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Entering the 23rd Year of Publication
MonthlyeM
agazineoftheI
nternationalVedantaMission
NewForm
at
Year - 23 Issue 1
July 2016
Tattva Bodha
Gita Reflections
We Must
Wandering in Himalayas
Pauranic Stories
Guru Para mpara Pics
Incredible India Pics
Mission / Ashram News
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Earlier Issues
http://issuu.com/vmission/docs/vedantasandesh_june2016http://issuu.com/vmission/docs/vedantasandesh_may2016/1https://issuu.com/vmission/docs/vedantasandesh_april20167/25/2019 Vedanta Sandesh - Jul 2016
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1. Shloka 5
2. Message of P. Guruji 7
3. Tattva Bodha 9-11
4. Letter 13
5. Gita Reflections 17-19
6. We Must 21-237. Jivanmukta 25-27
8. Incredible India Pics 28-29
9. Story Section 30-3110. Ashram News 33
11. Mission News 34-37
12. Forthcoming Progs 38-39
13. Links 40
Vedanta Sandesh - July 2016
3
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Published byInternational Vedanta Mission
Vedanta Ashram, E/2948, Sudama Nagar,
Indore-452009 (M.P.) India
http://www.vmission.org.in / [email protected]
Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission
July 2016 : Year 22 / Issue 1
Editor:
Swamini
Samatananda
Saraswati
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lqrsf/krscgq/kk Hkorks
Hkfork len'kZuykylrkA
vfrnhufeeaifjiky; eka
Hko 'kadj nsf'kd es'kj.ke~AA
OSankara!Irealizethat eventhedesiretohaveyourdar-
shanisaneffectofsomanypunyakarmas.Realizingmypro-
foundignorance&incapacities, Iamhumbled,andIjust pray
toyoutohelpmeout.OSankara,youalonearemyresort.
Totakashtakam- 5
5
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Message
from
Poojya Guruji
Vande Guru Parampaparam
Guru is one who -
lovingly brings the light of knowledge in our lives descends down to the level of student
is passionate about making everyone enlightened
effaces ignorance & delusion and thus reveals the truth
doesnt impose, but facilitates direct realization
has just one prayer: Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
is the best & highest blessing of God
is verily a manifestation of God appears to be an individual, but is not
is basically innite, manifested as nite
Guru is one without whom no knowledge is possible.
My Blessings & Best Wishes to all my disciples, devotees &
friends on the pious & auspicious occasion of Guru Poornima.
Love & om
7
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Anew section of the FiveKosas was introduced in the last edi-
tion. We will now take up this subject
and try and understand each kosa in
some details. The five kosas beingthe Annamaya, the Pranamaya, the
Manomaya, the Vigyanamaya & the
Anandamaya Kosas. In this section
we will try and understand the An-namaya Kosa.T
ATT
VA
BO
DH
A
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ve;% d%\
vjlsuSo HkwRok vjlsuSo o`f)a izkI;
v:ii`fFkO;ka ;f}yh;rs rne;% dks'k%
LFkwy'kjhje~A
9
What is the Annamaya Kosha?
Annamaya Kosha is our Gross Body, that
which is borne out of the Rasa of Anna
(the essence of food), by this Anna-Rasa
alone it grows, and finally it goes back into
the Earth - the source of all Anna.
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The Annamaya Kosha is the r
layer of our personalitys ve koshas. It
is also known as the gross body. Being
gross it is composed of the ve elements
which have undergone the process of
grossication. This layer of our person-
ality is made up of Anna Rasa, and itgrows because of this Anna Rasa, and in
the end it goes back into this Anna Rasa
alone. Anna Rasa means that essence
of our food which the body retains & as-
similates. It is living and has the capacity
to reproduce.
Blessings of a human body:
In the entire cosmos there are count-
less living beings but the physical body of a
human being is the mo unique and highly
privileged. When we are blessed with the
human body then alone we can bring about
self awareness. A human body alone has
the freedom to act, to not act or to act ina dierent manner. It is therefore said that
a human body is acquired with great pun-
ya karmas. Not only does the human body
have the privilege of freedom in action
but only a human being has the privilege
to bring about self awareness. A human
being can dive deep into knowledge and
discover the reality of the Self as a con-
scious, ever exient and self contented
being. The human body by itself is never a
medium of sorrow but it is the wrong iden-
tication of the self with the physical body
that eablishes a wrong relationship and
wrong expectations out of it, thus making
it a house of pain and sorrow. Having the
right perceptions of the physical self and
thus eablishing the right relationship
makes it a house of great blessing.
Modifcations in The Annamaya:
The physical body goes through
various changes which are described as
shad vikar-the six modications of the
gross body. Coming into exience in the
mothers womb, taking birth, growth, un-
dergoing changes, decaying and death.These are the six modications inevitable
in any birth. It is important to lay empha-
sis on this aspect of the annamaya as
this reveals to us the objectivity and ever
changing nature of the physical body.
Erroneous presumptions:
The Annamaya Kosha being gross
and hence the mo visible it is mo easy
to identify with as the Self. This is the
house of all our experiences, imuli and
responses thus making it a very impor-
tant layer of our personality. It requires
great value and care but unfortunately
one comes to identify with it as the Selfthe I. Identifying with the physical body
as I is seeing the Self as limited and con-
sequently agging o a life of wrong rela-
tionships, wrong expectations and contin-
uous seeking. Fir of all identifying with
the physical body as the I prints an Iden-
tity card, wherein we are connected to the
body. I am thin, I am fat, I am a man or a
woman, I am healthy I am ill, and above
all I am born and I will die. This is identi-
cation with the Annamaya kosa. By itself
our physical body is annamaya that is it is
made up of the food we eat which is not
a problem at all, but this annamaya body
becomes a kosa when the identicationwith it is so rong that it veils our pow-
er of discrimination to look beyound it, as
our Self. Thus making the body a kosa.
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\
lnkf'ko lekjEHkka 'kadjkpk;Ze/;eke~A vLenkpk;Zi;ZUrka oUnsxq#ijEijke~AA
The great teaching
tradition of Vedanta which
was star ted by Lord Shiva
himself; in whose middlewere great luminaries like
Sri Adi Sankaracharya;
and which continues
unhindered right till my
reverential Gurudev, tothat entire Guru Parapara
my reverential salutations.
\ rRlr~
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Hari om!
The truth is indeed beyond words, but the beauty of our
scriptures & also the teaching sampradaya is all about the
dexterous usage of words alone. We call such a capacity as
Shrotriyatvam - the art & science of using words to reveal
that which is technically beyond words. All our pramana
granthas and also the commentaries on them - ancient or
even modern, are all a living example of this - that is why
they are so enlightening, inspiring & effective - and thusso valuable to us.
You can see this even in verbal talks of various teachers -
some talks are so enlightening & captivating while others
are a drag.
There are various factors which makes a person a Shrotri-
ya. Great command on language, motivation of dharma, rath-er than personal likes, having great clarity about that
which you wish to communicate - both with head & heart,
being compassionately conscious of the state of mind of
the adhikari for whom the work is being written, and fi-
nally using the discipline of Shad-Lingas while writing
something. When a work is written or taught while keeping
these factors in mind then it shall become highly effec-tive, captivating & beneficial, otherwise it will lack the
necessary punch.
Think.
Love & om
Mail from Poojya Guruji
Shrotriyatvam
13
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In
spiring
SOCIALMEDIA
Posti
ngs
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Inspirin
g
SOCIAL
MEDI
APostin
gs
15
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fde~ rn~cz fde/;kRea
fde deZ iq#"kksRreA
vf/kHkwra p fda izksDre~vf/knSoa fdeqP;rs AA
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What is that Brahman?
(fde~rn~cz)
Arjuna said: O Krishna, What isthat Brahman? What is Self-Knowl-edge? What is Karma? What is the truthof this manifest world? And please also
tell me about Devatas?
Swamini Samatananda
17
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Gita Reflections
the light that illumines everything. "At the
command of the imperishable-O Gargi! the
heaven and earth are held in their proper
places." Brihadaranyak Upanishad.
Akshar Brahman is the subratum of all
manifeations and change. Anything that
manifes in the frame of time goes through
the six-fold modications. It goes through
a wave like pattern of birth, growth, changeand death. Brahman is aksharam-it does
not go through any modications. In the
dream ate a multifaceted world is created
where I see my self going through various
experiences and modications yet when
I wake up I am untouched by the various
happenings in the dream ate. I am the
one who illumines and gives exience to
the entire creation in the dream ate. The
dream ate and its various experiences
come and go but the 'I' the subratum of
the dream sequence does not decline at
any time. I am the imperishable Brahman.
Paramam Brahma:
Paramam is that which transcends
the limitations of time, space and objects.
All forms, living or non living are born at a
particular time, can be available only at a
The seventh chapter concluded
with Lord Krishna speaking of a wise
man at the time of his death. He also
introduced some new words which
invoked a number of queions in Arjuna's
mind. The 8th chapter thus goes on to
begin with Arjuna's queions which are
the subject matter of this chapter. Arjuna
goes on to ask a series of queions likeWhat is Brahman? What is centred on the
Self? What is karma? This was ulimately
followed by a queion about how a eady
minded person knows Paramatma at the
time of death. This goes on to become a
subject of elaborate discussion in the 8th
chapter. As we look into the 8th chapter
we will take up these various queions
one by one.
The r queion asked by Arjuna
is 'Kim tad Brahma'- What is Brahman?
Sri Krishna says Aksharam Brahma
paramam. Imperishable is the Supreme
Brahman. That which does not perish
or decline. Brahman is the changeless
and imperishable essence that pervades
the entire creation. It is the life principle
through which everything manifes and
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Gita Reflections
Paramatma is to know the Self as free
of these three limitations of time, space
and objects. Seeing this limitless nature
alone is the nature of liberation. Bondage
is nothing but limiting one's self in the
realms of time and space. This erroneous
presumption brings about identication
with the body, mind and intellect. This
innocent presumption happens to be themo tragic development which binds us
with various changing and impermanent
identities and consequently bringing
about seeking, attachments, fear,
insecurities and the like. Hence the only
goal that is worth aiming for as a human
being is discovering the limitless nature
particular space and are charecterised by
diinguished features making it limited at
the level of attributes and utility. A glass
has been manufactured at a point of time
and will break some day and the very
utility of the object can also be dened.
So also the human body appears at one
point of time and then dies o. Thus goes
on the cycle of birth and death. This goeson untill we discover through knowledge
our limitless nature.
Nothing ands sepeate from
Brahman. Even the objective world that
appears to be seperate from the Brahman
is ju as seperate from the world as is
the illusory snake from the rope. To know
The knowledge of Bhagwad Gita is amazing. It helpsto bring about the equanimity and meditative quieti-tude experienced in a serene & quiet Meadow to ones
Karma-kshetra - the so called Marketplace. Such peo-ple are very hard-working, creative, yet always at peace,very thoughtful & contemplative. Week-ends are need-ed by weak ones who first get disturbed and then need abreak. - Swami Atmananda
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- 2 -
We MustL e t o u r W o r k
Speak for Itself
P.P.GurudevSwami
Chinmayanandaji
21
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We Must
We have no choice; work we all mu. That liberty to work or not to work does
not belong to man. Our luxurious freedom is in choosing to work rightly in the spirit
of love, dedication sacrice and joy. And with no anxiety, no fear, no excite ment for
the results. These are already His, as much as our own actions are even now His
alone. Diligently, consiently shall we work and undertake daringly even upendous
programmes. Whenever a piece of work comes our way, we shall accept it as from
Him, and do it for Narayan, oering its results, be it success or failure, entirely unto the
Great Parameshwar.
Let our work Speak for itself. No covering it with an excuse! Excuses are ju the
expressions of our weakness in the eld of action. Revelling in our tiredness!; joyous in
our exhauion!; blissful with our fatigue!; we shall ill work on inspiredly in our endless
love for Him who is thrilling us into performance from within. He tickles, and our giggles
per colate in suocating laughter through our daily actions.
Let our work Stand by itself. We shall have no ears! Lei the world eimate oursuccess, criticise our failures, laugh al our hopes, smile at our visions we shall work on
for Him, in Him, with Him, as He commands us. We will always dc lovingly our be. We
have no explanations to give, no report to draft, nc atements to make. We are what
we are. In fact explanation* seldom, if at all, explain; they simply burden our day-to-da)
activities. Act on, we shall. Work dedicatedly, we mu. While thus working we mu
cultivate in ourselves a special brand of independence-spirit which shall suain us,
both in the busy market-place and in the meditation-seat. In the mid of the contending
crowd or in the peaceful solitude, this daring spirit of freedom and fearlessness alone
should spring forth from our consciousness that we are upright and pure, diligent and
clean both in our thoughts and actions.
Together, in this knowledge, we shall merge into a team of workers, ever riving
to gather and develop a noble, chae, and high character based upon divine thoughts
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We Must
and polished conduct. In all these the te lies in ourselves. Let us live in a sense of
Greatness; we are the children of the inimitable Rishis.
Shun doing in secret what we would not do openly. Let us come to merit our
own respect and reverence; natur ally, such people will be respected and revered by
all others. Deep in the depths of all of us there is a secret longing, a silent impulse,
a soaring ambition to do something beautifully great, spectacularly noble, and surely
enduring. This is a divine summons from the deeper Presence in us, to take o from
the decaying levels of mediocrity into Voiceless Heights of spontaneity and perfection.
We mu hark to these indispu table intimations divine, too sacred to ignore; too cruel,
if we should reject. These are the calls of the 'Panchajanya' commanding us to marshal
all our faculties and powers and march out to con quer. When so enlarged in our
outlook on life and in our vision of God, we learn to obey its biddings there then comes
that experience - that miraculous unfoldment in our selves.
Thereafter, we are no more satised with our common-place living and its routine
activities, but mu then demand from ourselves nobler exertions, greater achieve
ments. We shall thir for some sublime endeavor as our sights soar igher, gazing into
possibilities of a greater and a loftier purpose in life. It is then we glide into the richness
of the treasures that are already within us. We mu bring out these wonderful powers
that are placed now in our keeping and pour them forth for the benet of the world
around. Not only the Lord has given us each an explosive magazine of power, but also
in us are the faculties to wield it rightly. In fact, if we are Ready, we can accomplish, this
moment great things. We mu. If we are Willing, we can perform ill greater actions.
We mu. If we are Available, the greate achievements are possible. We mu. Let us
be Ready, Willing and Available. We Mu.
Let us accomplish the Great Things, perform the Greater Actions . . . and make
possible the Greate Achievements. We Mu.
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fu%lax fueqZfDr inaizi|
czkRekosu fojkftrks;%
Jh lkSE;dk'kh'k egs'ojk; rLeSue% Lokfe riksouk;AA
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Wandering
InHimalayas
The
Temple of
Sharada
Excerpts from
the
Travel Memoirs ofParam Poojya Swami Tapovanji Maharaj
46
25
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Jivanmukta
The Ancient Sharda TempleOnce a seat of Learning, now in ruins in
Pak Occupied Kashmir
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Jivanmukta
In the heart of Kashmir is a beautiful valley, 84 miles long, 25 miles broad, and
5,300 feet above sea level. It lies within the Himalayan ranges and extends eawards
from the weern extremities of the Himalayas. Few countries in the world can rival
Kashmir in natural beauty. According to the Puranas, Maharshi Kashyap performed
his penance here. With lakes and rivers and mountains, it was once almo inacces-
sible. But gradually it developed into a popular ate, full of densely inhabited villages
and rich elds. Poets described the land as a heaven on earth; poets of today speak
of it as the Switzerland of India.
Through the centre of the wide plain sorrounded by snow-clad mountains ows
the Jhelum, known in the Puranas as Vitaa. Srinagar the capital of Kashmir, is sit-
uated on her bank, in the very centre of the plain. The city and the sorroundings are
famous for the ravishing beauty of the lakes where the red lotus and other lovely
owers bloom, and the gardens where rare types of trees and owers grow in plenty.
In ancient times Srinagar was almo inaacessible, but now on account of conant
vehicular trac, communication has become easy . the city is 196 miles from rawal-
pindi and 206 miles from Jambu (Jammu). Jambu is the capital of a small ate ruled
by the Mahrajas of Kashmir.
It is said that the place derived its name from Jambavan, who performed his
penance here. What seperates kashmir from India is the Himalayan range called Pir
Panchal. In summer, hundreds of sadhus from India make their way to Kashmir. In
fact, no part of India, diant or near, is inaccessible to sadhus. While the wealthy
travel to Kashmir for pleasure, sadhus go there on pilgrimages. In April-May 1927, I
too travelled to Kashmir, to visit the Holy places and spend some there in penance.
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Incredi
Naturescapes of India
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Naturescapes of India29
le India
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Birth ofSri Veda Vyasa
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31
Veda Vyasa was born to Sage Parashara and Kali, the sherwoman. Kali is
also known as Satyavati, who later married King Shantanu. Legend has it that Sage
Parashara was once attempting cross Yamuna and took the help of a young beautiful
woman named Kali, who was the daughter of a sherman.
The beautiful young Kali aroused passion in Sage Parashara. The beautiful
nature and the surroundings acted as a cataly. Sage Parashara created a thick fog
around the boat and created an articial island. The couple had sexual union on theisland.
Sage Parashara said to young Kali that as soon as he leaves, a son will be
born to her who will become the teacher of the world and divide the Vedas. He also
blessed her that even after the birth of a son she will remain a virgin.
Soon on that articial island, young Kali gave birth to a male child. As soon as
the child was born, he grew up and told his mother that she had played her part in the
divine mission by giving birth to him and need not worry about him. He also said that
he will come to her aid whenever she needs it.
As a child, Vyasa was referred as Krishna and as he was born on an island
he was also known as Krishnadvaipayana. After compiling the Four Vedas, he was
known as Veda Vyasa.
He is the celebrated author of Brahma Sutra, Mahabharata (which includes
Bhagwad Gita), Eighteen Puranas & also various upa-puranas. His birth day is cele-
bratd as Guru Poornima, which is also known as Vyasa Poornima. While the heritage
&knowledge of Vedas is almo timeless but he was the one who assured that the
poerity is also blessed by this knowledge.
Once upon a time
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International Vedanta Mission
Bringing Love & Lightin the lives of all with the
Knowledge of Self
Advaita Gurukula:Vedanta Ashram, Indore
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Ashram News
At Vedanta Ashram, Poojya
Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji Maharaj
is conducting very intensive & elaborate
discourses on the Mundaka Upanishad.
This session is basically for the Ash-
ram inmates, and is based on Shankar
Bhashya. These elaborate discourses
on the Upanishad have been going on
for la 20 months (from Oct 2013), dur-ing period the r Mundaka has been
completed. Now in the second Munda-
ka, the current topic is about how to di-
rectly realize that which is formless, permanent & imperishable. (2-1-1) -v:ia ln{kja dsuizdkja.k foKa;e~\
Apart from this session, special classes were organized for some visiting udents.
Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji has been taking classes on Sanskrit and Chanting, while P.
Swamini Samatanandaji has been taking classes on Atma Bodha.
Ashram Pravachans :
Swami Sreenivasanandaji of Di-
vine Life Society, Bhubaneswar, Odis-
ha came over to Vedanta Ashram for
a month long ay. His trip was organ-
ized courtesy Sh Rajesh Kumar. The
recent Gita Gyana Yagna of P.Swamini
Samatanandaji at Bhubaneshwar was
organized in the Satsang Hall of Siva-
nanda Saskrutik Kendra - a DLS center
there.
A devoted & sincere Mahatma,
he arted his ay at Ashram with abhisheka of Bhagwan Sri Gangeshwar Mahadev,and later Poojya Guruji organized special one-to-one sessions for him to facilitate bet-
ter acquaintance with our Vedantic heritage. He gelled with the Ashram ambiance very
nicely. He has since returned back to Bhubaneshwar.
Ashram Visitors :
33
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Mission NewsGita Gyana Yagna, Vadodara
Sub
Gita C
Kathopa
6-12 J
June
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2016
Atmajyoti Ashram, Vadodara
cts:
pter 5
shad 1-1
e 2016
in Pics
35
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Mission NewsDistribution of Copy-Books to Studious Children - in Vadodara
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in PicsMonthly Hanuman Chalisa Satsang at Ashram
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Forthcoming
Guru Poornima Celebration
@ Vedanta Ashram, Indore
at the Lotus feet of
P. P. Guruji
Swami Atmanandaji
On 19th July 2016
Hanuman Chalisa Satsang
@ Vedanta Ashram, Indore
By : P. P. Guruji
Swami Atmanandaji
On 31st July 2016
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Programs
Vedanta (Janmashtami) Camp
@ Vedanta Ashram, Indore
By : P. P. Guruji
Swami Atmanandaji
From 20th to 25th Aug 2016
Gita Gyana Yagna
@ Pritam Society, Bharuch
By :
P. Swamini Amitanandaji
From 1st to 7th Aug 2016
39
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Visit us online :
International Vedanta Mission
Check out earlier issues of :
Vedanta Sandesh
Visit the IVM Blog at :
Vedanta Mission Blog
Published by:
International Vedanta Mission
Editor:
Swamini Samatananda
http://www.vmission.org.in/https://issuu.com/vmission/stacks/2f02ad4247324882bd1cc5687892a03ahttp://www.blog.vmission.org.in/http://www.blog.vmission.org.in/https://issuu.com/vmission/stacks/2f02ad4247324882bd1cc5687892a03ahttp://www.vmission.org.in/