The Vedanta Kesari January 2012

J anuary 2012

January January January January January 20122012201220122012

A CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL MONTHLY OF THE RAMAKRISHNA ORDER

Started at the instance of Swami Vivekananda in 1895 as Brahmavâdin,it assumed the name The Vedanta Kesari in 1914.

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

Vedic Prayers 1

EditorialThe Good Old ‘New Year’ 2

ArticlesSeva Yoga and Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi 10

Swami VimalatmanandaMaud Stumm—Who Taught Swamiji to Draw 15

Somenath MukherjeeDiverse Shades of Karma Yoga 33

Hasmukh Adhia

CompilationKathopanishad: In the words of Swami Vivekananda 6

TravelogueWestern Ghats Shrines in Karnataka—A Pilgrimage 19

‘Atmashraddha’

ReminiscencesRajendra Lal De—Some Memoirs 26

A.K.Dey

New FindUnpublished Letters of Swami Turiyananda 31

The Order on the March 35

Book Review 40

FeaturesSimhâvalokanam (The Golden Link to God)—5, Sri Ramakrishna Tells Stories—30

VOL. 99, No. 1 ISSN 0042-2983

CONTENTS

Cover Story: Page 4

��

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2

The Vedanta KesariSri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004hhhhh (044) 2462 1110 (4 lines) Fax : (044) 2493 4589

Email : [email protected] Website : www.chennaimath.org

2

You can subscribe to TheVedanta Kesari from any month.On your address slip, thenumber on the left of the firstline of address is your subscri-ption-number. Always mentionthis in your correspondence.If you do not receive your copyby 2nd week of a month, pleaseintimate us. Complaints reach-ing us before this or after one

TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS

month (for overseas subscriptions,two months) of posting of thejournal are not entertained.To ensure continuity, pleaserenew your subscription well inadvance.For fresh subscriptions, re-newals, placing advertisementsin The Vedanta Kesari, pleasewrite to The Manager, TheVedanta Kesari Office.

Annual 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years

India Rs.100 Rs.290 Rs.475 Rs.1000

Other CountriesAll overseas dispatch by Air Mail. Rs.1500 Rs.4500 Rs.7500 ---

Please send your subscription to The Manager, The Vedanta Kesari by DD/MOdrawn in favour of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. Payments/donations can be made ONLINE

using your Master or Visa Cards. Please visit our Website.

Vedanta Kesari SubscriptionRates (inclusive of postage)

We invite our readers to liberally contribute to the Vedanta Kesari PermanentFund. This will go a long way in placing this nearly 100 years old magazine onfirm financial footing to continue its service to the cause of a holistic and mean-ingful life. Your contributions (minimum of Rs.1000/- or US$ 25) by Cheque/DD/MO should be sent to Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai, alongwith a covering note stating that it is meant for Vedanta Kesari Permanent Fund.

Every contribution will be gratefully acknowledged and the donor’s namewill be published in the Vedanta Kesari. All donations to Sri Ramakrishna Mathare exempt from Income Tax under section 80G of the [Indian] I.T. Act, 1961.

We accept online donations also.


River Narmada at Omkareshwar

Held sacred by millions of Hindus, the river Narmada (affec-tionately called Ma Narmada) also called Rewa, is the fifth largestriver in the Indian subcontinent. Narmada, meaning in Sanskrit‘the giver of joy', forms the traditional boundary between NorthIndia and South India, and flows through three states beforejoining the sea. Omkareshwar or the Lord of Omkara (SoundBrahman) is the name of one of the Jyotirlingas, on the banks ofNarmada in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. Omkar-eshwar is also the name given to the small island where thistemple is located. The picture on the cover was taken from thewestern tip of the Omkareshwar Island.

SL.NO. NAMES OF SPONSORS AWARDEE INSTITUTIONS

5067. A Devotee of Sri Ramakrishna Sri Ram Nallamani Yadava College, Kodikurichi, Tenkasi, T.N. - 627 8045068. -do- Shivanthi Aditanar College, Tiruchendur, T.N. - 628 2155069. -do- S.S. Duraisamy Nadar Mariammal College, Kovilpatti, T.N. - 628 5015070. -do- Sri K.G.S. Arts College, Srivaikuntam TK., T.N. - 628 6195071. -do- NVKSD College, Attoor, Kanyakumari Dist., T.N. - 629 1615072. -do- Sree Ayyappa College, Chunkankadai, Kanyakumari Dist., T.N. - 629 8075073. -do- Sri Servagan Annamalai College, Sivangangai Dist., T.N. - 630 3035074. -do- Raja Dorai Singam College, Sivagangai,T.N. - 630 5605075. -do- Kanchi Sri Krishna College, Kelambi, Kancheepuram, T.N. - 631 5515076. -do- PG College, Perannahalli, Palacode TK., Krishnagiri Dist., T.N. - 635 205

The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme

Cover StoryCover StoryCover StoryCover StoryCover Story

Continued on page 49

We invite our readers to join as patrons of the magazine. They can doso by sending Rs.2000/- or more. Names of the patrons will beannounced in the journal under the Patrons' Scheme and they willreceive the magazine for 20 years. Please send your contribution toThe Manager, The Vedanta Kesari by DD/MO drawn in favour of SriRamakrishna Math, Chennai with a note that the enclosed amountis for the Patrons' Scheme. (This scheme is valid in India only).

THE VEDANTA KESARI PATRONS’ SCHEME

PATRONS

624. Mr. N.N. Mitra & Mrs. Indrani Mitra, Nayapalli, Odisha625. Mr. Gopesh Dwivedi, Chhattisgarh

1T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 9~ ~

E ACH SOUL IS POTENTIALLY DIVINE. T HE GOAL IS TO MANIFEST THE DIVINITY WITHIN.

VOL. 99, No. 1, JANUARY 2012 ISSN 0042-2983

Vedic PrayersTr. by Swami Sambuddhananda

`ËàmUoZ Z àm{U{V oZ àmU… àUr`Vo &VXod ~«÷ Ëd§ {d{Õ ZoX§ `{XX_wnmgVo &&

—Kenopanishad, 1. 9

`V² what (OZ… people) àmUoZ with the vital breath Z àm{U{V cannot live

oZ by what n«mU… the five-fold breath àUr`Vo is made to function. VV² that Edalone, only Ëd§ thou ~«÷ Brahman {d{Õ know `V² what BX§ this CnmgVo worship

BX§ this Z not.

What none can breathe with the vital breath1 but that by which thefive-fold vital breath is made to function—know that alone to be Brahmanand not this that people worship.

1. Vital breath means all the five fold functions of Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana,Samana.

Renunciation is the very basis of our true life; every moment of goodnessand real life that we enjoy is when we do not think of ourselves. This littleseparate self must die. Then we shall find that we are in the Real, and thatReality is God, and He is our own true nature, and He is always in us andwith us. Let us live in Him and stand in Him. It is the only joyful state ofexistence. Life on the plane of the Spirit is the only life, and let us all try toattain to this realisation.

—Swami Vivekananda, CW, 2: 174

�

5

2T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2~ ~

The Good Old ‘New Year’

The Arrival of New YearEvery year is a New Year. Though new,

every year comes with same old problem—the problem of ‘knowing’ but not practisingwhat one knows. It is a never-ending problem—the problem of a weak will, a feeble resolu-tion, an unending sense of helplessness.Everyone knows and yet . . .

Typically, celebrations mark the arrivalof a New Year (not only the New Year Dayaccording to Georgian Calendar, but accordingto language/religion/region) everywhere.People greet, rejoice and present gifts to theirfriends and observe the day with feasts andbursting of crackers. Delight and a sense ofauspiciousness marks the day. After all it is amangal divas, an auspicious day. The Sanskritword mangalam means ‘wishing all the best’,invoking the blessings of progress and success.It has a positive ring of joy and goodwill.

The New Year Day is an occasion to cele-brate. While people in all walks of life observeit in some way or the other, it is most widelywelcomed by youth, especially, students. ANew Year Day heralds a new day in theirstudies and it is the time to strengthen theirresolve to progress and grow, to learn manythings, and unlearn many meaningless thingsthat one picks up in one’s journey, knowinglyor unknowingly. Students, with their youthfulenergy and enthusiasm, wish their classmatesin many ways, and a sense of humour rulesthe day. ‘See you next year,’ they greet with asmile, on the night of 31 December!

The Same ‘Old Issue’The grown-up, however, view New Year

Day differently. Burdened with years ofexperience, they do not always look at it assomething to celebrate. For many it is just aroutine matter. To some others, it is a dreadedday for it means a heavy demand on theiralready light purse. Thus, the New Year Daybrings hope to some, fear to some, anxiety orgloom to others, and to some, too busy to carefor such nuances of celebrations, it is just oneof the days in their humdrum lives. There areothers, however, who despite their age, lookforward to New Year Day. They have anundying sense of celebration and enthusiasm.

To a spiritual seeker, however, the NewYear Day is a simple reminder of the passingnature of life. One may celebrate it, seekingblessings for all the good things that come inone’s way or one proposes to do. But aspiritual seeker is also aware of the fact that aNew Year Day means one day—or one year?—is lesser in his life. He knows for sure that 365days have been lessened from his life-account.And another account of 365 days has just beenopened, and how well or ill he will use it,depends chiefly on him, though it is neversure whether and when he might be calledaway to shift his accounts to another bank—i.e., being called away to a fresh lease oflife—during the next 52 weeks. It is a mixedworld in which he lives, a world of hope anddespair, as real as life. Time, the ‘Great Eater’,carries on with its assigned work!


7

Apart from these facts, the New Year Dayis a good way to enthuse oneself. Nothingplays a more energizing role in our lives thanenthusiasm. One may have all the essentialthings one aspires in life, but if one lacksenthusiasm for life, all things become insipid,just as a delicious food loses its taste in absenceof appetite. What is appetite to enjoying ameal, enthusiasm is to life. It is necessary totruly explore and experience life’s infinitepossibilities and for that an enduring sense ofenthusiasm is indispensable.

EnthusiasmThe word enthusiasm is derived from en-

theos, which means ‘God within’. Enthusiasmis the fervour or zest one derives from theDivine Source within. An enthusiastic personis, in one sense, connected with somethingwithin. He may or may not be aware of it, butthe source of his undiminished enthusiasm hasto come from something deeper.

A young child is enthusiastic by nature.He is full of curiosity and zest. If one is in thecompany of a child, one is very likely to absorbhis bubbling energy and enthusiasm to somemeasure. This interest in life is a divine quality.One of the epithets by which God is describedis ‘old and yet ever new’. He is also comparedto a ‘today-born child’ (sadyojata). A just bornchild is full of many possibilities. Hence, God,the Divine in His individual or cosmic aspects,is full of infinite possibilities. He alone can bethe source of enduring and unremittingenthusiasm.

How to remain enthusiastic in one’sspiritual aspirations, despite all the obstaclesand distractions that come one’s way, is anissue everyone has to grapple with. After theinitial interest in spiritual life wanes, every-thing seems dull and routine and one looks atwonder with those who have been carrying

on with their spiritual practices uninterrup-tedly for a long time. It is no easy task to workhard with determination and with a sense ofmeaning throughout.

On the other hand, there is this need forpatience. No one should expect a seed to getsprouted and become a full-fledged treeovernight! Nor does repeating God’s Nameand living a morally vibrant life bring anovernight revolution in one’s life. In spirituallife, it is evolution, more than a revolution,which really happens, and matters. Of course,a sudden change may happen, in case of some,when listening a spiritual discourse, or readinga spiritual text, or meeting a holy man, orundergoing some traumatic experience. It is amoment of inner transformation. One sud-denly comes face to face with a SpiritualReality. Why and how this happens can neverbe fully explained. All that one can say is thatperhaps there was an inherent treasure of holyand good impressions or samskaras in theperson, waiting to be activated and the eventsmentioned above acted like a catalyst. It waslike tearing off of the thin veil over the innategoodness and spiritual aspiration of a person.Sri Ramakrishna described it graphically thus,

Who gets this passionate love for God? Thosewho have performed many meritorious deedsin their past births, or those who are eternallyperfect. Think of a dilapidated house, forinstance: while clearing away the under-growth and rubbish one suddenly discovers afountain fitted with a pipe. It has been coveredwith earth and bricks, but as soon as they areremoved the water shoots up.1

Not everyone, however, is blessed withsuch sudden inner development. Most of ushave a long way to go. After the period ofsudden or dramatic change is over, one hasto, again, come in terms with the reality ofdaily life. It often brings a sense of what


8

Aldous Huxley called, ‘sacred insensitivity’—a sense of weariness with even issues relatedto our spiritual practices. We become insensi-tive and mechanical and enthusiasm getsdamped. The question that nags us is ‘how tobe enthusiastic and patient, simultaneously,and not end up as an arambha-shuraa (‘a-hero-at-the-beginning’)?’

Some CounselsSage Patanjali’s well-known sutra (2.14)

says:

sa tu dirgha kalam, nairantaryam-satkar-asevitadridha bhumi

It [spiritual life] becomes firmly grounded bylong, constant efforts with great love (for theend to be attained).

One has to practice for a long time,uninterruptedly, and with great love (satkara).The term satkara can also mean reverence orrespectfulness. One should have respect forone’s spiritual life or ideal. Casualness or way-wardness about spiritual matters should becompletely avoided. One should have deepfaith and hope in one’s spiritual potential, inGod, in the Divinity within. Sri Ramakrishnawould refer to two types of farmers—thosewho take to cultivating newly, and those whoare hereditary farmers:

New farmers give up cultivating if their fieldsdo not yield any crops. But hereditary farmerswill continue to cultivate their fields whetherthey get a crop or not. Their fathers and grand-fathers were farmers; they know that they toomust accept farming as their means of liveli-hood.2

The incident was reported in a news-paper some years ago of a Polish womanwhose husband went into coma while he wasaccidentally hit by a railway coach which he

was handling as a mechanic. The doctors gaveup all hope and told the wife to look afterhim, who, they opined, would not survivebeyond a few weeks or months. The wife,devoted and committed as she was to herhusband, continued to look after him—for 17long years! Her services resulted in thehusband returning to consciousness. Her careand nursing included changing her husband’ssides every two hours or so to avoid bed sores.When asked how she could do this stupendousservice, she replied that it was prayer andpatience which gave her strength in the midstof most trying conditions. Indeed, a sterlingexample of patience and enthusiasm.

The Bhagavad Gita (18.33) speaks of threetypes of tenacity (dhriti)—sattvika, rajasika andtamasika. Of these the sattvika type of tenacityis the most needed for spiritual strivings:

That tenacity, unswerving through Yoga, bywhich one controls the functions of the mind,the breaths (pranas) and the senses, is Sattvika,O Partha.

In rajasika and tamasika, one’s tenacityis directed to ‘earning wealth or enjoyingobjects of senses’, or towards ‘sleep, fear, grief,depression and pride’. The power of tenacityis same; the difference lies in the direction inwhich it is used.

ConclusionEnthusiasm is vital to any achievement

worth its name. But it should be coupled withpatience, or else it would end up in restlessnessand one will not gain any results. Enthusiasmis also infectious. If one lives with an enthusiastperson, one is sure to absorb something of it.

This New Year, to know, and to practicewhat one knows, one needs to bridge the gapand that is overcome only by enthusiasm andtenacity. The same old, enthusiasm!

1. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p.659 2. ibidReferences:


From the Archives of THE VEDANTA KESARI

S i m h â v a l o k a n a m

The Golden Link to GodBY K. S. RAMASWAMI SASTRI, B.A., B.L.

(January, 1921-22, Pp. 278-279)

The modern mind is becoming more and more averse toprayer. It makes a parade of its scientific and rationalistic temper ofmind and sacrifices at that altar the great joy-giver and purifier of life. Prayer implies a mentalfalling back upon the contemplation of the eternal elements in life and the realisation of God’spower and mercy and love. It is not a selfish appeal to the God of Battles, but an unselfish trustin the God of Love.

The fact is that though the law of conservation of energy is in operation in the materialworld, there is not only a law of conservation of value but also a law of augmentation of valuein the spiritual world. The soul of man is eternal and its ascent of self-realisation implies anascending scale of values. This does not mean that the soul acquires a new value or a newbliss but that the soul realises its infinite value and bliss more and more and in an ever-increasing measure. . .

It is by prayer that this increasing self-realisation of the soul is attained. Nay, it is byprayer that we are put into moods of rhythmical adjustments with others. Anti-social endeavouris a moral disease. Moral health depends on love. He who does not love God, is not likely tolove man with a full and unselfish love. Why should he do so? Why should he not use othersas mere instruments of his pleasure? It is only he who wants to go through love of man to loveof God—God who is in himself and his neighbour and in all—that will have a pure anddisinterested loving moral relation towards others.

It is impossible to understand why the existence of suffering should be incompatible withprayerfulness. Suffering is a purgation for evil done. Prayer is a mood of love for God, whichpurifies our sins and prevents future sins. If suffering is only sin in effect, why should it preventprayer which is the only means of triumph over sin?

Further, the appeal to God in prayer is not like a humble petition to an autocraticemperor. It is a child’s raising of trustful and loving eyes to its father or its mother. The answerto it is not a capricious giving or withholding of bounties, but the removal of the innerhindrance, caused by sin, to the flow of His Love and Grace. The answer to prayer is thusprimarily in the soul. Prayer is hence a knocking at the door of the house of Light. Theopening of the door takes place inside the heart. When the Light of His Love streams out, thedarkness of sin, which cannot abide the Light of His Love, flees away.


Known are known by the Knower:

vi e“≈Ò C¥Ò ›wπÒ {g∆Zi ˚≈{Z’º V_siZi $

Ahvi_— <—”ZiZ<h <N“V¶ ≈»C<{©¸hv $ Ah∆ —_ hh $$ 3 $$

. . . that Reality is the only thing we know,because in and through It we know everythingelse; and yet we cannot conceive of It. Howcan we know the knower? If we knew It, Itwould not be the knower, but the known; Itwould be objectified. (5.274)

Duality censured:

¸∆v—vÓ h∆V¶ ¸∆V¶ h∆–w—Ó $

VƒÁ¸Zv: ¥ VƒÁ¸VZˆiZv<h ¸ HÓ iZiv— ≈fl¸<h $$ 10 $$

What is here is there too, and what isthere is here also. He who sees the manifoldgoes from death to death. (2.175-176)

He goes from death to death who seesthe many here. See that One and be free. Howare we to see it? (2.182).

The following compilation from the nine-volume Complete Works of Swami Vivekanandaattempts to present Swamiji’s thoughts in relation with the verses from the Kathopanishad. Of all theUpanishads, Swami Vivekananda loved the Kathopanishad most. He once told [CW, 6:456] his disciple,Sharat Chandra Chakravarty, to memorize the Kathopanishad. In many of his lectures, Swamijiquoted from the Kathopanishad.

This compilation juxtaposes what Swamiji said in different contexts (references to the CW, aregiven in brackets) with the original verses. The Kathopanishad consists of two chapters, sub-divided into 2 and 3 sections, and in all having 120 verses. Swamiji has referred to some 86 versesfrom different sections of the Upanishad. In this compilation only those verses which could be relatedto Swamiji’s words have been given; uncommented verses have been omitted. This compilation hasbeen done by V. Radhakrishnan, a retired teacher of Mathematics from Pune, Maharashtra.

This one and only God is the ‘knownest’of the known. He is the one thing we seeeverywhere. All know their own Self, all know,‘I am’, even animals. All we know is theprojection of the Self. Teach this to the children,they can grasp it. Every religion has wor-shipped the Self, even though unconsciously,because there is nothing else. This indecentclinging to life as we know it here, is the sourceof all evil. It causes all this cheating andstealing. It makes money a god and all vicesand fears ensue. Value nothing material anddo not cling to it. If you cling to nothing, noteven life, then there is no fear. ‘He goes fromdeath to death who sees many in this world.’There can be no physical death for us and nomental death, when we see that all is one. Allbodies are mine; so even body is eternal,because the tree, the animal, the sun, the moon,the universe itself is my body; then how can it

COMPILATION

(Continued from the November 2011 issue . . .)


11

die? Every mind, every thought is mine, thenhow can death come? The Self is never bornand never dies. When we realise this, alldoubts vanish. ‘I am, I know, I love’8— thesecan never be doubted. There is no hunger, forall that is eaten is eaten by me. If a hair fallsout, we do not think we die; so if one bodydies, it is but a hair falling. (7.93-94)

Mind: the only instrument:

Vi¥_—v∆VZu™ Ò ivÓ iZiZ&–˚h <N“Åi $

VƒÁ¸Zv: ¥ VƒÁ Ò ›ÍS><h ¸ HÓ iZiv— ≈fl¸<h $$ 11 $$

This mind, so deluded, so weak, so easilyled, even this mind can be strong and maycatch a glimpse of that knowledge, thatOneness, which saves us from dying again andagain. (2.182)

The will is the ‘still small voice’, the realRuler who says ‘do’ and ‘do not’. It has doneall that binds us. The ignorant will leads tobondage, the knowing will can free us. Thewill can be made strong in thousands of ways;every way is a kind of Yoga, but the systema-tised Yoga accomplishes the work morequickly. Bhakti, Karma, Raja, and Jnana-Yogaget over the ground more effectively. Put onall powers, philosophy, work, prayer, medita-tion—crowd all sail, put on all head of steam—reach the goal. The sooner, the better. (7.71)

. . . It is useless, running hither andthither, and spending energy in vain, whichshould be spent only in polishing the mirror.The same idea is expressed again: ‘None seesHim, none sees His form with the eyes. It is inthe mind, in the pure mind, that He is seen,and thus immortality is gained.’9 (2.185)

The Self shines in the Heart:

‚å >VZ¶: ≈°∏Zv V¿¸ ‚ZÁV<i <h ><h $

B©emZ§ ¬Úh¬™¸˚¸ i hhZv <—”›ˆ¥hv $ Ah∆ —_ hh $$

‚å¨ >VZ¶: ≈¯°∏Zv ]¸Zv<h»C—ZπÚVN“: $

H{ZiZv ¬Úh¬™¸˚¸ ¥ A—Z® ¥ U Ê: $ Ah∆ —_ hh $$13 $$

. . . Know it for certain that there is nogreater Tirtha (holy spot) than the body ofman. Nowhere else is the Atman so manifestas here. That car of Jagannatha that you see isbut a concrete symbol of this corporeal car.You have to behold the Atman in this car ofthe body. Haven’t you read ‘know the Atmanto be seated on the chariot’10 etc., ‘all the godsworship the Vamana (the Supreme Being in adiminutive form) seated in the interior of thebody’11? The sight of the Atman is the realvision of Jagannatha. And the statement‘seeing the Vamana on the car, one is no moresubject to rebirth’12, means that if you canvisualise the Atman which is within you, anddisregarding which you are always identifyingyourself with this curious mass of matter, thisbody of yours—if you can see that, then thereis no more rebirth for you. (7.119-120)

Oh, One that cannot be confined ordescribed! One that can be perceived in ourheart of hearts! One beyond all compare,beyond limit, unchangeable like the blue sky!Oh, learn the All, holy one! Seek for nothingelse! (5.275)

Apparent duality and Real Unity:

¸sZv∆NÒ“ ∆›v —ƒ >Ò ≈—hv∏ <—πZ—<h $

A—Ò πVZi ≈ƒsN“ ≈fl¸i hZiv—Zi<—πZ—<h $$ 14 $$

As rain falling upon a mountain flows invarious streams down the sides of themountain, so all the energies which you seehere are from that one Unit. It has becomemanifold falling upon Maya. Do not run afterthe manifold; go towards the One. (2.182)

Chapter II Canto 2He is everywhere:


12

ÓÒ¥: {¯<f∏∆˘ —¥¯Cwh»CR¥∆˘

ÓZvhZ —v<∆∏∆˘ ‚<h<s∆`CZvL¥h˘ $

iƒ∏∆˘ —C¥øh¥∆˘ ™¸ZvV¥∆g”Z ›Zv”Z

W“h”Z ‚<j”Z W“hÒ TƒÓh $$ 2 $$

He is in all that moves; He is in all thatis pure; He fills the universe; He is in thesacrifice; He is the guest in the house; He is inman, in water, in animals, in truth; He is theGreat One. (2.182-183)

You are the creator of your own destiny:

¸Zv<iVw v ≈±≈®whv {C≥CÁ—Z¸ ∆v<Ói: $

˚sZLVw v&i¥Ò –wh ¸sZN“V ¸sZ√hV $$ 7 $$

Each work we do, each thought we think,produces an impression, called in SanskritSamskara, upon the mind and the sum totalof these impressions becomes the tremendousforce which is called ‘character’. The characterof a man is what he has created for himself; itis the result of the mental and physical actionsthat he has done in his life. The sum total ofthe Samskaras is the force which gives a manthe next direction after death. A man dies; thebody falls away and goes back to the elements;but the Samskaras remain, adhering to themind which, being made of fine material, doesnot dissolve, because the finer the material,the more persistent it is. . . all our actions inthis world will determine our future birth.(2.256) . . . we are in this world by our ownactions. Just as we go out with the sum totalof our present actions upon us, so we see thatwe come into it with the sum total of our pastactions upon us; that which takes us out is thevery same thing that brings us in. What bringsus in? Our past deeds. What takes us out?Our own deeds here, and so on and on we go.(2.257) Those who do good works in this worldand help others, but with an eye to reward,hoping to reach heaven or to get the praise of

their fellow-men, must when they die, reapthe benefit of those good works—they becomethese gods. (2.243)

The One manifests as many:

‚<Õ `s_N“Zv ¬¯—iÒ ≈±<— >Zv

e“≈Ò e“≈Ò ≈±<he“≈Zv T¬Ú— $

AN“˚hsZ ¥—`¬ÚhZwhCZÁVZ

e“≈Ò e“≈Ò ≈±<he“≈Zv T<Óº $$ 9 $$

As fire coming into this world is mani-festing itself in various forms, even so, thatone Soul of the universe is manifesting Himselfin all these various forms. (2.183)

—Z ¯ `s_N“Zv ¬¯—iÒ ≈±<— >Zv

e“≈Ò e“≈Ò ≈±<he“≈Zv T¬Ú— $


e“≈Ò e“≈Ò ≈±<he“≈Zv T<Óº $$ 10 $$

As air coming into this universe mani-fests itself in various forms, even so, the OneSoul of all souls, of all beings, is manifestingHimself in all forms.

This is true for you when you haveunderstood this Unity, and not before. Thenis all optimism, because He is seen every-where. The question is that if all this be truethat that Pure One—the Self, the Infinite—hasentered all this, how is it that He suffers, howis it that He becomes miserable, impure?(2.183)

The Self not affected by the limitations of the many:

¥Ú Zv ¸sZ ¥—◊ZvN“˚¸ fR:

i <◊ˆ¸hv fZR∏_TZ|∆Zv∏_: $


i <◊ˆ¸hv ◊ZvN“∆:•vi TZ|: $$ 11 $$

As the sun is the cause of the eyesight ofevery being, yet is not made defective by thedefect in any eye, even so the Self of all is not


affected by the miseries of the body, or by anymisery that is around you. I may have somedisease and see everything yellow, but the sunis not affected by it. (2.183)

If a man has jaundice he sees everythingas yellow; the cause of his vision is the sun,but his seeing everything as yellow does nottouch the sun. Even so this One Being, thoughthe Self of every one, is not touched by thepurities or impurities outside. (2.412)

Unto them belongs eternal peace:

AN“Zv —{≥ ¥—`¬ÚhZwhCZÁVZ

ANÒ“ e“≈Ò TÓπZ ¸: N“CZv<h $

hVZÁV˚sÒ v&i¯≈fl¸–wh π≥CZ

ñVofm§ gwI§ emœV§ ZoVaofm_² $$ 12 $$

He is the One, the Creator of all, the Rulerof all, the Internal Soul of every being - hewho makes His Oneness manifold. Thus sageswho realise Him as the Soul of their souls,unto them belongs eternal peace; unto noneelse, unto none else. (2.183)

<iÁ¸Zv&<iÁ¸ZiZÒ fvhiºvhiZiZÒ

AN“Zv TÓÚiZÒ ¸Zv <—∆πZ<h N“ZVZi $

hVZÁV˚sÒ v&i¯≈fl¸<wh π≥CZ

ñVofm§ empÝV… emœVr ZoVaofm_² $$13$$

He who in this world of evanescencefinds Him who never changes, he who in thisuniverse of death finds that One Life, he whoin this manifold finds that Oneness, and allthose who realise Him as the Soul of theirsouls, to them belongs eternal peace; unto noneelse, unto none else. (2.183)

There is none in the universe but I. Andthis is the one way, says the Vedantist, toKnowledge. Kill out this differentiation, killout this superstition that there are many.(2.252)

As long as you see the many, you areunder delusion. In this world of many he whosees the One, in this ever-changing world hewho sees Him who never changes, as the Soulof his own soul, as his own Self, he is free, heis blessed, he has reached the goal. Thereforeknow that thou art He; thou art the God ofthis universe, ‘Tat Tvam Asi’13 (That thou art).

All these various ideas that I am a manor a woman, or sick or healthy, or strong orweak, or that I hate or I love, or have a littlepower, are but hallucinations. Away withthem! What makes you weak? What makesyou fear? You are the One Being in theuniverse. What frightens you? Stand up thenand be free. Know that every thought andword that weakens you in this world is theonly evil that exists. Whatever makes menweak and fear is the only evil that should beshunned. What can frighten you? If the sunscome down, and the moons crumble into dust,and systems after systems are hurled intoannihilation, what is that to you? Stand as arock; you are indestructible. You are the Self,the God of the universe. Say—‘I am ExistenceAbsolute, Bliss Absolute, Knowledge Abso-lute, I am He,’14 and ‘like a lion breaking itscage, break your chain and be free for ever.’15

(2.236)(To be continued. . .)

References

8. ApñV ^m{V {à`_²& Sarasvati Rahasyopanishad, Verse58

9. Kathopanishad 2.3.910. Kathopanishad 1.3.311. Kathopanishad 2.2.3

12. aWo M dm_Z§ ÑîQ‰m nwZO©Ý_ Z {dÚVo>

13. Refer Chapter VI of Chandogyopanishad.14. {MXmZÝXê$n… {edmo@h§ {edmo@h_² Nirvana Shatkam by

Acharya Sri Sankara.15. {ZJ©ÀN>{V OJ‚mmbmV² {nÄOam{Xd Ho$ear&

13

vvv


Seva Yoga and Holy MotherSri Sarada Devi

SWAMI VIMALATMANANDA

The author is a member of the Board of Trustees of Ramakrishna Math and the Governing Body of theRamakrishna Mission, Belur Math, West Bengal.

The Pioneers of Seva YogaIn April of 1896, Holy Mother Sri Sarada

Devi was staying in a devotee’s house at59/2 Ramakanta Basu Street in Bagh-bazar, Kolkata. This blessed devotee wasSri Sarat Sarkar whose house wasadjacent to that of a great devotee of SriRamakrishna, Balaram Bose.

Swami Vivekananda was at thattime preaching Vedanta in the West andwas also, writing inspiring letters to hisbrother-disciples at Alambazar Math inKolkata. He was urging them to acceptthe idea of the service of Narayana (God)in human beings. Some of his brother-disciples had reservations regard-ing this doctrine of service and decidedto know the opinion of Holy Mother.

Thus, one day they came to HolyMother and told her about Swamiji’sideas. One of Swamiji’s letters was readout to her. After carefully listening tothe contents of the letter, Holy Motherfirmly remarked,

Naren [Vivekananda] is an instrument ofThakur [Sri Ramakrishna] who makes himwrite these words for inspiring hischildren and devotees for doing His work, fordoing good to all in the world. What Narenwrites is true and must be fulfilled hereafter.1

This simple and direct reply of HolyMother at once cleared the hesitation and

doubts about serving God in all beings fromthe minds of the brother-disciples of Swamiji.Holy Mother was fully supportive of all the

Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi


15

activities of Swami Vivekananda. Her opinionswere supreme in the Ramakrishna Sangha(Order). Without her sincere sympathy andactive co-operation, it would not have beenpossible to rapidly expand the services of theRamakrishna Sangha.

Sri Ramakrishna himself performed theservice of God in all beings at Deoghar, intoday’s Jharkhand, in 1868 and later at Kalai-ghata Village near Ranaghat in West Bengalin 1870-1871. Sri Ramakrishna persuaded hiscompanion Mathur Mohan Biswas to feed andclothe the famine-stricken people of these twoplaces. Sri Ramakrishna was, thus, the pioneerand exemplar of Seva Yoga.

The Holy Mother was another exampleof this Seva Yoga. When she was just twelveyears old, there was a famine in 1864. At thattime, she lived with her parents at Jayrambati,her birthplace. She would serve Kichuri [a pre-paration of rice-lentils] to the famine strickenpeople of her village. She would bring it withher own hands, fresh from the oven, and, aftergently fanning it to cool, she would serve itwith deep maternal solicitude. She took keeninterest in all the services of the Sangha andalways inquired from the monks about reliefand other services in detail. She was a constantsource of encouragement and support to theentire Ramakrishna Sangha.

Seva Yoga: Explained by Holy MotherSeva Yoga, expounded by Sri Rama-

krishna, and introduced in practical field bySwami Vivekananda, is different from thetraditional paths. Generally, the Hindu monksare not in favour of directly doing any serviceto the people. They are solely engaged insadhana, austerities and pilgrimages. Many ofthe monks and brahmacharis of the Rama-krishna Sangha, therefore, had a doubt intheir minds about this Seva Yoga—even

though they were serving the Sangha in theirbest capacity, after formally renouncing theworld. One day, a monk boldly said to HolyMother:

Somebody said that to run the hospital, to sellour literature, to keep the accounts and otheractivities of the Sangha are not proper for themonks. If they want to work, they shouldworship, read, meditate, sing, etc. All thesesecular activities will take away our minds fromGod Realization.2

Holy Mother listened to the words of thatmonk and said with great firmness:

If you don’t work, with what will you occupyyourself day and night? Is it possible to meditateand make Japa all the twenty-four hours? . . .You get your food just because you haveengaged yourself in some work here. Otherwise,would you not be moving from door to door fora morsel of rice? Everything shall go on as theMaster ordains. The Math will run as it is doingnow. Those who cannot put up with this willclear out.3

Once Holy Mother was at Jayrambati.During a conversation at night with SwamiIshanananda, her attendant and disciple,Mother clarified the idea behind Seva Yoga orthe Yoga of doing service to others:

You must work, of course. Work keeps the mindin order. But Japa, meditation and prayer arequite essential. At least once at dawn and againat dusk one must sit down for spiritual practices.It is like the rudder of a ship. When you sit atdusk, you get to think of all that you have doneand not done during the day. Then you have tocompare the states of your mind yesterday andtoday. . . Along with this work, if you don’tmeditate morning and evening, how can youunderstand whether you are working in the rightlines? . . . It may be that one does these for somelength of time in the beginning. Because of this,one becomes egoistic like N. After that he failsto do even that, but sits thinking of all kinds of


16

things, which only generates restlessness in hismind. Far better is it to work than to let themind loose to indulge in riotous thinking. If themind is allowed a little laxity, it will create suchturmoil. My Naren observed all this and so laiddown the foundation of selfless work.4

Holy Mother also told him,You see, reasoning, questioning, Japam andmeditation—all are for purification of the mind.To withdraw the mind from unreal, to concen-trate the mind, to purify the mind—all are forsincere hankering after God. But by love alonewill you get His grace—He knows best. Do youknow how He will be satisfied? Whatever youare doing—by this itself will He be pleased. Thatis—He will be propitiated simply by Seva. BySeva you can satisfy everybody—from the birdsand beasts of the forest to God Himself. So, don’tbe distressed—do my work whole-heartedly.5

Again, in 1911, while at Koalpara, Mothertold him:

The Master is the spring of all that we do orhave; He is the ideal. Whatever you do, if youhold on to him, you will never go wrong.6

Shashi Bhushan Ghosh, a lay disciple ofSri Ramakrishna wrote,

. . . When she (Holy Mother) heard about themiseries of the people, she felt sad at heart. Ilearnt from her that every work of public interestis the work of Thakur.7

There are many sayings of Holy Motherabout selfless work (‘Shiva Jnane Jiva Seva’i.e. Seva Yoga). Seva Yoga signifies selflesswork. This selfless work has been aptly termedas Seva Yoga by the eleventh President of theRamakrishna Order—Swami Gambhira-nandaji, in Yuganayak Vivekananda, his bio-graphy of Swami Vivekananda in Bengali.

Role of Holy Mother in Seva YogaThere are five categories of service

rendered by the Ramakrishna Sangha:

1) Educational and Cultural2) Medical3) Relief and Rehabilitation4) Rural Development (Village Uplift)5) Spiritual MinistryHoly Mother was the pioneer in all these

categories of service. She either actively parti-cipated or expressed deep concern or was verymuch interested.

1) Educational and Cultural ServicesThe first school of Ramakrishna Sangha

was inaugurated by Holy Mother in thepresence of Swami Vivekananda, SwamiBrahmananda and Swami Saradananda, on 13th

November 1898 at Baghbazar in Kolkata. Thatschool was meant for girls and was called‘Ramakrishna School’. Swami Vivekanandaplanned this school and his English discipleSister Nivedita was in charge. (After thepassing away of Sister Nivedita, this schoolwas renamed ‘Sister Nivedita Girls’ School’.)

Swami Vivekananda prayed to HolyMother for the inauguration of the school andHoly Mother gladly agreed to it. She came tothe school at 16 Bosepara Lane, Baghbazar,which was also the residence of SisterNivedita. Golap Ma and Yogin Ma accom-panied Holy Mother. Holy Mother Herselfworshipped Sri Ramakrishna there and thatitself was the inauguration of the school. Sheblessed the school saying:

I pray that the Divine Mother blesses this school.May every student be trained to be an ideal girlhere.8

All were happy and the happiest of allwas Sister Nivedita. Remembering that memo-rable day, Sister Nivedita wrote,

I cannot imagine a grander omen than herblessings, spoken over the educated Hinduwomanhood of the future.9


17

Holy Mother paid a visit tothe school whenever she came toKolkata. Sister Nivedita wouldconsider it a festive occasion anddecorate the gates with aus-picious leaves and flowers.Nivedita told her students tooffer flowers at Holy Mother’sfeet. One day, Holy Mother toldthe students to sing a few songs.The students sang and recitedpoems. After listening, she re-marked, ‘Very good.’ She saw theartwork of the students and wasvery pleased and said, ‘Theyhave learnt well.’10

In 1900, Nivedita was busyin America collecting funds forthe school and for the proposedhome for girls. In this period,Holy Mother wrote to her,

I always pray to the Lord that Hemight help you in your nobleefforts and keep you strong andhappy. I pray too for your quickreturn. May He fulfil your desireabout the women’s home in Indiaand may that home fulfill itsmission in teaching true religionto all.11

Hence, the first school of theRamakrishna Sangha was blessedby Holy Mother in vari-ous ways.

Although Holy Mother her-self had no formal education, yetshe took a keen interest in spreading edu-cation. During this time (1898-1920), seveneducational institutions were started. She fullysupported and sympathised with theseinstitutions and also expressed Her own ideason women’s education. It is a wonder to

consider that in Her time, women’s educationwas very rare. She told many devotees to sendtheir daughters to Nivedita’s school insteadof arranging their marriages at a young age.She educated her nieces Maku and Radhu ina general way, made them read out religious

The stone plaque outside the house, commemorating the inauguration of thegirls' school by Holy Mother, in the presence of Swamiji and others

The house in Baghbazar in Kolkatawhere Sister Nivedita started the girls' school in 1898


18

1. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi by Swami Gambhira-nanda, 1986, Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore,Madras, P. 179 [Henceforth only ‘HM Life’]

2. Ibid, p.3363. Ibid, p.3364. The Gospel of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi,

Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Madras, 3rd

impression, Pp.396-397 [Henceforth HM Gospel]5. Matri Darshan (Bengali), edited by Swami

Chetanananda, (1st Edition - 1394 B.S), UdbodhanOffice, Baghbazar, Kolkata, p.130

6. HM Life, p.2567. The Compassionate Mother Sri Sri Sarada Devi,

Based on Sri Sri Sarada Devi in Bengali by Br.

Akshayachaitanya, Translated by Swami Tan-mayananda, Sri Ramakrishna Sarada Sangha,Malaysia, 1st Edition,2003, p.141

8. Shatarupe Sarada (Bengali), Edited by SwamiLokeswarananda (1st Edition, 1392 B.S), Rama-krishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, p.147

9. Sister Nivedita of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda by Pr.Atmaprana, 1st Published October 1961, Publishedby Sister Nivedita Girls’ School, 5 Nivedita Lane,Kolkata-3, p.69

10. Sri Sri Mayer Katha, Vol 2 (Bengali), UdbodhanOffice, Kolkata, 7th Edition, 1380 B.S, p.314

11. Sister Nivedita, p.25312. HM Life, p.497

References

books for her, and had her letters written bythem. Radhu was admitted into a Christianschool. Mother’s opinion was very clear-cut.If the girls were educated, they wouldunderstand their own fate—good or bad,present and future. Not only that. In thevillages, educated girls would come forwardto help the other girls in many respects. Shehad a desire to start a school for the girls ofKoalpara (in Bankura district of West Bengal).But due to non-availability of the right womanteachers, this idea was dropped.

Holy Mother knew darning, embroideryand generally did not depend on others for

such sundry tasks. She also was happy to dothese herself.

We can recall here Sister Nivedita’sthoughtful observation about Holy Mother’sdealings though she was not so callededucated,

In her one sees realized that wisdom andsweetness to which the simplest woman mayattain. And yet, to myself the stateliness of hercourtesy and her great open mind are almost aswonderful as her sainthood. I have never knownher to hesitate to give utterance to large andgenerous judgment, however new or complexmight be the question put before her.12

(To be continued. . .)

Holy Mother’s was an all-embracing Mother’s heart, which wrapped itself in loveabout every child born of woman, and her family was the human race. . . Those whohad the rare blessing of living with joyous thing; that purity and holinesswere tangible realities; that the odour of sanctity was literally a sweetperfume overlaying and destroying the foulness of material selfishness.Compassion, devotion, and God-union were her very nature; onescarcely knew that she possessed them. It was through the sweetbenediction of a word or touch that one sensed her presence.

—Sister Devamata


Maud Stumm—Who Taught Swamiji to Draw

SOMENATH MUKHERJEE

The author is engaged in research work on the life of Swami Vivekananda under instruction and guidance of theSwami Vivekananda Archives, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata.

1Swami Vivekananda was not in good

health when, on 20 June 1899, he left for hissecond visit to the West. Less than a couple ofmonths before the journey began, he was heardsaying, ‘. . . If I have another attack, I can notstand it. My chest is always sore all over withneuralgia pain, and I have never once lost thatache on the left side, since I was ill.’1 Addedwith it was his bout of asthma which, even, attimes, went on uninterrupted for seven days.

However, the sea voyage, as everyonehad expected, did justice to his unstable health;he landed in London with an apparent fitness.But this hardly lasted for long, and plans wereafoot to give him prolonged rest. The Americanfamily, who took up this responsibility wasthe Leggetts, with Josephine Macleod [Swami-ji’s ‘friend’ and a member of Leggett house-hold] at the helm of affairs. Francis Leggett’sfarm house at Ridgely near Stone Ridge wasselected for the Swami’s rest and recuperation.Necessary arrangements were made and hisfriends, as was expected, became eager to meettheir beloved Swami after a long gap.

With Swami Vivekananda on board, theAllan State Line’s S. S. Numidian left Glasgowon 17 August 1899. It took exactly 12 days tocomplete the transatlantic voyage and on 28August, early Monday morning, the shipreached New York port almost three hours

behind schedule. Such prior arrival had,perhaps, disarrayed the plan of JosephineMacleod’s to receive the Swami personally atthe dock. Instead, two other persons whomshe had directed earlier to attend the dockwere in time and received Swamiji. They wereMaud Stumm, an American artist in her latetwenties, and Mrs. Mary B. Coulston, the thenTreasurer of the New York Vedanta Society.At the behest of Miss Stumm, one Mr. SydneyClarke had also made himself available at thedock to look after the incoming luggage. MissStumm came all the way from Ridgely toreceive the Swami.

While making plans for the impendingvisit of Swamiji, Miss Macleod had, on 17August, 1899, wrote to Sara Bull, ‘I think Imay keep Miss Stumm over—she has herworth.’ This proves the closeness of MissStumm to the Leggett family which, in-separably, included Josephine all along.Besides, Maud was no stranger to Ridgely, aswe elsewhere find that she was a, ‘frequentvisitor at Ridgely…’2

Narrating Vivekananda’s arrival inAmerica during his second Western visit, theLife writes,

On the morning of Monday, August 28, 1899,the S.S. Numidian docked at New York, andonce again, after an absence of almost three anda half years, Swami Vivekananda set foot on


20

American soil. . . That very afternoon, aftervisiting the town house of his old friends Mr.and Mrs. Francis Leggett, the Swami and hisbrother-disciple Swami Turiyananda went withthem by train to Ridgely, their [Leggetts’]beautiful country home in the Hudson RiverValley some ninety miles from New York.3

Swamiji was hardly a stranger to Ridgely;during his first Western visit he had twice beenthere while responding to warm invitationsfrom the Leggett family. Here a few wordsabout Ridgely would provide necessarybackdrop to our imminent text. ‘The country-side here’, Louise Burke writes4 , ‘had beengreen and flowering. . . Mr. Leggett hadacquired the property in Ulster County in 1892.. . . It consisted of several small farms, so thatthe estate, when it became all of a piece,included within its 130 acres two substantialbuildings.’ As regards the estate’s exact loca-tion, Linda Prugh, another eminent researcher,writes, ‘The property was near the small, quietvillage of Stone Ridge, settled. . . on a ridgebetween the valleys of two rivers flowing intothe Hudson some ten miles away.’5

Elaborating on the layout of the acquiredproperty and its subsequent additions, LindaPrugh adds,

There were only two houses already on theproperty: the Inn, built in the 1840, and a cottage,subsequently enlarged and named the LittleCottage. . . By 1894, four buildings had beenadded to Frank Leggett’s property at Ridgely.The main building, Ridgely Manor, was built ashis residence. . . Also built, were the Casino, aplayhouse, complete with bowling alleys and anadjoining grass tennis court, the stable, with afive room apartment on the second floor and afour room apartment on the ground floor, andthe ten-bedroom Big Cottage. . .6

While commenting on Ridgely, Frances,daughter of Frank and Betty Leggett, wrote

afterwards, ‘The site was chosen for its views,and nothing then [in 1890s] impeded the vistasof mountains—to the north the blue Catskills,to the south the rugged Shawangunks.’7 Thistime Maud Stumm, along with some otherguests, was accommodated at the village ofStone Ridge, situated around a mile from theManor.

Swami Vivekananda (sitting)along with others at Ridgley Manor

Maud Stumm’s presence at the port,more so when we consider the physical statein which the Swami was at that point of time,becomes more significant. Readers acquaintedwith the Life are well aware of how Miss Jose-phine Macleod took every possible care ofVivekananda during his mortal days; and,furthermore, when he left his worn out humanframe, she took his mission to every possiblecorner of the globe till the very end of herown life. And it was Miss Macleod who wasalmost behind everything that went before theSwami’s arrival in New York. Therefore, MissStumm’s having had the task of receiving thenot so well Swami, is more than indicative ofher reliability and closeness to Miss Macleod.


21

Besides, Miss Stumm’s exquisitely word-ed sketch of the Swami during one of hismajestically spiritual phase has immortalizedher in Vivekananda literature. The immenseimportance of her reminiscence, apart from itsunmistakable sincerity, depth and brilliance,has also become singularly important becausefollowing those remarkable days at Ridgely,Swamiji hardly had remained more than twoand half years in the earth. And he was morethan aware of his fast receding worldly days.Long after she had received Vivekananda atthe port, Maud, giving away her initialexperience of that day, would later write, ‘Hewas tired and ill-looking’. And we know thatshe hardly had exaggerated.

But this was not the first time that Maudsaw the Swami; they had met earlier, but suchdetails may wait for the time being. For evenmore than a hundred years since theirmutually pleasing acquaintance, we hardlyknow anything about this remarkable lady.And time has long become overdue that wemake some sincere efforts in this regard.

2It was in 1866, near Cleveland (Cuya-

hoga), Ohio, that a girl child was born to FrankA. and Lucy Stumm. She was named Maud.Her early education began at the Clevelandpublic schools. But, presumably, to accede toher aptitude, Maud was allowed to pursue art.The beginning was at the Cleveland Art Club,where she was attached from 1884 to 1888.Afterwards her stint began with the New YorkArt Students League, an exceptional institutioneven in those days. Dissatisfied with the NewYork art schools, a group of art students hadfounded the Art Students League of New Yorkin 1875. It had its start in ‘a small 4th-floor loftin downtown Manhattan at the corner of 5th

Avenue and 16th Street.’8 Afterwards, the

Society of American Artistes was establishedwith the help of the League in 1889, and theLeague had constructed a permanent buildingat 215 West 57th Street at New York. Since1892 the Art Students League has beenfunctioning at the same building. As to itspresent activities, it is said that, ‘The Art

Students League continues to operate todayin the same manner it always has: as a set ofindependent studios, run by individual ins-tructors who have complete autonomy andcreative control in the classroom, without anyinterference from higher administration.’9

During my research I could learn fromthe Arts Students League, that there MaudStumm had attended classes on four occasions.The first was in December 1886, followed byin February-May 1890. Later she again waswith the League during March–May 1892, andsubsequently, in February- March 1920-21. Thesame source further informed that ‘Herresidences, while a student with them, werelisted as 27 North Washington Square and 63East 55th St.’

Maud Stumm


22

During Maud’s days at the Arts StudentsLeague, she had been taught by Kenyon Cox(1856–1919), and Siddons Mowbray (1858-1928). Mowbray in later years was best knownfor his decorative work. In 1891 he became afull member of the National Academy ofDesign. In 1903 Mowbray became the Directorof the American Academy in Rome.10 Asregards Kenyon Cox, his biography has it that,‘In the first two decades of this century KenyonCox was among the best known culturalfigures in the United States. This reputationrested on his activities as a painter and critic. . .Cox’s murals and easel pictures brought himreputation in the art world. . . but his publicstature rested chiefly on his criticism.’11

What followed in the same biographyhad, perhaps, greater bearing on his pupil weare focused to, ‘Cox and his peers had returnedfrom Paris in the 1870s with a sense that theirgeneration would produce art that wastechnically better, intellectually broader, andless parochial than that of their predecessors.

1. Letters of Sister Nivedita – Edited by Prof. SankariPrasad Basu (Nababharat Publishers, Calcutta,April 1982), Vol. I, p. 114.

2. Late And Soon, by Frances Leggett (HoughtonMifflin Company, Boston, 1968), p. 115.

3. The Life of Swami Vivekananda – By His Eastern andWestern Disciples (Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, July2006), Vol. II, p. 482.

4. Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries –By Marie Louise Burke (Advaita Ashrama,Kolkata), Vol. 3 (2000) p. 384, Vol. 5 (1998) p.110

5. Josephine Macleod And Vivekananda’s Mission, LindaPrugh (Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai), p. 20.

6. Ibid., Pp.20-21.7. Late And Soon, p. 83.8. www.theartstory.org/school-art-students-

league.htm > accessed 20 January 2011.9. www.theartstory.org/school-art-students-

league.htm > accessed 20 January 2011.

They were interested in depicting current lifein an intimate and vigorous manner thatemployed skilled drawing and rich coloration.They were certain that a revitalized Americanart could both become a major national schooland enrich the world tradition. Cox retained alifelong belief in the future of American art,provided that it was thoughtful, expertlypainted, and projected overtones of idealism,whatever its subject or style. He wanted art tobecome a major and accepted part of life, andfor the artist to become a protagonist in thedevelopment of American culture.’12

However, in later years Maud Stummbecame known as a portrait, figure and still-life painter. Says Biographical Dictionary,

During the early 1890s, her [Maud Stumm] watercolors were shown at the Art Institute ofChicago, the National Academy of Design, andthe Boston Art Club. After studies in Paris inthe mid-1890s, she returned to New York, whereshe designed illustrations for books, magazines,and calendars, until 1909 or later.13

(To be continued. . .)

10. http://kr.blog.yahoo.com/minium3926/893433.html > accessed 20 January 2011.

11. Kenyon Cox: 1856 – 1919: A Life in American Art, ByHoward Wayne Morgan (The Kent StateUniversity Press, 1994, Kent, Ohio and London,England), page ix, Available at -: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24648653 >accessed 21 January 2011.

12. Kenyon Cox: 1856 – 1919: page x, Available at -:http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24648653 > accessed 21 January 2011.

13. Artistes in Ohio, 1787 – 1900: A BiographicalDictionary – Compiled and edited by Mary SayreHaverstock, Jeannette Mahoney Vance and BrianL. Meggitt (The Kent State University Press, 2000,Kent, Ohio), page 841, Available at: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=ZdICm_W8xKwC&pg=PA841&lpg=PA841&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false > accessed 21 January 2011.

References


Western Ghats Shrines in Karnataka—A Pilgrimage

‘ATMASHRADDHA’

(Continued from the November 2011 issue. . .)

The author is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order.

We left Sringeri early in the morning forKollur on our way to the temple of Udupi.

Agumbe GhatPassing through the green paddy fields

and verdant roads, we headed to Kollur viathe well-known Agumbe Ghat—a hilly villagereputed for receiving heavy rainfall. Agumbereceives the second highest annual rainfall inIndia, next only to Cherra-punji (or the nearby Mawsyn-ram). It receives a mean annualrainfall of 7,640 millimetres(301 inches).

Often called as the ‘Cher-rapunji of the South’, Agumbeis also the home of the AgumbeRainforest Research Station, theonly permanent rainforest re-search station in India. Agum-be forest abounds in manywaterfalls, and is known for thepresence of a large number ofKing Cobras as well as nume-rous medicinal plants. Themountains are rich with ironand manganese deposits.

From Agumbe’s famous sunset pointwhich receives lot of visitors, one can see, ona clear day, the setting of sun on Arabian Seathough the sea is at quite a distance.

It took us some 45 minutes to reachAgumbe. We halted at the Agumbe villagemarket for a while, and in the midst of lightdrizzle, sipped hot coffee from one of thevillage stalls. There was thick mist on the roadand though we wondered about the safety oftravelling in such a situation, we continuedour journey. There was continuous drizzle allthrough the way.

The road was steep and there were manyhair-pin bends before we could reach thefoothills on the other side. It is called Sita Nadi,named after a small river with that name.

The road leading to Sita Nadi—near Agumbe Ghat


24

The Temple of Mookambika at KollurAfter nearly three hours of pleasant

travel from Agumbe through the windingroads of Western Ghats, we reached Kollur, asmall township known for its ancient templeof Mookambika.

Kollur, named after the sage Kola, isregarded as one of the seven Muktisthala (holyplaces where one gets mukti or liberation) inthe Karnataka region of Parashurama Kshetra—the land salvaged from sea by the sageParashurama. Surrounded by thick evergreenforest and a few small villages, with areca-nutgardens, Kollur is a quintessential western ghatvillage/township. The Kodachadri peak alongwith other peaks of Western Ghats make abeautiful view from the temple.

Dedicated to Mookambika Devi, thetemple at Kollur, is one themost revered pilgrimage cen-ters for people in Karnatakaand in Kerala. Located in thepicturesque surroundings onthe banks of the river Saupar-nika and the lush greenKodachadri hill, the templeattracts millions of pilgrimsevery year.

According to legend,Kola Maharishi, who wasengaged in penance here,was disturbed by a demonnamed Kaumasura who wasalso engaged in doing pen-ance to please Lord Shiva, toget a boon from Him. Toprevent the demon fromfulfilling his evil desire, the Divine Mother(Adi Shakti) made him dumb (mooka) andwhen the Lord appeared before him, he couldnot ask for anything. Thereupon he gotenraged and soon began troubling Kola

Maharishi who prayed to Divine Mother fordeliverance. Adi Shakti responded to hisfervent prayers and vanquished demon Kaum-asura or Mookasura (the asura who became amooka or dumb). At Kola Maharshi’s prayer,the Divine Mother agreed to stay at Kollur asDevi Mookambika (‘the mother who vanqui-shed demon mooka’) and be worshipped bydevotees.

Thus the place, earlier known as Maha-ranyapura or the Great Forest, came be to becalled Kolapura or Kollur.

Later, in the ninth century, Adi Shankara-charya is believed to have meditated at thenearby Kodachadri hill where he had a visionof Mookambika Devi. The Devi asked him toask for a boon. The Acharya expressed his wishto install Her in Kerala for worship and She

agreed. She, however, kept a condition thathe should lead Her to the proposed place ofworship and that while She will follow him,he should not look back until he reaches hisdestination. While walking, as if to test the

An artist’s visual about Adi Shankaracharya leading Mookambika Devi


25

Acharya, the Mother deliberately paused for awhile, and when he did not hear the sound of

Mother’s anklets, he turned around to ascertainwhether She was still coming. The Devi thenstopped there and asked him to install Herimage (vigraha) right there.

Hence it is believed that the original placeof the Goddess is on top of Kodachadri Peak(3880') and as, for the commoners, it was atedious journey to trek to Kodachadri, AdiShankaracharya brought Her image at Mook-ambika temple at Kollur and consecrated itthere.

After parking our vehicle, where we leftour upper garments (in conformity with thelocal custom followed by all male devoteesgoing to temple) and wrapped in chaddars,we walked toward the temple for some 200plus metres. With a number of small shopsselling flowers, incense sticks, Bhajan CDs,photographs and other assorted items locatedaround it, a high wall, with a large entrance,surrounds the temple. As it is a rainfed area,the temple and other buildings have slopingroofs.

An elephant, manned by a mahout, stoodnear the entrance of the eastern Gopuram,

moving and waving its bright-ly decorated trunk. Many de-votees bowed before it, held acoin which the elephant deftlygrabbed in its trunk and bles-sed the devotee with his trunk.The elephant and the devotees,both, seemed to enjoy it!

The temple is a neatplace, and one sees muchorderliness there. A single-storey structure, rectangular inshape, with low roof and manylamps fixed on its walls, thetemple is set in a traditionalKerala style temple architec-ture. The temple has a gold

plated crest and copper roofs and a tall flag-post and a lamp-post in front. The place was,as it were, swathed in peace and sanctity.

As we queued up for the darshan, akindly priest waved us to come forward andstand near the platform outside the altar—anhonour offered by the temple authorities tocertain guest-devotees to the temple. Weoffered our respects to the Divine Mother.Though there is an image of the MookambikaDevi, the actual deity is in the form of Jyotir-Linga incorporating both Shiva and Shakti (i.e.,a line of gold divides the Shiva Linga, onepart representing Shiva and the other, Shakti).After killing the Mookasura, the Divine Mothermerged in this Shivalinga which is believed tobe a svayambhu (made by Nature). The God-dess is worshipped as Devi Saraswati in themorning, as Devi Lakshmi at noon and DeviDurga in the evening.

The Panchaloha image (an alloy of fivemetals) of the Goddess is installed on a Sri-chakra which was consecrated by Adi

Entrance to the Mookambika temple


26

Shankaracharya himself. In thetemple, there are many imagescarved on stone and worship-ped—such as Ganesha, Sub-rahmanya, Naga, MahishasuraMardini and the goddessesmentioned in Devi Mahat-myam.

One of the priests sug-gested that we visit the under-ground cave behind the tem-ple where Adi Shankara-charya is believed to havemeditated. We followed himand he took us near a closeddoor which was part of man-tapas along the temple wall. He obtained thekey and let us in. We climbed down the low-roofed steps, and found ourselves facing asmall room-like place, lit with dim light of abulb over an image of Adi Shankara placedover a small stone altar. We sat there in silence,trying to recall the visit of the great Acharya,who though an Advaitin par excellence,understood the need of worship of God withform as a means for self-purification, leadingto Self-realization.

We were told that the temple has a vastcollection of jewels received as gifts ofacknowledgement from devotees, from kings,ministers, and commoners alike, whose wishes

have been fulfilled by the blessings of theGoddess Mookambika. The kings of VijayaNagara Empire gifted the facial mask ofGoddess Mookambika, made of gold. Thetemple celebrates many puja festivals through-out the year. There is a Sri MookambikaAshtakam mentioned in the Skanda Purana andthe place itself is mentioned in the Puranicliterature.

As we came out of the temple, we saw atributary of Souparnika River flowing by, at adistance. We learnt the river is connected withGaruda, the divine bird of Lord Vishnu. Thelegend says that Suparna (Garuda) didpenance on the banks of this river praying to

A panoramic view of the Mookambika temple

Devotees in the temple courtyard


27

the Goddess for the abate-ment of his motherVinutha’s sorrows. Whenthe Goddess appearedbefore him, he prayedthat the river be hence-forth known after him,Suparna, and there-fore came to be called asSouparnika. At the loca-tion where he is said tohave sat in penance, thereis a small cave known as‘Garuda’s Cave’. Thougha bath in the Souparnikariver is considered sacred,we could not bathe dueto paucity of time. Theriver, flowing as it isthrough medicinally richforest, is believed to curemany ailments of thosewho bath in it.

A Visit to KudajadriAs stated above, the

temple of Mookambikawas originally located atthe hilltop of Kodachadrihills. We thus decided topay a quick visit to it atthe hilltop.

It took nearly anhour and half of uphill drive from the templeto the hill top. And what a tedious drive itwas! We had a lifetime experience whiledriving up the hill. The road was indeed bad,broken and slushy. There were more potholesthan plain surfaces. In some places the steepclimb led to our vehicle becoming tiltedprecariously! The hills are located at an altitudeof 1343 metres above sea level.

It was a breathtaking scene at the top,however. We felt as if we had reached theclouds with many low-floating clouds comingin and going out of the thickets and bushes ofthe mountain. The mountain is covered withShola forests which are the lifeline of streamsand rivers originating from the hills. (Plantsin Shola forests are neither shrubs nor big trees,but medium sized green plants with tough

A panoramic view of the Kodachadri hills

Moola Mookambika temple at Kodachadri


28

trunks, that withstand strong winds that lashthe mountain sides continuously. The speedywinds that lash the mountains during mon-soon can easily uproot bigger trees but do noharm to Shola forest. Shola forest also shelterdifferent types of reptiles, birds, insects andvertebrates. The flora and fauna of Shola forestis unique.)

The hill of Kudajagiri or Kudajadri (inMalayalam, ‘umbrella mountain’—koda, um-brella, and giri or adri, mountain). A place inthe Kudajagiri hill is called Ambavanam andChitramoolam where Adi Shankaracharya isbelieved to have meditated. One has to trek atiresome and difficult terrain to reach there.We satisfied ourselves with visiting other twoimportant spots connected with Adi Shankara.

The hill road ended at a concrete travel-lers’ bungalow built by the Public WorksDepartment of the Government of Karnataka.Quite close to it is the small hut-like structurehousing Mookambika Devi’s image called mulavigraha or the original image of the Devi. Theplace was silent, wet and serene. Except forthe family of the priest who lived in a housenearby, there was no one in the vicinity. Onhearing of our arrival, the priest came andopened the ‘temple’ for us. We offered ourrespects and chanted verses from the DeviMahatmyam before proceeding to the secondplace of our interest on the hills.

A visit to the Mookambika Devi Templeis incomplete without visiting Sarvajna Peethaat Kudajadri—the spot where Adi Shankara-charya is believed to have meditated after be-coming ‘all-knowing’. A mantapa, with AdiShankara’s image, marks the place. Locatedon the peak of the hill, one has to trek for twokms through a beaten track passing throughbushes and small valleys to reach it. At times,the trek seemed too slippery and risky but byDivine Grace, nothing untoward happened.

Finally we reached at the SarvajnaPeetha. The temple as such is not more than aroom measuring less than 7’ x 7’, standing onan open rocky surface. It was a wonderfulexperience to be there, at the top of the hill, allalone, with no habitation for miles, besidesthe temple hallowed by the presence of AdiShankaracharya. One could see many clouds

The stone mantapa at the top of Kodachadri hills

The image of Adi Shankaracharya inside the mantapa


29

floating over the hills, and agreen cover spread over thewhole hills.

Soon, however, we hadto start our journey back,towards Udupi. It was get-ting late but somehow wecould drive down withoutany problems (‘road’ not-withstanding) and proceededto Udupi.

Towards UdupiNow we were on the

plains. We crossed manybackwater rivers before wecould reach our destination.Filled with expectations tovisit the famed temple townof Udupi, we drove throughan ancient landscape andfinally reached the temple.

The term Udupi (alsospelt as Udipi) is synony-mous the temple of LordKrishna which forms the coreof the Udupi. A whole cul-ture, cuisine especially, isbuilt around the temple. Alsoknown as Rajata Peetha andShivalli (Shivabelli), it is mostwell known for its associationwith Madhvacharya, thegreat teacher of dvaita.

We first proceeded to- Two views of the backwater rivers on the way to Udupi

The secret of religion is not in theories but in practice. To be goodand to do good—that is the whole of religion.

—Swami Vivekananda

wards the Krishna Mutt, as the temple of Sri Krishna is known here.(To be continued. . .)


Rajendra Lal De—Some MemoirsA.K.DEY

My father, late Sri Rajendra Lal De, wasa disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.Born in the year 1888 at Mulghar in Khulnadistrict of East Bengal (now Bangladesh), hewas the only child; he lost his parents whenhe was hardly eight years old. He was broughtup by his uncle and aunt who loved him liketheir own child. He passed his EntranceExamination in the year 1906. After havingserved as a teacher for about a year, he joinedthe Bengal Nagpur Railways at Adra in WestBengal as a clerk. He was married in the year1914.

One day, as he was returning fromRaghunathpur, a small town near Adra, itstarted raining. He was then walking across alarge tract of land. Finding no other way toprotect himself from rain, he took shelter undera tree. The sun had already set. While waitingfor the rain to stop, he noticed in the dim lighta book lying under the tree. He took it home.This was a book about Holy Mother Sri SaradaDevi. He read about Holy Mother for the firsttime from that book. In those days, he waspassing through a difficult time. He had losthis peace of mind due to some householdproblem. Restless and unhappy, he was eagerto get peace of mind and the book came, as if,just at the right time. He read the whole book

Prof.A.K.Dey, retired Principal of C.P. and Berar College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, is an initiateddisciple of Swami Shankarananda, the seventh President of the Ramakrishna Math and RamakrishnaMission. His father, Sri Rajendra Lal De, was a disciple of Holy Mother and had the good fortune ofreceiving the grace of some of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Prof A.K.Dey, now living inDhantoli, Nagpur, writes about his father’s sacred memoirs of Holy Mother and other direct disciples.

on that very night and the reading had asoothing effect on his troubled mind. He feltan intense desire to have the darshan of theHoly Mother.

Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi

Some days later, he went to Belur Mathand met Mahapurush Maharaj (Swami Shiva-nanda) and Khoka Maharaj (Swami Subodha-nanda). He opened his heart to them andexpressed his desire to have initiation [mantradiksha]. They advised him to go to Jayrambatiwhere the Holy Mother was staying. As pertheir advice, he soon went to Jayrambati.Reaching there he anxiously asked a devotee


31

whether it would be possible for him to havethe darshan of the Holy Mother. The saiddevotee felt sympathy for him and helped himto have the darshan of the Holy Mother.

When my father found himself in thedivine presence of Holy Mother, he felt as ifhis own long lost mother was sitting beforehim. All his hesitations disappeared and hefelt quite free to talk to her. His joy knew nobounds when Holy Mother agreed to initiatehim. After receiving the initiation from HolyMother, he returned home with a cheerfulmind. Sitting in the shrine of his house, hewould practise Japam of the mantra which hehad received from the Holy Mother. He wouldpray and worship daily in the morning andthe evening. He had a desire to offer payasam(sweet rice-porridge) to Sri Ramakrishna, buthe was told by some one that being a Kayastha[ie. Non-Brahmin] he was not eligible to offercooked food to Sri Ramakrishna. So duringhis next visit to Holy Mother he asked herwhether being a Kayastha he could offercooked food to Sri Ramakrishna. Holy Motherreplied that he being a child of Sri Rama-krishna he had every right to offer cooked foodto him. She further said that Sri Ramakrishnawould gladly accept the food offered to himwith devotion.

About a year or two after my father’sinitiation, my mother received initiation fromHoly Mother in a dream. During his next visitto Jayrambati, my father told Holy Motherabout my mother’s divine dream. Hearing thisshe said that my mother should regularlypractise, both in the morning and evening, Japawith the mantra she had received in her dream.Accordingly, my mother began practisingJapam twice a day with great devotion. Shewould also read Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita[The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna], the Ramayana,the Mahabharata and other holy books.

My parents were thus living a pious,contented and peaceful life. But with thearrival of my maternal grandmother, who hadcome to stay in her daughter’s house, theatmosphere of the house was spoiled. Shewould often interfere with the family affairsand dictate her daughter and son-in-law. Aman of strong personality, my father wouldrefuse to be dictated by her. As a result, hisrelation with his mother-in-law becamestrained and the atmosphere in the housebecame tense. My mother was a tender-heartedwoman. So all this had an adverse effect onher mind. One day fed up with the mother-in-law’s interference and overbearing nature, myfather sternly asked her to leave his house.Angry and insulted, my grandmother left thehouse forever.

My mother was shocked and dismayed.This shocking incident led her to the brink ofmental breakdown. She could not concentrateher mind on the day-to-day duties. After somedays she stopped taking bath, cooking food,practising Japa, even looking after her eldest

Rajendra Lal De


32

child who was a toddler then. Sitting alone ina corner, she would utter meaningless words.My father was shocked to notice the signs ofinsanity in her. He was bewildered and confu-sed. At this critical time his friends stood byhim. As advised by them, he arranged for hertreatment. Though under medical treatmentfor quite a long time, there was no markedimprovement in her behaviour.

So my father went to Jayrambati and toldeverything to Holy Mother. She felt sad formy mother and asked my father to fetch herto Jayrambati and assured him that she wouldbecome normal again. After some days myfather started for Jayrambati along with mymother. But because of flood in the Amodarriver they could not reach Jayrambati. Aftersome days when my father found time to makea visit to Jayrambati, he came to know thatHoly Mother was in Kolkata and she wasconfined to bed.

During that period my father had metMahapurush Maharaj who felt very sad to hearabout my mother and said, ‘We will pray toSri Ramakrishna for her recovery so that shecould live a normal life.’ Though my mothercould not be taken to Holy Mother, there wasgradual improvement in her mental health,and within a couple of years she got rid of hermental illness and became almost normal.What the expert doctor’s treatment could notdo was done by the blessings of Holy Mother,by the grace of Sri Ramakrishna and also bythe prayer of Mahapurush Maharaj who wasfull of affection for her. She lived a normal lifetill her death at the age of seventy-two. Shebecame calm and quiet and spent her daysdoing her daily duties silently, practising Japa,offering worship and serving with devotionthe monks and devotees who visited ourhouse. Her face reflected her inner peace andserenity.

It was perhaps in 1922 my father wastransferred to Khurda Road Junction in Orissa.The monks of Ramakrishna Order used to getdown at Khurda Road Station for taking a trainto Puri, and during the waiting period theywould visit our house which was adjacent tothe station. My parents would feel blessed tohave an opportunity to serve them. My motherused to cook various delicacies for the monks.Khoka Maharaj used to praise her cookingprofusely. We can find my father’s meetingwith Mahapurush Maharaj at Khurda railwaystation in the book Sri Ma Darshan,

On 5 May 1926, Wednesday, Swami Shivanandawent to Puri with all others by train. From the

Swami Shivananda

railway station he came to Jagannath temple bya car at around 7 in the morning. In the eveningat 6.30, Swami Shivananda boarded the trainKalikata Express for Bhuvaneshwar. On the wayat Khurda railway station, a devotee namedRajen (Rajendralal De), who was a railway emp-loyee, came to meet him. He was talking veryjoyfully and enquiring about the welfare of thedevotees. When the devotee told about the badhealth of his wife, Swami Shivananda becamecompassionate like a mother and consoled him.


33

He said, ‘The nature of the world (samsara) islike this, pray to Sri Ramakrishna, he will removeyour sorrows’. Then he himself became introvertas if praying to Sri Ramakrishna for devotees’welfare.

In 1930 my father was transferred backto Adra Junction Station. There he was knownto quite a large number of people who lovedand respected him. Here he used to celebratethe birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna onquite a large scale with help of local devotees.On these occasions a large number of poorand needy people were given feast and clothes.A large number of devotees from nearby townsand villages would attend the celebrations. Forthree days, there used to be evening con-gregations which would be quite well attend-ed. Every year some monk from the BelurMath used to grace the occasion as the ChiefGuest. The speakers on these occasionsincluded well-known litterateur S.Wajed Ali,Prof. Binoy Kumar Sarkar, Principal Dr.Brown, Justice Naki Imam and others. Thetradition of celebrating the birth anniversariesof Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and SwamiVivekananda continues at Adra even today.

My father was intimately known to manymonastic disciples of Holy Mother, amongwhom mention may be made of SwamisParameshwarananda (Kishori Maharaj) andTapananda. Kishori Maharaj used to visit ourhouse very often. Swami Tapananda was agood singer and composer of Bhajans. HolyMother was fond of his songs. He served manydirect disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.

A couple of years before his retirement,my father lost his eldest son who died oftyphoid. The whole house was drowned insorrow. Receiving the sad news KishoriMaharaj came to our house all the way fromJayrambati. My parents found solace in hisholy company. One day, during the mourningperiod, he was performing vesper service inthe evening in our family shrine. While wavingthe lamp his uttaria [the cloth used to coverthe chest and shoulders] suddenly caught firewhich was quickly put off. Later he asked myfather whether his deceased son was initiated.Receiving his answer in the negative, headvised my father to get all his remaining sonsinitiated from Belur Math as early as possible.According to his advice, my father arrangedfor initiation of we three brothers.

After retirement my father settled withhis family at Purulia in West Bengal. Here alsohe used to celebrate the birth anniversaries ofSri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother every yearas long as he was alive. On these occasionsabout five hundred poor beggars, many ofwhom were afflicted with leprosy, were fedto their heart’s content. In the evening thereused to be singing of devotional songs anddiscourses on the life and teachings of SriRamakrishna and Holy Mother.

Throughout his life my father followedthe path shown by Sri Ramakrishna and HolyMother. He was not a man of means, but hetried to serve the poor and the needy withwhatever means he had. He passed away inthe year 1960 at the age of seventy-two.

1. Sri Sri Mayer Katha (Bengali), published byUdbodhan Karyalay, Kolkata (Old edition)

2. Sri Sri Sarada Devi (Bengali) by BrahmachariAkshaychaitanya. p.83

3. Rail Karmir Smriti Katha (Bengali) by Parimal Dey

Bibliography

Published by Kulish, Alipore Road, Kolkata - 274. Sri M Darshan (Bengali), by Swami Nityatma-

nanda, Sri M. Trust, ChandigarVol-15, Pp.165-1725. Shivananda Patrasangraha (Bengali), Ramakrishna

Math, Barasat, West Bengal, p.185


The Boy JatilaLet me tell you the story of a boy named

Jatila. He used to walk to school through thewoods, and the journey frightened him; Oneday he told his mother of his fear. She replied:‘Why should you be afraid? Call Madhu-sudana.’ ‘Mother,’ asked the boy, ‘who isMadhusudana?’ The mother said, ‘He is yourElder Brother.’ One day after this, when theboy again felt afraid in the woods, he criedout, ‘O Brother Madhusudana!’ But there wasno response. He began to weep aloud: ‘Whereare You, Brother Madhusudana? Come to me.I am afraid.’

Then God could no longer stay away.He appeared before the boy and said: ‘Here Iam. Why are you frightened?’ And so, sayingHe took the boy out of the woods and showedhim the way to school. When He took leave ofthe boy, God said: ‘I will come whenever youcall Me. Do not be afraid.’ One must have thisfaith of a child, this yearning. (p.338 )

Boy Feeding GodA brahmin used to worship his Family

Deity daily with food offerings. One day hehad to go away on business. As he was aboutto leave the house, he said to his young son:

‘Give the offering to the Deity today. See thatGod is fed.’ The boy offered food in the shrine,but the image remained silent on the altar. Itwould neither talk nor eat. The boy waited along time, but still the image did not move.But the boy firmly believed that God wouldcome down from His throne, sit on the floor,and partake of the food. Again and again heprayed to the Deity, saying: ‘O Lord, comedown and eat the food. It is already very late.I cannot sit here any longer.’ But the imagedid not utter a word. The boy burst into tearsand cried: ‘O Lord, my father asked me tofeed You. Why won’t You come down? Whywon’t You eat from my hands?’ The boy weptfor some time with a longing soul.

At last the Deity, smiling, came downfrom the altar and sat before the meal and ateit. After feeding the Deity, the boy came outof the shrine room. His relatives said: ‘Theworship is over. Now bring away the offering.’‘Yes,’ said the boy, ‘the worship is over. ButGod has eaten everything.’ ‘How is that?’asked the relatives. The boy replied innocently,‘Why, God has eaten the food.’ They enteredthe shrine and were speechless with wonderto see that the Deity had really eaten every bitof the offering. (p.338)

14

Sri Ramakrishna was a master-story teller. While he spoke ofprofound spiritual truths and mystery of human life, he amply usedstories, anecdotes, examples and analogies to drive home his point. At

times, while narrating a story, he would even make gestures and changethe tone of his voice to bring in a lively element in his narrative. Thefollowing stories, mainly culled from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna(published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai) are anattempt to present before the readers Sri Ramakrishna’s rich store-house of stories which are both illuminating and simple.


The Shanti Ashrama2

The 9th May 1902My dear Shanti

I have received a letter from Swami Sarada-nanda by the last mail. Swamiji was very ill in themonastery. But he has been doing better and I trust isall right now. May Mother keep him Shanti yet for sometime for the good of many. The world does not producesuch souls often and by mercy [?]. His coming to Japanhas evidently been postponed. I have been asked to goback to India. S. Saradananda has written to Dr.Loganalso at the request of the Swamiji to see that I startallright. I have not heard from Dr.Logan yet but hope todo so soon. I have heard from S.Abhedananda too. Hewishes me to go back rather than suffer here this way. I feelin the same way under the circumstances. So will get ready byand by. If Mother wills it so I shall see you all again Shanti. But whether we meet in thephysical plane or not certainly Mother has united us in the higher where we know noseparation. Let Mother’s will be done. You need not be anxious for money Shanti. It isalready there. One friend has offered to pay the passage. I shall write to you again as itdevelops. Remember me kindly to all the kind and dear friends there and give them my bestwishes and love.

With best wishes and love as ever. I am

Yours in the MotherTuriyananda

The Shanti AshramaThe 28th May 1902.

My dear Shanti,I have received your two very kind letters. The Vedanta Society of San Francisco has

arranged for my passage to India at the direction of Swamiji. The 6th of June has been fixed

Unpublished Letters ofSwami Turiyananda1



36


Courtesy: Ramakrishna Museum, Belur Math

the date for my departure. Doctor Logan will come to the Ashrama and take me to the city.Everything is going smooth so far. I am very sorry I shall not see you nor can I make any replyto your last letter in a definite way. I shall speak about it to Swamiji when I see him. In themeantime if you think it best you can live in the Ashrama with Gurudasa3 and go on practisingmeditation etc. Gurudasa will be delighted to have you here I am sure. You need not despairShanti at my going. The Mother is within you and I know you belong to Mother. Sannyas orno sannyasa wherever you will be you will be doing Mother’s work. Only you need, as youyourself have so beautifully expressed it in your letter “the final death of the little self.” Prayfor it Shanti from the bottom of your heart making your heart and tongue one and Mother willgrant it. I may pray for you Shanti if you want me to. But for the present I must bid yougoodbye.

Kindly remember me to all the friends who have been so good and kind to me. I shallremember them all with grateful and loving heart so long as the memory endures.

Wishing you all well. With love to Curria[?] Helen and all as ever

I amYours in the Mother

Turiyananda

The Shanti AshramaThe 30th May 1902

My dear ShajeeI received your very kind letter duly. I am sorry I could not write to you earlier. I have

been suffering from nervous prostrates since a length of time. Now I am feeling better. I need achange very badly. I have been asked by Swamiji to go back to India as I have not beenkeeping well in this country. I leave here on the 6th of June if every thing goes well here. I hopeto see you [once?] again before long. Kindly convey [my?] very best wishes and love to all thefriends there. May Sri Guru Maharaj keep you all under his guidance and care always is thesincere prayer of

Yours ever well wisherTuriyananda

References: 1. A direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna2. In U.S.A.3. Later, Swami Atulananda


Diverse Shades of Karma YogaHASMUKH ADHIA

Dr Hasmukh Adhia is an officer of the Indian Administrative Services in Gujarat. The author is grateful to hisspiritual mentor Swami Visharadananda Saraswati of Srirangapatnam for his guidance in writing this article.

A Universal OrderThe question ‘What is Karma Yoga?’

appears simple but it is the most difficult thingto understand. Is doing ‘work without selfishdesire’ (niskama karma) the only meaning ofKarma Yoga? If it were so, then how manypeople in this world can follow the path ofKarma Yoga? Without expecting some rewardof the work (karma) done, how can one survivein this life? What, then, is the practical meaningof the philosophy of Karma Yoga in life?

Karma Yoga can be interpreted as anattitude towards doing an action, big or small.Karma Yoga is a way of conducting ouractivities. It is all about learning to removeour obsession with results and insteadbecoming focused on the work on hand. Thefruits of any Karma are bound to comewhether you want them or not. It is as certainas the principle of ‘every action always has itsown reaction’. The universal order of action-reaction is so perfect in this matter that thereis no mistake in that. Therefore, there is noneed to worry about the result at all.

Six Aspects of Karma YogaIf one analyses the concept of Karma

Yoga as given in Bhagvad Gita, one can clearlysee that there are at least six things which, iffollowed fully in any activity, can make anyKarma into a Karma Yoga. These six can belisted as follows.

1. Following the code of conduct of thesociety i.e. avoiding nishiddha (prohibited)karma.

2. Doing any given work most efficientlyand without neglect (pramada).

3. Focusing only on the present duty,without being apprehensive about results.

4. Accepting the result, whether goodor bad, of our efforts as the prasad [grace] ofGod.

5. Not having ego or doer-ship in casethe results achieved are superior.

6. Sharing the fruits of karma with othersin the society.

But does that mean that if any one ofthese is absent, one cannot do Karma Yoga?Not really so. Karma Yoga may be done whilefollowing only one or more of these. The bareminimum thing to follow is the first of thesesix things i.e., one should not transgress theboundaries of Dharma while doing any karma,which means one should not violate the codeof conduct of the society.

Shades/Levels of Karma YogaNow, having ensured this code of

conduct, one can dwell on different shadesthe term Karma Yoga can take for differentpeople. Here are some examples:

1. A person gets profit out of whateverbusiness he is doing, but shares a part of itwith deprived sections of people.


38

2. A person works in an organizationfree of charge as a service, but expects theorganization to give him minimum facilitiessuch as house or food, etc.

3. A person works in a service organi-zation without taking any facility of reward.(This is better as compared to second example)

4. A person works in an organization butonly in the area of his expertise e.g., a doctorgives his service as a doctor.

5. A person is willing to work in a serviceorganization in any position irrespective of hisqualification i.e., he may be a doctor but he iswilling to work as an ordinary reception clerk.(This is better than the fourth example)

6. A person may work in a voluntaryorganization but wants to be recognized as aselfless worker.

7. A person wants to work in an organi-zation/within a family setting but wants toremain completely anonymous. (This is betterthan the sixth example)

As seen from the examples given above,each one of them is practising some form ofKarma Yoga, but the shades of understandingare different. The last one is the best one.

If one follows all the six dimensions ofKarma Yoga, one can indeed excel in KarmaYoga. But even if one follows one or two orthree, one can still be doing Karma Yoga,though one is not doing the best. The KarmaYoga, thus, has scope for every one. The levelof doer-ship (kartrutva) and enjoyer-ship

(bhoktrutva) that really binds one, also deci-des the shade or level of Karma Yoga one isdoing.

A person may think ‘I do’ while doingKarma Yoga or he may think ‘I am only aninstrument of God’. Just as in a business, aperson may think

(1) I am the sole owner, or(2) I am one of the partners, or(3) I am only a junior partner, or(4) I am only a servant, or(5) I am a mere instrument.What attitude one has decides the level

of doership or absence of it that one feels.Similarly, one can have different levels

of bhokrutva (enjoyer-ship) in any activity. Forexample, a person can say,

(1) I alone will decide as per my choice what isto be cooked every day for everyone, or

(2) I should also be consulted but others’ viewscan also be taken about their food preference, or

(3) I will take whatever others decide to make.

The third is an example of a lesser senseof enjoyer-ship than the second or the firstone.

ConclusionKarma Yoga is the art of doing action in

a right way. It aims at making us free from allbondages. The more the sense of doer-ship orenjoyer-ship one has, the lesser one stands inthe ladder of Karma Yoga.

We must do the work and find out the motive power that prompts us; and, almostwithout exception, in the first years, we shall find that our motives are always selfish;but gradually this selfishness will melt by persistence, till at last will come the timeswhen we shall be able to do really unselfish work. We may all hope that some day orother, as we struggle through the paths of life, there will come a time when we shallbecome perfectly unselfish; and the moment we attain to that, all our powers will beconcentrated, and the knowledge which is ours will be manifest.

—Swami Vivekananda, CW, 1: 34-35


Swami Prameyanandaji Maharaj is No MoreWith deep sorrow we record the passing away of Srimat Swami Prameyanandaji (Ramgopal Maharaj),

one of the Vice-Presidents of Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, at Ramakrishna Mission SevaPratishthan Hospital, Kolkata, on 20 October 2011 at about8:25 am. He was 79.

The Swami had been keeping tolerably well for the lastfew months, though he suffered occasionally from hypoaexemia(low level of oxygen in blood). On 9 October, just two daysafter Vijaya Dashami, he was admitted to Seva Pratishthan onaccount of a marked fall of oxygen level in blood. On 17October his health condition became critical and he was puton ventilator support. His condition continued to be grim andthe sad end came on 20 October morning.

His body was brought to Belur Math in the afternoon andwas kept for darshan of devotees from 3.30 pm. The bodywas cremated at Belur Math on 21.10.11 at about 12.30 pm.

Swami Prameyanandaji was born in April 1933 atDhakadakshin in Sylhet district (now in Bangladesh). Aninitiated disciple of Swami Shankaranandaji Maharaj, he joinedthe Order at Karimganj (Assam) centre in 1951, and hadSannyasa from his guru in 1961. Just after joining the Order,he participated in our relief and rehabilitation project at Cachar(Assam) from May 1951 to August 1953. Thereafter, he wasposted to Shillong centre where he continued till 1960. During1960-1961 he served at our Tamluk ashrama for a few months.After that, he served Swami Yatishwaranandaji Maharaj at Belur Math for two months. In June 1961, he wasposted to the Headquarters Office at Belur Math. Having served there till February 1966, he was appointedSecretary of Swami Vireswaranandaji Maharaj, the then President of the Ramakrishna Order. He servedRevered Maharaj for 19 long years in that capacity. After the Mahasamadhi of Swami VireswaranandajiMaharaj, he was made Editor of Udbodhan, the Bengali journal of the Order. In April 1987, he wasappointed a Trustee of Ramakrishna Math and a Member of the Governing Body of Ramakrishna Missionand, in September of the same year, he was made Manager of Belur Math. In March 1997, he was electedTreasurer of the twin organizations. Having served in these capacities for many years, he was elected Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Order in February 2009, which office he held till the end. During his spiritualministry, he blessed many devotees with Mantra Diksha (spiritual initiation) in West Bengal, Assam,Tripura, Meghalaya and Bangladesh. He also visited at different times Russia, USA, Canada, Mauritius,Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and various countries of Europe. Revered Maharaj has two books to his credit:

��


40

��

Forthcoming Birthday Celebrations(January to March 2012)

Swami Turiyananda 8 JanuarySwami Vivekananda 15 JanuarySwami Brahmananda 25 JanuarySwami Trigunatitananda 27 JanuarySwami Adbhutananda 7 FebruarySwami Yogananda 11 March

Sri Ramakrishna23 February

Sevadarshe Ramakrishnananda (life of Swami Ramakrishnananda) and Puja Vijnana (the science of ritualisticworship).

His sad demise is a great loss to the Organization and creates a void difficult to fill up.

Durga Puja CelebratedDurga Puja was celebrated at Belur Math from 3 to 6 October 2011 with due solemnity. The weather

was fine on all the four days, and thousands of devotees attended the Puja to receive the blessings of theDivine Mother. The Kumari Puja performed on 4 October drew huge crowds, and the Sandhi Puja on thatevening was also attended by many devotees. Sri MK Narayanan, Governor of West Bengal, attendedthe evening Arati of the Divine Mother on NavamiDay. This year, besides Doordarshan Kolkata,Doordarshan India also telecast live the Puja atdifferent times on all the days. Cooked Prasad wasserved to about 49,000 devotees on Ashtami dayand to more than one lakh devotees during the fourdays.

Durga Puja (in image) was celebrated at thefollowing 24 centres: Antpur, Asansol, Barasat,Contai, Cooch Behar, Dhaleswar (under Agartala),Ghatshila, Guwahati, Jalpaiguri, Jamshedpur,Jayrambati, Kamarpukur, Karimganj, Lucknow,Malda, Medinipur, Mumbai, Patna, Port Blair,Rahara, Sheila (under Cherrapunji), Shillong, Silcharand Varanasi Advaita Ashrama.

At Shillong Ashrama, Sri R S Mooshahary, Governor of Meghalaya; Sri Bindu M Lanong, Deputy ChiefMinister of Meghalaya, and several other dignitaries attended Durga Puja celebration.

Durga Puja (in image) was performed at our centres in Durban (South Africa), Geneva (Switzerland),Mauritius and Toronto (Canada), and the following nine centres in Bangladesh: Baliati, Barisal, Chittagong,Comilla, Dhaka, Dinajpur, Habiganj, Narayanganj and Sylhet.

At Dhaka centre, Ms Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Mr Shamsul Haq Tuku, StateMinister for Home Affairs; Mr Ahad AN Sarkar, State Minister for Sports; Mr Sadeque Hossain Khoka,


41

Dhaka City Corporation Mayor; Mr Suranjit Sengupta, Presidium Member, Bangladesh Awami League, andseveral other distinguished persons attended the Durga Puja celebration.

Commemoration of the 175th Birth Anniversary of Sri RamakrishnaThe following centres celebrated the 175th birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna. (Main programmes

conducted by them are given against their names.)Bangalore: Devotional songs and discourses on 22 and 23 October; about 3000 persons attended;Chandigarh: Talk on the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna at Patiala on 13 October, which was

attended by about 100 persons;Lucknow: Musical performance on 1 October;Raipur: Spiritual retreat on 2 October in which 120 devotees participated;Taki: Devotees’ convention on 16 October in which about 200 devotees participated;Thiruvananthapuram: Daylong Japa-yajna on 5 October, reading from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

on 6 October from morning to evening, discourses on the Bhagavata from 8 to 15 October, and devotees’convention on 15 and 16 October;

Vijayawada: Four quarterly three-day residential spiritual retreats during the year.Allahabad: A week-long celebration from 5 to 11 November with symposiums and cultural programmes;Chandigarh: Quiz competitions on the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna in 13 schools of Pinjore and

Kalka, Haryana, in which 950 students participated, and a public meeting and a spiritual retreat in ChandigarhAshrama in the month of November;

Chennai Mission Ashrama: Teachers’ Convention on 12 November in which 170 teachers participated;Jamshedpur: Spiritual retreat on 23 October in which 275 devotees took part;Kadapa: Public meeting, devotional music and release of a Telugu version of the Bengali film Bhagavan

Sri Ramakrishna on 6 November; spiritual retreat from 5 to 7 November in which 60 devotees participated;Ramharipur: Devotees’ Convention at Durgapur city on 6 November in which about 2500 devotees

participated;Sikra-Kulingram: Devotees’ Convention on 20 November in which about 400 devotees took part.Moscow (Russia): A public meeting at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, on 3 November, which was

presided over by the Indian Ambassador to Russia and addressed by Padmashree Dr B Rybakov and others.

Mayor of Chandigarh Municipality inauguratingVivek Express at Chandigarh

Vivek Express in Haryana, Punjab and ChandigarhThe Vivek Express, Exhibition Train by the Indian Railways to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary

of Swami Vivekananda, was in Punjab, Haryana andChandigarh from 23 October to 16 November, 2011. TheVivek Express was in the following places (the approximatenumber of people visited are given in bracket): Panipat (6000),Ambala Cantt (3000), Chandigrah (4000), Kalka, Patiala,Ludhiana (7500), and Amritsar (4500).

At all these places the exhibition was inaugurated by eminentpeople who included government officials, directors, Membersof Parliament and Minister. While members of the VivekanandaSeva Samiti, Kurukshetra and Panipat, and the children ofSaint Vivekananda Millennium School took part in organizingthe events at their respective places, people from all sectionsof society, including students of schools and colleges,universities, professionals and household people visited theexhibition.

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Chandigarh, put up a book stall at Panipat, Ambala, Chandigarh, Kalkaand Patiala stations. The Vivekananda Study Circle, Ludhiana and Amritsar, put up stalls at these twostations. In all books worth around 2 lakhs were sold.

��

��


42

Youth Leadership AwardThe Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence,

Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad organized a SwamiVivekananda Youth Leadership Award event titled YuvaSangharsh-2011 as part of the 150th birth anniversarycelebrations of Swami Vivekananda between 30th July and23rd October 2011. Unlike a typical student-competition,the event was marked by examination of young participants'leadership qualities through the help of various waysincluding their response to challenging situations. TheOUTSTANDING LEADER AWARD was presented to 2students: Mr Vikram Krishna and Ms. Saumya Cheeda,both of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School, JubileeHills, Hyderabad.

Viveka Prabha Conference in MysoreA conference of volunteers engaged in collecting subscribers for ‘Viveka

Prabha’, the Kannada magazine published from Mysore Ashrama was organisedfrom 10-12 October, 2011 in Mysore. About 500 enthusiastic devotees and well-wishers participated in this. The programme included Guided Meditation, classon worship, Bhajans, lectures on the Holy-trio, classical music performance,exposition of Mahabharata etc. The participants wholeheartedly resolved toincrease the circulation of the magazine and thereby help in spreading of noblevalues across Karnataka State.

General NewsSri Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, laid the foundation stone for the proposed Vivekananda

Museum at Khetri centre on 4 October.On 9 October, Viveknagar (Tripura) centre organized a blood donation camp, which was inaugurated by

Sri Manik Sarkar, Chief Minister of Tripura. Fifty-two persons donated blood in the camp.Swami Smarananandaji inaugurated the newly built scholars’ house / monks’ quarters at Jammu Ashrama

on 22 October.A student of our Kalady school has been awarded Dr Ambedkar Foundation Merit Award for securing the

second rank among the tribal students in Kerala in Secondary Examination 2010 conducted by the KeralaBoard of Secondary Education. The award carries a sum of Rs. 50,000 and a certificate of merit.

The Class-IX student of Deoghar Vidyapith, who stood first at the State Level Science Seminar Contest2011, secured the second position at the National Level Science Seminar Contest organized by the NationalCouncil of Science Museums at New Delhi on 30 September.

Chennai Math has launched a website <www.vivekanandahouse.org> which provides informationabout Vivekanandar Illam (Vivekananda House) and is optimized for mobile devices.

The General Secretary, Swami Prabhanandaji, inaugurated the newly constructed extension to dispensarybuilding at Bankura centre on 7 November.

Narainpur centre conducted a four-day sports meet from 9 to 12 November in which 1850 students from43 schools participated. Sri Kedar Kashyap, Minister for Tribal Development, Government of Chhattisgarh,inaugurated the meet.

Sri Jayaram Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, visited Narainpur centre on 10 November.Narainpur centre organized the concluding phase of its Silver Jubilee celebration from 25 to 27 November.

Sri Shekhar Dutt, Governor of Chhattisgarh, inaugurated the function and released the commemorative

��

��

��


43

volume. Dr Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, and several other distinguished persons addressedthe various meetings held on this occasion.

The newly built extension to the girls’ hostel building at Narainpur was inaugurated on 27 November.A student of Purulia Vidyapith, who secured the third position in the Delhi-based International Mathematics

Olympiad Test, has received the prestigious ‘Bihar Gaurav Award’ from the Chief Minister of Bihar. Theaward comprises a citation and a sum of Rs. 50,000/-.

As part of the annual public celebrations of Ganeshotsav,held in September 2011, Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple,the well-known Ganesh temple in Pune, designed its pandalon the lines of Sri Ramakrishna temple at Belur Math. Themonks from the Pune centre of Ramakrishna Math took partin the inauguration ceremony.

The event, as always, attracted lakhs of devotees and visitorsfrom different part of Maharashtra and neighbhouring states.

Shown here is a view of the Pandal at night>>

Relief Work: A Brief Report as on 1 December 20111. Earthquake Relief: West Bengal: In the wake of the devastating earthquake on 18 September,

hundreds of people lost their lives while many suffered the loss of property in Sikkim, West Bengal andother surrounding states. Our Saradapitha centre distributed the following items among 122 affectedfamilies in 6 villages of Kurseong, Kalimpong, Debagram Fulbari and Siliguri areas in West Bengal from 22September to 11 October: 1470 kg rice, 294 kg dal (lentils), 162 kg sugar, 40 kg mustard oil, 1.5 kg milkpowder, 50 packets of biscuits and 720 one-litre water bottles.

2. Flood Relief: (a) West Bengal: Continuing its flood relief operations, our Sikra Kulingram centrefurther distributed 250 kg chira, 1450 saris, 200 dhotis, 1250 lungis, 1250 blankets, 125 kg bleachingpowder and 1100 kg lime among the victims in Charghat, Gobardanga and Saguna blocks of North 24-Parganas district.

Saradapitha centre distributed 1000 blankets to flood-affected people of Amta-ll and Bagnan blocks inHowrah district.

(b) Uttar Pradesh: Our Lucknow centre distributed clothing to 221 children in the flood-affected areasnear Ayodhya in the month of October.

3. Fire Relief: (a) West Bengal: Our Sarisha centre distributed 8 saris, 8 dhotis, 9 uttariyas, 5mosquito-nets, 19 towels, 8 mats, 8 blankets and 8 plastic sheets to 5 families whose houses had been guttedby fire in Chakmanik village of South 24-Parganas district.

Saradapitha centre handed over 30 sets of school benches, 5 sets of chairs & tables, 10 fans and 1computer to a school at Banipur in Howrah district which had been destroyed by fire.

(b) Odisha: Our Puri Mission centre served cooked food (rice and dalma) for 5 days and distributed thefollowing items to 11 families whose houses had been destroyed by fire in Old Sadar Thana Road andKacheri Road areas in Puri town: 11 blankets, 12 saris, 15 dhotis, 11 towels, 11 mosquito-nets, 15 sets ofgarments, 11 mats and 11 sets of utensils (each set containing 1 bucket, 1 degchi, 1 karai, 1 ladle, 2 plates, 2bowls, 2 spoons and 2 tumblers).

4. Distress Relief: The following centres distributed various items, shown in brackets, to needy people:Belgharia (1006 saris, 709 dhotis, 221 lungis, 805 shirts, 805 pants, 969 frocks, 158 sets of salwar &kamij, 20 woollen garments, 36 water bottles, 51 kg chira, 20 kg chhatu, 10 kg biscuits, 763 kg soap);Cooch Behar (371 saris, 37 dhotis and 4 lungis), Jalpaiguri (500 saris), Limbdi (food items to 704 poorfamilies).

5. Winter Relief: 311 blankets were distributed through the following centres to poor people: CoochBehar - 270, Khetri - 41.

��


For review in THE VEDANTA KESARI,publishers need to send us

two copies of their latest publication.

ADVAITA THE TRUTH OF

NON-DUALITY

Compiled by Andre vanden BrinkPublished by Epighaph, ADivision of Monkfish BookPublishing Company, Rhine-beck, New York. 2009, Paper-back, Pp.98. $12.50. Copiesavailable from Andre van denBrink, Laan 207, 2512 DS,The Hague, Netherlands,e-mail: [email protected]

‘The truth is completely unified knowledge.’ Thisis how this small but very interesting book begins.It is a collection of extracts from the notes taken bythe celebrated author Paul Brunton, while listeningto Sri Subramanya Iyer, an authority on AdvaitaVedanta in a bygone age. Though we fail to seerigorous logical coherence in the text, still it can bea useful introduction to the tenets of AdvaitaVedanta, especially for those who are not yetacquainted with classical works.

Sri Iyer studied Vedanta under SwamiSatchidananda Shivanubhava Narasimha Bharati,well-known pontiff of the Sringeri Math. In 1932,he commenced teaching of Vedantic ideas to a smallgroup of aspirants in Mysore at the request of SriKrishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the then Maharaja ofMysore. Here he would train scholars, in particularmany monks of the Ramakrishna Order into theintricacies of Vedanta philosophy. One of hisstudents was an Englishman, Paul Brunton, whotravelled all over India in search of spiritual truth.Brunton was attracted to the great erudition of SriV Subramanya Iyer and the present volume owesits origin to the notes taken by him.

The book is divided into 12 sections, eachdevoted to a particular theme of Advaita. The first

chapter deals with the essential characteristic ofphilosophy being an art as well as science in enqui-ring into truth. The second chapter deals with themeans and methods of inquiry into the truth, thetwo general features of such an enquiry in Vedantabeing generalization and verification. This enquiry de-mands correct and definite understanding of mean-ing of important words like Reality, Truth, Conscious-ness, Ego, and in tune with the Vedantic tradition.Advaita does not deny the existence of the world.It only asks of what substance can the world be?The answer lies in ‘Brahman’, the absolute essenceof all existence.

What prevents us from seeing the world asBrahman or Atman (Self)? Erroneous thinking,caused by illusion.

The last two sections of the book deal withAdvaita in practice and qualities of a Jnani, theknower of truth. It is not enough to grasp theintellectual truth of non-duality. We should be ableto correlate all our experiences to the consciousnessof Brahman or Atman and this requires strenuouspractice of Yoga, the discipline through which onehas to pass, in order to cleanse the mind. The personwho achieves success on this path is a man ofenlightenment, a Jnani. He knows that the reality ishimself, that the world which is seen is only anappearance. In him we will find absolute harmonybetween thought and action.

Though the book gives an exposition of someof the basic tenets of Advaita Vedanta, it is not freefrom some disputed views such as identifying mindwith the seer or the self (p.47) and the opinion thatsays, ‘deep sleep is simply having no ideas. . . It isgiven by nature to show how in Jnana the wholeuniverse goes back into you as an idea’ (p.61). Butsuch ambiguities do not take away the immensespiritual benefit one gets by studying this book._________________________________ SWAMI VIRESHANANDA,

EDITOR, VIVEKA PRABHA, MYSORE


45

DAILY INSPIRATION

By J.P.Vaswani

Published by Gita PublishingHouse,10, Sadhu VaswaniPath, Pune - 411 001. Paper-back, Pp.132, Rs.75/-

This attractively gotup pocket sized editionpresenting 365 noble thou-ghts of Dada Vaswani will

deflect minds from feelings ofdespair and reveal the inherent

strength of men and women, young and old,regardless of their religious beliefs.

Dada Vaswani reminds us that humanity hasconquered the external forces but not the ego. Oneshould have faith, give up fear and stop complain-ing. God grants ‘what we need, not what we want’.The guru has a very prominent role in shaping ourminds and therefore, finding the guru is the‘greatest discovery’.

These thoughts will eliminate negativeattitudes and promote understanding of thepurpose of life and, like the ‘Great Sayings’ of Rama-krishna, are worth reading, not once but manytimes.______________________________ P. S. SUNDARAM, CHENNAI

GEMS FROM THE OCEAN OF

DEVOTIONAL HINDU

THOUGHT

By V.Krishnamurthy

Published by ReadworthyPublications (P) Ltd. A-18Mohan Garden, Near Na-wada Metro Station, NewDelhi - 110 059. 2011,paperback, Pp.366, Rs.399.

Sri V. Krishna Murthyis a mathematician with an

impressive record of teaching andresearch in prestigious institutions in India andabroad. He has authored several books on Hindu-ism and this book under review is the second underthe series Traditional Hindu Thought. As may besurmised from the plan of this book the series is acommendable attempt to acquaint the general

reader with Hindu religious texts with copiousquotations from original texts.

The present volume consists of a wide rangeof selections from both Sanskrit and vernacular textssuch as Srimad Bhagavatam, Naryaneeyam,Ramayanas of Valmiki, Kambar, and Tulasidas,works of Tamil saint-poets of both the Vaishnavaand Shaiva schools and many others. Eruditethough he is, he does not overawe the reader withhis vast erudition; instead he takes the averagereader through the great expanse of Hindu religiouspoetry with the only desire to share with all thespiritual and aesthetic experience he had enjoyed.His style is conversational and there is nothing thatputs you off even when he handles an abstrusepassage like the Shruti Gita from the Bhagavatam.His method is to freely translate verses from theoriginal and comment upon it drawing parallelsfrom a wide range of Sanskrit and veranacular texts.

The first chapter is a comparative study ofSundara Kanda of the Ramayana in Valmiki,Kambar and Tulsidas. The second chapter coversselections from Srimad Bhagavata which apart fromhymns of Dhruva and Prahlada and the Rasalilachapters , includes Shruti Gita and Kapilopadesha.The third chapter contains selections from Naraya-neeyam, Soundarya Lahari and an assortment ofother hymns including the works of Nayanmarsand Alwars. The chapter begins with a shortdiscourse on Bhakti and prayer.

The fourth and concluding chapter titled theGuru begins with a section on devotion to the guruand followed by Dakshinamurthy Stotram in itsentirety and short sketches of great masters of theHindu tradition acquainting readers with theirdevotional works also.

The chapter also includes the whole of adiscourse on Shraddha by the late Sankaracharyaof Kanchi Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathytranslated from original Tamil.

The last but one section is on the author’slate father Sri R. Visvanatha Sastry who was alearned exponent of Advaita Vedanta as well asPuranas. He has left twenty-nine Sanskritmanuscripts ‘expounding the Advaita school ofthinking and its symbiosis with Bhakti’, as the sonaptly puts it. What is most impressive is the wayhe gave up his body like a true jnani as graphicallydescribed by the author quoting from the leaves ofhis diary.


46

The author is an adherent of the monisticschool of Vedanta, but he has no sectarian narrow-ness and the great exponents of the Bhakti schoolsalso receive reverential treatment in the book. Thebook is, as Sri Ramakrishna would put it, ‘friedcheese soaked in treacle’ and Sri Vi Krishnamurthyis no dry jnani._______________________ M. C. RAMANARAYANAN, KERALA

THE HIDDEN WISDOM OF THE

GODDESS

By Devadatta KaliPublished by Motilal Banarsi-dass Publishers Private Limi-ted, 41, UA Bungalow Road,Jawahar Nagar, Delhi - 110007. 2010, paperback, Pp.244+ ix, Rs. 295.

Suratha the demora-lized king who lost his king-

dom to his enemies and was betrayedby his trusted men, and Samadhi, the disillusionedmerchant who was disowned by his own kith andkin but who was still attached to them, meet SriMedhas the seer in a forest hermitage who impartsto them the higher knowledge emanating from theDivine Mother’s battles with the gruesome demons—Madhu Kaitabha, Mahishasura, ShumbhaNishumbha and other asuras. Medhas shows theking that though he had enormous power overother people, he had little power over himself.

The wise guru enlightens his royal disciplethat the Divine Mother ‘has become everything andabides in all things as consciousness and power’[p.95]. ‘In the embodied state we are separated fromour true fullness, our infinite being by the limitingpower of maya’ [p.95]. The king is made to under-stand that the Mother is the supreme deluder andthe supreme knowledge that dispels all delusions.‘She is the Saviour and the Remover of the bondage,in the words of Sri Ramakrishna.

The compassionate guru then turns to thewoebegone Samadhi and points out to him thatsince the Mother abides in all things in the form ofpower, he must use that power to overcome hisfeeling of smallness that makes him miserable.Medhas teaches him his divinity. He tells him thatknowledge of the Self endows him with greaterpower than all the earthly possessions.

The battles fought by the Devi are our owninternal conflicts which our infinite consciousness.In other words, Devi Herself fights against our innerdemons—our ego,our attachments, our pettiness.The story of the Devi Mahatmyam may be a mythbut myths do not say what happened but what are,as the Greek philosopher would say.

After a severe penance and meditationfor three years, Suratha prays to the Mother forthe restoration of his kingdom which is granted tohim. But Samadhi wants only liberation from‘samsara’ which the gracious Mother confers onhim.

This book is an imaginative reconstruction ofthe Devi Mahatmyam. Devadatta Kali [David Nelson]is an initiated disciple of Swami Prabhava-nanda’s spiritual grandson of Sri Ramakrishna’. Herightly calls the book ‘an extended meditation inthe form of a novel’. The reader cannot say wherethe narrative ends and philosophical speculationbegins. The book appeals to a sensitive reader as abeautiful work of art also. The story handles manyliterary devices like description, suggestion,anticipation, retrospection, characterization and soon. In the first chapter, Suratha’s internal distur-bance makes him oblivious of the external quietudewhile in the fifth chapter, he is full of peaceunmindful of the rumbling thunder which hints athis spiritual progress. The Kadamba tree whichwitnesses the despair of the afflicted returns in thefinal chapter as a witness to their transformation.Nature is the fourth character in the novel—eerie,stormy fascinating and serene, reflecting the humanmood.

The reader would not be able to say whetherhe likes the book for the enchanting manner inwhich the Mother’s lila is unfolded or for theeffortless ease with which the philosophical contentis discussed. The abstract of all the twenty chaptersand the glossary of the philosophical terms addvalue to the book. The front cover is adorned withthe Divine Mother’s picture.__________________________ K. PANCHAPAGESAN, CHENNAI

Mystery of Man and Universe

By Neduntheru S. Kannan

Published by Srinivasa Educational and SocialTrust. 2010, paperback, Pp.575, Rs.600.US$ 50


47

(Copies available from 30 (oldno.7), Third Main Road,Kottur Gardens, Chennai -600 085.)

Science and Religionhave always remained thetwo domains of human inte-rest. Are they mutually com-patible? The present workunder review, coming fromthe pen of a highly reputed

mathematician, Prof. Nedun-theru Kannan who is also a great

Vedantin, examines this issue in a very pragmatic,interesting and thought -provoking manner.

Simply stated, science discovers the principlesupon which the universe operates. It does notconstruct them. It cannot ignore them either.Nobody has the ability to legislate how the worldoperates, based on religious or political beliefs.

Spirituality to many is the essence of theformula, I am one with God or I am God. The problemthat divides and sends whole nations to despair isundoubtedly, the concept of God. Who is the Godthat is Supreme? Is He my God or your God? Is heVishnu or Siva or Allah or Christ? These kinds ofreligious debates and discussions are unfortunatelyunending. It is worth remembering in this context,that Swami Vivekananda propagated the conceptof Universal Religion declaring that all religionsare right, leading the ardent follower, to the samegoal.

Many people mistakenly suppose that onecannot be moral without religious foundations. Thisis a false supposition, for, ever since Renaissance,the secularization of morality and the realization ofnaturalistic values continue quite independently ofreligious commandments. This precisely defines theposition of the atheist. It will probably swerve manybelievers who have faith-based reasons to adhereto their own traditional faith.

Coming to facts, no aspect of human activityis now left out by scientists. But they agree thatthey know only 1/7th of the matter contained in theuniverse. The remaining 6/7th of the matter in theuniverse which is not fully understood is called bythe scientists, dark matter. They also believe that allthis matter makes up less than a third of the totaluniverse. In other words, 70% of the universe ismade up of dark energy, the incomprehensible

energy. We know for instance, that the Universestarted with a Big Bang but none can precisely saywhat caused this Big Bang. We know that BlackHoles exist in space but we do not know what theseholes are made of. There are truths which cannotbe comprehended by human knowledge. It is goodto have a scientific temper but science has its ownlimitations. Our enquiries of Truth, about theuniverse in which we are living, the place of manin it, his ultimate goal and the means of attaining itare the fundamental issues tackled in Vedanta.

The world within is vaster and more mys-terious than the world without. The author,endowed with profound knowledge of varioussciences and with the right kind of scientific temper,has established, in a very convincing manner thatbut for the Grace of God earned through the pathof absolute self-surrender, the life of man in thisworld is empty and meaningless. The great truthsarrived at by scientists take us only to one level ofunderstanding, but can never make us realize theultimate secret of Creation since it comes under therealm of the Vedanta. The declaration of theMundaka Upanishad Yamevaisha vrunute tenalabhyah (III.2.3) provides the correct answer. Theultimate truth cannot be comprehended by anyamount of intellectualization or ratiocination;without the Grace of God, none can successfullyprobe the mystery of life. The learned author, whois well-trained in the Srivaishnava tradition andwho has learnt the subtle secrets of the system atthe feet many saints and scholars of great repute,with a special and justified fascination for the post-Ramanuja polymath Sri Vedanta Desika, has donea commendable job in highlighting the mystery ofman and the universe in the present work. He hasalready endeared himself to the world of scholarsand laymen alike, through his interesting mono-graph, Divine Sovereignty and Our Freedom,

In the work under review, the text propercontains twelve chapters (p.258 to 450). Thepreliminary matter includes forewords from manysaints and scholars (p.6-66). The Prologue, averitable mine of information runs from p. 67 to p.257. The Epilogue (p.451-457) and the threeAppendixes which include a Glossary (p. 458-575)enhance the value of this book. This book is awelcome addition to the vast literature availableon Srivaishnava religion and philosophy._________________________ M. NARASIMHACHARY, CHENNAI


The Gita in RhymedEnglish Verse

By Sibaprasad Dutta.Published by Nanda Chow-dhuri, 395, RamakrishnaPalli, Sonarpur, Kolkata - 700150. 2008, Hardback, Pp.360+ ix, Rs.495, US$ 60, Sterel-ing pound 40.

The Bhagavadgita isperhaps the most popular of

the Vedic scriptural literature.Ever since it was taught by Sri Krishna

to Arjuna on the field of the Mahabharata war, ithas captured the imagination of millions of peoplearound the world. There is a large number oftranslations of this scripture available today in allIndian languages. It has been translated into manyforeign languages too, testifying to its popularity.

The first English translation of this book wasby Charles Wilkins, who was an officer under thesecond Governor General of the East India Com-pany, Warren Hastings, sometime towards the endof the eighteenth century. This was published inLondon, and soon traveled to Europe and USA.

Traditional commentaries by Adi Shankara,Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madhva on the Gita haveleaned more towards Self-Realization throughrenunciation. Some of the modern commentarieshave laid stress on Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga,to suit the temperament of modern man.

The first translation of the Gita in English ina verse form was the famous The Song of the Lordby Sir Edward Arnold. This translation, along withits companion volume The Light of Asia (based onthe life of the Buddha) gained instant popularityand was instrumental in attracting a large numberof English-speaking public to a deeper study of thetext.

The book under review is a similar attemptto present the translation of the original Sanskrit

text into English in a versified form. In the Prefaceitself, the author, Sibaprasad Dutta, justifies thisattempt in an interesting manner. It is the practiceto memorize the Sanskrit verses and to recite themin a musical way. This is possible because the versusare in a poetical form with a nice cadence. Such athing is not possible with a prose passage. Similarly,if the translation is also in the form of poetry itshould be possible to memorize it and also recite itmusically. This also helps the reader remember themessage of the Gita and aids him to put it in practiceeasily.

Each chapter commences with a prologuegiving a brief review of what the chapter is all about.This is followed by a systematic translation of eachverse. From the second chapter onwards, the authorexplains the message of the chapter not only in thecontext of the verses it contains, but also by quotingrelevant verses from other chapters. This is a greatservice he has rendered to those readers who areapproaching the Gita for the first time. Newcomersface the problem that the text of the Gita appearsto them to be disjointed, jumping from topic totopic in a way that appears random. Many of themeven develop an impression that many verses arelater interpolations. This attempt by the author oflinking each chapter with other chapters goes a longway in dispelling such wrong notions.

Another added feature of the book is the waythe original verses have been presented. For thecomfort of the reader, the conjunctions of wordshave been split, indicating the individual words.This helps those readers, who have a nodding ac-quaintance with Sanskrit, to recite the verses easily.

Needless to say, The Gita in Rhymed EnglishVerse is a valuable addition to the available literatureon the Gita. The language of the book is simpleand easy to follow. The author should be com-mended for this unique attempt. It is hoped thatstudents of the Gita, who are beginners, will makeuse of this book and greatly benefit by it.______________________________ NVC SWAMY, BANGALORE

48

Every soul is potentially Divine. Realize your own divinity, then you will realise thatall souls are Divine. A cloud obscures the sun. We say, ‘There is no sun.’ But the sunalways shines. So the cloud of ignorance makes us believe that we are weak humanbeings. But the sun of Atman is always shining. Remove the cloud of ignorance and theAtman will reveal itself in your heart. When you realize that, then you are a man.Otherwise you are not different from beasts. —Swami Turiyananda


5077. -do- Harur Muthu College, Harur, Dharmapuri Dist., T.N. - 636 9035078. -do- Mahendra Engineering College, Namakkal Dist., T.N. - 637 5035079. -do- Sri Sarada Niketan College, Karaikudi TK., T.N. - 630 3015080. -do- Seethalakshmi College, Pallathur, Sivagangai Dist., T.N. - 630 1075081. -do- Adhiyamman College, Hosur, Krishnagiri Dist., T.N. - 635 1255082. -do- Kirupananda Variyar College, Ariyanoor, Salem Dist., T.N. - 636 3085083. -do- P.G. Arts College, Periyampalli, Dharmapuri - 636 7015084. -do- Thiruvallur Arts College, Rasipuram, Namakkal Dist., T.N. - 637 4015085. -do- Chikkaiah Naicker College, Veerappan Chatram, Erode, T.N. - 638 0095086. -do- Maharaj Womens College, Erode Road, Perundurai, T.N. - 638 0525087. -do- The Karur Polytechnic College, Athur Post, Karur, T.N. - 639 0025088. -do- Govt. College, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 0015089. -do- Govt. Law College, Race Cource Road, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 0185090. -do- S.N.R. sons college, Avarampalayam, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 0165091. -do- Sree Aman Arts & Science College, Erode, T.N. - 638 0115092. -do- Karuppannan Mariappan College, Erode, T.N. - 638 1055093. -do- Govt Arts College, Thanthonimalai, Karur, T.N. - 639 0055094. -do- Karpagam Arts & Science College, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 0215095. -do- Govt Law College, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 0015096. -do- Shankara Science & Commerce College, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 0355097. -do- The Ayurveda College, Pathanjalipuri, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 1085098. -do- Lakshmi Narain Visalakshi College, Coimbatore,, T.N. - 641 2015099. -do L.R.G. Govt. Arts college, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 6045100. -do- Vidyasagar College , Coimbatore, T.N. - 642 1265101. -do- Sri Giridharan Raghavan, Maharastra - 421 5015102. -do- Sri K. Madhava Murthy, Andhra Pradesh - 500 0205103. -do- Rathanavel Subramanian College , Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 4025104. -do- Kovai Kalaimagal College, Coimbatore, T.N. - 641 1095105. -do- Sri Saraswathi Thiyagaraja College, Coimbatore, T.N. - 642 1075106. -do- Providence College, Coonoor, Nilgiris Dist, T.N. - 643 1045107. -do- S.G.B Model High School, Hyderabad, 500 0455108. -do- Sri Rathna Clinics, Hyderabad, A.P 500 0675109. -do- Sri Ramakrishna Seva Samithi, Adilabad, A.P 504 0015110. -do- Sri Asim Kumar Chakraborty, Paschim Midnapore. W.B 721 1025111. -do- Sri R.V.S.S. Prasad, Hyderabad, A.P 5000765112. -do- Sri Ramachandra Hridaya, A.P 524 00485113. -do- Sri Balaji Polytechnic College, Chennai, T.N - 600 0485114. -do- Chennai National College, Avadi. Chennai, T.N - 600 1195115. -do- Loganatha Narayanaswami Govt College, Ponneri, T.N - 601 2045116. -do- Sree Balaji College of Nursing, Chennai, T.N - 601 3025117. -do- Jaya College of Para Medical, Tiruvallur Dist, T.N - 602 0245118. -do- Dhanalakshmi college of Engg, Chennai, T.N - 600 0485119. -do- M.A Chidambaram College of Nursing, Chennai , T.N - 600 1135120. -do- Sridevi College, Ponneri, T.N - 601 2045121. -do- Bharani Swathi College, Medavakkam, Chennai, T.N - 601 3025122. -do- Jaya Engg College, Thiruninravur, T.N - 602 024

49

The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme Continued from page 4


To be continued . . .

5123. -do- Dharma Medical College , Kancheepuram, T.N - 602 1055124. -do- Rajalakshmi College, Kancheepuram, T.N - 602 1055125. -do- Adhiparasakthi College, Kancheepuram, T.N - 603 3195126. -do- Vignesh College, Tiruvannamalai, T.N - 606 6035127. -do- Raja Muthiah Dental College, Chidambaram, T.N - 608 0025128. -do- Ramaswamy Tamil College, Karaikudi, T.N - 623 0015129. -do- G.T.N Arts College, Dindigal, T.N - 624 0045130. -do- Dhanalakshmi College, Mahabalipuram, T.N - 603 1045131. -do- Arignar Anna College, Tiruvannamalai, T.N - 604 4075132. -do- K.P College of Pharmacy, Tiruvannamalai, T.N - 606 6015133. -do- Sri Sankara College, Trichy, T.N - 620 0095134. -do- Raja Dorai College, Sivagangai, T.N - 623 5605135. -do- Arulmigu Palani Andavar College, T.N - 624 6025136. -do- Madurai medical College, Maduari, T.N - 625 0015137. -do- K.L Narayanaswamy College, Madurai T.N - 625 0095138. -do- Theni Kammavar Sangam College, Theni Dist, T.N - 625 5345139. -do- Nadar Saraswathi College, Theni, T.N - 625 5315140. -do- Sankaralingam College, Thiruthangal, T.N - 626 1305141. -do- S.Chattantha Karayalar College, Thirunelveli,. T.N - 627 8045142. -do- E.M Gopala College, Madurai, T.N - 625 0145143. -do- SACS-M.A.V.M.M College, Madurai Dist, T.N - 625 3015144. -do- Homeopathic College, Maduari Dist, T.N - 625 7065145. -do- V.V Vanniaperumal College, Virudhunagar, T.N - 626 0015146. -do- Govt College of Engg, Tirunelveli, T.N - 627 0075147. -do- S.A Raja College of Pharmacy, Tirunelveli, T.N - 627 1165148. -do- Rajas Dental College, Tirunelveli District, T.N- 627 1185149. -do- Govt Polytechnic College, T.N- 628 0085150. -do- Sri Ramakrishna Yoga & Naturopathy College, Kanyakurari, T.N- 629 1615151. -do- Saraswathi Velu College, Walaja Tk, T.N- 631 1025152. -do- Pallavan Pharmacy College, Tiruvannamalai, T.N - 631 7025153. -do- G.G.R College of Engg, Vellore, T.N - 632 0095154. -do- Indian Engg College, Tirunelveli dist, T.N - 627 1165155. -do- A.T.S.V.S College, Kanyakurari, T.N- 629 1715156. -do- Meenakshi College, Sivaganga Dist, T.N- 630 6115157. -do- Sri Sankara College, Kanchipuram, T.N- 631 561

India’s Timeless Wisdom

_ÝXmo dX{V {dîUm` Yramo dX{V {dîUdo&C^`moü \$b§ Vwë § mdJ«mhr OZmX©Z…&&

A dullard says, ‘O Lord.’ A wise man says ‘O Lord’. Both getthe same result for God looks at one’s inner feelings (bhava)and responds.

—Traditional Saying


SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATHMYLAPORE, CHENNAI-600004

PHONE: (044) 24621110Email: [email protected] Website: www.chennaimath.org

Let Auspiciousness be Everywhere!

175TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONSOF SRI RAMAKRISHNA 2011-12

Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, (Chennai Math for short) is a spiritual centre ofdistinction, having been blessed by the visit of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, thedivine consort of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Ramakrishnananda, one of the eminentspiritual luminaries and a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, founded this Math.Several other distinguished direct disciples have hallowed the Math by their visits.

Chennai Math takes pride in celebrating the 175th Birth Anniversary of SriRamakrishna in the year 2011-12 through various programmes.

The celebrations will be culminating with spiritual and cultural programmesfrom 22nd to 26th February 2012 at the Chennai Math. The culmination of the 175th

Birth Anniversary celebrations of Sri Ramakrishna in February 2012 also coincideswith the completion of 12 years since the consecration of the Universal Temple atChennai Math.

The Universal Temple dedicated to Sri Ramakrishna and its surroundings needrenovation and the 175th Birth Anniversary celebration is the ideal occasion to carrythis out and re-dedicate it to Sri Ramakrishna in all its splendour and glory inFebruary 2012. The estimated cost of the renovation which includes painting, repairingand restoration is Rs.82.00 lacs.

We solicit your kind donation for carrying out the renovation work.Donations may be made by Cheque/DD in favour of ‘Sri Ramakrishna Math,

Chennai’ and sent to Sri Ramakrishna Math at the address given above. Donationsare eligible for tax exemption under Section 80(G) of the Indian Income Tax Act.

Donations can also be made online at the website by selecting the category ‘SriRamakrishna 175.’ For direct transfer to Bank, please contact us for IFSC/Swift codedetails by email. International donations are welcome.

May Sri Ramakrishna bless us all.

Swami GautamanandaAdhyaksha


Digitised Archives of Brahmavadin

Released on 18th December 2011

—the first magazine started under the inspiration of Swami Vivekananda

Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission pub-lish several journals in English and in many Indian andforeign languages. The first journal, however, published‘under the advice and with the encouragement of SwamiVivekananda’ was the Brahmavadin, which means ‘TheMessenger of Truth’.

Swamiji conceived the idea of bringing out a jour-nal when he was in America during 1893-1897, and hewrote to Alasinga Perumal, a close associate and ad-mirer of Swamiji in Madras. Brahmavadin made itsappearance in Madras on Saturday, 14 September 1895.Though it was not an official organ of the Ramakrishna

Mission, it played an important role in highlighting its earliest philanthropic activitiesand thus contributed to the furtherance of the ideals of the Ramakrishna Movement.

After the demise of Alasinga in 1909, its publication was irregular and the lastissue of Brahmavadin was brought out in 1914. Soon after, the Brahmavadin’s legacywas continued by a new journal, The Vedanta Kesari, started by the RamakrishnaMath, Chennai, and has been in circulation ever since.

The proposed CD will contain, for the first time, the entire collection of 19volumes (1895 to1914) of Brahmavadin in a digitised format, with search facilityindexed author-wise, title-wise, year-wise and by keywords, plus other features.

A treasured collection and a researcher’s delight!

Price: Rs.300/- per CDPacking and Posting charges: Rs.60/- (within India)

For order of 10 or more, packing and postage is free

(For overseas orders, shipping charges vary as per destination)

Draw your DD in favour of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai and send to:The Manager, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai – 600004

Website: www.chennaimath.org Email: [email protected]

Y O U C A N A L S O B O O K O N L I N E


Kala Babu Kunj is the ancestral house of Sri Balaram Basu, an ardent devotee of SriRamakrishna, in the holy land of Vrindaban. After the Mahasamadhi of Sri Ramakrishna,Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi visited Vrindaban in September, 1886 and stayed in this housefor almost a year. In later years the place was further sanctified by the second visit of HolyMother and all other direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna including Swami Vivekananda. In1907, Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama had its humble beginning in this same house.

With a view to develop this sacred place into a befitting memorial, we have acquired aportion of the house and renovation work is progressing apace. We are urgently in need ofRs. 1 Crore for the completion of the project.

We earnestly request all devotees and well wishers to donate generously for this sacredcause. Cheques/Drafts may please be drawn in the name of ‘Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama,Vrindaban’ and sent to the address below. All donations are exempt from Income Tax undersection 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

We hope to dedicate the memorial in a befitting function in September 2012 whichmarks the 125th Anniversary of Holy Mother’s visit to Vrindaban. Devotees are welcome tovisit the site and donate any artifact or photo related to Holy Mother or Vrindaban which can

be exhibited on apermanent basisat the site.

As is wellknown, Sevash-rama is running a165-bed Chari-table Hospital forthe service of‘Rogi Narayan’since last 104years.

We appeal to all kind hearted persons to donate generously for this noble cause.Donations to Infrastructure Development and Corpus Fund can avail 100% tax exemptionu/s 35 AC of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Donations can also be directly deposited into ourAXIS Bank account (A/c No.: 9100 1001 8246 169; IFSC: UTIB0000794).

RAMAKRISHNA MISSION SEVASHRAMASwami Vivekananda Marg, Vrindaban, Dist. Mathura, Uttar Pradesh – 281121

Phone : 0565-2442310, Fax : 0565-2443310 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.rkmsvrind.org

Yours in Sri Ramakrishna,Swami Suprakashananda

Secretary

Kala Babu KunjA Humble Appeal

Renovation of Kala Babu Kunj under progress


(1999) Globalization : Rs.60/-

(2002) How to Organise Life : Rs.45/-

(2004) Sri Ramakrishna in Todays Violent World : Rs.45/-

(2005) Channelling Youth Power : Rs.45/-

(2006) No One is a Stranger : Rs.45/-

(2007) Upanishads in Daily Life : Rs.70/-

(2008) Gita for Everyday Living : Rs.70/-

(2009) How to Shape the Personality : Rs.70/-

(2010) Facets of Freedom : Rs.60/-

Some of the recent Annual Issues ofThe Vedanta Kesari now available in book form:

Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004

Plus postage Rs.23/- for single copy. No request for VPP entertained


Appeal for RestorationRamakrishna Kutir (Ashrama) at Almora, Uttarakhand, was founded in

1916 by Swami Turiyananda and Swami Shivananda (two direct disciples ofSri Ramakrishna) at the behest of Swami Vivekananda. The Almora Ashramais a retreat centre where monks and devotees of Sri Ramakrishna come to livein its spiritual atmosphere and get peace of mind. The place is imbued with thespiritual vibrations of Swami Turiyananda’s holy and austere life. The Ashramaalso conducts welfare activities for the poor hill people and needy students.Last year we distributed 5000 woollen blankets to the victims of devastatingrain that hit Almora district.

Unprecedented rains and cloud burst in September 2010 in Almora resultedin tremendous landslide, gorges, cracks and land-sinking of the Ashramapremises. The changed land contour has damaged the temple and otherbuildings. Our engineers have suggested abandoning of an old building andrebuilding of other damaged ones.

Hence we appeal to all devotees and general public to extend their helpinghands to restore the Ashrama buildings. The restoration of land, at least,should be completed before the next rainy season in 2012. After that weshall have to start the construction of the damaged buildings. For this entirerestoration and reconstruction work, we need more than 2 Crore rupees.

Cheque/Draft may please be drawn in favour of ‘Ramakrishna Kutir, Almora’and sent to: Ramakrishna Kutir, Bright End Corner, Almora, Pin - 263 601(Uttarakhand). The name of the donors of 2 Lakh rupees and above will bedisplayed in prominent place, if he or she wishes.

All donations to Ramakrishna Math are exempt from the Income Tax U/S.80G of the I.T. Act.

RAMAKRISHNA KUTIRBright End Corner, Almora—263 601, Uttarakhand

Phone: 05962-254417, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Swami SomadevanandaAdhyaksha

T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i 55 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2


Ramakrishna Mission AshramaMalda - 732101, West Bengal

Phone: 03512-252479

Date: 12.09.2011

Appeal for the Construction of a Charitable Dispensary

Dear Sir/Madam,

Established 87 years ago, the Malda Ashrama of the Ramakrishna Mission is abranch of Belur Math, working for the poor and needy people in this small town ofNorth Bengal.

We serve the illiterate, ailing people, flood-draught affected people irrespectiveof caste, creed and religion as per the ideas and ideals of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda.We run an allopath and a homoeopath dispensary for poor slum dwellers and wehave a mobile medical service for rural people. We provide free medical care toabout 30,000 people.

The Ashrama runs a high school (H.S+2), a kindergarten and a primary schoolin the Malda Town. Two rural primary schools are being run for tribal children whoare first generation learners. Besides, we are also running six free coaching centresin remote village areas. We regularly distribute school uniform, dhoti, saree, blan-kets, food-packets, etc., to needy village people.

We propose to construct a Dispensary Building to accommodate departmentsof Homoeopathy, Allopathy Medicine, Eye, ENT, Dental, Paediatric, Gynecology,Pathological Tests, etc. The cost of construction for the proposed building is aroundRs. 60 lakhs.

We request you to lend a helping hand to make this humble project a success.

For donations of Rs. one lakh and more, the donor’s name will be displayed ina suitable place in the ground floor on marble plaque.

All donations for this noble cause are exempted from Income Tax u/s 80G ofIncome Tax Act. 1961. A/c. payee Cheque / Draft may be drawn in favour ofRamakrishna Mission Ashrama, Malda.

With namaskar, Yours sincerely,Swami Parasharananda

Secretary


Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Muzaffarpur Swami Vivekananda Path, Bela, Muzaffarpur – 843 116, Bihar

Phone: 0621-2272127, 2272963 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.rkmmuzaffarpur.org

On the occasion of 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

Very humbly requests you to contribute towards

Eye, ENT, Dental Hospital cum Diagnostic Centre

For a place where health infrastructure is very poor and people are really deserving.Our Present Infrastructure : Oldest Eye Infirmary (30 Bedded) in North Bihar established in

1947, General dispensary, Dental, Homeopathy, X-Ray, Pathologyetc.—all in a dilapidated condition.

Our Vision: To develop a Speciality treatment in Eye, ENT and Dental,VariousOPD Sections, Well equipped Clinical Lab., R & D Section, ModernDiagnostic, Paramedical Training and Doctors & Staff Quarters

The cost of First Phase: Construction of Hospital Building—Rs.1.70 CroreEquipment, Maintenance, etc., Rs.80 Lakh,Permanent Fund Rs. 1 Crore

Work in Progress: Foundation stone laid on 1st January, 2011 (Kalpataru Divas)Foundation work completed on June 30, 2011Plinth level work started. But we are in dearth of funds.

Swami BhavatmanandaSecretary

All contribution made to our Ashrama are exempted from Income Tax u/s 80G of IT Act 1961.Any contribution can be made by Cheque/Draft in favour of

‘Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Muzaffarpur.’

Front Elevation of proposed centreWe appeal to our devotees, friends, well-wishers and donors to contribute for this noble

work. It will be truly a palpable homage to Swami Vivekananda whose heart bled for poorhumanity.

With Prayers to the Holy Trio for you and yours,

Tie Beam, ColumnsFoundation Work


Sri Ramakrishna KarnamritamA Poetical Hymn on Sri Ramakrishnain Sanskrit, By Ottur Bala BhattaTranslated by Swami Tapasyanandapages. xvii + 134, Rs. 32/-Plus postage Rs.23 for a single copy.

Worship of Sri RamakrishnaBy Swami Hitananda, Translated bySwami Atmapriyanandapages. viii + 238, Rs. 45/-Plus postage Rs.23 for a single copy.

Stories of the Devotees of Lord Shiva(Illustrated)pages. 80, Rs. 90/-Plus postage Rs.25 for a single copy.

The Sixty-three Nayanmars—AnIntroduction (Illustrated)pages. iv + 50, Rs. 50/-Plus postage Rs.23 for a single copy.

Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004No request for VPP entertained

For Chanting Only Sanskrit original,in Devanagari script, large font-size

Srimad Bhagavad Gita—Moolampages. iv + 108, Rs. 25/-Plus postage Rs.22 for a single copy.

Sri Devi Mahatmyam—Parayanampages. iv + 148, Rs. 50/-Plus postage Rs.23 for a single copy.


Swami Adbhutananda was a disciple of Sri Rama-krishna. Although he never underwent any formal educationand did not know how to read and write, he was held inhigh respect for his spiritual achievements, pure life,simplicity and insights into spiritual life. This book, a tran-slation from the original Bengali, is a charming account ofSwami Adbhutananda’s association with Sri Ramakrishna,Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda andother disciples, as also provides intimate glimpses of hisaustere life, devotion to God, dispassion towards the worldand intense spiritual practices. The original book waswritten by Chandrashekhar Chattopadhyay and the trans-lation is by Swami Satswarupananda.

A treasure-trove of spiritual insights!

Swami Adbhutananda As We Saw Him

New Release

HardbackPages 464 + xvi

Price: Rs. 175/-+ Postage:Rs.25/- per copy

No request forVPP entertained

Published bySri Ramakrishna Math,Mylapore,Chennai - 600 004Email:[email protected]


Naturopathy and Yoga Treatment-cum-Awareness Camp

Sri Ramakrishna Sharadashrama, Ponnampet, Coorg District, Karnataka-571276,is organizing a seven-day Naturopathy and Yoga treatment-cum-awareness Camp (residential)at the small hospital situated in its premises. The camp will be held from 11.1.2012 to 17.1.2012.

In the camp the following facilities/treatments will be available: Naturopathic consultation,Hydrotherapy, Physiotherapy, Yoga Therapy, Massage Therapy, Acupuncture, Diet Therapy,Mud Therapy, Lecture/Counselling sessions and Guided Meditation.

Treatment will be offered for the following ailments: Arthritis, Low back-ache, CervicalSpondylosis, Migraine, Insomnia, Stress and tension, High BP, Diabetes, Overweight, Asthma,Constipation, Allergic Rhinitis, Sinusitis, IBS and Paralysis.

Interested persons can enrol in the camp. By sending registration fee Rs. 500/-, by cashor Demand Draft (drawn in favour of Sri Ramakrishna Sevashama Hospital, Ponnampet).

Dates of Future Camps:February: 25, 26, 27 and 28; March: 16, 17, 18, and 19; April: 27, 28, 29 and 30

For more details, contact:Office: 08274-249555, 249040. Dr. Hithesh: 09845395293

SRI RAMAKRISHNA ADVAITA ASHRAMA (HQS: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Belur Math)

P.O. Kalady, Ernakulam - 683574, KeralaPhone:0484-2462345, Cell:9447051231 E-mail:[email protected]

An AppealThe Ashrama has been running a free hostel for the poor, underprivileged and

orphan children from classes V to X since 1936. They are provided with food,uniform, accommodation and education up to Xth Std. absolutely free of cost. Theyare admitted in the school managed by the Ashrama within its campus.

There is an urgent need for repair and renovation of the old hostel buildings andfor creating a ‘Hostel Corpus Fund’ of Rs. 2 Crores for maintaining the hostel with100 boys smoothly in the years to come.

We appeal to the generous public and well wishers to donate liberally for thismost essential educational project.

Donations towards the activities of the Ashrama are exempt from Income Taxunder 80G. Cheques or Bank Drafts may be drawn in favour of ‘Sri RamakrishnaAdvaita Ashrama, Kalady’ and sent to the above address. Donations also can besent directly through RTGS/NEFT to our A/c No. 338602010009164 at Union Bank ofIndia, Kalady (IFSC Code: UBIN0533866). Swami Amaleshananda

Adhyaksha


PROTECH CONSULTPROTECH CONSULTPROTECH CONSULTPROTECH CONSULTPROTECH CONSULTANTS PVTANTS PVTANTS PVTANTS PVTANTS PVT.LTD..LTD..LTD..LTD..LTD. We carry out feasibility studies, preparation of project reports, identification of

projects, and sourcing of technology. We Also Carry Out Basic & Detail Engineering, Procurement And Project

Management Services. Membrane cell chloralkali (caustic soda),solar salt, pure free flowing salt, bromine

recovery, bromine chemicals, chlorinated solvents and other chemicals, offer processtechnology and engineering for the production of chlorine dioxide in association with ErcoWorldwide, Canada. This process being elemental chlorine free being now preferred inpulp bleaching, engineering service for bulk drugs and speciality chemical plants.

We Take Up Design Of Chemical Plant Vessels, Heat Exchangers And OtherEquipment.

Post Box No.1476,Old No. 77/1, New No. 173, TTK Road, Alwarpet, Chennai-600 018.

Tel.:91-44-24990416, 24993082, Fax:91-44-24992167E-mail: [email protected] ; [email protected]

Website: http://www.protechchennai.com

Here is a publication meant to help the modernstudents to become better students and live mean-ingfully. It is a topical selection of Gita verses keepinga student in mind. It is a ready-reference to know whatGita says about control of mind, overcoming anger,concentration of mind, healthy interpersonal relation-ships, true happiness and so on.

The booklet has 12 chapters with each chaptercontaining only 4 verses, with translation and transli-teration. Swami Vivekananda’s quotes have beenappropriately added at the end of each verse.

A students' guidebook to self-improvement!

Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math,Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004

Bhagavad Gita for StudentsNEW RELEASE

Price: Rs. 20/- + Postage: Rs. 20/- for single copy. No request for VPP entertained

Pages xiv + 69


NAVAJEEVAN BLIND RELIEF CENTRE

‘We can attain salvation through social work’– Swami Vivekananda

K. Sridhar AcharyaFounder/ President

1. Navajeevan School & Hostel for Blind Children – Tirupati & Orissa

2. Navajeevan Free Eye Hospital – Tirupati

3. Navajeevan Free Home for Aged – Tirupati, Rishikesh & Chennai

4. Navajeevan Harijan Sewa Ashram – Kothapeta

5. Navajeevan Sharanagati Vridhashram – Tirupati

6. Navajeevan Orphanage – Parlaki Mudi [Orissa]

7. Navajeevan Rural Medical Centres - Berhampur [Orissa]

8. Navajeevan Eye Care Centres - Serango [Orissa]

9. Navajeevan Orphan Homes - Visakha & Saluru

A Humble Request for Donation

1. Sponsor one day Annadan to Blind Children and aged – Rs. 5000/-

2. Sponsor 5 IOL Cataract Eye Operations – Rs. 7000/-

3. Sponsor one blind child or Orphan child for one year – Rs. 6000/-

4. Sponsor one poor aged person for one year – Rs. 5000/-

5. Sponsor one free eye camp at Rural/Tribal area – Rs. 50000/-

6. Vidyadan—Educational aid for one Child – Rs. 2000/-

(FREE HOME FOR THE BLIND, ORPHAN AND AGED)TIRUCHANOOR, TIRUPATI - 517503. Ph : 0877-2239992, 9908537528 [Mob.]

E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.navajeevan.org

An Appeal33 Years of Service to Humanity 1979 - 2010

Donor devotees can send their contributions by cheque/DD/MO to the above address onthe occasion of birthday, wedding day or any other special occasion and receive prasadam of LordBalaji Venkateswara of Tirupati as blessings.

Contributions to NAVAJEEVAN BLIND RELIEF CENTRE, Tirupati are eligible for TaxRelief U/S 80G of Income Tax Act.

Vol.99-01 The Vedanta Kesari (English Monthly) January 2012. Regd. with theRegistrar of Newspapers for India under No.1084 / 57. POSTAL REGD. NO.

TN / CH (C) / 190 / 12-14. LICENCED TO POST WPP NO. 259 / 12-14Date of Publication: 26th of every month

LAVINO-KAPUR COTTONS PRIVATE LIMITEDLAVINO-KAPUR COTTONS PRIVATE LIMITEDLAVINO-KAPUR COTTONS PRIVATE LIMITEDLAVINO-KAPUR COTTONS PRIVATE LIMITEDLAVINO-KAPUR COTTONS PRIVATE LIMITED100% 100% 100% 100% 100% EEEEExport Oriented Unit xport Oriented Unit xport Oriented Unit xport Oriented Unit xport Oriented Unit ***** Registered Export Registered Export Registered Export Registered Export Registered Export HHHHHouseouseouseouseouse

ApprovedApprovedApprovedApprovedApprovedBVQI/UKAS - ISO 9001:2000BVQI/UKAS - ISO 9001:2000BVQI/UKAS - ISO 9001:2000BVQI/UKAS - ISO 9001:2000BVQI/UKAS - ISO 9001:2000

SGS, UK - Higher Retail SupplierSGS, UK - Higher Retail SupplierSGS, UK - Higher Retail SupplierSGS, UK - Higher Retail SupplierSGS, UK - Higher Retail Supplier

(Manufacturers of Absorbent Cotton & Health Care Products)

REGD. OFFICE:

121-122, Mittal Chambers, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021Tel: 91 22 6632 5141 (11 Lines)

Fax: 91 22 6632 4979 / 6632 4421 / 2282 0577E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.absorbent-cotton.com

TARAPUR PLANT:

H-1, MIDC, Tarapur Industrial AreaTaps Post, Boisar - 401 504

District - Thane.Tel: 02525-2722 90/91/92

Teach yourselves, teach everyone his/her real nature, call upon thesleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory willcome, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything thatis excellent will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.

—Swami Vivekananda

Subscription (inclusive of postage) Annual : ` 100 10 years: ` 1000 Contact: Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. Website: www.chennaimath.org

The Vedanta Kesari January 2012

Documents

Transcript of The Vedanta Kesari January 2012