10 the vedanta kesari october 2014
TRANSCRIPT
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TheVedanta KesariTHE LION OF VEDANTAA Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of the Ramakrishna Order since 1914
101st
YEAROFPUBLICATION
October 2014
Price:` 10
SWAMIBRAHMANANDASTEMPL
ONTHEBANKSOFGANGA, BELURMAT
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Editor: SWAMIATMASHRADDHANANDAManaging Editor: SWAMIGAUTAMANANDAPrinted and published by Swami Vimurtananda on behalf of Sri Ramakrishna Math Trust
from No.31, Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, Chennai - 4 and Printed atSri Ramakrishna Printing Press, No.31 Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore,
Chennai - 4. Ph: 044 - 24621110
A person does not become an elder just because his hair turns white (that is,he has advanced in age). The devatas consider only him as elder, who is welllearned, even if, young in age. Traditional Saying
India's Timeless Wisdom
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OCTOBER2014
A CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL MONTHLY OF THE RAMAKRISHNA ORDER
Started at the instance of Swami Vivekananda in 1895 as Brahmavdin,
it assumed the name The Vedanta Kesariin 1914.
For free edition on the Web, please visit: www.chennaimath.org
VOL.101, No.10 ISSN 0042-2983
Cover Story: Page 6
CONTENTS
The Vedanta Kesari 101st
YEAROFPUBLICATION
Vedic Prayers 405
Editorial
Is it Possible?: The Question That We Ask Often 406
Articles
Pilgrimage to Mount Kailash 414
Swami Damodarananda
When Loss Becomes Gain 421
Pravrajika Virajaprana
Thakur-Ma, One Reality 424Sudesh
Knowing the SelfThrough the Path of Unselfish Work 431
Brahmachari Tridivachaitanya
Education For Self-development:Swami Vivekanandas Views On Education 435
Amulya Ranjan Mohapatra
New Find
Unpublished Letters of Swami Saradananda 428
Compilation
Insights into Some Keywords: In Swami Vivekanandas Words 430The Order on the March 438
Book Reviews 441
Feature
Simhvalokanam (With the Swamis in America) 410
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The Vedanta Kesari
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SL.NO. NAMES OF SPONSORS AWARDEE INSTITUTIONS
5802. Mr. Dharam Vir Seth, Uttarakhand Dairy Science College, Hebbal, Bangalore - 560 024
5803. -do- Government Degree College, Medak Dist., A.P. - 502 1105804. -do- Dairy Science College, Hebbal, Bangalore - 560 024
5805. Mrs. Shanthi N. Kudva, Bangalore M.S.R.S. College, Karnataka - 574 116
5806. Mrs. Sudarshan Bhutani, Delhi Agra College, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
5807. -do- Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi - 110 029
5808. Mr. N. Seshadri, Bangalore Adarash Shiksan Samiti, Gadag, Karnataka - 562 101
5809. Mr. Anu V. Zachariah, Bangalore Vidyanikethan PU College, Bangalore - 560 040
5810. -do- Peet Memorial Training College, Allapuzha Dist., Kerala - 690
The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme
To be continued. . .
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THE VEDANTA KESARI PATRONS SCHEME
Cover StoryN N
Swami Brahmanandas Temple on the banks of Ganga, Belur Math
Dedicated to Swami Brahmananda, the spiritual son of SriRamakrishna and the first President of the Ramakrishna Order, thetemple is located in the holy precincts of the sprawling Belur Mathon the banks of Ganga. Also known as Raja Maharaj, RakhalMaharaj or simply Maharaj, Swami Brahmananda was a spiritualluminary. The temple in the picture stands on the spot where hisbody was cremated after his passing away in 1922 and was builtin a short period of two years. Shyam Ghosh, a disciple of SwamiBrahmananda, bore the expenses. Shyam Ghosh was the son ofNavagopal Ghosh, a householder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Thetemple was dedicated by Swami Shivananda, the second President
of the Ramakrishna Order, in 1924, on Sri Maharajs birthday. (Seenin the picture are the steps leading to the Samadhi Mandir of HolyMother Sri Sarada Devi).
Mr. Kagalkar A N, Mysore Rs. 5000
Mr. Sharath Srivatsa, Bangalore Rs. 2500
695. Mr. Kagalkar A N, Mysore
DONORS PATRON
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EACH SOUL IS POTENTIALLY DIVINE. THE GOAL IS TO MANIFEST THE DIVINITY WITHIN.
The Vedanta KesariVOL. 101, No. 10,OCTOBER 2014 ISSN 0042-2983
Vedic PrayersTr. by Swami Sarvananda
B
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There may be weakness, says the Vedanta, but never mind, we want to grow.Disease was found out as soon as man was born. Everyone knows his disease;
it requires no one to tell us what our diseases are. But thinking all the time
that we are diseased will not cure usmedicine is necessary. We may forget
anything outside, we may try to become hypocrites to the external world, but
in our heart of hearts we all know our weaknesses. But, says the Vedanta,
being reminded of weakness does not help much; give strength, and strength
does not come by thinking of weakness all the time. The remedy for weakness
is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of the
strength that is already within them. Instead of telling them they are sinners,
the Vedanta takes the opposite position, and says, You are pure and perfect,
and what you call sin does not belong to you. Sins are very low degrees of
Self-manifestation; manifest your Self in a high degree. That is the one thing to
remember; all of us can do that. Never say, No, never say, I cannot, for you
are innite. Even time and space are as nothing compared with your nature.
You can do anything and everything, you are almighty.
Swami Vivekananda, CW, 2: 300
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Editorial
Is it possible?
We ask this question throughout the day
in different ways and contexts. When we look
at or observe or hear something, we often ask,
Is it possible? Either we ask this question
or have asked this question earlier and are
convinced about its answer and now carry on
with it as an accomplished fact. We believe it
to be true, requiring no question.
Indeed, Is it so, or is it possibleour
daily dealings are laced with this question.
A school teacher, for instance, looking at a
small, raw child, asks, Is it possible to reform
this unruly boy or girl and make him or her
a better person and a good student? A thief
on knowing that a house has many diamond
and gold ornaments asks, Is it possible to
steal ornaments from this house without beingcaught? A scientist, examining a physical force
or material, asks, Is it possible to find out a
cheaper and more efficient way of using it? A
musician, having heard a musical note, asks,
Is it possible to sing this note in a melodious
and smooth way? An athlete, impressed
with another athletes performance, asks,
Is it possible to run so fast?! A gardener,
tending an almost dead rose plant, asks Will
it survive and grow up to give good roses?An economist, concerned with matters of
money and wealth, asks, Can this decision
of the government make the economy grow?
A policeman asks, Can society be freed from
crimes and wickedness that I have to handle
day and night?
And above all, all men and women ask,
Is it possible to be happy and be without all
problems in this life? Can one be strong and
yet be kind? Can one be scientific and yet
spiritual? Can one change oneself for good?
All change and progress in life begins with this
question and end in making it possible.
Not only this. We ask this question also
when something goes wrong: Is this possible?
How could it happen? Here we question the
possibility of something that has happened.
Why should it have happened? It should not
have happened.
Life is a series of decisions based on
what we think of the answer (yes or no) to a
possibilityfollowed by actions. Not that all
our actions bring in the results we expected.
We thought it was possible, may be, that thisaction will bring a desired result but that is
not always the case. We plan many things but
not all of them become feasible or possible.
Understanding of the possibilities of life is
the key to living a meaningful life. Not just
possibly but surely!
Pushing the Limits
Every action behind it has a faith in its
possibility. However faint, however silentand invisible be the faith in some possibility
associated with that action, it has to be there.
There has to be a possibility-quotientthe
inherent potential of something that could
happen. It may refer to a probability, based
on facts and conditions that will make it
Is it Possible?The Question That We Ask Often
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happen. But our facts keep changing and so
also our possibilities. The early man living in
jungles, covering himself with tree barks and
eating raw flesh or fruits never thought it was
possibleto make a concrete house, weave andwear fine clothes and eat cooked food. It was
not possibleobviously.
No one thought, taking a more recent
example, a computer chip could become
such an all-pervasive part of modern living!
The first computer was so large in size and
heavy in weight that people thought that
what a burdensome invention it was! No one
believed in its possibility of becoming such
an indispensable part of life. In fact, such apossibilitywas considered impossible.
So, belief in the possibility or the
impossibility, questioning it and pushing the
limits that we put on its results is basic to
progress or a positive change. At the material
level, whenever such possibilities are explored
and actualized, we call it material progress.
The same holds true in our dealing
with our own selves. Dealing with oneself
is called in the Indian Tradition spirituality.
Sri Krishna says in the Gita, Svabhavo
Adhyatma UchyateOnes own being is
called spirituality (adhyatma). Facing oneself,
taming and refining ourselves, is the core of all
spiritual striving. When we grapple with our
own fears and anxieties, and try to discover the
ultimate core of our being, we are on the path
of spirituality.
There are profound possibilities in
man. Rightly did someone called Vedanta as
the science of human possibilities. SwamiVivekananda points out,
Do you know how much energy, how many
powers, how many forces are still lurking
behind that frame of yours? What scientist has
known all that is in man? Millions of years have
passed since man first came here, and yet but
one infinitesimal part of his powers has been
manifested. Therefore, you must not say that you
are weak. How do you know what possibilities
lie behind that degradation on the surface? You
know but little of that which is within you. For
behind you is the ocean of infinite power and
blessedness.1
Human beings may be compared to an
iceberg. An iceberg is an ice mountain, often a
broken part of a glacier, floating on the ocean
surface. Though it looks big on the surface, it is
several times larger, bigger than that which is
visible. What is visible is just the tip of a large
mountain. Likewise, man has tremendous
possibilities, only a few of which are visible.
Man the unknown is much bigger than man
the known.
The story is told of an elephant that used
to be tied at the end of the day with a strong
iron chain put around its hind legs. It was
a practice with it for years till one day the
elephant keeper had misplaced the chain and
was in a quandary as how to tie the elephant.
The keepers father, a wise and old man,
simply solved the situation by going near
the elephant and making a gesture of puttingthe usual chain around its legs, making the
elephant believe that it is tied up. Just gesture!
And the elephant stood tied whole night!
Likewise man has many imaginary
chains tied to his mental legs and hands. The
process of discovering new possibilities is to
discover the falsity of these mental chains and
step into higher and better realms of existence.
All Avataras and saints come in our midst to
set an example of how these inner shackles canbe torn apart and how one can live morally
and spiritually enriching lives.
For instance, we ask, God! Is it possible
that there is a God? As a young man Swami
Vivekananda too asked this question to Sri
Ramakrishna. During his second meeting
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with him, in Sri Ramakrishnas room at
Dakshineshwar temple complex, young
Naren asked him this question in his own way
and got his answer. Describing this meeting,
Swami Vivekananda said later,I sat and watched him . . . there was a marked
consistency between his words and life. He
used the most simple language, and I thought,
Can this man be a great teacher? I crept near
him and asked him the question which I had
asked so often: Have you seen God, sir? Yes,
I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much
intenser sense. God can be realized, he went
on, one can see and talk to Him as I am seeing
and talking to you. But who cares? People shed
torrents of tears for their wife and children, for
wealth or property, but who does so for the
sake of God? If one weeps sincerely for Him, He
surely manifests Himself. That impressed me at
once. For the first time I found a man who dared
to say that he had seen God, that religion was
a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely
more intense way than we can sense the world.
As I heard these things from his lips, I could not
but believe that he was saying them not like an
ordinary preacher, but from the depths of his
own realizations.2
At another time, Sri Ramakrishna spoke
of this possibility of existence of God in his
homely language thus,
You see many stars in the sky at night, but not
when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that
there are no stars in the heavens during the day?
O man, because you cannot find God in the days
of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.3
There are many possibilities but oneshould be open to explore them in a right way.
These possibilities should not be negated.
But a word of caution here: exploring new
possibilities must be understood in the right
perspective. For example, Swami Vivekananda
says, You can do anything and everything.
This does not mean that we should take to
wicked or destructive ways and damage a car
or harm a human being. Never! You can do
anything and everything, is an exhortation
to explore newer possibilities in constructiveand beneficial areas of life. We should not
misinterpret a statement!
Harnessing the Inner Possibilities
Now, just as there are numerous outer
possibilities in various fields of life such as
science, arts, economics, art and so on, there
are abundant inner possibilities as well.
These inner possibilities mainly lie in the
field of development of ones character and
personality. Why? Because man alone of all
known living beings can change his character.
A tiger remains a tiger and an elephant
remains an elephant but man, however
degraded he may be, he can change himself.
In Swamijis words,
Let a man go down as low as possible; there
must come a time when out of sheer desperation
he will take an upward curve and will learn to
have faith in himself. But it is better for us that
we should know it from the very first. Why
should we have all these bitter experiences in
order to gain faith in ourselves? We can see
that all the difference between man and man is
owing to the existence or non-existence of faith
in himself. Faith in ourselves will do everything.
I have experienced it in my own life, and am
still doing so; and as I grow older that faith is
becoming stronger and stronger.
As Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad
Gita,4
If even a very wicked person worships Me, with
devotion to none else, he should be regarded as
good, for he has rightly resolved.
Much depends on what we think is
possible. There may be many possibilities
in life but the point is what we think to be
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possible. That thinking, followed by action,
opens up the possibilities. Both good and good
possibilities linger around us. Says Swami
Vivekananda,5
We are the heirs of good and evil thought. Ifwe make ourselves pure and the instruments
of good thoughts, these will enter us. The good
soul will not be receptive to evil thoughts. Evil
thoughts find the best field in evil people; they
are like microbes which germinate and increase
only when they find a suitable soil.
Finding out a suitable soil refers to the
sum total of many factors which are necessary
for a good or bad thought to take roots in a
persons mind. Of all these factors, the mostimportant is Shraddha which includes, among
others qualities such as respect, humility
and courage, a faith in the possibility of
something. Is it possible is related to the faith
or Shraddha that we have in it. Shraddha is
the aggregate of all positive thoughts and
feelingsa joining together of faith in the
possibilities of our potential.
Swami Vivekananda says,6
The remedy for weakness is not brooding over
weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of
the strength that is already within them. Instead
of telling them they are sinners, the Vedanta
takes the opposite position, and says, You are
pure and perfect, and what you call sin does
not belong to you. Sins are very low degrees of
Self-manifestation; manifest your Self in a high
degree. That is the one thing to remember; all
of us can do that. Never say, No, never say,
I cannot, for you are infinite. Even time and
space are as nothing compared with your nature.
You can do anything and everything, you are
almighty.
Conclusion
We begin our journey with Is it possible
and finally end by It is possible. And not
only that it is possible but is most beneficial to
do. Thus we progress, journeying from lower
truth to higher truth. In this journey, what is
needed most? Renunciation. Renunciation?
One need not shrink on hearing the term
renunciation. It does not mean a loss or painful
giving up. It is a natural force working out all
grand changes in our lives. Explains Swami
Vivekananda,
Renounce the lower so that you may get the
higher. What is the foundation of society?
Morality, ethics, laws. Renounce. Renounce all
temptation to take your neighbours property, to
put hands upon your neighbour, all the pleasure
of tyrannising over the weak, all the pleasure of
cheating others by telling lies. Is not morality the
foundation of society?
Sacrifice! Give up! Not for zero. Not for nothing.
But to get the higher. But who can do this? You
cannot, until you have got the higher. You may
talk. You may struggle. You may try to do many
things. But renunciation comes by itself when
you have got the higher. Then the lesser falls
away by itself. This is practical religion.7
11
1. CW, 2.301 2. Life, 1.77 3. Sayings of Ramakrishna, p.23 4. Bhagavad Gita, 9.305. CW, 6.134 6. CW, 2:300 7. CW, 4.243
References
Have faith and dive deep into the fathomless ocean, and you are sure to nd the eternal
treasure, the pearl beyond price. Do not lose heart if, after a little struggle, you fail to nd it.
Swami Brahmananda
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From the Archives of THEVEDANTAKESARI
S i m h v a l o k a n a m
(August, 1924-25, Pp. 169 - 175)
With the Swamis in America
VIRAJ A DEVI
Early in March 1900, the Swami Vivekananda gave a series of
three lectures on Indian Ideals in Redmens Hall, Union Square, San Francisco, and it was
at the first lecture of this series that I had the blessed privilege of hearing him. Being in ill
health, both mentally and physically, it was a great effort to go to the lecture, and as I sat
in the hall waiting for the Swami to come, I began to wonder whether I had not made a
mistake in coming to hear him; but all doubts vanished when the Swamis majestic figureentered the hall. He talked for about two hours telling us of Indias Ideals and taking us with
him, as it were, to his own country so that we might understand him a little, and be able to
comprehend even in the least the great truths he taught. After the lecture I was introduced to
the Swami, but feeling overawed by his wonderful presence, I did not speak, but sat down
at a distance and watched him, while waiting for friends who were busy settling up the
business connected with the lectures. After the second lecture, I was again waiting, sitting
at a distance watching the Swami, when he looked across and beckoned to me to come to
him. I went and stood before him, as he sat in a chair. He said, Madam, if you want to see
me privately, you come to the flat on Trunk Street, no charge there, none of this botherationabout money.
I told him I should like very much to see him. He said, Come tomorrow morning
and I thanked him. Much of the night was spent thinking of all the questions I should ask
him, as many questions had been troubling me for months and no one to whom I had gone
was able to help me. On arriving at the flat next morning, I was told that the Swami was
going out, so could not see any one. I said I knew he would see me because he had told
me I might come, so I was allowed to go up the stairs and into the front sitting-room. In a
little while the Swami came into the room, dressed in his long overcoat and little round hat,
chanting softly. He sat on a chair on the opposite side of the room and continued chantingsoftly in his incomparable way. Presently he said, Well, Madame. I could not speak but
began to weep and kept on weeping as though the flood-gates had been opened. The Swami
continued chanting for a while, the said, Come tomorrow about the same time.
Thus ended my first interview with the Blessed Swami Vivekananda, and as I went
from his presence, my problems were solved and my questions were answered, though he
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had not asked me anything. It is now over 24 years since that interview with Swami, yet it
stands out in memory as the greatest blessing of my life. I had the wonderful privilege of
seeing Swamiji every day for a month, and was in the
meditation class, which he held in Trunk Street.
I used to stay after the class and help him cook
lunch, etc., or rather, he allowed me to be in the
kitchen with him and do odd jobs for him, while he
talked Vedanta and chanted and cooked. One verse
from the Gita he chanted a great deal is verse 61,
Chapter 18: The Lord dwelleth in the hearts of all
beings, O Arjuna, by His illusive power, causing all
beings to revolve as though mounted on a potters
wheel.
He chanted it in the Sanskrit, and every now and
then would stop and talk of it. He was so wonderful,
his nature so many-sided, at times so child-like, at times the Vedanta Lion, but to me always
the kind and loving parent. He told me not to call him Swami, but to call him Babaji, as
the children did in India. Once when walking along the street with Swamiji after a lecture,
all at once he seemed to me so big, as though he towered above the ordinary mortals. The
people on the street looked like pigmies, and he had such a majestic presence, that people
stepped aside to left him pass by. One evening after the lecture, Swamiji insisted upon taking
a party of about 10 to 12 of us to have ice-cream. Some ordered ice-cream and some ice-
cream soda. Swamiji was fond of ice-cream but did not care for ice-cream soda. The waitress
who took the order made a mistake and brought ice-cream soda for the Swami; she said she
would change it for him. The proprietor spoke to the waitress about it, and when Swamiji
heard him, he called out, Dont you scold that poor girl. Ill take all the ice-cream soda if
you are going to scold her.
After living in Fork Street for a month, Swamiji went to Alameda and stayed at the
Home of Truth. It was quite a large house and was surrounded by a beautiful garden,
which the Swamiji used to walk about . . . There was quite a large porch on the house
on which Swamiji sat sometimes talking to the few of us who gathered around him. The
Easter-Sunday night was the full moon, the Nisteria was in full bloom and draped the porch
like a curtain. Swamiji sat on the porch. . . and telling funny stories, then he told of how
his feet hurt him when he wore shoes in Chicago, and of his experience with a lady-doctor
who had undertaken to doctor his toe. He said, Oh my toe, my toe, whenever I think of
that lady-doctor my toe hurts. Then one of the party asked him to talk on Renunciation.
Renunciation? said Swamiji, Babies, what do you know of renunciation? Are we too
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young even to hear of it? was asked. Swamiji was silent for a while and then gave a most
illuminating and inspiring talk. He spoke of discipleship and of entire resignation to the
Guru, which was quite a new teachingto the Western world. While in Alameda Swamiji
used to cook Hindu dishes for himself on Sunday afternoons and I again had the privilege
of being with him and partaking of his dishes, and although I attended all Swamijis public
lectures both in San Francisco and Alameda, it was this close contact with the Swamiji
that I most deeply cherish. Once after being quiet for some time Swamiji said, Madame,
be broad-minded, always see two ways. When I am on the Heights I say, I am He, and
when I have a stomach-ache, I say, Mother, have mercy on me. Always see two ways. On
another occasion he said, Learn to be the witness. If there are two dogs fighting on the street
and I go out there, I get mixed up in the fight, but if I stay quietly in my room I witness the
fight from the window. So learn to be the witness. While in Alameda Swamiji gave public
lectures in Tucker Hall. He gave one wonderful lecture The Ultimate Destiny of Man and
finished by placing his hand on his chest and saying, I am God. A most awed silence fell
upon the audience and many people thought it blasphemy for Swamiji to say such a thing.
Once he did something in rather an unconventional way and I was a little shocked at
him. He said, Oh Madame, you always want this little outside to be so nice. It is not the
outside that matters, it is the inside.
How little we understood the Swamiji! We had no knowledge of what he really was.
Sometimes he would tell me things, and I in the abundance of my ignorance, would tell him
I did not think that way, and he would laugh and say, Dont you? His love and toleration
was wonderful. Swamiji was not in good healthmuch lecturing told upon him. He used to
say he did not like platform work, Public lecturing is killing. At eight oclock I am to speak
on Love. At eight oclock I do not feel like love! After he finished lecturing in Alameda,
the Swami went to Camp Taylor and a little later started for the East and we in California
never saw him again. Yet we who were blessed by his presence cannot feel he is entirely
gone from us. He lives in our memories and in the teachings he gave us. Before he left
he told me if I ever got into psychic difficulty again to call on him and he would hear me
wherever he was, even though hundreds of miles away, and it may be he can hear even
now.
A few months after Swamiji left, Swami Turiyananda arrived in San Francisco. He
held a meditation class at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Peterson. He also lectured at the
Home of Truth at 2173, California Street one Sunday evening. After the lecture he asked
for questions and someone asked him What is attachment? to which the Swami replied
Me and mine. Swami did not stay long in San Francisco at this time. He went to the Shanti
Ashrama with twelve students, where they went through the hardships of pioneers, but in
return received the beautiful teachings given by the Swami.
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The Swami consecrated the Ashrama and gradually temporary cabins were put up and
the meditation cabin was built which still stands as a monument to the work of the Swami
Turiyananda. I was not at the Ashrama at that time, but used to see the Swami and attended
his Gita classes given in San Francisco. Once when in San Francisco the Swami was asked
if there was anything he needed for the Ashrama to which he replied, Souls, consecrated
souls. One Gita lesson Swami gave on verse 47, Chapter II, To work you have the right,
but not to the fruits thereof. He repeated these words over and over again, and said we are
always looking for fruits, always peeping to see what is coming, what we are going to get.
Swami Turiyananda was succeeded by the beloved and energetic Swami Trigunatita.
During his ministration, the Temple was built and all the permanent buildings were put
up at the Ashrama. The Swami himself led a life of the greatest asceticism whether in the
Temple or at the Ashrama, allowing himself little sleep and working continually. When at
the Ashrama he did all the cooking for 37 people, gave three classes a day on the meditation
platform and two Gita classes at meal times. His energy was untiring, nothing was too small
to demand his attention. He was interested in all the little details and daily occurrences in
the lives of his students. He was like a fond mother always looking out for the welfare of
her children, training them in various ways as their nature required, now by strict discipline,
now gently taking them by the hand and leading them into paths of peace and blessedness.
After a time the Swami Prakashananda came to the Temple and the two Swamis worked
together, both taking part in the public lectures, etc. Swami Prakashananda not only helped
with platform work, but he used to clean the auditorium and do many things considered
menial work, in the spirit of true humility and service, thus giving many valuable lessons
by his example.
The Swami Trigunatita conducted a Sanskrit class, the members of which were
supposed to be able to stand rather severe training. Swami said that his heart did not work
in that class, only his head. In this class he gave many never to be forgotten and valuable
lessons, though at the time they were perhaps not fully appreciated. Swami passed away on
January 10th, 1915, in San Francisco and his ashes were buried on the Hill of Realization at
the Shanti Ashrama, April 13th ( I think it was) 1916, the Swami Prakashananda officiating
at the service held by the Swami and a few students who had accompanied him to the
Ashrama. In the passing away of Swami Trigunatita those of us who had been blessed by his
teaching, by his unending patience, and his ever watchful care of us felt we had sustained an
irretrievable loss, yet we feel his presence with us and the work for which he gave his life is
being ably carried on by the much beloved Swami Prakashananda. Long may he be spared
to remain with us, and now we have also with us Swami Prabhavananda who is giving
instructive and illuminating discourses and we feel blessed by his presence amongst us.
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This is a story, after about sixty years, of
my walking all the way to Mount Kailash and
back.
Every religion has its prophets, saints,
sages, sacred places, and holy days of
special worship. Devotees of all religions
do pilgrimages as an act of purification.
These acts are accompanied with prayers,
worship, and meditation. Bharata, that isIndia, is filled with many sacred placesfrom
Kanyakumari in the south, to Kamakhya in
the east; from Badrinath-Kedarnath in the
north, to Dwarkanath-Somnath in the west;
and Vishvanath at Varanasi sits in the centre.
Thus lakhs of devotees, since ancient times,
have availed of the ample opportunities to
offer their devotions to the innumerable
sacred places dedicated to God in the form of
thousands of gods and goddesses. Pilgrimagesand prayers lead one to a better and nobler life,
with deeper spiritual insights and perceptions.
In a way, a pilgrimage reflects the journey,
often hard, of human life to its goalGod.
In 1947, after the partition of India, I
returned as a refugee along with the others,
from our Lahore centre, which is now in
Pakistan. Posted to the Ramakrishna Mission
Sevashrama, Vrindavan, I was trained to
offer seva, service, in almost all the hospital
departments. I finally ended up being a
radiologist.
Badrinath
In 1952 there arose in me a strong desireto go on a pilgrimage to Badrinath, also known
as Badri-Narayana, and Kedarnath. I requested
Swami Madhavananda, the then General
Secretary, permission to fulfil my desire.
Revered Maharaj did grant me permission,
after a brief exchange of correspondence,
through Swami Kripananda, head of the
Sevashrama. I began preparing for the pil-
grimage by collecting warm clothing, a stout
lathi, stick, a kamandalu, sadhus water pot, andso on. Sometime in July or thereabouts I started
from Vrindavan for New Delhi and from there
to Haridwar and Rishikesh.
At Rishikesh revered Jagabandhu Maha-
raj, Swami Nityatmananda, was doing Tapasya
in one of our kutias, huts. I was fortunate to
Pilgrimage to Mount KailashSWAMI DAMODARANANDA
Article
Swami Damodarananda was a senior and venerable monk of the Ramakrishna Order. This
article recounts the hardships and rewards of his pilgrimage to Mount Kailash undertaken some sixty
years ago. His narrative is a valuable documentation of the challenges one faces in the Himalayan
terrain especially when, six decades ago, the present day gadgets and amenities were unheard of. His
vivid description of the traditional route to the holy mountain adds to its historicity. This article was
first published in the April-May 2014 issues of the Prabuddha Bharata, the monthly journal from
Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Uttarakhand. The reproduction of the article is in keeping with the
earnest wish of the author to have this published in the Vedanta Kesarias wellbefore his sudden
demise in July 2014 at Belur Math.
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stay with him for three or four days. Before
leaving I requested him to bless me so that
by Sri Ramakrishnas grace I should have a
safe, enjoyable, and fruitful yatra, journey.
The swami immediately reminded me thatboth Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi, the
Holy Mother, being on our right and left side
respectively, are ever protecting and looking
after us. This holy attitude further fortified
my love and devotion for Sri Thakur and Sri
Ma. In retrospect, it helped give me a deeper
spiritual insight and safely brought me back
to Bharata, the divine spiritual land, after a
terribly difficultyatrafacing unforeseen deadly
circumstances and problems.The next day I crossed the Laxman Jhulla
Bridge at Rishikesh to start my climb through
the winding mountain roads. I slowly made
my way up and down the mountains and
reached Vashistha Guha, where our Swami
Purushottamananda, a disciple of Swami
Brahmananda, was staying. Having stayed
with him for a day or so, and after receiving
his blessing, I moved onwards and upwards.
At every ten to fifteen miles one came across a
chatti, rest house. These chattis were equipped
with the simple facilities for shelter, provisions,
cooking, eating, and sleeping.
Somewhere, as suggested by friends,
I branched off at Govind Ghat to go to
Hemkund Lokpal, the huge holy lake where
Govind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, meditated
for spiritual illumination. There was a small
Gurudwara near the glacier and the freezing
lake where no one lived. I could hear the ice
on the mountain cracking and falling into thehuge lake. The icy water was flowed down
through a stream.
As I was returning from there, I happen-
ed to pass through a vast area of natural wild
flowers called the Valley of Flowers. The sight
of a staggering variety of flowers, medicinal
herbs, and roots was so powerful that even
now, after all these decades, it flashes forth and
is quite fresh in my mind.
I returned to the main road leading tothe Badrinath shrine, reaching in due course
Joshi Math, or Jyotir Math, one of the four
Maths established by Acharya Shankara. He
established this Math for the dissemination
of Vedanta in the northern parts of India. The
other Maths Acharya Shankara established
are at Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west, and
Sringeri in the south.
Badrinath
Finally, moving upwards from Joshi
Math, I reached Badrinath within a day or two.
It is situated on the banks of the Alakananda
River, a tributary of the Ganga. It is said that
the image of Badri-Narayana was thrown
into the river by the Buddhists and Buddhas
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Valley of Flowers
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An archival picture of Kedarnath
416T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4~ ~
image was installed in its place. When later
Acharya Shankara arrived at Badrinath he
discovered, through his spiritual insight, the
image of Narayana lying in the Alakananda,
further purifying the holy water of theGanga. The Acharya immediately made all
arrangements to lift the Bhagavans image
and reinstall it. This was done with all due
Vedic rites by priests especially brought from
the Malabar area in South India. This tradition
still continues and hence the temple priests are
brahmanas from Malabar.
Every morning I used to bathe in the
tank called tapta-kunda, a hot water spring,
which issues out of the ground. After bathingI would go straight to the temple and sit on
one of the built-in stone benches, constructed
on both sides of the temple prayer hall. I
used to sit opposite the learned priests who
repeated the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra. With
prayer book in hand I would join them in
the recitation. This sacred recitation went on
throughout the abhishekam, holy bath, of the
image of Narayana. The abhishekam consist
of pancha-amritamilk, curds, ghee, honey,
and sugar. Finally, everything is
washed away by pouring pure
water to keep the holy image
clean and sparkling. Then detailed
decorations followed with sandal
paste, colour, various perfumes,
clothes, ornaments, and flowers.
After this ceremony the screen
was drawn aside, as the deity was
ready to receive the devotees
darshan.In most of the pilgrim places
situated in the Himalayas, free
food is offered to the visiting
monks by various charitable
organizations. The most famous
among them is Kali Kamliwala
Chhatra. I used to stand in the queue, along
with the other visiting monks, for the bhiksha,
holy alms. In the evening as well we would
obtain supper, which we then took to our
kutias where we could eat at leisure.
Kedarnath
From Badrinath I began walking through
dangerous terrain towards Kedarnath, the
abode of Shiva on the banks of the Mandakini
River, another tributary of the Ganga. It is at a
higher altitude than Badrinath and also much
colder. The snow-capped peaks are just a little
further away behind the temple. Once, when
I dared to walk in the evening towards theglaciers, I saw a sadhu sitting and meditating.
This was dangerous as a cold wind was
blowing. Unless the constitution is very strong,
one might end up in deep absorption and enter
final samadhi. Hence, in such situations it is
always safer to meditate inside ones room or
the Shiva temple.
Being anxious to earn more punya, merit,
one day at about ten in the morning I went
down to bathe in the Mandakini. I knew full
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well that the water was too coldminus 10 or
20 degrees centigrade. I thought I could have
a quick dip and come out. But once I jumped
in and was in the freezing waters, my body
became numb. At that time the only thoughtwas to save myself by coming out of the water
before I froze. Somehow, with ebbing strength,
I emerged out of the water by the grace of
Kedareshwara MahadevaShivaand was
saved from the terrible calamity of freezing
into mahasamadhiin the Mandakini.
After this incident I was inspired to
spend more time with Shiva in the temple
praying, meditating, and reciting hymns. Thus
enjoying my ever-inspiring holy pilgrimage,I returned to Badrinath after a few days
planning for myyatrato Mount Kailash.
Meanwhile, I joined some pilgrims
that were going to the Tunganath Mahadeva
temple, to the east of Badrinath. This temple
was also established by Acharya Shankara
when he was discovering the sacred shrines
in the Himalayas. This temple is one of the
Pancha-Kedars, five Kedar temples; situated at
the hight of about 12,000 feet it is the highest
among the five Shiva temples. I found it to
be very scarcely populated. The altitude and
freezing cold dissuades people from living
there. Only those appointed for temple work
and its management stayed there, apart from
the few pilgrims, despite all the difficulties.
Towards Tibet
After visiting and offering obeisance to
Badrinath, Kedarnath, and Tunganath, I set
out for holy Kailash and Manasarovar. I wastold that there were two passes to enter Tibet.
One near Badrinath called Mana Pass and
the other called Niti Pass. Mana Pass is at a
very high altitude, and pilgrims opting to
go through it have to face a lot of difficulties
while climbing the steep slopes. As such I
was advised to go through the Niti Pass,
which being lower was easier to negotiate, but
would entail an extra week of travel. Another
attraction of this route for me was that on
the way there is Kalpeshvara Shiva temple,situated at the height of about 7,200 feet.
I prepared chattu, powdered fried Bengal
gram, to last me for about a week. Chattuhas
to be taken along with water and salt. I took
this, along with fruits if available, when I
became hungry. Thus I walked along a narrow
stream through cultivated terraced fields,
higher and higher, finally reaching the small
temple of Kalpeshvara Shiva. It seemed some
saints had performed Tapasya there earlier.After offering my prayers at the temple
and seeing a house nearby, I slowly made my
way towards it. It consisted of one big room.
Different items required for the simple house
were kept in different corners of the house.
Only one woman was there suckling her baby,
who was lying on the lap, and at the same
time cooking at the hearth in the centre of the
house. A steel plate for baking bread was
placed on it. She was preparing rotis without a
rolling pin, expertly stretching the dough with
both her hands. As she placed the phulka on
the plate,it began baking and puffing up, the
woman offered the hot flattened bread to me
saying in Hindi, Baba-lo, Baba please take! She
also gave me a preparation of some vegetables
to go along with the phulkas.
After eating the bhiksha I thanked and
took leave of her to climb higher in the
mountains. Thus I walked on and on up and
down the mountains, through one terraced hillof cultivation to the next, but always higher
and higher.
There were very few pilgrims going to
Mount Kailash during those days. I was alone,
walking along, not knowing the path to cross
over to Tibet. Under these circumstances I was
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told to follow the shepherds with flocks of
goats and sheep. These shepherds inhabited
the mountainous regions bordering India
and Tibet. During the summer they work
as tradesmen, plying their trade betweenIndia and Tibet. They were hardy and used
to climbing high altitudes and precipitous
mountain paths with ease. These rugged and
brave people were used to facing all sorts of
unusual challenges. Their principal vocation
was to rear sheep, goats, yaks, mules, and
horses, which they used for carrying heavy
loads of articles such as rice, dal, salt, and other
household needs and articles. They also traded
in beads and other items used by women asornaments, as these items were not available in
Tibet. They pack these articles in jute bags and
carry them on the backs of animals to Tibet.
In exchange they bring to India rolls of wool,
packed on both sides of the mules and horses
for feeding the woollen mills of North India,
which prepare woollen garments.
So I joined one such group of traders
and, halting for a day, rested in their tents. I
was kindly given a corner to rest. Of course I
ate my chattuwith water and salt while they
ate meat by killing one of the old or weak
animalseither sheep or goat. As they did
this, they asked me to move away and look
elsewhere.
Thus climbing on to higher altitudes,
we reached the Indian police check post. The
last climb before the check post was very
steep. Even the yaks and horses were panting!
No one is allowed to go to Tibet withoutpermission from the Indian Government. The
police asked me for the permit. I told them that
I was a pilgrim to Kailash and Manasarovar.
They doubted me because I was a young
monk of thirty-five years. They thought that I
was a communist in a monks garb, trying to
escape to China for getting indoctrination and
training in communistic ideas. I told them my
name and that I belonged to the Ramakrishna
Mission, presently serving at the Sevashrama
at Vrindavan. I also showed them a letter
addressed to me, care of the Sevashrama in
Vrindavan.
Finally, being convinced of my genuine-
ness, they allowed me to continue across
the border. They told me however to return
to India by the same Niti Pass. But, as
circumstances unfolded in the course of my
pilgrimage, I had to return to India through
a different route, the precipitous Hoti Pass.
I reached the Tibetan plateau with myshepherds friends and crossed the Tibetan
check Post.
20
A Himalayan river along the
roada recent picture
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The Tibetan Plateau and Mandi
The Dalai Lama ruled from Lhasa. There
were ancient cultural and other ties between
the two countries. India was loosely governing
the Tibetans, perhaps mostly due to the Hindupilgrims going every year to Mount Kailash.
The Tibetan plateau is the highest in
the world, covering a vast land. The average
altitude of the plateau is 10,000 feet above sea
level. I began walking onwards along with
the shepherds, who were doing business with
the Tibetans, supplying them with several
items they carried from the foothills of the
Himalayas to the plateau of Tibet.
From the Tibetan check post we
proceeded further to reach a mandi, temporary
summer market place, where Indian
goods were being exchanged for wool. All
exchanges were done according to the barter
system. Wool was the only wealth of Tibet
exchangeable for Indian goods. There were
many tents in that summer bazar. Fortunately
there was no rain and the sun was bright. In
this weather the Tibetans came from various
parts to exchange their goods. It was the once-
in-a-year opportunity to trade.
I was in one of the tents where business
with the Tibetans was going on. There a young
man came to exchange some goods with the
Indian trader. I saw the young mans eyes were
red. I realized he had an eye infection. Since I
was working in the Vrindavan Eye Hospital,
I had carried a first-aid box for use in case of
emergency. Working in the hospital had given
me knowledge about the use of medicines. My
first-aid box contained some antibiotic tablets,sulphanilamide powder, and some medicine
for eye problems.
I wanted to help this young man by
giving some medicines, which I conveyed
to the tradesman as he knew the Tibetan
language. I explained that his eyes had become
red because of some infection and that I had
medicines that I could give him. He should
apply the medicine three times a day. The
Tibetan looked at me and told me through the
tradesman that he would go to his tent and beback.
In a little while the man returned with
a leather bundle, which he offered to me in
exchange of the medicines. The Indian trader
explained to me that Tibetans do not accept
anything freely given by sadhus, that they
would like to give me something in return, for
what the young man had brought a gift shaped
like a football in a leather bag. The football
was nothing but sheep or yak or goats butter,which does not melt due to the cold and the
leather package. I accepted the leather bag and
the young man accepted the medicines and bid
me goodbye by saying namaste. Tibet, being a
Buddhist country, has much respect for monks
and has developed a sense of charity that is
part of their religion and daily life.
In general Buddhists are very generous
and charitable. The attitude of the young
man bears testimony to this fact. Here I may
mention another incident that happened when
I was going to Mandalay, the old capital of
Burma. I was travelling by boat on the river
Irawati. It was lunch time and a Burmese
mother, a fellow traveller, came to me and
did pranams. She conveyed in gestures, as
I did not know her language, to take lunch.
As I had eaten to my full, I had no desire to
eat then, which I conveyed to her again in
signs, thanking her for her offering by doing
namaste. I want to reiterate here that Buddhistpeople are very hospitable and charitable to
monks and nuns, whichever denomination he
or she may belong to.
I met some Tibetans who told me that
there was a great holy place in a town called
Manglang. It was a Buddhist pilgrim centre
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situated in the extreme west of the Tibetan
plateau. I was told that on the eastern part
of the Tibetan plateau is located the holy
Manasarovar Lake and Mount Kailash. After
obtaining some more information about theroute, I set out to the western part of Tibet to
reach Manglang. Since it was a beaten track, I
had no difficulty in finding the way, except for
walking long hours. I was alone and did not
see any human beingsonly goats, sheep, and
yaks. The whole place was barren.
Around seven in the evening I reached
the Buddhist temple in Manglang. As soon as
I entered the temple the monks saw me. They
welcomed and offered me cheese and sheep
milk, which is available in plenty, along with
salted hot tea. Their way of making cottage
cheese is very simple: by exposing the goats
or sheeps milk in the scorching sun it gets split
into whey and cheese. Due to heat the water
evaporates and the cheese is thus naturally
formed. Since I was a vegetarian, they gave me
cheese with the salted tea available always in
the tents and temples. As that is a cold country,
they did not drink water and instead dranksalted tea.
After filling my stomach and getting
over my tiredness, I went to the temple. I saw
there a huge Buddha statue twenty feet high,
seated on a chair, as it were. Surrounding this
huge Buddha image they had decorated small
images of Buddha in a meditative posture.
Everywhere and in every corner in the
huge temple, between the images, plenty of
manuscripts in Tibetan were lying here andthere along with smaller Buddha images.
I asked them about the manuscripts and
they told me that they were manuscripts of
Buddhism. So I rested there and meditated in
that huge temple.
(To be continued. . .)
22
Awed by the Himalayas!I had lost myself at the sight of the lofty snow clad mountain rock of Kedarnath. I,
therefore, did not notice the surroundings. I did not know where I had been sitting all
along. I had lost my Iness as it were. It is indeed almost impossible to put down in wordshow I was feeling. I thought that I had seen whatever there was to be seen anywhere.
After a while I regained my consciousness and I found myself seated on a carpet of fresh
fragrant owers. All the surrounding area was covered with beds of owers. I was intently
looking at this beautiful natural surroundings. I was almost looking like a king seated on a
rich throne bedecked with precious jewels. It was indeed an indescribable situation.
I was now present at one of the supernal spots on this earth. The King of the Mountains
was unfolding his glory before me and I was viewing it with a peace-lled mind. I painfully
realized that while I had been viewing the Himalayas so far my eyes never penetrated the
outer crust. But now I was in his lap and was amazed by his glory. I remembered Arjuna
standing stupeed before Sri Krishna showing him His all-comprehensive form (Viswarupa).Himalaya really appears here as a symbol of the great Godthe Master of the Universe. I
was almost convinced that the same Universal Spirit, which is beyond the comprehension
of human senses, which controls every thing in the universe and which resides in the core
of every being, has manifested Itself in this huge form. How else could a man, with his
limited intelligence and cloudy vision, have a glimpse of the divine? This was all due to
His compassion. Swami Akhandananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna
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The Practice of Non-attachment
For spiritual seekers this process of
letting go, non-attachment, is a deliberate
practice. Our teachers encourage us to cultivate
this attitude, of letting go before we are forced
to. Although it appears to be an oxymoron,
everything we have ever fervently wanted isgained by letting go. What is it after all that we
are letting go of; what are we losing, by letting
go? To begin with, we should definitely let go
of the nonessentials in our life, the clutter. Not
just getting rid of the physical clutter, of all the
unnecessary items that surround and engulf
our time and attention, though thats a help,
but more importantly clearing out the personal
emotional and mental clutter that dampens the
free flow of our inner spirit.Swamiji told some of his students at
Thousand Island Park, As soon as we say I
we are humbugged.6 Through self-restraint
and detachment, the Spirit is able to work
through us unimpeded by the meddling of the
ego. As we slowly get rid of the expendables,
including our misplaced identities, and
we have many such revolving around our
physical, mental, and emotional selves, we
develop a sense of inner freedom, whichallows us to gradually shift our identity from
matter, the ego, to Spirit. Swamiji cautions
When Loss Becomes GainPRAVRAJ IKA VIRAJ APRANA(Continued from the previous issue. . .)
us: This assumed individuality is really a
delusion; it is ignoble to try to cling to this
apparent individuality.7
At the time King Janaka was told that
his kingdom in Mithila was burning to the
ground, he calmly replied, Nothing that is
mine burns. Another incident to illustratethe freedom that comes with the loss of
expendables is when the African American
sage and scientist George Washington Carver
was informed that he had lost his entire lifes
savings in the crash of an Alabama bank,
he humorously remarked, Well, I guess
somebody found a use for it. I was not using
it myself. By letting go, it all gets done; the
world is won by those who let it go!
Swamiji wrote a letter to Sister Niveditain which he said, We put all our energies to
concentrate and get attached to one thing;
but the other part equally difficult, though
negative, we seldom pay any attention
tothe faculty of detaching ourselves at a
moments notice from anything.8 Almost
all our suffering, Swamiji says, is caused by
our not having the power of detachment. . .
Attach yourselves to the Lord and to nothing
else, because everything else is unreal [that is,flimsy, passing]. Attachment to the unreal will
bring misery.9
A nun at the Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco, USA, since 1972, Pravrajika Virajaprana
is the editor and compiler of Photographs of Swami Vivekananda. She has contributed many thought-
provoking articles forVedanta Kesari and Prabuddha Bharata. This article is based on her talk on the same
subject delivered at the Vedanta Society in February 2011.
Article
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To extend Swamijis statement: Why is
attachment painful? Because whatever does
not last, can and will be lost, and then were
miserable. Swamiji seems to plead with us:
Should we not put forth a thousand-fold morestrength and energy to acquire that which
never fades, but remains with us forever? . . .
Everything else is left behind with the body.
In order to cultivate this art of letting go,
we have to be convinced that what we will
gain from the practice of detachment, though
an apparently negative practice, is far superior.
As Swamiji beautifully expresses it:
There is only one way to attain freedom . .
. by giving up this little life, giving up thislittle universe, giving up this earth, heaven,
body, mindeverything that is limited and
conditioned. If we give up our attachment to this
little universe, we shall be free immediately.10
So what is it that we gain? The realization
of our true Self, which is birthless, constant
and eternal, a state of consciousness where
there is no change, modification, movement,
no increase nor decrease, but an imperishable
continual awareness of bliss and uninterrupted
joy. How do we gain this wonderful covetable
state? Through the practice of yoga.
In Karma Yoga, Swamiji remarks,
Nonattachment is the basis of all the yogas. . . .
Nonattachment does not mean anything that we
may do in relation to our external body; it is all
in the mind. The binding link of I and mine is
in the mind.11
So the intent is not leaving our families,
friends, quitting our jobs and abandoning our
responsibilities, whatever has fallen to our lot,
shaving our head and standing on a corner
with a begging bowlthat would be counter
intuitive.
The instruction is to do whatever we
have to do, fulfill our duties and responsi-
bilities, and have whatever relationships we
happen to be in, in a balanced, Sattvic way,
with the spirit of detachment. Further, weare not asked to renounce action; we have to
act because our bodies and minds are a part
of nature, and nature being composed of the
three Gunas forces us to act. We are compelled;
we can never remain inactive, no matter who
we are or where we are. But what is needed is
separating ones self not only from personal
attachments, but from all activity.
Ideally we should be like water on a
lotus leaf; the water just beads up and rollsoff without adhering to it in any way. Our
boat should float on the water, but we should
definitely keep all water out of the boat.
Otherwise, well sink. So, our teachers are
not suggesting that we give up the world
per se. The world isnt the problem; its the
worldliness that is within us that needs to be
uprooted. Worldliness is synonymous with
selfishness. Normally we identify with what
we do and herein lies the problem. To let go of
all of our personal investment is not easy. Our
identity and the meaning we derive from work
is all tied up with one another. But clinging to
the divided self is a no-win situation. Swamiji
says, The moment you isolate yourself,
everything hurts you, but the moment you
expand and feel for others, you gain help. By
letting go [of the ego], it all gets done.
The Science of Non-attachment
Swamij i s Karma Yoga and theBhagavad Gita contain the science of non-
attachment. And in Swamijis letters we find
nonattachment in action; in his own actions
and in the innumerable hints and practical
applications of this practice that he
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423T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4~ ~
gives in the course of his correspondence
with different people under a variety of
circumstances. Swami Turiyananda, a direct
disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, remarked
regarding Swamijis letters, They are perfectillustrations of non-attachment.
The Gita makes the most practical
suggestion: to utilize our work as a means to
lose our false self and simultaneously regain
or recover our true Self. All attachment arises
from the truncated self. The senses adhere in
the sense objects, not in the Self. The Gita says:
Actions are done in all cases by the Gunas of
Prakriti. He whose mind is deluded through
egoism thinks, I am the doer.
12
Naturefunctions through the Gunas; the Gunas act
on the Gunas.
As we go on subduing, reining in the
little I, the real I slowly begins to emerge.
The sense of agency, our false identification,
and ownership are attenuated through the
practice of nonattachment. We are advised
to train ourselves through abhyasa (constant
practice) and vairagya (dispassion) not to
anticipate or expect certain outcomes from our
action. Regardless whether we anticipate it or
not, the result of our action is going to come
anyway. So why be anxious? Simultaneously
through this practice, the mind is purified as
we slowly separate ourselves from nature.
After all, in truth, we are not the doer. If we
have no sense of agency, the idea that there
should be something in it for me, then nothing can
be lost. Sri Krishna says giving up attachment,
that is, the idea of being an agent, and the
desire for the result, is his conclusive and finalview.
Therefore, work done with attachment
binds us; the same work done with non-
attachment frees us. This attitude of non-
attachment arises from the practice of yoga.
In his commentary on the second chapter
of the Katha Upanishad, Adi Shankara-
charya states, that Yoga (union) is reallyviyoga (disunion) for in this state the yogi
is disconnected, detached from all troubles.
Loss becomes gain; disunion becomes union.
The practice of yoga always presupposes
detachment. As Swamiji said, Nonattachment
is the basis of all the yogas.13
Nonattachment allows us to overcome
and deny the power of anything or anyone
to act upon us. What is the sign of this? No
matter what happens to us, we will remainsteady. Then only can we also be a witness
to our thoughts and experience the vast
boundless being that we truly are. In the third
chapter of the Gita, the Lord says: Therefore,
always perform action which has to be done,
unattached; verily a person attains the highest
by performing action unattached. The world,
Lao Tsu says, is won by those who let it go.
So according to Swamiji and Sri Krishna,
one of the most effective ways of shifting our
identity from the selfishness of the small self,
to our true Self is through nonattached work,
service, or worship of God in man because
they are life oriented. Living and working in
the right spirit can be a progressive revelation
of Self-Knowledge. Swamiji felt that every
unselfish activity should be capable of
revealing the Truth. The Way is gained by
daily loss. By losing our self, we find our Self.
Christ said, He who looses this life gains life
eternal. Loss upon loss until at last comesrestthe awareness of our true infinite Self
which alone is bliss. By letting go, it all gets
done. (Concluded.)
25
6. CW, 7: 15 7. CW, 2: 82-83 8. CW, 6: 430 9. CW, 1: 442 10. cf. CW, 1: 97-98
11. CW, 1: 101 12. Bhagavad Gita, 3.27 13. CW, 1: 101
References
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Holy Mother once said, He who is
the Master, am I. Yet who could realize the
absolute unity and non-duality of Thakur and
Ma Sri Sarda Devi, that it was One Realitywhich appeared in two forms to purify the
impure, to soothe the afflicted and to illumine
the ignorant?
Who could gauge the identity of Thakur
and Ma in their lofty divine effulgence; so
imperceptible was Holy Mothers transcendent
glory shrouded as it was in her unostentatious
life of rural simplicity and humanity? It was
the Gracious Mother herself who revealed
her identity with her divine consort to a fewintimate disciples. When Saryubala questioned
the Mother about prayer, meditation and
realization she replied,
Look upon the Master and myself as non-
different and meditate on the vision that you get
at any time.1
To Manada-Shankar Holy Mother
wrote in a letter that if he felt more inclined
towards meditating on her, he could do so,
because there was no difference between thetwo personalities except that of form, and the
some entity that indwelt the Masters body
inhabited the Mothers also. The letter she sent
three weeks later also affirmed, He who is the
Master, am I.2
Thakur-Ma, One RealitySUDESH
Blessed were those who realized it.
Gopaler-Ma was then in her death-bed when
the Mother went to visit her. She stretched
forth her hand to take hold of something.Mother did not understand what she wanted.
The woman devotee in attendance explained
that she wanted the sacred dust of Mothers
feet, who was to her none other than the
Master as identified with her Gopala. The
Mother had so long been revering Gopaler-
Ma as though she were her mother-in-law.
But at that moment none cared to stand on
formalities. The Mother made no objection.3
Whose Darshanof the Mothers or the
Masters?
When a devotee said that he had the
darshan of Holy Mother, Swami Akhanda-
nanda remarked, When you had the darshan
of Holy Mother, the same result of having
the darshan of Sri Ramakrishna will accrue
to you. To have the darshan of the Mother or
the Master is the same thing.4We are dazed
and enchanted to see the actual demonstrationof this analogous mysterious phenomena
through the transfiguration of Ma into Thakur
and vice versa.
Swami Abhedananda described the
reaction of the Mother when he first read out
A devotee from Ambala, Sudesh regularly contributes inspiring articles to The Vedanta Kesari.
Article
This article explores the divine relationship or oneness of Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother
Sri Sarada Devi. Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother are reverentially and affectionately addressed as
Thakur or Sri Thakur and Ma or Sri Ma respectively, by the monks and devotees of the Ramakrishna
Order.
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425T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4~ ~
Prakritim Paramam, his hymn in her adoration.
She protested as to why a hymn should be
composed on her. However, when Swami
Abhedananda sang, Ramakrishna gata prana
meaning, salutations to one whose heart and
soul is in Ramakrishna, she became still. When
the next words, tannama shravana priyam
meaning, one who rejoices in listening to the
glory and name of Sri Ramakrishna were
sung, tears of joy began to flow from her eyes.
And when Tadbhava ranjita karam, i.e. whosemind is totally coloured with the ideas of Sri
Ramakrishna were uttered, the Swami saw
that the Mother was no more there. Instead, Sri
Ramakrishna was sitting in her place.
In another instance we are amazed to see
the transformation of Thakur to Ma and again
back to Thakur; even after they were merged
in the Indivisible and were not present in their
physical forms. Swami Shantananda Puri,
a disciple of Swami Purushottamananda ofRishikesh wrote:
From Belur Math I got recommendation letters
to visit Kamarpukur and Jayrambati. I was not
very enthusiastic about going to Jayrambati.
From the early days, my reverence for Thakur
never extend to Holy Mother . . . Somehow I
was of the opinion that the merits of the consorts
of great men were always being exaggerated.
On the third day of my stay at Kamarpukur, I
was sitting in meditation before Thakur who
was dressed that day in an ochre-coloured
cloth. When I happened to open my eyes, I saw
before me a statue of Holy Mother with her hair
flowing over her shoulders, with head covered
and draped in a pure white sari with a thick red
line border. For several minutes I continued to
look at it and there was no change. I pinchedmyself to ensure that I was really awake. Again
I went into meditation but, in my curiosity, as
many time as I opened my eyes it was the Holy
Mother who was before me. Finally, when I got
up, I found that it was again Thakur draped in an
ochre-coloured dhoti. I was confused and unable
to understand the significance of this strange
vision. Perhaps Thakur wanted to reveal to me
that Holy Mother was not different from him.
So I decided to go to Jayrambati the next day. . .5
The Embodiments of Shiva and Shakti
Once Surendranath told the Mother that
he worshipped the Goddess (his Ishta) through
the image of the Master. Afterwards while
surrendering the fruits of Japa, uttering the
words, O Great Goddess, through Thy grace,
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and so forth, created confusion in his mind.
The Mother said:
Our Master alone is Mahesvara (Supreme God)
and Mahesvari (Supreme Goddess) as well. He
alone is the embodiment of all mystsic syllables.One can worship through him all Gods and
Goddesses.6
On another occasion Mother disclosed
to another devotee the truth of the unity of
Shiva and Shakti in her holy person. Wishing
to accept Naresh Chandra Chakravortys
worship, during his visit to Jayrambati,
Mother directed him to bring both yellow and
white flowers as she loved yellow flowers
and the Master the white ones. Getting a hintfrom Mother, Naresh Chandra offered white
flowers at her right foot and yellow ones at
her left. Thus she disclosed to him the truth
of the unity of Shiva and Shakti in her holy
person. That is why she wanted the white
flowers for the snow-white Shiva as identical
with Sri Ramakrishna, and the yellow ones
for the golden-coloured Shakti as embodied
in herself.7
The one who gives Mantra-diksha to
a disciple is the Guru. But the Mother after
initiating the disciples would tell them that it
was not she but Thakur who had given them
the mantra; that he was their Guru and the
Ishta. So identified and unified was she with
Thakur! Once Swami Keshavananda expressed
his sorrow at not having been able to see
the Master when he incarnated. The Mother
pointed to her own person and said, He is
here in this body in a subtle form. The Master
himself declared, I shall live within you in asubtle form.8
The Mother has revealed that it was One
Realitythe Supreme Brahman, manifested
in two forms as Purusha and Prakriti or Male
and Female Principles; so different apparently
yet identified. Saint Jnaneswara has beautifully
expressed this idea in the words which he used
to invoke the Supreme Reality:
Sardham kena cha kasyardham
sivayou samarupinoh;
jnatun na sakyate lagnumiti dvaitachhalan muhuh;
advaitam atmanastattvam
darsayontau mithyastaram;
tau vande jagam adyau
tayostattvabhipattaye.9
I bow down to Shiva and Shakti, the cause of
the world, for clearly knowing and realising
their innate nature; their mutual union is
incomprehensible because we cannot know who
is complementary or supplementary to whom
and whose half is who; we find that this duality
is only an appearance, for, to the persevering and
tranquil enquirer they themselves reveal their
real nature which is non-duality.
Swami Tapasyananda said,
It is one of the great contributions of Sri Rama-
krishna to Indian religious tradition that has
identified the Shakti not as a mere counterpart
of the Absolute, but as the Absolute Himself
personalisedthe Saguna Brahman of Vedanta
who is the origin, the support and the end of themanifold universe.10
Who Knew Thakur as Holy Mother Did!
Vak declared in the Devi Sukta:
I know the Soul Supreme or Brahman, for there
is no difference between Him and Me. . . I am the
energy in Brahman, the Mother of all.11
Like Vak was Holy Mother who alone
knew Thakur, the Purna-Brahman and reveal-
ed his divinity in an effortless way. Has notThakur said, She is Sarada, Saraswati; she has
come to impart knowledge. . . She is full of
the rarest wisdom. Is she of common run? She
is my Shakti.12 Who else but Mother, his Shakti
could fathom and reveal the unfathomable
depths and infinite glories of Thakur? In every
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situation she has hit it right in understanding
him, instinctively, in a flash as it were. The
rarest wisdom the Mother imparted was not
through lectures or precepts but through living
inspiration.The Mother did not look upon the Master
as an ordinary immortal; according to her,
he was none other than the all-pervading
God Himself. And her conception of him
transcended all forms and ascended to the
formless Brahman. The Advaita Ashrama at
Mayavati is dedicated to non-dualism. One
who doubted if it was right for him to profess
himself a member of the Advaita Ashrama
when he leaned towards dualism appealedto the Holy Mother as a final resort, only to
receive the reply, Sri Ramakrishna was all
Advaita. Why should you also not follow
Advaita? All his disciples are Advaitins.13
Who could refute?
Thakur saw everything gross and subtle,
animate and inanimate, full of Consciousness
of the Divine Mother, who Herself had become
everything. He said, I saw a wicked man in
front of the Kali temple; but in him also I saw
the power of the Divine Mother vibrating. That
was why I fed a cat with the food that was to
be offered to the Divine Mother.14 And the
Mother once fed the parrot Gangaram with
Halwa, meant to be offered to Thakur.
Holy Mother identified Thakur with all
deities and all creation. That is why she said
that at one time she was in such a state that
she could not drive away an ant from the
food offered in front of the Master, under thebelief that the Master himself was eating it.
How similarly attuned were the two souls!
In them we see living examples of Advaita
at its highest. Seeing the innermost core of all
which was Pure Self, they suffused all with
the aroma of their redeeming love irrespective
of whether a person was a saint or a sinner,
virtuous or wicked, high or low, deserving
or not deserving. Identified with the sorrows
of the whole world they stretched out theirsaving hands in benediction to all, even the
lunatics, drunkards, criminals and the fallen.
Such was their consuming compassion to bring
illumination to Jivas that Thakur would not be
deterred from his spiritual ministry even when
he vomited blood.
And the Mother, at the entreaties of her
attendants not to initiate people any more,
particularly during her last illness, would reply
that Thakur and herself had incarnated for that
very purpose. If they did not accept the burden
of the sins and sorrows of the suffering,
who else would do it. Did Sri Ramakrishna
incarnate to eat only Rasogollas?
(To be continued. . .)
1. Her Direct Disciples, In the Company of the Holy
Mother(Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1980), 201-
202.
2. Swami Gambhirananda, Holy Mother Sri SaradaDevi(Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1969), 457.
3. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, 211.
4. Sri Sarada Devi the Great Wonder (New Delhi:
Ramakrishna Mission, 1984), 23.
5. Vedanta Kesari, December 2003, 511.
6. Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Sarada Devi The Holy
Mother(Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1969),
References
387-388.
7. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, 458.
8. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, ibid.
9. Anubhavamrta, 1.2.10. Sri Sarada Devi The Holy Mother, 222.
11. Sri Sarada Devi the Great Wonder, 125.
12. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, 114.
13. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, 452.
14. M,The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, trans. Swami
Nikhilananda (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math,
2002), 15.
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Unpublished Letters of
Swami Saradananda1
New Find
Math. Belur. Howrah.
3.17.03. [17 March 1903]
My dear Hari Maharaj2,
I am sorry I could not write you for a long time. How are you
just now & what are your plans for the summer? Will you go to
Almora or where? I believe the heat at Brindaban has become already
intense during day time.
The crayon photo has arrived but we have not yet got the delivery
of it from the agents office.
Mrs.Sevier is our guest just now with Miss C.G. They are tenting on our grounds. The
former will leave for Mayabati3soon.
The Utsab went on well though there was a little shower of rain in the afternoon.
Sarada4has written to you perhaps that he has made Dr.Logan to resign the Presidentship
& stopped the paper.
Everything is going on in the Math as usual & all are well. Some are waiting to go to the
Kumbha Mela.
I hope Krishnalal is well. Our blessings to him.
The Holy Mother is at Jairambati and doing well, I hear. I might go to see her in a month
or two if I am not called in Japan.
With love to you as ever and prayers for your speedy recovery.Yours affecly
Sarat.
Jan 16 1903.
Math. Belur. Howrah.
My dear Hari Maharaj,
I thank you for your kind letter of Jan 11 and especially for your permission to me to take
the loan if necessary. I have consulted Rakhal Maharaj about it and decided to take Rs.2000/-
only for the present.
The balance of your money Rs.15000[?] will be kept in the Bengal Bank as a fixed depositfor four months at 4 percent per annum. The above sum will be kept there in three names,
those of yourself, Raja & myself. This we have thought best to avoid emergencies. I have paid
Rs.10/0 to the Swamijis Birthday Anniy fund. So you have now Rs.110/- with me at present.
I am sorry I forgot to inform you that I asked Latoo to buy a watch for him if he likes &
he declined. A few days afterwards I offered him the gold coin and he made no objections. So
I have paid him already.
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31
1. A direct disciple of Sri