that poor girl. Ill take all the ice-cream soda if

you are going to scold her.

After living in Fork Street for a month, Swamiji went to Alameda and stayed at the

Home of Truth. It was quite a large house and was surrounded by a beautiful garden,

which the Swamiji used to walk about . . . There was quite a large porch on the house

on which Swamiji sat sometimes talking to the few of us who gathered around him. The

Easter-Sunday night was the full moon, the Nisteria was in full bloom and draped the porch

like a curtain. Swamiji sat on the porch. . . and telling funny stories, then he told of how

his feet hurt him when he wore shoes in Chicago, and of his experience with a lady-doctor

who had undertaken to doctor his toe. He said, Oh my toe, my toe, whenever I think of

that lady-doctor my toe hurts. Then one of the party asked him to talk on Renunciation.

Renunciation? said Swamiji, Babies, what do you know of renunciation? Are we too


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young even to hear of it? was asked. Swamiji was silent for a while and then gave a most

illuminating and inspiring talk. He spoke of discipleship and of entire resignation to the

Guru, which was quite a new teachingto the Western world. While in Alameda Swamiji

used to cook Hindu dishes for himself on Sunday afternoons and I again had the privilege

of being with him and partaking of his dishes, and although I attended all Swamijis public

lectures both in San Francisco and Alameda, it was this close contact with the Swamiji

that I most deeply cherish. Once after being quiet for some time Swamiji said, Madame,

be broad-minded, always see two ways. When I am on the Heights I say, I am He, and

when I have a stomach-ache, I say, Mother, have mercy on me. Always see two ways. On

another occasion he said, Learn to be the witness. If there are two dogs fighting on the street

and I go out there, I get mixed up in the fight, but if I stay quietly in my room I witness the

fight from the window. So learn to be the witness. While in Alameda Swamiji gave public

lectures in Tucker Hall. He gave one wonderful lecture The Ultimate Destiny of Man and

finished by placing his hand on his chest and saying, I am God. A most awed silence fell

upon the audience and many people thought it blasphemy for Swamiji to say such a thing.

Once he did something in rather an unconventional way and I was a little shocked at

him. He said, Oh Madame, you always want this little outside to be so nice. It is not the

outside that matters, it is the inside.

How little we understood the Swamiji! We had no knowledge of what he really was.

Sometimes he would tell me things, and I in the abundance of my ignorance, would tell him

I did not think that way, and he would laugh and say, Dont you? His love and toleration

was wonderful. Swamiji was not in good healthmuch lecturing told upon him. He used to

say he did not like platform work, Public lecturing is killing. At eight oclock I am to speak

on Love. At eight oclock I do not feel like love! After he finished lecturing in Alameda,

the Swami went to Camp Taylor and a little later started for the East and we in California

never saw him again. Yet we who were blessed by his presence cannot feel he is entirely

gone from us. He lives in our memories and in the teachings he gave us. Before he left

he told me if I ever got into psychic difficulty again to call on him and he would hear me

wherever he was, even though hundreds of miles away, and it may be he can hear even

now.

A few months after Swamiji left, Swami Turiyananda arrived in San Francisco. He

held a meditation class at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Peterson. He also lectured at the

Home of Truth at 2173, California Street one Sunday evening. After the lecture he asked

for questions and someone asked him What is attachment? to which the Swami replied

Me and mine. Swami did not stay long in San Francisco at this time. He went to the Shanti

Ashrama with twelve students, where they went through the hardships of pioneers, but in

return received the beautiful teachings given by the Swami.

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The Swami consecrated the Ashrama and gradually temporary cabins were put up and

the meditation cabin was built which still stands as a monument to the work of the Swami

Turiyananda. I was not at the Ashrama at that time, but used to see the Swami and attended

his Gita classes given in San Francisco. Once when in San Francisco the Swami was asked

if there was anything he needed for the Ashrama to which he replied, Souls, consecrated

souls. One Gita lesson Swami gave on verse 47, Chapter II, To work you have the right,

but not to the fruits thereof. He repeated these words over and over again, and said we are

always looking for fruits, always peeping to see what is coming, what we are going to get.

Swami Turiyananda was succeeded by the beloved and energetic Swami Trigunatita.

During his ministration, the Temple was built and all the permanent buildings were put

up at the Ashrama. The Swami himself led a life of the greatest asceticism whether in the

Temple or at the Ashrama, allowing himself little sleep and working continually. When at

the Ashrama he did all the cooking for 37 people, gave three classes a day on the meditation

platform and two Gita classes at meal times. His energy was untiring, nothing was too small

to demand his attention. He was interested in all the little details and daily occurrences in

the lives of his students. He was like a fond mother always looking out for the welfare of

her children, training them in various ways as their nature required, now by strict discipline,

now gently taking them by the hand and leading them into paths of peace and blessedness.

After a time the Swami Prakashananda came to the Temple and the two Swamis worked

together, both taking part in the public lectures, etc. Swami Prakashananda not only helped

with platform work, but he used to clean the auditorium and do many things considered

menial work, in the spirit of true humility and service, thus giving many valuable lessons

by his example.

The Swami Trigunatita conducted a Sanskrit class, the members of which were

supposed to be able to stand rather severe training. Swami said that his heart did not work

in that class, only his head. In this class he gave many never to be forgotten and valuable

lessons, though at the time they were perhaps not fully appreciated. Swami passed away on

January 10th, 1915, in San Francisco and his ashes were buried on the Hill of Realization at

the Shanti Ashrama, April 13th ( I think it was) 1916, the Swami Prakashananda officiating

at the service held by the Swami and a few students who had accompanied him to the

Ashrama. In the passing away of Swami Trigunatita those of us who had been blessed by his

teaching, by his unending patience, and his ever watchful care of us felt we had sustained an

irretrievable loss, yet we feel his presence with us and the work for which he gave his life is

being ably carried on by the much beloved Swami Prakashananda. Long may he be spared

to remain with us, and now we have also with us Swami Prabhavananda who is giving

instructive and illuminating discourses and we feel blessed by his presence amongst us.

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This is a story, after about sixty years, of

my walking all the way to Mount Kailash and

back.

Every religion has its prophets, saints,

sages, sacred places, and holy days of

special worship. Devotees of all religions

do pilgrimages as an act of purification.

These acts are accompanied with prayers,

worship, and meditation. Bharata, that isIndia, is filled with many sacred placesfrom

Kanyakumari in the south, to Kamakhya in

the east; from Badrinath-Kedarnath in the

north, to Dwarkanath-Somnath in the west;

and Vishvanath at Varanasi sits in the centre.

Thus lakhs of devotees, since ancient times,

have availed of the ample opportunities to

offer their devotions to the innumerable

sacred places dedicated to God in the form of

thousands of gods and goddesses. Pilgrimagesand prayers lead one to a better and nobler life,

with deeper spiritual insights and perceptions.

In a way, a pilgrimage reflects the journey,

often hard, of human life to its goalGod.

In 1947, after the partition of India, I

returned as a refugee along with the others,

from our Lahore centre, which is now in

Pakistan. Posted to the Ramakrishna Mission

Sevashrama, Vrindavan, I was trained to

offer seva, service, in almost all the hospital

departments. I finally ended up being a

radiologist.

Badrinath

In 1952 there arose in me a strong desireto go on a pilgrimage to Badrinath, also known

as Badri-Narayana, and Kedarnath. I requested

Swami Madhavananda, the then General

Secretary, permission to fulfil my desire.

Revered Maharaj did grant me permission,

after a brief exchange of correspondence,

through Swami Kripananda, head of the

Sevashrama. I began preparing for the pil-

grimage by collecting warm clothing, a stout

lathi, stick, a kamandalu, sadhus water pot, andso on. Sometime in July or thereabouts I started

from Vrindavan for New Delhi and from there

to Haridwar and Rishikesh.

At Rishikesh revered Jagabandhu Maha-

raj, Swami Nityatmananda, was doing Tapasya

in one of our kutias, huts. I was fortunate to

Pilgrimage to Mount KailashSWAMI DAMODARANANDA

Article

Swami Damodarananda was a senior and venerable monk of the Ramakrishna Order. This

article recounts the hardships and rewards of his pilgrimage to Mount Kailash undertaken some sixty

years ago. His narrative is a valuable documentation of the challenges one faces in the Himalayan

terrain especially when, six decades ago, the present day gadgets and amenities were unheard of. His

vivid description of the traditional route to the holy mountain adds to its historicity. This article was

first published in the April-May 2014 issues of the Prabuddha Bharata, the monthly journal from

Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Uttarakhand. The reproduction of the article is in keeping with the

earnest wish of the author to have this published in the Vedanta Kesarias wellbefore his sudden

demise in July 2014 at Belur Math.


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stay with him for three or four days. Before

leaving I requested him to bless me so that

by Sri Ramakrishnas grace I should have a

safe, enjoyable, and fruitful yatra, journey.

The swami immediately reminded me thatboth Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi, the

Holy Mother, being on our right and left side

respectively, are ever protecting and looking

after us. This holy attitude further fortified

my love and devotion for Sri Thakur and Sri

Ma. In retrospect, it helped give me a deeper

spiritual insight and safely brought me back

to Bharata, the divine spiritual land, after a

terribly difficultyatrafacing unforeseen deadly

circumstances and problems.The next day I crossed the Laxman Jhulla

Bridge at Rishikesh to start my climb through

the winding mountain roads. I slowly made

my way up and down the mountains and

reached Vashistha Guha, where our Swami

Purushottamananda, a disciple of Swami

Brahmananda, was staying. Having stayed

with him for a day or so, and after receiving

his blessing, I moved onwards and upwards.

At every ten to fifteen miles one came across a

chatti, rest house. These chattis were equipped

with the simple facilities for shelter, provisions,

cooking, eating, and sleeping.

Somewhere, as suggested by friends,

I branched off at Govind Ghat to go to

Hemkund Lokpal, the huge holy lake where

Govind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, meditated

for spiritual illumination. There was a small

Gurudwara near the glacier and the freezing

lake where no one lived. I could hear the ice

on the mountain cracking and falling into thehuge lake. The icy water was flowed down

through a stream.

As I was returning from there, I happen-

ed to pass through a vast area of natural wild

flowers called the Valley of Flowers. The sight

of a staggering variety of flowers, medicinal

herbs, and roots was so powerful that even

now, after all these decades, it flashes forth and

is quite fresh in my mind.

I returned to the main road leading tothe Badrinath shrine, reaching in due course

Joshi Math, or Jyotir Math, one of the four

Maths established by Acharya Shankara. He

established this Math for the dissemination

of Vedanta in the northern parts of India. The

other Maths Acharya Shankara established

are at Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west, and

Sringeri in the south.

Badrinath

Finally, moving upwards from Joshi

Math, I reached Badrinath within a day or two.

It is situated on the banks of the Alakananda

River, a tributary of the Ganga. It is said that

the image of Badri-Narayana was thrown

into the river by the Buddhists and Buddhas

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Valley of Flowers


18/56

An archival picture of Kedarnath


image was installed in its place. When later

Acharya Shankara arrived at Badrinath he

discovered, through his spiritual insight, the

image of Narayana lying in the Alakananda,

further purifying the holy water of theGanga. The Acharya immediately made all

arrangements to lift the Bhagavans image

and reinstall it. This was done with all due

Vedic rites by priests especially brought from

the Malabar area in South India. This tradition

still continues and hence the temple priests are

brahmanas from Malabar.

Every morning I used to bathe in the

tank called tapta-kunda, a hot water spring,

which issues out of the ground. After bathingI would go straight to the temple and sit on

one of the built-in stone benches, constructed

on both sides of the temple prayer hall. I

used to sit opposite the learned priests who

repeated the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra. With

prayer book in hand I would join them in

the recitation. This sacred recitation went on

throughout the abhishekam, holy bath, of the

image of Narayana. The abhishekam consist

of pancha-amritamilk, curds, ghee, honey,

and sugar. Finally, everything is

washed away by pouring pure

water to keep the holy image

clean and sparkling. Then detailed

decorations followed with sandal

paste, colour, various perfumes,

clothes, ornaments, and flowers.

After this ceremony the screen

was drawn aside, as the deity was

ready to receive the devotees

darshan.In most of the pilgrim places

situated in the Himalayas, free

food is offered to the visiting

monks by various charitable

organizations. The most famous

among them is Kali Kamliwala

Chhatra. I used to stand in the queue, along

with the other visiting monks, for the bhiksha,

holy alms. In the evening as well we would

obtain supper, which we then took to our

kutias where we could eat at leisure.

Kedarnath

From Badrinath I began walking through

dangerous terrain towards Kedarnath, the

abode of Shiva on the banks of the Mandakini

River, another tributary of the Ganga. It is at a

higher altitude than Badrinath and also much

colder. The snow-capped peaks are just a little

further away behind the temple. Once, when

I dared to walk in the evening towards theglaciers, I saw a sadhu sitting and meditating.

This was dangerous as a cold wind was

blowing. Unless the constitution is very strong,

one might end up in deep absorption and enter

final samadhi. Hence, in such situations it is

always safer to meditate inside ones room or

the Shiva temple.

Being anxious to earn more punya, merit,

one day at about ten in the morning I went

down to bathe in the Mandakini. I knew full

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well that the water was too coldminus 10 or

20 degrees centigrade. I thought I could have

a quick dip and come out. But once I jumped

in and was in the freezing waters, my body

became numb. At that time the only thoughtwas to save myself by coming out of the water

before I froze. Somehow, with ebbing strength,

I emerged out of the water by the grace of

Kedareshwara MahadevaShivaand was

saved from the terrible calamity of freezing

into mahasamadhiin the Mandakini.

After this incident I was inspired to

spend more time with Shiva in the temple

praying, meditating, and reciting hymns. Thus

enjoying my ever-inspiring holy pilgrimage,I returned to Badrinath after a few days

planning for myyatrato Mount Kailash.

Meanwhile, I joined some pilgrims

that were going to the Tunganath Mahadeva

temple, to the east of Badrinath. This temple

was also established by Acharya Shankara

when he was discovering the sacred shrines

in the Himalayas. This temple is one of the

Pancha-Kedars, five Kedar temples; situated at

the hight of about 12,000 feet it is the highest

among the five Shiva temples. I found it to

be very scarcely populated. The altitude and

freezing cold dissuades people from living

there. Only those appointed for temple work

and its management stayed there, apart from

the few pilgrims, despite all the difficulties.

Towards Tibet

After visiting and offering obeisance to

Badrinath, Kedarnath, and Tunganath, I set

out for holy Kailash and Manasarovar. I wastold that there were two passes to enter Tibet.

One near Badrinath called Mana Pass and

the other called Niti Pass. Mana Pass is at a

very high altitude, and pilgrims opting to

go through it have to face a lot of difficulties

while climbing the steep slopes. As such I

was advised to go through the Niti Pass,

which being lower was easier to negotiate, but

would entail an extra week of travel. Another

attraction of this route for me was that on

the way there is Kalpeshvara Shiva temple,situated at the height of about 7,200 feet.

I prepared chattu, powdered fried Bengal

gram, to last me for about a week. Chattuhas

to be taken along with water and salt. I took

this, along with fruits if available, when I

became hungry. Thus I walked along a narrow

stream through cultivated terraced fields,

higher and higher, finally reaching the small

temple of Kalpeshvara Shiva. It seemed some

saints had performed Tapasya there earlier.After offering my prayers at the temple

and seeing a house nearby, I slowly made my

way towards it. It consisted of one big room.

Different items required for the simple house

were kept in different corners of the house.

Only one woman was there suckling her baby,

who was lying on the lap, and at the same

time cooking at the hearth in the centre of the

house. A steel plate for baking bread was

placed on it. She was preparing rotis without a

rolling pin, expertly stretching the dough with

both her hands. As she placed the phulka on

the plate,it began baking and puffing up, the

woman offered the hot flattened bread to me

saying in Hindi, Baba-lo, Baba please take! She

also gave me a preparation of some vegetables

to go along with the phulkas.

After eating the bhiksha I thanked and

took leave of her to climb higher in the

mountains. Thus I walked on and on up and

down the mountains, through one terraced hillof cultivation to the next, but always higher

and higher.

There were very few pilgrims going to

Mount Kailash during those days. I was alone,

walking along, not knowing the path to cross

over to Tibet. Under these circumstances I was

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told to follow the shepherds with flocks of

goats and sheep. These shepherds inhabited

the mountainous regions bordering India

and Tibet. During the summer they work

as tradesmen, plying their trade betweenIndia and Tibet. They were hardy and used

to climbing high altitudes and precipitous

mountain paths with ease. These rugged and

brave people were used to facing all sorts of

unusual challenges. Their principal vocation

was to rear sheep, goats, yaks, mules, and

horses, which they used for carrying heavy

loads of articles such as rice, dal, salt, and other

household needs and articles. They also traded

in beads and other items used by women asornaments, as these items were not available in

Tibet. They pack these articles in jute bags and

carry them on the backs of animals to Tibet.

In exchange they bring to India rolls of wool,

packed on both sides of the mules and horses

for feeding the woollen mills of North India,

which prepare woollen garments.

So I joined one such group of traders

and, halting for a day, rested in their tents. I

was kindly given a corner to rest. Of course I

ate my chattuwith water and salt while they

ate meat by killing one of the old or weak

animalseither sheep or goat. As they did

this, they asked me to move away and look

elsewhere.

Thus climbing on to higher altitudes,

we reached the Indian police check post. The

last climb before the check post was very

steep. Even the yaks and horses were panting!

No one is allowed to go to Tibet withoutpermission from the Indian Government. The

police asked me for the permit. I told them that

I was a pilgrim to Kailash and Manasarovar.

They doubted me because I was a young

monk of thirty-five years. They thought that I

was a communist in a monks garb, trying to

escape to China for getting indoctrination and

training in communistic ideas. I told them my

name and that I belonged to the Ramakrishna

Mission, presently serving at the Sevashrama

at Vrindavan. I also showed them a letter

addressed to me, care of the Sevashrama in

Vrindavan.

Finally, being convinced of my genuine-

ness, they allowed me to continue across

the border. They told me however to return

to India by the same Niti Pass. But, as

circumstances unfolded in the course of my

pilgrimage, I had to return to India through

a different route, the precipitous Hoti Pass.

I reached the Tibetan plateau with myshepherds friends and crossed the Tibetan

check Post.

20

A Himalayan river along the

roada recent picture


21/56


The Tibetan Plateau and Mandi

The Dalai Lama ruled from Lhasa. There

were ancient cultural and other ties between

the two countries. India was loosely governing

the Tibetans, perhaps mostly due to the Hindupilgrims going every year to Mount Kailash.

The Tibetan plateau is the highest in

the world, covering a vast land. The average

altitude of the plateau is 10,000 feet above sea

level. I began walking onwards along with

the shepherds, who were doing business with

the Tibetans, supplying them with several

items they carried from the foothills of the

Himalayas to the plateau of Tibet.

From the Tibetan check post we

proceeded further to reach a mandi, temporary

summer market place, where Indian

goods were being exchanged for wool. All

exchanges were done according to the barter

system. Wool was the only wealth of Tibet

exchangeable for Indian goods. There were

many tents in that summer bazar. Fortunately

there was no rain and the sun was bright. In

this weather the Tibetans came from various

parts to exchange their goods. It was the once-

in-a-year opportunity to trade.

I was in one of the tents where business

with the Tibetans was going on. There a young

man came to exchange some goods with the

Indian trader. I saw the young mans eyes were

red. I realized he had an eye infection. Since I

was working in the Vrindavan Eye Hospital,

I had carried a first-aid box for use in case of

emergency. Working in the hospital had given

me knowledge about the use of medicines. My

first-aid box contained some antibiotic tablets,sulphanilamide powder, and some medicine

for eye problems.

I wanted to help this young man by

giving some medicines, which I conveyed

to the tradesman as he knew the Tibetan

language. I explained that his eyes had become

red because of some infection and that I had

medicines that I could give him. He should

apply the medicine three times a day. The

Tibetan looked at me and told me through the

tradesman that he would go to his tent and beback.

In a little while the man returned with

a leather bundle, which he offered to me in

exchange of the medicines. The Indian trader

explained to me that Tibetans do not accept

anything freely given by sadhus, that they

would like to give me something in return, for

what the young man had brought a gift shaped

like a football in a leather bag. The football

was nothing but sheep or yak or goats butter,which does not melt due to the cold and the

leather package. I accepted the leather bag and

the young man accepted the medicines and bid

me goodbye by saying namaste. Tibet, being a

Buddhist country, has much respect for monks

and has developed a sense of charity that is

part of their religion and daily life.

In general Buddhists are very generous

and charitable. The attitude of the young

man bears testimony to this fact. Here I may

mention another incident that happened when

I was going to Mandalay, the old capital of

Burma. I was travelling by boat on the river

Irawati. It was lunch time and a Burmese

mother, a fellow traveller, came to me and

did pranams. She conveyed in gestures, as

I did not know her language, to take lunch.

As I had eaten to my full, I had no desire to

eat then, which I conveyed to her again in

signs, thanking her for her offering by doing

namaste. I want to reiterate here that Buddhistpeople are very hospitable and charitable to

monks and nuns, whichever denomination he

or she may belong to.

I met some Tibetans who told me that

there was a great holy place in a town called

Manglang. It was a Buddhist pilgrim centre

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situated in the extreme west of the Tibetan

plateau. I was told that on the eastern part

of the Tibetan plateau is located the holy

Manasarovar Lake and Mount Kailash. After

obtaining some more information about theroute, I set out to the western part of Tibet to

reach Manglang. Since it was a beaten track, I

had no difficulty in finding the way, except for

walking long hours. I was alone and did not

see any human beingsonly goats, sheep, and

yaks. The whole place was barren.

Around seven in the evening I reached

the Buddhist temple in Manglang. As soon as

I entered the temple the monks saw me. They

welcomed and offered me cheese and sheep

milk, which is available in plenty, along with

salted hot tea. Their way of making cottage

cheese is very simple: by exposing the goats

or sheeps milk in the scorching sun it gets split

into whey and cheese. Due to heat the water

evaporates and the cheese is thus naturally

formed. Since I was a vegetarian, they gave me

cheese with the salted tea available always in

the tents and temples. As that is a cold country,

they did not drink water and instead dranksalted tea.

After filling my stomach and getting

over my tiredness, I went to the temple. I saw

there a huge Buddha statue twenty feet high,

seated on a chair, as it were. Surrounding this

huge Buddha image they had decorated small

images of Buddha in a meditative posture.

Everywhere and in every corner in the

huge temple, between the images, plenty of

manuscripts in Tibetan were lying here andthere along with smaller Buddha images.

I asked them about the manuscripts and

they told me that they were manuscripts of

Buddhism. So I rested there and meditated in

that huge temple.

(To be continued. . .)

22

Awed by the Himalayas!I had lost myself at the sight of the lofty snow clad mountain rock of Kedarnath. I,

therefore, did not notice the surroundings. I did not know where I had been sitting all

along. I had lost my Iness as it were. It is indeed almost impossible to put down in wordshow I was feeling. I thought that I had seen whatever there was to be seen anywhere.

After a while I regained my consciousness and I found myself seated on a carpet of fresh

fragrant owers. All the surrounding area was covered with beds of owers. I was intently

looking at this beautiful natural surroundings. I was almost looking like a king seated on a

rich throne bedecked with precious jewels. It was indeed an indescribable situation.

I was now present at one of the supernal spots on this earth. The King of the Mountains

was unfolding his glory before me and I was viewing it with a peace-lled mind. I painfully

realized that while I had been viewing the Himalayas so far my eyes never penetrated the

outer crust. But now I was in his lap and was amazed by his glory. I remembered Arjuna

standing stupeed before Sri Krishna showing him His all-comprehensive form (Viswarupa).Himalaya really appears here as a symbol of the great Godthe Master of the Universe. I

was almost convinced that the same Universal Spirit, which is beyond the comprehension

of human senses, which controls every thing in the universe and which resides in the core

of every being, has manifested Itself in this huge form. How else could a man, with his

limited intelligence and cloudy vision, have a glimpse of the divine? This was all due to

His compassion. Swami Akhandananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna


23/56


The Practice of Non-attachment

For spiritual seekers this process of

letting go, non-attachment, is a deliberate

practice. Our teachers encourage us to cultivate

this attitude, of letting go before we are forced

to. Although it appears to be an oxymoron,

everything we have ever fervently wanted isgained by letting go. What is it after all that we

are letting go of; what are we losing, by letting

go? To begin with, we should definitely let go

of the nonessentials in our life, the clutter. Not

just getting rid of the physical clutter, of all the

unnecessary items that surround and engulf

our time and attention, though thats a help,

but more importantly clearing out the personal

emotional and mental clutter that dampens the

free flow of our inner spirit.Swamiji told some of his students at

Thousand Island Park, As soon as we say I

we are humbugged.6 Through self-restraint

and detachment, the Spirit is able to work

through us unimpeded by the meddling of the

ego. As we slowly get rid of the expendables,

including our misplaced identities, and

we have many such revolving around our

physical, mental, and emotional selves, we

develop a sense of inner freedom, whichallows us to gradually shift our identity from

matter, the ego, to Spirit. Swamiji cautions

When Loss Becomes GainPRAVRAJ IKA VIRAJ APRANA(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

us: This assumed individuality is really a

delusion; it is ignoble to try to cling to this

apparent individuality.7

At the time King Janaka was told that

his kingdom in Mithila was burning to the

ground, he calmly replied, Nothing that is

mine burns. Another incident to illustratethe freedom that comes with the loss of

expendables is when the African American

sage and scientist George Washington Carver

was informed that he had lost his entire lifes

savings in the crash of an Alabama bank,

he humorously remarked, Well, I guess

somebody found a use for it. I was not using

it myself. By letting go, it all gets done; the

world is won by those who let it go!

Swamiji wrote a letter to Sister Niveditain which he said, We put all our energies to

concentrate and get attached to one thing;

but the other part equally difficult, though

negative, we seldom pay any attention

tothe faculty of detaching ourselves at a

moments notice from anything.8 Almost

all our suffering, Swamiji says, is caused by

our not having the power of detachment. . .

Attach yourselves to the Lord and to nothing

else, because everything else is unreal [that is,flimsy, passing]. Attachment to the unreal will

bring misery.9

A nun at the Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco, USA, since 1972, Pravrajika Virajaprana

is the editor and compiler of Photographs of Swami Vivekananda. She has contributed many thought-

provoking articles forVedanta Kesari and Prabuddha Bharata. This article is based on her talk on the same

subject delivered at the Vedanta Society in February 2011.

Article


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422 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4~ ~T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i

To extend Swamijis statement: Why is

attachment painful? Because whatever does

not last, can and will be lost, and then were

miserable. Swamiji seems to plead with us:

Should we not put forth a thousand-fold morestrength and energy to acquire that which

never fades, but remains with us forever? . . .

Everything else is left behind with the body.

In order to cultivate this art of letting go,

we have to be convinced that what we will

gain from the practice of detachment, though

an apparently negative practice, is far superior.

As Swamiji beautifully expresses it:

There is only one way to attain freedom . .

. by giving up this little life, giving up thislittle universe, giving up this earth, heaven,

body, mindeverything that is limited and

conditioned. If we give up our attachment to this

little universe, we shall be free immediately.10

So what is it that we gain? The realization

of our true Self, which is birthless, constant

and eternal, a state of consciousness where

there is no change, modification, movement,

no increase nor decrease, but an imperishable

continual awareness of bliss and uninterrupted

joy. How do we gain this wonderful covetable

state? Through the practice of yoga.

In Karma Yoga, Swamiji remarks,

Nonattachment is the basis of all the yogas. . . .

Nonattachment does not mean anything that we

may do in relation to our external body; it is all

in the mind. The binding link of I and mine is

in the mind.11

So the intent is not leaving our families,

friends, quitting our jobs and abandoning our

responsibilities, whatever has fallen to our lot,

shaving our head and standing on a corner

with a begging bowlthat would be counter

intuitive.

The instruction is to do whatever we

have to do, fulfill our duties and responsi-

bilities, and have whatever relationships we

happen to be in, in a balanced, Sattvic way,

with the spirit of detachment. Further, weare not asked to renounce action; we have to

act because our bodies and minds are a part

of nature, and nature being composed of the

three Gunas forces us to act. We are compelled;

we can never remain inactive, no matter who

we are or where we are. But what is needed is

separating ones self not only from personal

attachments, but from all activity.

Ideally we should be like water on a

lotus leaf; the water just beads up and rollsoff without adhering to it in any way. Our

boat should float on the water, but we should

definitely keep all water out of the boat.

Otherwise, well sink. So, our teachers are

not suggesting that we give up the world

per se. The world isnt the problem; its the

worldliness that is within us that needs to be

uprooted. Worldliness is synonymous with

selfishness. Normally we identify with what

we do and herein lies the problem. To let go of

all of our personal investment is not easy. Our

identity and the meaning we derive from work

is all tied up with one another. But clinging to

the divided self is a no-win situation. Swamiji

says, The moment you isolate yourself,

everything hurts you, but the moment you

expand and feel for others, you gain help. By

letting go [of the ego], it all gets done.

The Science of Non-attachment

Swamij i s Karma Yoga and theBhagavad Gita contain the science of non-

attachment. And in Swamijis letters we find

nonattachment in action; in his own actions

and in the innumerable hints and practical

applications of this practice that he

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gives in the course of his correspondence

with different people under a variety of

circumstances. Swami Turiyananda, a direct

disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, remarked

regarding Swamijis letters, They are perfectillustrations of non-attachment.

The Gita makes the most practical

suggestion: to utilize our work as a means to

lose our false self and simultaneously regain

or recover our true Self. All attachment arises

from the truncated self. The senses adhere in

the sense objects, not in the Self. The Gita says:

Actions are done in all cases by the Gunas of

Prakriti. He whose mind is deluded through

egoism thinks, I am the doer.

12

Naturefunctions through the Gunas; the Gunas act

on the Gunas.

As we go on subduing, reining in the

little I, the real I slowly begins to emerge.

The sense of agency, our false identification,

and ownership are attenuated through the

practice of nonattachment. We are advised

to train ourselves through abhyasa (constant

practice) and vairagya (dispassion) not to

anticipate or expect certain outcomes from our

action. Regardless whether we anticipate it or

not, the result of our action is going to come

anyway. So why be anxious? Simultaneously

through this practice, the mind is purified as

we slowly separate ourselves from nature.

After all, in truth, we are not the doer. If we

have no sense of agency, the idea that there

should be something in it for me, then nothing can

be lost. Sri Krishna says giving up attachment,

that is, the idea of being an agent, and the

desire for the result, is his conclusive and finalview.

Therefore, work done with attachment

binds us; the same work done with non-

attachment frees us. This attitude of non-

attachment arises from the practice of yoga.

In his commentary on the second chapter

of the Katha Upanishad, Adi Shankara-

charya states, that Yoga (union) is reallyviyoga (disunion) for in this state the yogi

is disconnected, detached from all troubles.

Loss becomes gain; disunion becomes union.

The practice of yoga always presupposes

detachment. As Swamiji said, Nonattachment

is the basis of all the yogas.13

Nonattachment allows us to overcome

and deny the power of anything or anyone

to act upon us. What is the sign of this? No

matter what happens to us, we will remainsteady. Then only can we also be a witness

to our thoughts and experience the vast

boundless being that we truly are. In the third

chapter of the Gita, the Lord says: Therefore,

always perform action which has to be done,

unattached; verily a person attains the highest

by performing action unattached. The world,

Lao Tsu says, is won by those who let it go.

So according to Swamiji and Sri Krishna,

one of the most effective ways of shifting our

identity from the selfishness of the small self,

to our true Self is through nonattached work,

service, or worship of God in man because

they are life oriented. Living and working in

the right spirit can be a progressive revelation

of Self-Knowledge. Swamiji felt that every

unselfish activity should be capable of

revealing the Truth. The Way is gained by

daily loss. By losing our self, we find our Self.

Christ said, He who looses this life gains life

eternal. Loss upon loss until at last comesrestthe awareness of our true infinite Self

which alone is bliss. By letting go, it all gets

done. (Concluded.)

25

6. CW, 7: 15 7. CW, 2: 82-83 8. CW, 6: 430 9. CW, 1: 442 10. cf. CW, 1: 97-98

11. CW, 1: 101 12. Bhagavad Gita, 3.27 13. CW, 1: 101

References


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Holy Mother once said, He who is

the Master, am I. Yet who could realize the

absolute unity and non-duality of Thakur and

Ma Sri Sarda Devi, that it was One Realitywhich appeared in two forms to purify the

impure, to soothe the afflicted and to illumine

the ignorant?

Who could gauge the identity of Thakur

and Ma in their lofty divine effulgence; so

imperceptible was Holy Mothers transcendent

glory shrouded as it was in her unostentatious

life of rural simplicity and humanity? It was

the Gracious Mother herself who revealed

her identity with her divine consort to a fewintimate disciples. When Saryubala questioned

the Mother about prayer, meditation and

realization she replied,

Look upon the Master and myself as non-

different and meditate on the vision that you get

at any time.1

To Manada-Shankar Holy Mother

wrote in a letter that if he felt more inclined

towards meditating on her, he could do so,

because there was no difference between thetwo personalities except that of form, and the

some entity that indwelt the Masters body

inhabited the Mothers also. The letter she sent

three weeks later also affirmed, He who is the

Master, am I.2

Thakur-Ma, One RealitySUDESH

Blessed were those who realized it.

Gopaler-Ma was then in her death-bed when

the Mother went to visit her. She stretched

forth her hand to take hold of something.Mother did not understand what she wanted.

The woman devotee in attendance explained

that she wanted the sacred dust of Mothers

feet, who was to her none other than the

Master as identified with her Gopala. The

Mother had so long been revering Gopaler-

Ma as though she were her mother-in-law.

But at that moment none cared to stand on

formalities. The Mother made no objection.3

Whose Darshanof the Mothers or the

Masters?

When a devotee said that he had the

darshan of Holy Mother, Swami Akhanda-

nanda remarked, When you had the darshan

of Holy Mother, the same result of having

the darshan of Sri Ramakrishna will accrue

to you. To have the darshan of the Mother or

the Master is the same thing.4We are dazed

and enchanted to see the actual demonstrationof this analogous mysterious phenomena

through the transfiguration of Ma into Thakur

and vice versa.

Swami Abhedananda described the

reaction of the Mother when he first read out

A devotee from Ambala, Sudesh regularly contributes inspiring articles to The Vedanta Kesari.

Article

This article explores the divine relationship or oneness of Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother

Sri Sarada Devi. Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother are reverentially and affectionately addressed as

Thakur or Sri Thakur and Ma or Sri Ma respectively, by the monks and devotees of the Ramakrishna

Order.


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Prakritim Paramam, his hymn in her adoration.

She protested as to why a hymn should be

composed on her. However, when Swami

Abhedananda sang, Ramakrishna gata prana

meaning, salutations to one whose heart and

soul is in Ramakrishna, she became still. When

the next words, tannama shravana priyam

meaning, one who rejoices in listening to the

glory and name of Sri Ramakrishna were

sung, tears of joy began to flow from her eyes.

And when Tadbhava ranjita karam, i.e. whosemind is totally coloured with the ideas of Sri

Ramakrishna were uttered, the Swami saw

that the Mother was no more there. Instead, Sri

Ramakrishna was sitting in her place.

In another instance we are amazed to see

the transformation of Thakur to Ma and again

back to Thakur; even after they were merged

in the Indivisible and were not present in their

physical forms. Swami Shantananda Puri,

a disciple of Swami Purushottamananda ofRishikesh wrote:

From Belur Math I got recommendation letters

to visit Kamarpukur and Jayrambati. I was not

very enthusiastic about going to Jayrambati.

From the early days, my reverence for Thakur

never extend to Holy Mother . . . Somehow I

was of the opinion that the merits of the consorts

of great men were always being exaggerated.

On the third day of my stay at Kamarpukur, I

was sitting in meditation before Thakur who

was dressed that day in an ochre-coloured

cloth. When I happened to open my eyes, I saw

before me a statue of Holy Mother with her hair

flowing over her shoulders, with head covered

and draped in a pure white sari with a thick red

line border. For several minutes I continued to

look at it and there was no change. I pinchedmyself to ensure that I was really awake. Again

I went into meditation but, in my curiosity, as

many time as I opened my eyes it was the Holy

Mother who was before me. Finally, when I got

up, I found that it was again Thakur draped in an

ochre-coloured dhoti. I was confused and unable

to understand the significance of this strange

vision. Perhaps Thakur wanted to reveal to me

that Holy Mother was not different from him.

So I decided to go to Jayrambati the next day. . .5

The Embodiments of Shiva and Shakti

Once Surendranath told the Mother that

he worshipped the Goddess (his Ishta) through

the image of the Master. Afterwards while

surrendering the fruits of Japa, uttering the

words, O Great Goddess, through Thy grace,

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and so forth, created confusion in his mind.

The Mother said:

Our Master alone is Mahesvara (Supreme God)

and Mahesvari (Supreme Goddess) as well. He

alone is the embodiment of all mystsic syllables.One can worship through him all Gods and

Goddesses.6

On another occasion Mother disclosed

to another devotee the truth of the unity of

Shiva and Shakti in her holy person. Wishing

to accept Naresh Chandra Chakravortys

worship, during his visit to Jayrambati,

Mother directed him to bring both yellow and

white flowers as she loved yellow flowers

and the Master the white ones. Getting a hintfrom Mother, Naresh Chandra offered white

flowers at her right foot and yellow ones at

her left. Thus she disclosed to him the truth

of the unity of Shiva and Shakti in her holy

person. That is why she wanted the white

flowers for the snow-white Shiva as identical

with Sri Ramakrishna, and the yellow ones

for the golden-coloured Shakti as embodied

in herself.7

The one who gives Mantra-diksha to

a disciple is the Guru. But the Mother after

initiating the disciples would tell them that it

was not she but Thakur who had given them

the mantra; that he was their Guru and the

Ishta. So identified and unified was she with

Thakur! Once Swami Keshavananda expressed

his sorrow at not having been able to see

the Master when he incarnated. The Mother

pointed to her own person and said, He is

here in this body in a subtle form. The Master

himself declared, I shall live within you in asubtle form.8

The Mother has revealed that it was One

Realitythe Supreme Brahman, manifested

in two forms as Purusha and Prakriti or Male

and Female Principles; so different apparently

yet identified. Saint Jnaneswara has beautifully

expressed this idea in the words which he used

to invoke the Supreme Reality:

Sardham kena cha kasyardham

sivayou samarupinoh;

jnatun na sakyate lagnumiti dvaitachhalan muhuh;

advaitam atmanastattvam

darsayontau mithyastaram;

tau vande jagam adyau

tayostattvabhipattaye.9

I bow down to Shiva and Shakti, the cause of

the world, for clearly knowing and realising

their innate nature; their mutual union is

incomprehensible because we cannot know who

is complementary or supplementary to whom

and whose half is who; we find that this duality

is only an appearance, for, to the persevering and

tranquil enquirer they themselves reveal their

real nature which is non-duality.

Swami Tapasyananda said,

It is one of the great contributions of Sri Rama-

krishna to Indian religious tradition that has

identified the Shakti not as a mere counterpart

of the Absolute, but as the Absolute Himself

personalisedthe Saguna Brahman of Vedanta

who is the origin, the support and the end of themanifold universe.10

Who Knew Thakur as Holy Mother Did!

Vak declared in the Devi Sukta:

I know the Soul Supreme or Brahman, for there

is no difference between Him and Me. . . I am the

energy in Brahman, the Mother of all.11

Like Vak was Holy Mother who alone

knew Thakur, the Purna-Brahman and reveal-

ed his divinity in an effortless way. Has notThakur said, She is Sarada, Saraswati; she has

come to impart knowledge. . . She is full of

the rarest wisdom. Is she of common run? She

is my Shakti.12 Who else but Mother, his Shakti

could fathom and reveal the unfathomable

depths and infinite glories of Thakur? In every

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situation she has hit it right in understanding

him, instinctively, in a flash as it were. The

rarest wisdom the Mother imparted was not

through lectures or precepts but through living

inspiration.The Mother did not look upon the Master

as an ordinary immortal; according to her,

he was none other than the all-pervading

God Himself. And her conception of him

transcended all forms and ascended to the

formless Brahman. The Advaita Ashrama at

Mayavati is dedicated to non-dualism. One

who doubted if it was right for him to profess

himself a member of the Advaita Ashrama

when he leaned towards dualism appealedto the Holy Mother as a final resort, only to

receive the reply, Sri Ramakrishna was all

Advaita. Why should you also not follow

Advaita? All his disciples are Advaitins.13

Who could refute?

Thakur saw everything gross and subtle,

animate and inanimate, full of Consciousness

of the Divine Mother, who Herself had become

everything. He said, I saw a wicked man in

front of the Kali temple; but in him also I saw

the power of the Divine Mother vibrating. That

was why I fed a cat with the food that was to

be offered to the Divine Mother.14 And the

Mother once fed the parrot Gangaram with

Halwa, meant to be offered to Thakur.

Holy Mother identified Thakur with all

deities and all creation. That is why she said

that at one time she was in such a state that

she could not drive away an ant from the

food offered in front of the Master, under thebelief that the Master himself was eating it.

How similarly attuned were the two souls!

In them we see living examples of Advaita

at its highest. Seeing the innermost core of all

which was Pure Self, they suffused all with

the aroma of their redeeming love irrespective

of whether a person was a saint or a sinner,

virtuous or wicked, high or low, deserving

or not deserving. Identified with the sorrows

of the whole world they stretched out theirsaving hands in benediction to all, even the

lunatics, drunkards, criminals and the fallen.

Such was their consuming compassion to bring

illumination to Jivas that Thakur would not be

deterred from his spiritual ministry even when

he vomited blood.

And the Mother, at the entreaties of her

attendants not to initiate people any more,

particularly during her last illness, would reply

that Thakur and herself had incarnated for that

very purpose. If they did not accept the burden

of the sins and sorrows of the suffering,

who else would do it. Did Sri Ramakrishna

incarnate to eat only Rasogollas?

(To be continued. . .)

1. Her Direct Disciples, In the Company of the Holy

Mother(Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1980), 201-

202.

2. Swami Gambhirananda, Holy Mother Sri SaradaDevi(Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1969), 457.

3. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, 211.

4. Sri Sarada Devi the Great Wonder (New Delhi:

Ramakrishna Mission, 1984), 23.

5. Vedanta Kesari, December 2003, 511.

6. Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Sarada Devi The Holy

Mother(Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1969),

References

387-388.


8. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, ibid.

9. Anubhavamrta, 1.2.10. Sri Sarada Devi The Holy Mother, 222.

11. Sri Sarada Devi the Great Wonder, 125.



14. M,The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, trans. Swami

Nikhilananda (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math,

2002), 15.

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Unpublished Letters of

Swami Saradananda1

New Find

Math. Belur. Howrah.

3.17.03. [17 March 1903]

My dear Hari Maharaj2,

I am sorry I could not write you for a long time. How are you

just now & what are your plans for the summer? Will you go to

Almora or where? I believe the heat at Brindaban has become already

intense during day time.

The crayon photo has arrived but we have not yet got the delivery

of it from the agents office.

Mrs.Sevier is our guest just now with Miss C.G. They are tenting on our grounds. The

former will leave for Mayabati3soon.

The Utsab went on well though there was a little shower of rain in the afternoon.

Sarada4has written to you perhaps that he has made Dr.Logan to resign the Presidentship

& stopped the paper.

Everything is going on in the Math as usual & all are well. Some are waiting to go to the

Kumbha Mela.

I hope Krishnalal is well. Our blessings to him.

The Holy Mother is at Jairambati and doing well, I hear. I might go to see her in a month

or two if I am not called in Japan.

With love to you as ever and prayers for your speedy recovery.Yours affecly

Sarat.

Jan 16 1903.

Math. Belur. Howrah.

My dear Hari Maharaj,

I thank you for your kind letter of Jan 11 and especially for your permission to me to take

the loan if necessary. I have consulted Rakhal Maharaj about it and decided to take Rs.2000/-

only for the present.

The balance of your money Rs.15000[?] will be kept in the Bengal Bank as a fixed depositfor four months at 4 percent per annum. The above sum will be kept there in three names,

those of yourself, Raja & myself. This we have thought best to avoid emergencies. I have paid

Rs.10/0 to the Swamijis Birthday Anniy fund. So you have now Rs.110/- with me at present.

I am sorry I forgot to inform you that I asked Latoo to buy a watch for him if he likes &

he declined. A few days afterwards I offered him the gold coin and he made no objections. So

I have paid him already.


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1. A direct disciple of Sri

10 the Vedanta Kesari October 2014

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