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Vol. 16 October 2015 Issue 10

Date of Publication : 28th of every month RNI NO: TNENG/2000/2250REGISTERED REGN. NO. CB/122/2015-17 Arsha VidyaArsha Vidya

NewsletterNewsletter

36 Arsha Vidya Newsletter - October 2015

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Ahae saôm! ! Ahae saôm! ! Ahae gué> ! Ahae gué> !

Arsha Vidya Newsletter - April 2015 3Arsha Vidya Newsletter - October 2015 3

Arsha Vidya PithamSwami Dayananda AshramSri Gangadhareswar TrustPurani Jhadi, RishikeshPin 249 201, UttarakhandaPh.0135-2431769Fax: 0135 2430769Website: www.dayananda.orgEmail: [email protected]

Board of Trustees:

Chairman:Swami DayanandaSaraswati

Managing Trustee:Swami Suddhananda

Trustees:Swami SantatmanandaSwami JnananandaSri Rajni KantSri M.G. SrinivasanSri M. Rajalingam

Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam72, Bharat NagarAmaravathi Road, NagpurMaharashtra 410 033Phone: 91-0712-2523768Emai: [email protected]

Board of Trustees

Paramount Trustee:Swami Dayananda Saraswati

PresidentRajashree Shrikant Jichkar,

Secretary

Madhav Babasaheb Solao,

Trustees:

Ramesh Bhaurao Girde

Avinash Narayanprasad Pande

Madhav Chintaman Kinkhede

Ramesh alias Nana PandurangGawande

Rajendra Wamanrao Korde

Arsha Vidya GurukulamInstitute of Vedanta and SanskritSruti Seva TrustAnaikatti P.O.Coimbatore 641 108Tel. 0422-2657001,Fax 91-0422-2657002Web Site : "http://www.arshavidya.in"Email: [email protected]

Board of Trustees:Paramount Trustee:Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Chairman:R. Santharam

Trustees:C. Soundar Raj

P.R.Ramasubrahmaneya Rajhah

Ravi Sam

Ravi Gupta

M. Krishnan

Secretary:V. Sivaprasad

Arsha Vidya GurukulamInstitute of Vedanta andSanskritP.O. Box No.1059Saylorsburg, PA, 18353, USATel: 570-992-2339Fax: 570-992-7150

570-992-9617Web Site : "http://www.arshavidya.org"Books Dept. : "http://books.arshavidya.org"

Board of Directors:

President:Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Vice Presidents:Swami Viditatmananda SaraswatiSwami Tattvavidananda Saraswati

Secretary:Anand Gupta

Treasurer:Piyush and Avantika Shah

Asst. Secretary:Dr. Carol Whitfield

Directors:Drs.N.Balasubramaniam (Bala) &ArulAjay & Bharati ChanchaniDr.Urmila GujarathiSharad & Lata PimplaskarDr.V.B. Prathikanti & SakubaiDr.Sundar Ramaswamy(Dhira) & UshaDr.L.Mohan & Vinita RaoV.B.Somasundaram and Dr.AnasuyaBhagubhai and Janaki TailorDr.Ashok Chhabra & Martha DohertyVijay and Pammi Kapoor

Associate Board of Directors:Dr.Soma & Nagaveni AvvaDr.Ravindra BathinaDr.Mahesh & Maheswari DesaiDr.Pramod & Lata DeshmukhDr.T.A.Gopal & LataDr.Kamlesh & Smita GosaiDr.Haren Joshi & Pratima TolatDr.Arun & Mangala PuranikG.S. Raman & GitaDr.Bhagabat & Pushpalakshmi SahuRakesh Sharma

Arsha Vidya Newsletter - October 2015 3

Arsha VidyaNewsletter

In fearless voice maywe proclaim

The Rishi's message from all house-tops

And bring the menof different claim

To a fold of Lovewhere oneness lasts!

Arsha Vidya Newsletter - October 20154

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—— Swamini Vidyananda SaraswatiArsha Parampara, Madurai

Guruvarashtakam


Bhu Samadhi of Pujya Swamiji

In Meditative Posture

DIVINE MOMENTS : Pujya SwamiDayananda Saraswati came back from thehospital to Swami Dayananda Ashram,Rishikesh on September 23, 2015 aroundnoon. All the Swamis, Swaminis, studentsand devotees did pranams to Pujya Swamiji.

In a divine and peaceful atmosphere,Gajendra moksha, Gita 8th and15th chapters, Vishnu sahasranama and OmNamashivayamaha mantra were chanted, bySwamiji’s disciples. As the chanting was on,it looked as though Pujya Swamiji was inmeditation.

Swamiji attained mahasamadhi at 10.17p.m. It was Pujya Swamiji’s sankalpa, thathe attained mahasamadhi in Purani Jhadi,Rishikesh on the banks of river Ganga. Hissankalpa fructified and he attainedvidhehamukti in a peaceful, beautiful anddignified manner, amidst the holy chanting.

PUBLIC HOMAGE : After that PujyaSwamiji’s sacred body was kept in thelecture hall in a glass cabin with ice slabsuntil the early morning of September 25,2015. In a holy atmosphere of Vedicchanting, Swamis, Swaminis, students anddevotees, dignitaries paid their respects toPujyaSwamiji. Common citizens andchildren of Rishikesh stood in longserpentine queue even past midnight tooffer their homage. Pujya Swamiji hastouched the hearts of not only the Scholarsbut the common man too.

FINAL RITUALS : On September 25, 2015around 8 a.m., Pujya Swamiji’s sacred bodywas taken from the lecture hall in aprocession with ringing of bell, blowing ofconch and holy chants to a place between

the lecture hall and the Gangadhareshwarartemple on the banks of river Ganga near theaswatha tree. A shivalinga was placednearby.

ABHISEKA : As per yati aaradhanashodasa-upacara puja was done toSwamiji’s sacred body and the Shivalingasimultaneously. The solemn ritual wasperformed by Swami Suddhananda assistedby Swami Brahmavidyananda, SwamiSantatmananda and other Swamis, with theguidance of Jambhunata Ganapatikal.Abiseka for Shivalinga and samprokshanafor Pujya Swamiji’s sacred body withekaadasarudra chanted jal, Ganga jaland Gangadareswara abishekajal was done,followed by other shodasa puja


Bhu samadhi ceremony

Bhu-Samdhi Preparation

Maha-samadhi with Gangesat back-ground

Ritviks Chanting

Adhishtanam

Siva linga at adhishtanam

Maha-samadhi - reverence to Guru

Shodasa Upacara Pooja 2


vidhi, including astotra-archana. SwamiParamarthananda led the chanting.

BHU SAMADHI : With holy chants andmangala dwani, Pujya Swamiji’s sacredbody facing river Ganga was lowered ontoa platform inside a pit. The exact place ofSwamiji’s sacred body was marked byextending a rod from inside the pit up tothe ground level. With the continuation ofchanting of mantras, vibuti (holy ash),turmeric and sandal were offered, first bySwami Suddhananda and later by Sadhusand other devotees. The holy samadhi wasfilled up with sacks of salt, vibuti, sand,sandal, turmeric, cow dung and charcoal.The ceremony ended around 10.30 a.m.

ADHISHTANAM : Pujya Swamiji’sSamadhi and the Siva linga are kept facingriver Ganga in Swami Dayananda Asram,Rishikesh. In future a small shrine will bebuilt in that location and will be called as‘adhishtanam‘.

THE WISDOM LIGHT IS ALIVE :Although Pujya Swamiji is not amids us inflesh and blood, but he continue to exist inthe form of his teachings, and the legacy ofdisciple-teachers and through the variousinstitutions established by him. Theteaching is not separate from the Teacher.“All that is here is Isvara” is the mainteaching of Swamiji and hence this teachingis also Ishwara. Swamiji is Ishwara.

Report by N. Avinashilingam

Pujya Swami Dayananda SarawatiThe Editorial team is working on the significance of each word – Pujya , Swami,Daya-Ananda , and Saraswati . Besides deriving the respective word from itsSanskrit root - xatu - , its different meaning as per Sanskrit dictionary, itsoccurance in Upanishad and or Gita will also be cited.

How these words fully describe Swamiji will be elaborated , including anecdotesetc., For example the word PujyaH means ‘most deserful for worshipping,venerable, adoring’ etc. Swamiji’s contribution to the whole humanity intermsof not only unfolding the vision of Sastra but also in the propagation ofSanatanadharma, instituting various Social organisations etc are being highlightedwhich deserves for his adoration.

Simialrly we are working on other words too. With regard to Swami and dayaespecially, we are sure there will be very many intimate experinces byindividuals with Swamiji. If readers can share their experiences, we will behappy to add them in the forth-coming article appropriately.

Please write, preferrably in Word format not exceeding half-page and sendus

to any of the following:By e-mail : [email protected]

By post : Editor, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam,Anaikatti Post, Coimbatore 641 108


Bandara

Oduvars

Shodasi at Anaikatti

In memory of Pujya Swami DayanandaSaraswati, a shodasi (16th day ceremony)was organized at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam,Anaikatti on October 8, 2015. On thisoccasion Heads/ representatives ofThiruvavaduthurai Aadheenam,Thirupananthal Kasi Mutt, DharmapuramAadheenam, Koviloor Mutt, Perur Mutt,Siravai Mutt, Kamakshipuram Aadheenam,Sencheri Thirunavukarasu Nandavana Mutt,Mayilam Ponammpuram Aadheenam,Mounaguru Mutt Chidambaram, Sri ApparSwamigal Mutt, Pillayar Petham, ArunaiAnnamalayar Thiru Mutt, Sri VaarahiMantralayam, Sri Agastyar Asramam, SriVageesa Mutt Avinashi and SriLalithambikai Peetam attended and blessedthe devotees.

Hymns from Thirumurai were rendered byeminent oduvars. Puja and dakshina wereoffered to the 16 sadhus followed bybhandara (lunch)

Praaceena Aadheenams

Bandara

On Oct 9, 2015, 35 oduvars from ThirumuraiSeva Maiyam, Tamil Nadu chantedThirumurai from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. inmemory of Pujya Swamiji.

Report by N. Avinashilingam


Aadheenam'sspeeches

Aadheenams at Swamiji'sKutia

Upacara toAadheenams


SHODASI : Shodasi or 16th day ceremonyof Pujya Swami Dayanananda Saraswati’smaha Samadhi was observed at SwamiDayananda Asram, Rishikesh on October 8,2015.

BHU SAMADHI STHALA : The placewhere bhu Samadhi is situated within theAshram on the banks of river Ganga wasbeautifully decorated with flower pandal byFlorist from Chennai. The devotees wereawe struck with the beautiful flowerarrangement made on the bhu Samadhi.

HONOURING MAHATMAS : SeventeenMaha mandaleshwars and Mandaleshwarsfrom Rishikesh and Haridwar participatedin the ceremony. They first offered floraltribute to Pujya Swamiji’s bhu Samadhi.Puja was done to the Maha mandaleshwarsand Mandaleshwars. They were honouredwith memorable gifts and Guru dakshina.Bhandara was first offered to theseMahatmas.

SADHU BHANDARA : After that Sadhubhandara was offered in four batches. More

Shodasi at Rishikesh

Mahamandaleshwars offering tribute Prayers at the decorated Samdhi-sthala

than 3,000 Sadhus were offered bhandaraand dakshina. Sadhus came from Rishikeshand Haridwar. It was a great sight to seeochre clad Sadhus moving in and movingout of the Ashram in such great numbers.

GENERAL BHANDARA : On October 9,2015, the next day general bhandara wasoffered to citizens of Rishikesh. More than6,000 people took part in the generalbhandara.

FITTING SHODASI : Everything about theshodasi was fitting the magnanimity ofPujya Swamiji. The gifts and Guru dakshinaoffered to the Maha mandaleshwars andMandaleshwars were very generous. Thenumber of Sadhus who were offeredbhandara and dakshina was more than3,000. The number of Rishikesh citizenswho were offered bhandara was more than6,000. Even after maha Samadhi, PujyaSwamiji continues be a great contributor.

Report byN. Avinashilingam


Mahamandaleswars being honoured

Samashti Bhandara view

Sadhu-vrnda in front ofthe Samadhi-sthala

Manasa Smaraami Sadgurum


Shodasi at Manjakudi

Sadhu Upacaram

Sadhu Vandanam


Sw Paramarthananda's talk

Shodasi at Saylorsburg

Shodasi at Chennai


Adhishtanam - Puja

The Bhu-samadhi where Pujya Swamiji’ssacred body was placed is now consideredas holy place like any other shrine or temple.Immediately after the bhu-samadhi rituals,every day puja, including ashtotram, toSwamiji’s photo placed near the Samadhi, isdone morning and evening subsequent to thepuja to Narmadheshwarer. The Bhu-samadhiwhere Pujya Swamiji’s sacred body wasplaced is now considered as holy place likeany other shrine or temple.


Adhishtanam - Decoration

Various floral arrangements were done on theadhishtanam every day.


Shraddhanjali to Pujya Swamiji at Bhavan

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Coimbatore Kendra organized a reverential homage to PujyaSwami Dayananda Saraswati on October 4, 2015 in the evening.

Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, Swami Shankaranandaji, Smt.Sunitha Santharam, Sri Ravi Sam,Sri Krishnan and Sri Gurumurti spoke


Shraddhanjali at various places


India has just lost one of its most importantHindu leaders, Swami DayanandaSaraswati. The media referred to him byappeal to his most celebrated student,India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. ButDayananda did not need Modi to be knownin India, and globally. I recall howimpressed I was with a full page ad onsome airline magazine in India announcingDayananda’s teaching over the course ofseveral days. In India it seems natural to sellmore than cosmetics on airplanes.

Maybe the best way to consider Dayanandais in light of the keyword unity. He wasfirst and foremost a teacher of Divine Unity.He was arguably the most significantpresent day exponent of the unitivephilosophical and mystical system calledAdvaita Vedanta, that proclaims the fullunity of all being, and obviously the full

Swami Dayananda– A Jewish Appreciation

Alon Goshen-Gottstein Founder and Director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute.

Acknowledged as one of the world’s leading figures in interreligious dialogue.

unity of God, encompassing thetranscendent and immanent fields. He wasalso a man who sought to unite Hinduism,arguably the world’s most fragmented,diverse and hard to define religion. Bycreating a council of all the major religiousleaders and heads of various sects, hesought to give Hinduism a united voice,identity and representation. And his unitivevision went beyond Hinduism to allreligions, that he recognized as validpathways to God, which in turn led him tobecome one of India’s foremost leaders ininterreligious dialogue.

This leads me to consider SwamiDayananda as a pioneer of Hindu-Jewishrelations. Dayananda was the driving forcebehind the most important Jewish-Hinduencounter ever. Swami Dayananda, throughthe council of Hindu leaders, held two highprofile summits with the Chief Rabbinateof Israel, the American Jewish Committeeand other Jewish leaders and scholars.These summits are seen by many as abreakthrough in Hindu-Jewish relations, ina sense establishing “spiritual-diplomatic”relations between them. What droveDayanandaji to invite the Chief Rabbi ofIsrael to Delhi and to come himself toJerusalem, with a significant delegation ofHindu religious leaders? Vision, concernand pain.

Let me begin with the pain. I would liketo share two different conversations I hadwith Dayananda, both of which are relevantto the Jewish-Hindu summits he initiated.The first took place in Montreal, in advance


of the first summit of Hindu-Jewish leaders.Dayananda was in Montreal for a largeconference where he shared his pain abouthow Christians are converting Hindus.Conversion is a nation-wide problem inIndia, and a very much unresolved one, asit continues to feed violence on the ground.Dayananda carried the pain and concern forHindu identity that he felt is beingundermined by missionaries usinginappropriate missionary tactics. His unitivevision and his recognition of the validity ofall faiths did not detract from the problemand the enormous pain with which I wasconfronted. As a Jew I was sympathetic.And as a savvy international leader,Dayananda knew he needed allies, and herecognized Jews share his sentiment. Hetherefore sought to cultivate relations withJewish leadership in combating Christianmissionaries. The declaration issued duringthe first summit includes this as one of itsmessages:

“Neither [Hindus nor Jews] seek toproselytize, nor undermine or replace in anyway the religious identities of other faithcommunities. They expect othercommunities to respect their religiousidentities and commitments, and condemnall activities that go against the sanctity ofthis mutual respect.”

Dayananda carried a second pain, that ofbeing misunderstood. I recall anotherconversation with him, this one in his

Ashram in his Rishikesh, where he passedaway a couple of days ago. Dayananda wasbeside himself at the accusation that he wasan idol worshipper. “Me an idolworshipper?” He addressed to me hisfrustration at Jewish authorities who couldnot see beyond the externals of Hinduworship to the spiritual reality that he ofall people, as India’s foremost teacher ofVedanta, was well aware of and thatinformed his spiritual horizons. Dayanandahad a deep need to clear up what heconsidered a fundamental misperception ofHinduism, on the part of Jews. This was thesecond most important goal of the summits.Reading the transcripts of the summits onerealizes that assembled rabbis heard for thefirst time that Hinduism was not primitiveidolatry and that Hindus worship the oneSupreme Being, the same one worshippedby Jews. This recognition stood at the topof the both declarations and was consideredby Dayananda as their greatestachievement.

Following the meeting, Dayananda gave aninterview to the New Indian Express, wherehe stated:

The Jerusalem meet concluded with alandmark declaration that Hindus worship‘one supreme being’ and are not reallyidolatrous. The implications of this areprofound in content and far-reaching ineffect. Judaism was born of the completerepudiation of idol-worship and the


rabbinic literature abounds withdenunciation of idolatry in an entire tractateof the Talmud devoted to this.

The importance of this issue in the Jewishand other Abrahamic traditions cannot beoverstated. Since its first encounter withthese religions, due to their incompleteunderstanding of its Sastras, Hinduism hasbeen perceived by them as idolatrous andpromoting many gods, says SwamiDayananda Saraswathi.

The Hindus have, for centuries, experiencedthe extremely violent consequences of thiswrong perception. The historic declarationmade at the Hindu-Jewish Summit atJerusalem on 18 February, 2008 sets at restthe wrong notion that Hinduism isidolatrous.

The declaration reads: ‘It is recognized thatone supreme being in its formless andmanifest aspects has been worshipped byHindus over the millennia. The Hindurelates to only the one supreme being whenhe / she prays to a particular manifestation.This does not mean that Hindus worship‘gods’ and ‘idols’.

The Jewish leaders, in so many words,owned their perception of the Hindutradition as erroneous and came up with thedeclaration which the Hindu delegationcould happily accept. This establishes thathonest and bold dialogue can completelyreverse wrong views and erroneousperceptions held over millennia. Itemphasizes that leaders of every religionneed to be informed about the basics, vision

and beliefs of other religious traditions, saysSwami Dayananda Saraswathi.If one thinks about it, this is a remarkablemoment. It is remarkable because Jews andHindus have made significant progress intheir mutual understanding. In my soon tobe released The Jewish Encounter withHinduism (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2015) Iquery whether Dayananda was over-optimistic in his reading of the summits’achievements and whether indeed the issueof idolatry is off the table once and for all.But that does not detract from the fact thatfor the first time ever a theologicalconversation took place between Jewish andHindu leaders, and that its outcome wastransformative. It is also a remarkablemoment in terms of process, a factunderlined by Dayananda himself.Dayananda was able to channel his paininto constructive action. He did not simplycomplain about Hinduism beingmisunderstood. He took steps to make itbetter understood. And in this he appealedto the procedure of dialogue as the wayforward in clearing up misunderstandings.This is itself a remarkable achievement.Swami Dayananda passed away on the eveof the Sukkot festival, a time imagined bythe Prophet Zacharaiah as one of apilgrimage of all nations to Jerusalem.Passing away on the eve of Sukkot allowsus to consider Dayananda, and all theHindus he represents, as models for whatthe gentiles’ visit to Jerusalem might be allabout. It is certainly not missionary. But noris it simply coming to Jerusalem torecognize the God or the truth of Judaism.Dayananda came to Jerusalem to increaseunderstanding and the procedure heundertook was that of dialogue. When wethink of the seventy nations this Sukkot, weare invited to consider not only what theywill receive by coming to Jerusalem, butalso what we might receive by theirpresence. Our experience of Sukkot may bedeepened when we realize that receivingguests in our Sukka is an invitation todialogue.


Namaste. I have just received news thatSwami Dayananda Saraswati Ji of ArshaVidya Gurukulam has attainedMahasamadhi tonight (according toBharatiya time) at his Rishikesh Ashram onthe banks of mother Ganga. It was hisdesire to leave his body near Ganga Ji.

Those who came in contact with him wouldreadily agree that he was a teacher parexcellence of Vedanta. He established ArshaVidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg, PA inearly eighties and made it into a giganticinstitution to distribute knowledge/Gyan ofVedic traditions in a true Gurukul style.

I had known that Swamiji was at his ArshaVidya Gurukulam on August 25th of thisyear, when he left for Bharat in an airambulance. Though he was on a stretcherand had to labor to speak, he spoke at alength; his words were peppered with hisusual humor and wit. In that haltingmessage, he had expressed a desire to meetPrime Minister Narendra Modi (himself aspiritual aspirant) before giving up hisbody. As soon as Swamiji reached Bharat,Modiji had a Skype conversation with him.At Modiji’s request, Swamiji agreed to taketwo more treatments of dialysis and as Godwould have wished, on September 11th,Modiji made a trip to Rishikesh and metPujya Swamiji. Swamiji blessed Modiji,which is for the good of the nation.

In my personal life, he was at a “thinkersmeet” in Hyderabad, India back in 1999,which was a gathering of many of theimportant writers on Hinduism and Vedicculture, primarily those of India, but alsoa number of us western writers andscholars were there. Swamiji was a keyproponent for the idea of starting an

organization for western writers to worktogether, which became the Vedic FriendsAssociation, for bringing western teachers,writers and students to work cooperativelyto help spread Vedic culture to as manyother westerners as possible. We are stillworking in the Vedic Friends Association,a small group, but with continued focus tokeep our work of spreading Vedic dharmagoing.

I remember when some of us westernerswere in Guahati, Assam for a conference onpreserving the traditions of the indigenoustribes in Northeast India back in the year2000. I shared the stage with him as one ofthe speakers there. Later, we attended acultural program wherein the differenttribes would perform traditional danceswhile wearing the customary outfits. I wassitting near the front in between Swamijiand Sheshadri, one of the elder RSS men.They were both taking turns explaining tome what each of the tribal dances meant. Iremember thinking I had the best seat in thehouse, watching the traditional dances, andthese two great men were explainingeverything to me.

At another conference in the northeasternIndia, I remember he had lunch with someof us westerners and we would talk andjoke about the various ways that would beeffective in spreading Vedic dharma. Healways had ideas, and he was never one tobe intimidated by what is now called“political correctness”. He called things ashe saw them, and spoke boldly about theneeds of the hour to protect Vedic dharma,especially against the conversion tactics ofsome religions in the region. He alsoseemed to appreciate that same spirit of

In Memoriam ofSwami Dayananda’s Mahasamadhi


boldness that some of us westernersexhibited.

He knew I was a Krishna bhakta, a discipleof A. C. Bhaktivedanta, but, like me, he wasquite non-sectarian when it came to dealingwith others on the path of Vedic Dharma.In fact, he formed the Acharya Sabha, anorganization made of the top 200 spiritualleaders of all the important Vedicorganizations across India, composed of allkinds of lineages and schools of thought. Ithought this was one of the best ideas hehad. In that organization they would worktogether on a common basis to deal withthe challenges to preserve and protect VedicDharma, whether it was from conversiontactics, challenges from the government,and so on. They meet every year. In fact, Ihad one Vaishnava Swami friend call meone time to thank me for letting him attendone annual meeting. I asked how did I dothat. He said that he went to it and said thatI was his friend, and based on my namealone, they let him inside to attend it.

I also remember one of the first conferencesthe Vedic Friends Association had at hisArsha Vidya Gurukulam, in which hewould let us meet there and use hisfacilities for free. Once he was going tospeak on meditation, and he called for me,and would not start his talk until I wasthere. Once I sat down near him, only thendid he start to speak about the importanceof meditation, how he performed hismeditation, and then chanted severalmantras, including the Hare Krishnamantra, as we sat in his upstairs room.

One of the most important memories wasnearly 14 years ago when we had anothersmall conference at his ashrama inSaylorsburg, and my house in Detroit hadjust been burglarized, and I had lost mycomputer and several other things that wereimportant to me in doing my writing andother Dharmic work. I mentioned that itmay take some time to remain in contactwith everyone at the conference since I nolonger have a computer, and it may take

some time for me to get the money to getanother one. Within minutes, he wentaround the room and did a fundraiser forme and raised nearly $3000, plus one of thevolunteers at the ashrama said he couldgive me one of their computers, andSwamiji also made arrangements to sendme a monthly stipend. After that I had acomputer, and funds to pick up andcontinue my work of writing and so on. Hesimply liked the work I did and theintentions I had. That stipend was sent tome every month from his own organizationand kept my rent paid for five years so Icould work and write without that worry.No one had ever shown me that kind ofsupport before.

He was greatly influential, and was well-known all across India. In fact, he hadwritten and signed a letter of reference forme, stating that I was a sincere Hindu andshould be treated with the respect that Ideserve. That way when I would go tocertain temples in India, I could show thatletter to get in, if they were not allowingcertain people inside. So one time when Iwent to the Meenakshi temple, the priestswould not allow me into the sanctumsbecause of being white-skinned. So Ishowed the management that letter fromSwamiji, and after they had somediscussion about it, they arranged one oftheir priests to take us into all of thesanctums and do pujas, taking us to thehead of the long lines of India pilgrims,who were watching and wondering why Iand a friend of mine got to go to the headof the lines while everyone else had to wait.It was like we were shown specialprivileges that even the locals did notreceive. I still have that letter.

For these reasons Swami DayanandaSarasvati will always have a place in myheart and a special regard from me, and Iwill always honor what special attention hegave me, and pray for his well-being.

Jai Sri Krishna,Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana dasa)


New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mourned the deathof Swami Dayananda Saraswati, whom he considered as his guru.

“Swami Dayananda Saraswati ji’s demise is a personal loss. I praythat his soul attains eternal peace,” Modi wrote on Twitter, soon afterhe landed in New York today.

“My thoughts are with the countless people inspired by DayanandaSaraswati ji. He was a powerhouse of knowledge, spirituality &service,” Modi said.

Modi's Tribute


Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1930 - 2015)Published on Newyork Times

Obituary

Swami Dayananda Saraswati _(Arsha_Vidya), an internationally knownHindu monk, a great visionary, an eminent and traditional teacher ofVedanta (the timeless religious, spiritual and core philosophy fromIndia), and a brilliant thinker and writer attained mahasamadhi(cessation of bodily existence) on September 23, 2015 in Rishikesh, India.

Swami Dayananda established traditional Vedanta teaching centerscarrying the banner ‘Arsha Vidya’ (meaning “knowledge of the Rishis”)including three in India and one in Saylorsburg, PA (http://www.arshavidya.org/). He was also the founder of All India Movementfor Seva (or Service) (http://www.aimforseva.org), a unique socialenterprise that brings education and healthcare to the children livingin the rural areas of India through student homes, schools, and clinics,totally free of cost. Swami Dayananda worked tirelessly over severaldecades to promote multiple inter-religious dialogues, and was anauthor and contributor to many Joint Declarations, with Jewish andBuddhist leaders for example. Swami Dayananda’s teachings, lecturesand writings have been published in more than 60 titles in English,and some of them have been translated to other languages. A popularbook that has been translated to both Spanish and French is “The Valueof Values.” It is particularly popular among youth as it discusses thecommonly sensed human values, an appreciation of which is the mostimportant ingredient for harmony among religions, nations and cultures.Swami Dayananda’s commitment to religious harmony made him arevered spiritual leader across a wide spectrum of traditions aroundthe world. The final obsequies of Swami Dayananda, as per the Hindutradition for a monk, were performed in the presence of thousands ofdisciples, religious leaders, admirers and the general public.


Dr. Anantanand Rambachan is Professor ofReligion at Saint Olaf College, Minnesota,USA. His books include, ‘Accomplishing theAccomplished: The Vedas as a Source ofValid Knowledge in Sankara ‘The Limits ofScripture: Vivekananda’s Reinterpretation ofthe Authority of the Vedas’, ‘The AdvaitaWorldview: God, World and Humanity’and ‘A Hindu Theology of Liberation: Not-Two is Not One’

Few teachers have fulfilled theirobligations to their tradition as SwamiDayananda Saraswati did. He has left ourworld richer with teachers.

In 1973, after graduating from theUniversity of the West Indies, I made a longjourney from my home in Trinidad to studyat the Sandeepany Sadhanalaya,the asrama in Mumbai, India, founded bySwami Chinmayananda (1916-1993). Thiswas my first visit to India, the birthplaceof my Hindu ancestors. It was a time whenfew from my country traveled to India.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati(1930-2015)

Anantanand Rambachan

I was a teenager when SwamiChinmayananda first visited Trinidad in1965 and I avidly read his availablewritings. In 1969, I wrote to him forpermission to join his asrama . His sageadvice, after rebuking me for my undatedletter, was to complete my college educationbefore coming to Sandeepany. In 1973,Sandeepany Sadhanalaya launched its firstintensive multi-year course of study inVedanta and Sanskrit. By then, I hadfulfilled Swamiji’s advice and I wasaccepted as his student.

Mumbai was drenched in monsoon rainswhen I made my way from the airport toSandeepany. I was introduced to SwamiDayananda Saraswati, who I learned wasthe prinicipal acarya and the designer of thecourse of study that I came to pursue.

When I arrived at Sandeepany, I discoveredthat the course had already started. Swamiji, in fact, had completed histeaching of one of the foundational texts,Sankara’s Tattvabodha. Tattvabodha offersconcise definitions of the major terms andconcepts of Vedanta and is a necessarypreliminary to further study. Realizing thatI would be at a learning disadvantage forhis Upanishad classes, Swamiji offered toteach the text again and did so in intimatesessions in his kutir. Though he had recentlycompleted the text, his instruction waspatient and thorough. These were featuresof his teaching that never wavered. Therewere never signs of impatience or haste.

This was my first and indelible experienceof the one who would become the most


influential teacher in my life. For the nextthree years, with rare breaks, I sat at his feetstudying the Upanisads and theBhagavatgita with the commentaries ofSankara.

When Swamiji was ready to begin theteaching of the Bhagavatgita, he wanted alocation where the ancient risis themselvestaught and where their memories were stillalive. He took us all to Purana Jhadi inRishikesh. There was no accommodation atPurana Jhadi. Swamiji had a tiny one-roomcottage, and so we stayed in the spartanrooms of Andhra Ashram. On earlymornings and late afternoons, we sat in theopen on the banks of the Ganga, breathingthe cool air and listening to his meticulousverse by verse exposition of theBhagavatgita. The Ganga roaredunceasingly in the background and Swamijioften spoke of it as symbolizing thesampradaya or flow of knowledge. Swamijidelighted in the simple and unencumberedascetic setting of Purana Jhadi . It seemeda perfect setting, singing Ganga and silentHimalaya, for Swamiji to do what he lovedbeyond all else – teach. It does not surprisethat Swamiji chose Rishikesh, a sacred spacewhere he lived as both student and teacher,to be the site of his mahasamdhi.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati was anabundantly gifted human being and thesegifts found fruitful expression in a varietyof achievements and initiatives. A properand detailed assessment of his legacy is anecessary task for scholars of religion in thefuture. For his students across the world,however, the heart of this legacy is not indispute. They have discovered it in hisextraordinary gifts as a teacher of Vedanta;this is the image that is lovingly andgratefully alive in their hearts.

At the heart of Swamiji’s passion andcreativity as a teacher was his foundationalcommitment to the Veda (sruti) as a sourceof valid knowledge (pramana). The

understanding of the Veda as a pramana,though central to the methodology of theclassical teacher, Sankara, did not come easyto Swamiji. He spoke often to us of his earlychallenges as a student of Vedanta beforehe understood the Veda as a pramana. Hisstudents, he would say, “do not know themagnitude of the discovery that the Vedais a pramana They did not suffer as I did.” He attributed his transformativeunderstanding to the teaching of a Telugu-speaking sanyasin, Swami Pranavananda.Through the teaching of SwamiPranavananda, Swamiji came to seeVedanta as a direct means of knowledge forknowing the truth of oneself, even as theeyes serve as the instrument for theknowledge of forms and colors. “That wasenough for me,” said Swamiji. “I neverlooked back. I had already studied theUpanisads – Vedantah. So, what was neededwas only to rearrange – to look atthe Upanisads, the whole teaching in thelight of Pramanam”

Any description of Swamiji’s skillfulteaching is incomplete without grasping thisfact. This is where he always started hisunfolding of the Vedanta vision. The humanproblem, as Swamiji tirelessly taught, is oneof incorrect understanding of the nature ofoneself that is full and whole, buterroneously taken to be incomplete andlacking. Ignorance is dispelled only byknowledge and knowledge must be derivedfrom a valid source.

The Veda- pramana consists of words. Thepotential of these words to dispel ignorancedepends on their handling by a skillfulteacher. Swamiji brought to his teaching adeep understanding of the possibilities andlimits of language. He exercised meticulouscare in his choice of words and used thesewith marvelous dexterity and deftness toinstruct about that, “from whom all words,along with the mind, turn back havingfailed to grasp.” (Taittriya Upanisad). Heknew well the dangers of linguistic


indiscipline and imprecision in speakingof brahman and sought always to use wordswith caution, and consistency. He was freshand chaste in his teaching. Words canliberate and words can imprison; he tappeddeftly into the liberating potential of thewords of the Upanisads, and taught hisstudents to do the same.

As a teacher, Swamiji’s attention wasunwaveringly centered on the end-purposeof his teaching- the freedom of the studentsitting at his feet. He made moksa, an endthat is too-often clothed in mystery andmade to seem remote and difficult, real andaccessible. He universalized the humanproblem as a sense of inadequacy andincompleteness, making it one that isvalidated in the experience of every humanbeing. He presented moksa as freedom fromself-inadequacy that is attained throughunderstanding a teaching that dispelsignorance. He enabled us to see that thefull being we want to become isimmediately and always available. Thepresentation of the human problem and itsresolution in these terms means that theVedanta pramana deals with a recognizablehuman issue. As a teacher, Swamiji clearlywanted to present the Vedanta pramana ina manner that overcomes cultural orreligious alienation and to make it accessibleand relevant to a recognizable problem. Irecall that in every class, at some point orthe other, he imparted the vision of Vedantain its entirety. To transmit the vision of thewhole in this manner is no smallaccomplishment for a teacher, and Swamijialways did it with an irresistible relevance,charm and intimacy.

One of the eloquent statements aboutSwamiji’s impact and effectiveness as ateacher is his ability to nurture and producecapable teachers. He understood himself asbelonging to an ancient lineage (sampradaya)of teachers and students. This lineage hadboth a teaching to transmit as well as adistinctive methodology to ensure proper

transmission and continuity. He fulfilledhis indebtedness to this tradition throughhis own earnest study, his commitment toteaching, and his founding of the ArshaVidya Gurukulam as a place of teachingand learning. Few teachers have fulfilledtheir obligations to their tradition asSwamiji did. He has left our world richerwith teachers, monastic and lay, who willcontribute to the vitality of this traditionand produce new teachers.

Swamiji’s teaching was essentially aninvitation to inquire. One cannot prove thatthe Vedanta, as a valid source ofknowledge, works unless one is willing togive it a try by exposing oneself to aqualified teacher. As a teacher, he neverdemanded that his students assent toanything apriori. All he asked for was awillingness to try the teaching with an openmind. One must be willing to suspendjudgments about the pramana until it isgiven an opportunity to prove itself.

When I visited Swamiji for the last time inDecember 2014, forty-one years after wefirst met, his health was failing and he wasfrail in body. Each evening, however, a fewof us sat Between periods of listening, wewere around him in the lecture hall to listento the transcript of his lectures on TaittriyaUpanisad. We would support him toexercise by walking around the room. Hewas attentive to each word, occasionallycorrecting the transcript, ensuring that hismeaning was accurately communicated. His eyes and face lit up whenever apassage from the commentary of Sankarawas cited. He delighted in the clarity andlogic of the argument. Commitment to theVeda-pramana was the beginning and endof his self-understanding as a teacher.

One night, at the end of the session, heturned to me and spoke words that I willnever forget, “Sastra pramana does work.”

Jaya Gurudeva


Swami Dayananda Saraswati — a masterexponent of the inclusive Hindu philosophywho declared there was not ‘ONE GOD,’ but‘ONLY GOD,’ a teacher of Vedanta whocreated hundreds of teachers to continue theancient Indian tradition, a great organiserwho founded the Hindu Dharma AcharyaSabha as the representative body ofunorganised Hindu religious traditions, aphilosopher who harmonised and validated,from the Hindu perspective of theo-diversity,all forms of worship from paganism tomonism, an intellectual who re-articulatedand established that religious conversion,regarded as the right of evangelist religions,is itself violence, and finally a patriot saintwho, like Maharishi Aurobindo and SwamiVivekananda did, saw, in the ancient nationof India, the very manifestation of all that hehad learnt and taught — is no more. Indeedhe was the latest incarnation in the traditionof nationalist saints of India.

Endowed with unparalleled intellectual skillsand unlimited knowledge base, Dayanandafirst made it a mission of his life to teach anddid take Vedanta to a vast elite audience inIndia and outside, which would otherwisehave been half-westernised in world view andas much Christianised culturally. He alignedVedanta to India as a national entity andcultural phenomenon and to Indians as thechosen people entrusted with the sacred dutyto live, sustain and protect it not only forthem but also for the good of the world. Inhis exposition, Vedanta was not just aphilosophy but it found expression in theculture and life of India founded on the ideaof dharma — in its arts and music, literatureand sculpture, society and family, and in theIndian traditional respect for elders, teachers

Swami Dayananda, The Patriot SaintBy S Gurumurthy

Published in Indian Express on 25th September 2015

and women and ultimately in the reverencefor this nation itself as sacred and in the loveof the entire creation, both animate andinanimate. Starting off as student and discipleof the redoubtable Swami Chinmayananda,the originator of the contemporary school ofexposition of Vedanta, Dayananda Saraswatirapidly grew up as an accomplished scholarand unparalleled teacher.

After having worked for decades andsucceeded in his mission to teach and createteachers of Vedanta, he turned his attentionto some critical issues of contemporaryimportance which would have long-term andadverse implications for the very purpose andsoul of this ancient nation. With this newturn, in the late 1990s a paradigm shift tookplace in his entire course of thought andaction and this led to his founding of theDharma Rakshana Samiti in Chennai in 1999.It was in that unique event, a confluence ofsome highly regarded saints, spiritualists, andintellectuals, that Swami Dayananda madeone of his most memorable speeches wherehe declared that the very concept of religiousconversion itself was violence — a spiritual,mental and cultural violence. This redefinedthe very notion of conversion which till thenhad some acceptability among non-Gandhiansecularists as a right of religions — which ineffect meant only the proselytising religions— to convert others to their faith. Gandhiji’scontempt for religious conversion is too well-known for the secularists to appropriateMahatma Gandhi to support conversion asintegral secularism. This is amongst thegreatest contributions of Swami Dayanandato global inter-religious discourse. Theredefinition of religious conversion asviolence robbed the concept of conversion of


benignity and exposed its malignantcharacter.

In 1999 when the then Pope visited India,Swami Dayananda constituted and led agroup of multi-religious scholars andintellectuals and welcomed but asked him todeclare that he was happy to visit a nationwhich has respected all faiths and that he alsorespected all faiths. But the Pope preferrednot to accept Swami Dayananda’s suggestion.However, with his unmatched intellectualprowess Swami Dayananda took the battleagainst conversion in world fora. Heproposed self-discipline among faiths in theMillennium summit of the United Nations inthe year 2000, calling upon religions torespect each other, not to abuse one anotherand not to convert the faithfuls of otherreligions by force or by inducement to one’sfold.

There was consensus on his view but finallythe proselytising faiths did not agree and theMillennium harmony proposal therefore didnot succeed. But it took just eight more yearsfor Swami Dayananda to convince the worldreligious leaders of the need for trans-religious self-regulation.

In the human rights declaration of worldreligious leaders in Amsterdam on December10, 2008 on the 60th anniversary of the UNHuman Rights Declaration, all world religiousleaders, including the proselytising faiths,accepted the Dayananda approach — namelythat religions should mutually respect andaccept each other, that they should not abuseor trivialise one another’s faiths or symbols,that they should recognise the right of aperson to be in the religion of his birth, andthat there should be no conversion by forceor by inducement — and signed the historicdeclaration. It is the substance of theAmsterdam declaration which Prime MinisterNarendra Modi adopted as the approach ofhis government to different faiths when headdressed the Christian religious meet inDelhi to celebrate the canonisation of saintsfrom Kerala.

In this period from 1999 to 2008, SwamiDayananda undertook some far-reachinginitiatives, which included the constitution ofthe Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha — one ofhis greatest achievements and equally a greatcontribution to the Indian civilisation. TheAcharya Sabha has given the diverse andunorganised Hindu religions, which had longsuffered disadvantage relative to theorganised and proselytising faiths, a platformto come together as Dharma religions andparticipate in the global discourse. Till then,any secularist masquerading as a religiousperson would sign on the dotted line onbehalf of Hinduism in the global fora.

His next big move was to bring togetherelders of all indigenous faiths — whetherfrom South America or North America, Africaor Europe — at Delhi. Swami Dayanandadeclared that all faiths are sacred and validand no faith can and should be allowed toclaim to be superior to other faiths. Hearticulated religious diversity, which is thestrongest point of Hinduism, in the mostacceptable, rational and logical manner andchallenged and debunked the claim that somefaiths are only true faiths and others falsefaiths, which, he argued, is the cause for thewidespread hate and violence today.

The great successes of this great sanyasi,moulded in the ancient traditions of India, isnot, however, as well-known as he himselfwas. That also demonstrated the high pointof his personality — humility. MaharishiAurobindo said that the greatestachievements have been least noisy. Thisaptly applied to Swami Dayananda’s workand life. In his demise, the Hindu philosophyhas lost its greatest exponent of recent times,Hindu religion one of its staunchestdefenders, and the nation a great patriot saint.

The author is a commentator on political,economic and cultural affairs.

E-mail: [email protected]


In the passing away of Swami DayanandaSaraswati the nation has lost a revered Guru,who saw himself as a philosopher-teacher (asopposed to a mada adhipathi). This distinctionis important to understand the great Guru andput his immeasurable contributions in properperspective. For Talk Media, NewsToday and Maalai Sudar too, the death of thiskind soul is a sad event as he had been animportant guiding spirit to it. Personally too,it is a hour of huge sorrow for me, as I hadinteracted and travelled extensively with thePujya Swamiji. I had interviewed him on manyoccasions over the last decade or so. Profuse,prolific and profound, the Swamiji left a lastingimpact on me as I had the opportunity to seehis greatness from close quarters. Here Ipresent from our archives a personal tributethat I had paid to the Swamiji just after he hadturned 80:

The canon of objectivity de- mands thatjournalism should not succumb to reverence.Of course, in practice this objectivity is eitheran alibi for an ivory-tower snootiness or is,well, highly subjective, for every scribe has hispet ideas and ‘isms’ and not only sees theworld through those prisms but also paints hisverbal pictures with those brushes. But stillhabits linger and you are reined-in by this in-built mechanism against praise. Also, with somuch of it in full public flow, directed oftenat unworthy individuals, you don’t feel likebeing part of the crowd or getting dissolved inthe din. It is therefore, for me, a giant leap offaith to be breaking the barrier of cynicism,cross the threshold of professional inhibition,walk way beyond the prescribed ‘safe-distance’and pay respects to a personality non-pareil.And in doing that, I have no doubts in mymind, I am the one who stands elevated.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha VidyaGurukulam is a rare phenomenon. A Sanyasi

by a combination of fate and freewill, his sweepgoes beyond the familiar practices andparaphernalia that one associates with anascetic. A Guru by all means, he however is nota mutt head nor does he belong to any Order.He can best be described as a Teacher ofVedanta, a humble nomenclature he prefers butwhich does not fully reveal or reflect hisawesome achievements beyond that field. Still,he is a sterling torchbearer of Bharatavarsha’smillennias-old teaching tradition and his dailyclasses, explaining and expounding the oldestscriptures of mankind, the Vedas & theBhagavad Gita, are a big draw. A mastercommunicator and a multi-linguist, he cancombine wit and wisdom with ease and makethe listener comprehend the profound in hisown pace and path: An enlightened guidinglight that can at once dispel the darkness ofignorance and fear and fill you instead withknowledge and cheer. With Swamiji in thedriver’s seat, your spiritual sojourn is a happyand rewarding outing.

But to be honest, in all my association withSwamiji, Vedanta was the least that I imbibed.Such lofty matters require a trusting, serenemindset, a faculty that my profession precludesme from possessing. But if his spiritualteachings have barely scratched my thick skull,let alone sinking in, I have found perfect syncwith his polemics on some practical issues ofcommon concern. It was 1998 and the Pope wasin India, spreading the word around for a huge‘harvest of faith’. His speech agitated mepersonally and also raised my professionalhackles: After all, freedom of religion alsomeans freedom to practice one’s own religionwithout interference but here was a rankforeigner with no locus standi, brazenlyintruding on that right and openly askingeveryone to defect. I promptly put out a protestin my columns and prayed for a ‘crop failure’.But the hurt remained and questions loomed:

A sage for all agesBy T R Jawahar

Thursday, 24th September 2015)


Should a liberal person, a journo at that, opposeconversions? Does religious freedom includeright to convert others? This and many more.To me, the truth was obvious, as revealed bymy spontaneous aversion to the Pope’s call, butit defied articulation and worse, acceptance, atleast in the mainstream. This was when theSwamiji came out with stunning argumentsagainst religious conversions. His declarationthat conversion ‘tantamounted to violence’, atone stroke, dismissed all self-doubt andactually emboldened me to make it a matterof conviction, personal, professional andpatriotic. And I was just one in a crowd ofmany who were wallowing in the same self-defeating muck of foolish tolerance of theintolerant and coy acquiescence to theirmischiefs.

And the impact was not confined to individualslike me but created world-wide ripples. For thefirst time, Om challenged Rome in the languageit understood and the message has truly gonehome. Shorn of the semantic sophistry and thesecular smokescreen, conversions were shownup for what they are: cheap marketing tricksto enlarge the flock and through that, enhancepolitical control. While it is puerile to believethat the attempts to convert, which is deemeda religious calling by expansionist, exclusivistfaiths and their followers, will abate, Swamijihas certainly legitimised the opposition to it,lent the issue voice and vocabulary, reversedthe debate and brought it to the globalintellectual table. His formulation thatconversion is an assault on human rights is amaster-stroke that gives a perspective in themodern idiom and no surprise therefore thateven the UN has taken note of it. But betterstill, several ‘pagan’ faiths world over whichwere wiped out by the onslaught ofevangelising, aggressive religions, are nowtrying to stage a comeback and reclaim theirlost, rightful place, in history and geographytoo. In that, Swamiji’s campaign can becompared to Swami Vivekananda’s USParliament of Religions coup last century.|

But to dub Swamiji as a mere agitationistagainst conversions is to trivialise his realworth. His opposition flowed from a largerdharmic worldview that Eashwara can beattained by many ways by any seeker and He

has no ‘particular address nor any solefranchisee’. Swamiji’s mantra: ‘There is not onegod; there is only God!’ It is with thisunassailable wisdom that he unapologeticallyconvinced an influential Jewish forum in Israelrecently that ‘Hindus were not idolators butsaw, and therefore, worshipped divinity in allforms’. To the familiar question on everyone’slips ‘Should I believe in God’, Swamiji’snonchalant reply always is ‘Not unless youwant to lend him five hundred rupees’! ForSwamiji, the almighty is not a matter of belief,but understanding. Reason why he teaches andothers listen!

While Swamiji is at the vanguard in protectingand promoting Sanatana Dharma, his concernfor the ‘dharmi’ too is abiding. This spiritualmaster is a man ‘for’ the world too: For him,service to society also is Eashwara and theorganisations he has spawned, like Aim forSeva, render stupendous services in the fieldsof education, healthcare, vocational training,women’s emancipation, tribal welfare etc. TheAcharya Sabha that he launched a few yearsback seeks to bring various sampradayas on asingle platform on issues concerning the Hindusociety and faith. This sabha, for instance, is inthe forefront of a movement to extricatetemples from the grip of a ‘secular’ State. Heis the moving spirit behind many suchauspicious ventures and physically movesaround a lot too. He is a ceaseless globe-trotterand has ashrams and audiences in Bharath andbeyond. But he relishes Rishikesh on the banksof the Ganga the most.

Swamiji recently turned 80 and was feted. Fora spiritualist on an eternal quest, Age 80 is aminor mortal milestone. But for the legions ofhis admirers and disciples it was an occasionfor rendering gurudakshina, not of materialthings, but as an emotional acknowledgementof a man whose message lent meaning to theirlives. Sages like him have always sustained andenriched this ancient land. They carry in theirsoul the undying torch of truth and theundrying spring of compassion. Blessed arethose, ‘objective’ journos included, who comeinto their orbit!

Shri Gurubyo Namaha!


ARSHA VIDYA PITHAMSwami Dayananda Ashram

is pleased to announce Two Camps by

SRI SWAMI TATTVAVIDANANDA SARASWATI

at Swami Dayananda Ashram, Rishikesh

as per details given below:

CAMP FROM TO TOPIC

CAMP NO. 1 09-03-2016 18-03-2016 Vivekacudamani

(10 DAYS) (Selected Verses)

CAMP NO.2 21-03-2016 30-03-2016 UPADESA SAHASRI

(10 DAYS) (Selected Verses)

Those who are interested in attending are requested to applyon or before 30 DECEMBER 2015.

Kindly find the online application form at our website:www.dayananda.org

Instructions to fill the online form:* Go to www.dayananda.org or type http://www.dayananda.org/course/

register_form.php* Click on the link Online Application 2016 from our website.* Fill up the registration form.* Choose the course you wish to attend for completion of application.

Note:1. It is important to select one or two in order for the registration process to be

completed successfully. Registration without selecting any course shall beconsidered void.

2. Overseas Applicants can register for 2 courses, Indian applicants for one courseonly.

3. You can also use your previous login username and password to apply atwww.dayananda.org/course/login.php

4. Due to large number of applications we can entertain online applications only.However, we can assist you with your enquiries at

[email protected] at +91-135-2430769/2431769

between 08:00 to 12:00 & 15:00 -19:00 Hrs only. 5. All applicants will be given equal opportunity. With your username and

password you can check the status of your application online. The statusof successful applicants will be displayed as “CONFIRMED”.

6. An online taxi reservation facility is also available.Acharya


Pearls of Wisdom

There is no good or bad person.There is only right or wrongaction.

It is often said that seeing is believing.But this is not always true, like seeingthe raising sun, seeing the blue sky,seeing the mirage water etc.

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2 Arsha Vidya Newsletter - October 2015 35Arsha Vidya Newsletter - October 2015

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