Nirvana 2016 Issue 88 (Jan-Mar)

8/16/2019 Nirvana 2016 Issue 88 (Jan-Mar)

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JAN-MAR 2016 | Issue No.88 | MCI (P) 009/09/2015 | ISSN 0218-7183

RAMAKRISHNA MISSION 179 BARTLEY ROAD SINGAPORE 539784


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In this issue...

State of Spiritual enlightenment or illumination. Nirvana releases humans fromthe cycle of birth, suffering, death and all forms of worldly bondage.

Edited and Published by Swami Vimokshananda, President, Ramakrishna Mission,

179 Bartley Road, Singapore 539784 Tel: 6288 9077 Fax: 6288 5798.email: [email protected], Website: www.ramakrishna.org.sgPrint Production: EAZI Printing Pte Ltd

Pearls of Wisdom 1

f rom Uddhava Gita

Editorial 2

The Rich man & the Sadhu 3

William Page

Cultivation of Strength and Fearlessness 8

Swami Budhananda

Mother's Melting Moments 12

Swami Apurvananda

Thai Pusam Festival 15

Yogan Naidoo

News & Notes 20


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Uddhava GitaTranslated by Swami Madhavananda

Śrī bhagavān uvāca

The Lord said:

Earth, Water , fire, air and ether are the five common fac- tors of the bodies of all beings from Brahma down to atree etc., and they are equally connected with a soul.

O Uddhava, though their bodies are thus similar, yet for their own good the Vedas have fashioned diverse names and and forms for them.

O best of men, with a view to circumscribing work I enjoinmerits and defects regarding things in accordance withthe exigencies of place, time, etc. Of lands those that are devoid of spotted antelopes and

and where, in particular, devotion to Brahmanas is absent,should be considered impure. And even if they are rich inantilopes tracts designated as Kikata and those that arenot swept, or are barren, should be regarded as impureunless there be worthy people in them.

(To be continued) Uddhava Gita 16 (5 - 8)

WisdomPearls of

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Welcome, 2016!

Just a minute ago, 2015 was given a go-bye, sorry 'Durga,

Durga' in our parlance! And in comes a beaming 2016. A very

happy, hearty New Year Day aka Kalpataru Day to everyone of you!

The past year 2015 was indeed a memorable year. Singapore

celebrated its Golden Jubilee. During the year-long functions

here I was posted as President of our Mission centre and

reached in Jun e.

“How was your life in the bygone year?” a question I usually

put to our devotees. Some would hesitantly reply, “Don’t ask,

Maharaj! It was not at all encouraging!”

So, adverse circumstances were aplenty? Never mind.

Think what Swamiji says about Life. He defines Life as “the

unfoldment and development of a being under circumstances

tending to press it down.” If you had had problems gal ore that

were ‘pressing’ you ‘down’, thank God, because those were thebest opportunities for unfoldment and development. Life is

nothing but a process of Learning. Situations are indeed

windowless, doorless and even wall-less schools. A wealth of

knowledge has already been accumulated through our

experiences. Tirukkural asks, "kattRadanAl Aya payan en kol

vAlaRivannattRAl thozhAr enin?” (I.1.2)

Of what avail is the Learning if divine feet of Him whopossesses perfect wisdom are not worshipped?

So, God-centered Life is what we require in this New Year.

Once a goal is set up, it becomes easy to navigate the course of

life. Did not the Master say on the 1st January of 1886, “May

your spiritual consciousness be awakened!”? May the New Year

‘gift’ us in abundance further opportunities in the

‘manifestation of Divinity already within’ us!

Swami Vimokshananda

12:01 am January 1, 2016

President's Page

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The Rich Man and the SadhuWilliam Page

heard this story many years

ago from an Indian travellingcompanion in Himachal

Pradesh. I don’t know how widelyknown it is, but readers of Nirvanamay find it interesting. I’ve added a few rhetorical flourishes.

Once Lord Krishna and Prince

Arjuna were traveling through avast wilderness. They had beenwalking all day beneath a blazingsun. They were tired, hungry, andthirsty.

Suddenly they came to a hugemansion looming up out ofnowhere. It was surrounded by awall, and there were armed guardsat the entrance. Behind it, Krishnaand Arjuna could see green fieldslush with crops, and rich pasturesfull of cattle.

“This looks good, Lord,” Arjunasaid. “Maybe here we can get

something to eat.”

Krishna nodded in assent, and Arjuna approached one of theguards. “Greetings,” he said. “Weare Krishna and Arjuna. We’vebeen walking all day, and wouldbe grateful if you could kindly ask

your master if we could pleasehave a bite to eat, a drop to drink,and a corner to rest our wearyheads.”

The guard went inside to convey

this message, and soon the chiefsteward approached the owner ofthe mansion.

The Rich Man

The owner’s name was DhanBabu. He was fabulously wealthy

and enormously fat, rivaling Jabbathe Hutt in gross obesity. He layon a sofa like a giant jellyfish, cladin silks and satins, wearing goldrings and bracelets, swilling downrich viands from a huge tablegroaning beneath a banquet ofsumptuous delicacies. A troupe ofvoluptuous dancing girls writhedand swayed before him as a stringquartet played erotic music. In thebackground, magicians performedtricks, clowns tumbled, and jugglers juggled.

The steward bowed andannounced, “Master, two travelers

are outside. They say their namesare Krishna and Arjuna. They’vebeen walking all day and craveyour gracious hospitality. A bite toeat, a drop to drink, and a humblecorner to sleep in is all they ask.” Dhan Babu chewed anothermouthful of sauteed hummingbird

tongues and slobbered on hissilken shirt. “Krishna and Arjuna!”he squealed with his mouth stillfull, spitting hummingbird tongues

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all over the table. “I know thosetwo! They’re scoundrels, rascals!Don’t give them anything! Not acrumb to eat, not a drop to drink,

not a single square inch on whichto lay their verminous heads!Come here to beg, have they?Ha! Tell them to get off myproperty! Right now! If theyrefuse to go, beat them with yourshoes!” His beady little pig’s eyesglowered in the flabby folds of hisporcine face as he gobbled down

a bowlful of caviar and uttered astentorian belch.

The steward bowed and returnedto the front gate. “Sorry,gentlemen,” he announced toKrishna and Arjuna. “My masterseems unfavorably disposed

towards you. He won’t allow us togive you any food and water,much less a place to sleep. Hecalled you several bad names andorders you to get off his propertyimmediately. If you don’t obey,we’re supposed to beat you withour shoes. Sorry about all this.”

Arjuna’s face fell, but Krishna, asalways, looked serene. “Thankyou for trying,” he told the guard.“Come, Arjuna, let us depart.” They continued on their way, but Arjuna’s face was dark with angeras he brooded on the rude rebuffthey had received.By now it was starting to get dark,and they came to a riverbank.There they saw a shabby structure

that hardly deserved to be called ahut. It was little more than aframework of bamboo poles with afew banana leaves attached.

The Sadhu

In front of the hut, a skinny oldman sat on a worn mat,meditating. Tied to the hut was anemaciated old cow, barely able tostand.

As soon as Krishna and Arjunaapproached, the old man leapedto his feet and uttered a cry of joy.“Lord Krishna! Prince Arjuna!” hecried. “I recognize you! Welcome!Welcome! Please honor myhumble ashram by taking somefood and drink! Oh, it is such an

honor to have you here!”

Arjuna looked around. Aside fromthe cow and the hut, there wasnothing. “We don’t want to takeyour food, old man,” he said, “butif we could just have a piece ofground to sleep on…”

“No! No!” the old man cried. “Youare my guests! You must takesome food! Oh, it will be such anhonor! For Lord Krishna andPrince Arjuna to grace my humbleashram with their presence—oh,it’s more than I’ve ever dreamedof! Please sit down!”

He hobbled into the hut, dug outtwo worn mats from somewhere,

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brought them outside, and placedthem on the ground. Somewhatembarrassed, Krishna and Arjunasat down.

The old man scurried back into thehut and rummaged around in therear. He came out with a few stalechapattis and some old cheese ona cracked plate, and offered themto his guests. “It’s all I’ve got,” hequavered. “It’s not much, but it’sall I’ve got. Please eat.”

“We really don’t want to take yourfood, old man,” Arjuna protested.“We are young and strong. Youare old. You please eat the food.”He pushed the plate forward.

“No! No!” the old man cried. “For

Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna tovisit my ashram and go awayhungry—unthinkable!Unthinkable!” He leaped to hisfeet, went back into the hut, cameout with two battered tin cups, andran down to the river to fill themwith water.

Krishna and Arjuna reluctantlynibbled at the food. When the oldman came back with the two cupsof water, they drank.

“I’m sorry I don’t have any pickleto offer you,” the old man snuffled.“Devotion is the best pickle,”Krishna declared heartily, slapping Arjuna on the back. “Isn’t thatright, Arjuna?”

“Right, right,” muttered Arjuna.“Devotion is the best pickle.” Hestared glumly down at his stalechapatti. A small beetle crawled

out from inside it. Arjuna pickedup the beetle, placed it gently onthe ground, and examined thechapatti with extreme care beforeproceeding.

“This is wonderful food,” Krishnaenthused. “Cooked in nectar,topped with ambrosia, spiced with

the pickle of devotion. Isn’t thatright, Arjuna?” “Right,” agreed Arjuna. “Nectarand ambrosia, indeed. Nice pickle,too.” After they finished eating, Krishnainquired, “How long have youbeen practicing austerities,

sadhuji?”“Forty years,” the old man sighed.“I was young when I started. Butnow…” “Any progress?” Krishna pursued. “Some,” the old man replied, “Butso far, full realization has escapedme. I must have too many bad

samskaras weighing me down.” Krishna fixed him with apenetrating gaze, appraising him.“Not too many,” he observed.“Keep at it.”

The old man prepared a bed ofrushes on the ground and insistedthat Krishna and Arjuna sleep onit. He would sleep on the bareground. Again they protested, butto no avail.

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The next morning Krishna and Arjuna prepared to resume their journey. There was nothing left toeat, but the old man milked the

cow, so at least they had a littlemilk for breakfast. “Please blessme before you go,” the old manbegged.

“Of course I bless you, sadhuji,”Krishna replied, embracing himtenderly. He kissed the old manon the forehead, then raised his

hands in blessing as the old manbowed. “May your prayers befruitful. May your japa be fruitful.May your meditation be fruitful.May all your spiritual striving befruitful. May the All-Loving Beingillumine you, now andforevermore.”

Then Krishna and Arjuna tooktheir leave.They walked along the riverbank,Krishna humming a little tune and Arjuna looking pensive. Finally Arjuna spoke. “Lord,” he said.“Speak,” Krishna replied.

“Don’t you think you ought toreward that old man for hishospitality?” “Of course,” Krishna replied. “And don’t you think you ought topunish that rich landowner for hisstinginess? For insulting us anddriving us away?” “Most definitely,” Krishna agreed. “Then? Then? What are yougoing to do?” Krishna paused, as if in reflection.

Then he said, “I’m way ahead ofyou, Arjuna. Events have alreadybeen set in motion.” “Oh, good,” Arjuna said. “So

what’s going to happen?”

Playback Time

“First, as for the rich man,” Krishnabegan. “A distant relative is goingto die—has just died now, in fact—and will leave him a great fortune.His wealth will triple. With it he’ll

enlarge his mansion and add allsorts of new luxuries. He’ll hiremore servants, buy more fields,plant more crops. He’ll buy more

In the Shlokas beginning with

तं ता क ृ पयािवषटं , howpoetically, how beautifully,has Arjuna's real position

been painted! Then ShriKrishna advises Arjuna; and

in the words लैबयं मा सम

गमः पाथ etc., why is he

goading Arjuna to fight?Because it was not that thedisinclination of Arjuna to

fight arose out of theoverwhelming predominanceof pure Sattva Guna; it was all

Tamas that brought on this

unwillingness.-Swami Vivekananda

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pastures and double the numberof his cows. He’ll expand hisholdings till he owns half theprovince. He’ll become

fantastically rich and powerful.That’s how I’m going to punish therich man.”

Arjuna stared at him, aghast.“Now, as for the old sadhu,”Krishna continued. “A storm willcome—in fact, it’s brewing up rightnow. It will sweep away his

miserable hut and blow it right intothe river. A bolt of lightning will killhis cow. He’ll be left with nothing,sitting alone in the mud as the rainpours down.”

Arjuna looked as if he were goingto have a stroke. His face got red,

his eyes bulged, and he gaspedlike a fish out of water. Finally hefound his voice. “I—I can’t believethis!” he choked. “The rich mankicks us out and insults us, andyou reward him by piling morewealth, power, and possessionson him? The poor old sadhu

feeds us even though he hasnothing, and you punish him bystripping away what little he has?Why?”

Krishna sighed. “Arjuna, Arjuna,you are thinking like a worldlyman. Let’s do a reality check.What is the summum bonum, thehighest good, the goal of humanlife?” Arjuna thought. “To realizeGod, of course.”

“That’s right,” Krishna said. “Now, just think a bit. That richlandowner was alreadyenormously wealthy. His mind

was tied up, entangled, fettered bya thousand luxuries andpossessions. It would have takenhim five hundred lifetimes just tostart THINKING about realizingGod.

“Now I’m dumping three times asmuch wealth on him. His mind will

get so weighed down by all therubbish he’ll accumulate that he’llNEVER get out from under it.Now it’ll take him five THOUSANDlifetimes just to start thinking aboutrealizing God. That is mypunishment.

“The old sadhu, on the other hand,was poised right on the brink ofenlightenment. He had only twothings holding him back—hisattachment to his hut and hisattachment to his cow. Now I ambreaking those attachments.Within the hour, enlightenment will

strike, his mind will soar intosamadhi, and he will merge intothe unutterable bliss of the Absolute forever. That is myreward.

“So before you question myrewards and my punishments,make sure you understand exactlywhat is a reward and what is apunishment,” thus Sri Krishnaconcluded.

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Cultivation of Strength and Fearlessness Swami Budhananda

(Continued from the previous issue)

ow, where is the root offear? According toVedanta, the root of fear is

in our ignorance of the true natureof the Self. Because we do notknow that the core of being or the Atman is infinite, immortal and

indestructible, we are afraid ofdeath. And from our ignorance ofthe true nature of the Atman,which is one, indivisible,homogeneous consciousnessarises the concept of otherness,that is, the sense ofdifferentiation. From the sense of

differentiation arise the ideas ofcompetitive exclusive self--interest, and fears of varioussorts.

In the Upanishad it is taught: "Ifthe aspirant makes the slightestdifferentiation in it, there is fearfor him." Again says theUpanishad, emphasizing thesame idea in another way: "It isonly from the idea of theexistence of a second one thatfear arises."

The cause of fear being so, itsfinal solution is possible only

through the realization of the truenature of the Self, which alsomeans direct realization of the

fact of the unity of existence.When we experientially know that"All this is verily Brahman" andthat "This individual self isBrahman" then there remainsnone or nothing outside the Self.to be afraid of. In other words,

true fearlessness cannot beattained except through theattainment of illumination.

You know the old story of Alexander and the Hindu sage.Swami Vivekananda narrates thisin one of his lectures: "An

emperor who invaded India wastold by his teacher to go and seesome of the sages there. Alter along search for one, he found avery old man sitting on a block ofstone. The emperor talked withhim a little and became verymuch impressed by his wisdom.He asked the sage to go to hiscountry with him. "No," said thesage, "I am quite satisfied with myforest here." Said the emperor, Iwill give you money, position,wealth. I am the emperor of theworld." "No;" replied the man, "Idon't care for those things." Theemperor replied, "If you do not go,

I will kill you." The man smiledserenely and said, "That is themost foolish thing you ever said,

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Emperor. You cannot kill me. Methe sun cannot dry, the heatcannot burn, the sword cannotkill, for I am the birthless, the

deathless, the ever-living,omnipotent, omnipresent Spirit."

Such fearlessness can springonly from attained illumination,when a man directly perceivesthat his being pervades theuniverse and that infinite strength

and power are behind him. Wemay not know it but behindeveryone of us is God's infinitepower. We are conduits of hispower. How can a gun be afraidof a bullet? Yet we are. That ismaya. That is the tragedy. Wemust volatilize this illusion in orderto become fearless. As humanbeings who are not yet illuminedwe of course cannot have thefearlessness of illumined souls.But this we can surely do: we canintellectually and emotionallymake the ideas of immortality ofthe soul and the unity ofexistence our own by constantly

thinking of them, and thus drivingout of our minds all contraryideas. When these ideas will sinkinto our subconscious, ourtendencies will take shapeaccordingly and fear will graduallyleave while courage takes over.Swami Vivekananda says that

there are two sorts of courage:one is the courage of facing thecannon, and the other is the

courage of spiritual conviction.One is the physical courage, andthe other is the spiritual courage.

We have discussed how spiritualcourage may be attained. Let ustake our stand on the spirit anddare to live its implications andspiritual courage will graduallyflow forth within us.

Courage to Conquor

Meanwhile we are indeed moreconcerned with the attainment ofphysical courage. It is shameful, itis degrading, it is stupid to live inconstant fear of one thing or otheron the physical plane. The mosteffective method of cultivatingfearlessness on the physicalplane is to "face the brute!" Thisteaching comes to us from SwamiVivekananda's life. It sohappened in his early youth,when one day he was returningfrom a temple of the DivineMother in Varanasi, he waspursued by a troop of monkeys

and so he was about to runfearing that they might attack him.Suddenly he heard the voice ofan old sannyasin calling out tohim. And what the old monk saidbecame an object lesson forVivekananda's whole life, and itshould be an object lesson of our

life too, if we want to be bold andfearless. The Sannyasin said,"Stop; always face the brutes!"

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Vivekananda turned, his feargone. Seeing him defiant, thebrutes fled. In a lecture given inthe city of New York, years later,

he referred to this incident andpointed out the moral of the story,saying: "So face nature! Faceignorance! Face illusion! Neverfly!" As long as we, out of fear,leave the causes of fear behind,so long we remain its victim. Thenits poisoned arrow will pierce us

from the back and we will notknow when we will be down andout. But when we turn round, thecause of our fear becomes thevictim of our courage and it canno longer inflict on us that amountof harm, if at all it can.

In every single case of fear wemust, to the point of recklessness,turn round and stare the fear inthe face with glowing eyes. It maybe an ugly face, a ferocious face.Or there may be no face at all!When we turn round we may seethere is nothing whatsoever,except the fertile imagination of

our heated brain. Even in case ofa real cause of fear, the only wayto handle it is to call forth courageand strength and subdue it withdexterity.

On two occasions the HolyMother, the consort of Sri

Ramakrishna, faced causes offear with dexterity and courageand triumphed over them.

Once while she was on her wayto Calcutta on foot fromJayrambati, she found herselfalone - her companions had left

her behind -in the gatheringdarkness of night in a vastmeadow notorious for cases ofplunder and murder. Suddenly ahusky man with a big stickshouted at her in a mostunfriendly voice: "Who is there?""I am your daughter Sarada," she

said. And the dacoit who wouldhave plundered her, melted inaffection to hear her sweet voice.The result was he, with his wifewho soon joined him, guarded herall night after seeing that she gother night's food from a shop. Onanother occasion, at Jayrambati,she was pursued by a crankyman. She ran around a haystackseveral times. Then it occurred toher, "Why am I running? Am I notShakti Herself?" She turnedround, threw the man on theground, and putting her knee onthe chest of the man, gave himsuch slaps that his krankiness

was cured at least for the timebeing.

When the cause of fear is notfaced, one may even lose one'slife for no real reason at all. Hereis a story: A man who had boldlydeclared that he had no fear of

ghosts accepted the challenge ofhis friends to take a marked poleand plant it in the lonely

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cremation ground at the dead of adark winter night. The manvaliantly went, covering himselfwith a warm wrapper, while his

friends waited for his return, Thefriends waited and waited until itwas morning. Then apprehensiveof something ominous they wentin a group to the cremationground and found, to their greatsorrow, that he was lying on theground, cold, stiff, and dead,

What had happened? The onlycause they could discover - forthere was no mark of injury on hisbody - was that he died out offear. They saw that while he fixedthe pole on the ground indarkness he had driven it througha corner of his wrapper. Whenafter fixing the pole he hurriedlytried to move, he felt thatsomeone perhaps was pullinghim by his wrapper. Who could doit but a ghost? And he fell straightdead there, out of fear. This ishow fear would kill us when wedo not face the cause of fear.Therefore, with faith in our

inherent strength, we shouldalways face it and whatever itmay bring, in a frontal manner,and courage will be ours,fearlessness will be ours.

Conclusion

Life is a mighty challenge andeveryone of us has the might toaccept it fully. Let us not

desecrate this temple of God,which is our body-mind, withthose ugly things: fear andweakness. Let us make it aglow

with strength and fearlessness.The world is stricken with variousweakness-born maladies andfears. Let the Vedantins stand upand declare: "Infinite strength isreligion and God." The worldrequires to hear that. Let uspractise and propagate religion as

a strength-giving, fearlessness - -generating power, and not as abunch of dogmas. Then a newtype of human being will begin tomove in this world. Let us notshed a drop of tear if thoseunproven dogmas of religion,which cannot stand the test oftruth, go by wagonloads. But letus weep if we do anything whichweakens us, makes us afraid ofanything. Instead of ruminating onweakness and fear, let us repeat:"Abhih, Abhih"; "Om Shakti Om;"Be fearless, Be fearless;" "Divinestrength, Divine strength." Let usmeditate on the Atman, which is

our essential nature, and we willbecome not strong, but strengthitself, not fearless, butfearlessness itself.Superabundant will be our life.Sky-high will be our joy. Andoceanic will be our love. Such isthe message of Vedanta.

Reprinted from PrabuddhaBharata, October 1972

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In the evening when I went to her again,

I found her on the veranda of her mud

hut cutting vegetables, with her legs

stretched out... We chatted for some time and then she wanted to know how

famine relief work was carried out.

From her words it was evident that she

was much distressed by the plight of the

famine-stricken.

I described how we went from door to

door distributing coupons among the

poor, how we gathered information

about their needs and miserable

circumstances, how they collected rice

in exchange for coupons, adding that

women were also given saris sometimes.

In this context, I narrated an incidentwhich moved Mother deeply.

Mother's Melting Moments

Swami Apurvananda

Special on Mother's Jayanti

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I described how one morning,

when out on a tour of the

villages where relief operations

were being carried out, I

discovered that none of thosereceiving rice from us was at

home. Obviously, they had

gone out to work. Those who

worked were not eligible for the

dole of rice. So I proceeded to

investigate and found most of them sowing paddy in knee-

deep slush in a paddy field

outside the village.

On advancing in that direction,

I noticed from a distance a

woman labourer leaving thefield and hiding herself behind

a pile of paddy saplings. On

enquiring from others, I learnt

that she had delivered a baby

that previous night, it was with

that baby she had come to the

field to work. Driven by hunger

she was sowing paddy, leaving

the infant wrapped in a rag in

the corner of the field. If it was

known that she was working in

the field, she would not get rice

from us. So having seen mefrom a distance, she was trying

to hide from me.

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I was much disturbed

thinking of the dire

distress that could compela woman, who had given

birth to a child just the

night before, to come to

work in the field with the

newborn. It was a terrible

shock. I approached thewoman, and in a choked

voice, just said,"Do not

worry, Mother, I shall not

stop your quota of rice."

This helped her muster

enough courage to foldher hands and say, "Sir,

I'm going through

unbearable hardship.

That's why I've come to

work." For one days work

in the field she would get

two seers of paddy.

Mother shuddered with

horror on hearing the

story. Almost in tears,

she exclaimed, "What are you saying! So fresh from

childbirth she had come

to work in the field! It is

not right to stop the dole

of rice in such

circumstances. Son, you

did the right thing.

Master will bless you."

Then she prayed to

Master, as if hurt,

"Master! Can't you see all

this? Such suffering of

people! How can peoplecarry on in such

miserable conditions!

You have to do something

for their deliverance!"

Her anguished words still

seem to ring in my ears.Mother was compassion

personified - a fervent

prayer incarnate.

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Thai Pusam FestivalYogan Naidoo

waking to the worldeveryday within the current

times requires a lot ofstrength and courage. Pardon meif the opening line of my writingcomes across with asense of pessimism butit is equally realisticgathering much vitalityand credibility from the

events around theworld. Domestic andinternational newsstimulates much anxietyand fertilises manyquestions.

However the irony of thematter is that, what weare experiencing in theworld today is notsomething we were notalready warned about.From the conflictsbetween nations, wars,corruption, climate change, familydiscords, etc. - all has been

announced through the greatforesight of realised Sagesthousands of years ago.

The failure of man to avert thetrajectory of doom and gloomdespite the early warning can beattributed to his lack of faith, lack

of empathy and the polarisation ofthe inner from the outer self. In theguise of being motivated andfocused in achieving goals, we

have unwittingly allowed ourselvesto become enslaved by the

soldiers of misery. Greed and lusthave proclaimed victory over mostundertakings and has overtly

shaped our world.Sri RamakrishnaParamahamsa, theavatar of

perspicacious

erudition in this age,propounded Hislife’s message ontwo words. TheMaster constantlyspoke the followingwords: "kamini" and"kanchan" throughthe modestvocabulary of Hismother tongueBengali. Looselytranslated toEnglish, the wordsmean “woman” and

“gold” which when deeplyanalysed… make a direct

reference to lust and greed. Withthese two words Sri Ramakrishnawas able to in essence unpackand explain the fundamentalcause of humanity's sufferings.

Can two such seeminglyindividualistic and insignificant

traits be the root of all oursorrows? With sufficient researchand investigation, the correlationmade by Master between the state

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of the world and lust and greedappears very crystalline. Itbecomes quite lucid then as towhy in the formative years from

being refer red to as a “mad-man”;Sri Ramakrishna is todayworshipped and reveredthroughout the world by variouspopulations as a Paramahamsa.

History has educated us on howgreed and lust masquerading inthe mask of survival and

exploration gave rise to severalbattles, invasions, wars andcoups. Today, societiesthroughout the world shoulder theburden of these exploits. In theaftermath of these acts, the airhangs heavy with a malaise ofprejudices that is violently eroding

the humanity out of civilisation.

The acts of racism, xenophobia,terrorism, bigotry, intolerance,fascism, fundamentalism anddogmatism rapidly silence thebells of harmony, peace, progressand prosperity. The world is

ferociously gripped in fear, anxietywhilst concurrently contendingwith dramatic change in weatherpatterns (a result of man’s greedyexploitation of natural resources)leaving cities and countriesdevastated by severe flooding ordrought.

When leaders are failing theirpeople, when everything humanlypossibly fails to be the panacea of

our woes… where do we go? Whodo we turn to?

Hindus have always placed

themselves before God. Thesimplest and most palpablesystem used was prayer throughritual worship. When one appearsbefore their chosen ideal andpours out their heart whilstperforming symbolic rituals, itbrings immense and immediaterelief with inflating joy in their

beings. It is a facile connection ata point of dire need that feelsresponsive and relevant. As muchas this instant gratification may besymptomatic, as practitioners of asystem of philosophy one isexpected to do the necessaryresearch in this regard to

understand the underlyingphilosophy of the practices anddirect one’s life in that particularway so that the joy, peace andrelief that one requires is asustained and eternal one.

One of the largest mass-based

rituals in the world is the SouthIndian festival known as ThaiPusam Kavady. This ritual helpsdevotees and aspirants connectwith their beloved Lord Murugan.Thousands of devotees use thisopportunity after a period ofausterity and fasting to seek theblessing of Lord Murugan bycarrying a kavady offering (objectof balance) and ask for His graceon a varied number of problems

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they face in their lives. Theintensity of devotion and faith is sooverwhelming that thetransformation from pain to

pleasure is felt immediately.Having dealt with the ritualtradition of the Kavady, I think it isimperative that we discuss themythology before dissecting thephilosophy as this would give us abetter understanding of the subjectmatter.

The mythology states that therewas once an asura (demon)named Soorapadaman, who afterextreme penance to Lord Shivagained some boons. On thebackdrop of this, he gainedimmense courage to terrorise theheavens. It was declared by the

Gods that Lord Murugan –

born toMother Parvati and Lord Shiva – would be the one to vanquishSoorapadman.

Before the commencement of thebattle which took place during theperiod of Skanda Shasti, Lord

Murugan was summoned by Hismother. The Divine MotherParvathi presented him with aweapon that would destroySoorapadman. Lord Murugan onthis auspicious tithi (lunar date) ofThai Pusam received the vel(lance) with utmost love andreverence. The vel is a sharp-pointed-spear-like weapon whichLord Murugan used to slay thedemon king Soorapadman.

More are the names ofGod and infinite are theforms through which He

may be approached. Inwhatever name andform you worship Him,through them you will

realise Him.Pray to God that yourattachment to such

transitory things aswealth, name and

creature comforts maybecome less and less

every day.

Sri Ramakrishna

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In honour of this special occasion,devotees throughout the worldcarry the flamboyantly decoratedKavady and also engage in the act

of piercing their anatomy with velsas a symbol of self sacrifice andunflinching devotion to LordMurugan. The prayer andfestivities are a feast for thesenses, with the melodious chantsblaring across the atmosphere, thescents and aromas from thevariety of flowers and offerings

and the positive vibe from thegathered crowd, at once isolatesone from their source of pain anddiscomfort. In alluding to this wemust not downplay the profoundand significant lesson that is givento us on this day that if understoodand practically applied in our lives

can become the architect of a newworld order relishing in peace,harmony, love and compassion.

Science has taught us that energycan neither be created nordestroyed but merely transformedfrom one source to another. We

should also keep in mind that theprimary source of energy willalways remain greatest to thesubsidiaries that flow from it. Insaying this we have to appreciatethe fact that Mother Parvati orLord Shiva as the supreme energycould have killed the asuraSurapadman. However Motherchose and decided to empowerher son with the necessary tools tocomplete this task.

According to many dictionaries,the word Muruganor Muruganmeans that which is beautiful andcharming. So if we all are children

of the divine Mother and Father...we are all like Murugan- beautifuland charming. However due to theconstant attack by the variousasuric qualities, many arevulnerable without the tools tocombat and conquer them.Therefore we find people acrossall sectors of society have

succumbed and play host tocorruption, greed, lust, racism,religious intolerance etc....

Swami Vivekananda said: "Therecan be no liberation for one untileveryone is liberated." Therefore,if we want to maintain the world to

be a beautiful place we need tostart empowering one another. Wemust ensure that everyone hasaccess to education and asSwamiji declared... it not theamount of information that we putinto our brains that runs riotsthere, undigested all our lives. It

must be life-building, man-making,and character-making assimilationof ideas.

The end result of this educationshould and must be the realisationthat each and everyone of us areone and the same beyond ourphysical characteristics. There isno superiority based on, colour ofskin, caste or creed. Upon such arealisation there would be an

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immediate cessation of the miserywe see in the world today. It is likehow the vel culminates at onepoint. We must all understand thatwe have come from one and willeventually end up in that sameone.

This great lesson by Divine Motheris the panacea of all our ills in theworld. There can be no peace and joy when a few progress.Therefore we must showcompassion and share... with theidea of empowering. When we

read the life of Holy Mother SriSarada Devi whose Birth Anniversary we celebrate on the

New Year Day in 2016, weunderstand by the act of sharingand showing compassion, howMother was able to transform somany lives she came into contactwith.

As devotees carry their kavadiesduring this auspicious period, letus be reminded and takecognisance of the fact that likehow the balance of the kavadyrests solely upon your shoulder,the beauty we want to see in theworld rests solely within each of

our hearts. Vetri VelMuruganukku! May Victory cometo us by Lord Murugan's grace!

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News & Notes

Visit to Bangkok

On an invitation fromthe Ramakrishna Ve-

danta Association ofThailand, Swami Vi-mokshananda visitedBangkok from 18

th to

22nd

Nov. 2015 andaddressed many gath-ering of devotees in ahectic programme.

18th

Nov. Conducted a Home Satsangin the evening on “Are we devotees?" 19

th Nov. Held a class at the Chu-

lalongkorn Uni-versity on “GodVs. Man andGod in Man” for the Thai stu-dents

19

th

Nov. Con-ducted a HomeSatsang at daytime in Bengalion “Mother Kaliand our Ego"

20th Nov. Participated in a Panel dis-

cussion on “Harmony of Religions –

Problems and Solutions” at Maha

Chulalongkorn Raja Vidyalaya for

Buddhist monks. This institute hasfaculties from under-graduate to post-graduate level courses for Monks and

Nuns comingfrom all over theworld.

21st Nov. Con-

ducted a morn-

ing Guided Medi-tation Class.21

st Nov. Deliv-

ered a lecture atIndia-Thai

Chamber ofCommerce in the evening on "SeeingDivinity in Everyday Activity – Is itpracticable?"

21

st

Nov. Conducted a Home Satsangin the evening on "SriJagaddhatri and HerGlory"

22nd

Nov. Delivered adiscourse at HinduSamaj Mandir in Hindion the “Need of MurtiPuja” He also gave specialaudience to the spiritualseekers.

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News & Notes

Visit to Yangon

On 9th Dec.

Swami Vimoksha-

nanda visitedYangon in Myan-mar and met thechief of the Inter-national Buddhist

Academy, SidaguSayadaw theVenerable. TheSwami presented

him the book titled“Turning Point”with a video ofSwamiji’s life.

In the evening thedeovtees from SriRamakrishna temple arranged awelcome reception. There he spoke

on Holy Mother as Sri Jagaddhatri.

On 10th Dec. the Swami with Prof Dr.

Kamal Bose and a few devotees wentaround a beautiful Buddhist Templecalled the Rock Pagoda. They alsosaw four while elephants used duringthe Religious Processions in the city.In the evening a public meeting was

arranged by the Indian Community atthe Safire Swan Hall of CorrianderLeaf. There Sri GautamMukhopadhyay, the Indian

Ambassador toMyanmar, wasthe Guest ofHonour. The

dignitaries whoattended thefunction includedProfessor Dr.Thein Hlyne, thefamous miningexpert, Smt.Kathleen Thien,President of

Hindu Women’sOrganisation, SriNaresh Dinodiya,a leadingBusinessman ofMyanmar.

On 11th Dec. the Swami met two

officials from RSS who apprised him

of the need to meet the Hindispeaking comunity living atZayawaddy.

At afternoon he was invited to speakon “Swami Vivekananda andBuddhism” at the IB Academy. Themeeting was attended by about 100Monks and Nuns. In the evening the

Swami visited the most famousGolden temple called “ShwedagonPagoda” which is a most reveredplace for the Buddhists.

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News & Notes

Meeting with PM

It was indeeda pleasant

meeting withthe Hon’blePrime Ministerof India Sri

NarendraModi at INA

Marker, Singapore on the afternoon of24

th Nov. 2015. Swamis Vimoksha-

nanda, Satyalokananda and Jitama-

nasananda from our Singapore Ash-ram were present at Netaji Memorialspot.The Swamis thanked Sri N Modi forunveiling the 12ft statue of SwamiVivekananda in Kuala Lumpur Rama-krishna Mission branch on Sunday,22

nd Nov.

Visit to Hong Kong & Malaysia

On 3rd

& 4th Oct. Swami Vimoksha-

nanda visited Hong Kong to addressthe devotees group of Hong KongVedanta Society. It was a well re-ceived programme. He took the op-portunity to visit the famous LantauIsland where 38 meter height of

Buddha seated statue is there.He visited Kuala Lumpur from 5th to

8th Oct. His stay there included visiting

Batu Caves Temple of Lord Muruga,

climbing steep 272 steps; Speaking atSerumban Ramakrishna Society onthe “Birth of the Unborn”; later on theEkadashi evening after Ramnam

sankirtan, addressing the devotees ofour branch on "the Glory of the God’sName".

Sanskrit Conversational Camp

SamskritaShibeeramwas organised

at our SaradaHall on 31

st

Oct. and 1st

Nov. This wasfollowed by aSanskrit cul-tural program.Participantscame from

TDB Sabha,Hindu Centre,RamakrishnaMission Sanskrit group, and also afew who knew about the eventthrough popular social media.

Half-day Spiritual Retreat

We had a half-day Spiritual Retreatcum Farewell for Swami Samachit-tananda on Christmas day. It startedwith Mangala Arati and meditation at6 am, followedby chanting,bhajans andreading from SriRamakrishnarin

Amutha Mozhi-gal at temple.Then after thebreakfast the

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News & Notes

site was shifted to Sarada Hall wherereading from Kathamrita, violin recital

by Lalitha, speech by Swami Vimok-shananda, President of SingaporeMission, Yoga by Uthayachanran,speech by Swami Satyalokananda,bhajans by Swami Samachittanandaand Farewell speeches took place.

Harmony Tour

Mr Yang Chang Jye from MCCY (Min-istry of Culture, Community andYouth) arranged a harmony tour bymembers of Canberra IRCCs (Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Cir-cles) to our Mission to learn aboutRamakrishna Mission. Swami Satya-lokananda welcomed them and pre-sented a slide show of Ramakrishna

Mission and Its activities in Singapore.

Sri Sri Durga Puja

From 19th to 22

nd Oct. Sri Sri Durga

Puja in picture was performed from

Saptami to Dashami in all solemnity.Everyday a good number of devoteeshad lunch prasad. On saptami, ast-hami and navami days in the morningSwami Vimokshananda gave dis-courses on "the Glory of the God-dess". On navami night, he also at-tended a program at Bengali Associa-tion of Singapore where he spoke on

"Sri Durga Saptashati (Chandi)".

Peace Pilgrim

Swami Samachittananda, Manager ofour Boys’ Home went on a pilgrimageto India and Bangladesh. During hissojourn he addressed gatherings ofdevotees at New Delhi, Allahabad,Guwahati and Dhaka. He gave musi-cal performance at the Training Cen-tre for probationer Brahmacharins ofBelur Math.

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News & Notes

Visit by Colombo MonkSrimat Swami Rajeswarananaji Maha-raj, a Monk from our Colombo Centrevisited Singapore from 6

thto 11

th Dec.

He conducted a ‘Bhajan Sandhya’ onSunday evening at the Temple hall.He also met many old boys from ourBoys’ Home. He came to Singaporeafter a long period of absence of 28years before which he was lookingafter the Boys’ Home here.

Peace PrayerLTA – Land Transport Authorityhosted a private visit by SingaporeIRO members to jointly pray for peaceand happiness for mankind, and spe-cifically for the safety of passengers.The trial run of the MRT train wassuccessfully completed. Swami Ji-

tamanasananda represented Rama-krishna Mission at the prayer meeting.

Sarada Kindergarten

The 23rd

Graduation Ceremony cumConcert was held on 3

rd Oct. 2015.

The Guest of Honour was Mr. EugeneLeong, CEO, ECDA. 164 children re-ceived graduation certificate from him.Our K2 children presented 5 items ofsongs, dances, and dramas. Theirperformance was highly appreciatedby the Guest of Honour and audience.

Chennai Flood ReliefSingapore Indian Association joinedwith the Ramakrishna Mission held aPrayer meeting at Sarada hall for thelost lives and also for the sufferingsurvivors. Ambassador Kesavapanyof SIA welcomed this initiative. Swami

Vimokshananda conducted a solemnprayer. Anand, Karthik helped mobi-lise donations for the Project.

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TEMPLE PROGRAMME

DAILY

6.00 am Mangalarati

9.00 am Nitya Puja

7.00 pm Evening Arati and Bhajans

EKADASHI

6.15 pm Vishnu Sahasranamam

7.00 pm Ramakrishna Arati followed by

Ramanama Sankirtanam

DISCOURSES and CLASSES

FRIDAYS

7.00 pm Yoga Class (Sarada Hall)

SATURDAYS

4.00 pm Discourse in Tamil on Sri Ramakrishna

Amudha Mozhigal-Temple Hall Level 15.00 pm Children’s Classes on Hinduism-

Temple Hall – Level 1

6.00 pm Question & Answer Forum- Temple Hall

– Level 1

7.00 pm Ramakrishna Arati followed by Bhajans

SUNDAYS

9.30 am Yoga Class (Sarada Hall)

2.30 pm Sanskrit Class (Sarada Hall)

5.00 pm Discourse in English on Pathanjali’s Yoga

Sutras -Temple Hall Level 1

6.00 pm Discourse in English on Bhagavad Gita

for Practical life-Sarada Hall7.00 pm Ramakrishna Arati followed by Bhajans


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Ramakrishna Mission Wishes

all our Readers, Members and

Devotees a Happy, Peaceful

and Contented

New Year 2016

Nirvana 2016 Issue 88 (Jan-Mar)

Documents

Transcript of Nirvana 2016 Issue 88 (Jan-Mar)