Monthly Newsletter of Sai Krushna Charitable Trust DECEMBER 2016 ISSUE #60

Transcription

1 VENUGAANAM Monthly Newsletter of Sai Krushna Charitable Trust DECEMBER 2016 ISSUE #60

2 In This Edition Article Page Number From Team Venugaanam 3 Swami s Discourse 4 Atmajyothi 6 SKM Updates 9 The Awakening invite 19 The Joy of book browsing 21 Chinna Katha 22 2

3 From Team Venugaanam We are delighted to bring you the 58th edition of Venugaanam this December. In this edition, we bring excerpts from Swami s Divine Discourses compiled in Prema Vahini where he highlights the difference between Manava and Danava. In Atmajyothi, we continue to learn the pull of illusions and sensory objects. We also learn about the process by which we can overcome these illusions. In the SKM updates, we share the pics from the Grand Event on 27 th November as part of Swami s 91 st Birthday and School Silver Jubilee celebrations. The programme held on on 27th Nov included Grama Seva covering 2 villages (120 homes), cultural programme and Narayana Seva providing Lunch for almost 700 people. Hope you enjoy viewing it as much as did while participating and volunteering. Later in the issue, Nandhini, a special and first-time guest at SKM shares her experiences on volunteering at and witnessing the colourful and exhilarating celebrations at SKM on the account of our beloved Swami s birthday. Prakash s article describes the joy of book browsing with a Kindle. We conclude with a Chinna Katha highlighting the importance of leaving that which is transient. We are happy to have your feedback on how to make Venugaanam a better communication tool. You may kindly mail us at contactus@saikrushnamandir.org. Do feel free to share with us your experiences in following Swami s teachings or on any other theme of your choice. We pray to Swami to bless all the children and inmates so that they may all come up to His expectations. May Swami turn our lives into a celebration of His message of love, sharing and caring. With All our Prema, Team Venugaanam 3

4 Swami s Discourse Manava and Danava, The Differences in Character Source: Prema Vahini Manavas or Men are full of Prema or Love. Their hearts are springs of Mercy. They are endowed with True Speech. Peace is the characteristic of the mind of Man. That is the innate quality of the mind. In order to search for peace there is no need to go anywhere else. As gold and silver lie hidden under the earth and pearl and coral under the sea, peace and joy also lie hidden in the activities of the mind. Desirous of acquiring these hidden treasures, if one dives and turns mental activities inward then he becomes full of Prema or Love. Only those who have so filled themselves with Love and who live in the light of that Love can be called men. Those devoid of prema are Danavas, monsters, subhumans. That holy quality of Love will not remain unmanifested off and on; it will be ever present, without change. It is one and indivisible. Those saturated with Love are incapable of spite, selfishness, injustice, wrong and misconduct; but in those who have no Love, the above qualities are always above everything else. Danavas are those who trample on Love and consider inferior qualities as important, while Manavas are those who consider those inferior qualities as snakes to be destroyed and Love alone as the quality to be fostered. Bad conduct and bad habits distort the humanness of Man. Hearts filled with the nectar of Love indicate genuine humanity in man. By Prema or Love is meant love which is unsullied, unselfish, devoid of impurity and continuous. Between Manava and Danava, the difference is only Ma and Da! But the letter Ma is soft, sweet and immortal in symbolism, while the sound Da is merciless, lawless and burning. Are they men, who have no sweetness in them and who endeavour to suppress the craving for immortality? Theirs is the nature of Danavas, though the form is human! For it is not the form that is primary, it is the character. How can those with human form be called men, if 4

5 Swami s Discourse they have no kindness and no rightness, and if they have the nature of Danavas? No, they cannot be called so. Now, the sentences in my discourse are not addressed on the basis of form, they are based on the qualities of men. Among men, there are Danavas in plenty! They both look alike, but their qualities make them distinguishable as Manava and Danava. The Manavas engage themselves in the soft and sweet deeds of kindness, rightness, love and truth and they are witnesses to the possibility of realising, and manifesting one s immortality. Their good nature is resplendent on their faces as Ananda (bliss); but without that goodness even if he is infatuated with joy, his face will indicate only the destructive fire of the Danava. It will not have the Grace of Ananda. 5

6 Atmajyothi Atmajyothi -by Shri Lakshminarayan Aithal म च य व यभ च र ण क त य ग न स व स ग ण न सम त य न ब रह म य य कल प ग According to this, the devotee settles in God s Own Form and he transgresses the qualities once and for all. य गक ष म त यजत 91. For this, the first expedient is to give up the anxiety of one s maintenance and protection (य गक ष म). य ग means the anxiety of possessing things wanted. The one who has drowned in the anxiety of possessing things is called a demon (अस र). He, never walks in the path of good fortune. क ष म means the anxiety of protecting the possessed things. The one who is free from the anxiety of his maintenance and protection (तनय गक ष म) turns his mind towards God with the hope that somehow He looks after the maintenance and protection of a devotee; and, he feels satisfied with things whatever he is having. As a man walks along the Path of Devotion, he reduces his effort to have his maintenance and protection. At last, the Supreme Devotee attains the Knowledge that God Himself is his Goal and he drowns in His Contemplation. अनन य क चचन यन म य जन पय प स ष तनत य भ य त न य गक ष म वह म यहम ग According to this, there is no difference between God and a devotee; therefore, latter s maintenance and protection are looked after by the Former. It is not similar to the lazy people who imagine that somehow God would protect them. It is true that God Himself looks after their welfare also. But, the welfare of such lazy people is hardly supplied according to their credentials. God warns them through hunger, thirst, poverty, disregard of people, etc; and, He arranges for the conduct of their welfare by their effort. The Supreme Devotee is not similar to the lazy people, he doesn t have an anxiety either to live or to die. He is eternally devoted in the contemplation of God. That, itself, accomplishes for arranging of his welfare. 6

7 Atmajyothi य कम फल त यजत, कम णण स न यस यत, तनर द वन र दव वत The one who gives up the fruit of action, gives up actions; by that, he becomes free from strife (र दवन र दव); and, (he crosses the illusion). कम फल त यजत 92. Ignorant people consider that it is impossible to give up anxiety of one s maintenance and protection. They doubt : If the one doesn t have an aim of obtaining a certain fruit, can he conduct any work successfully? But, it is true that those who have desire of fruit alone engage in the work; while working, if they are troubled by the anxiety to have the fruit, they can t finish the work successfully. Those who are freed from the anxiety of having desired fruit within the expected period alone obtain a good fruit. Artists like a painter, a poet, etc. immerse in their respective works; all prudent ones know that without anxiety work conducted for the sake of work becomes a good efficacious one. कम णण स न यस यत 93.Thus, those who drown in their respective work alone have the work of the good sort; let it be so. Does a man conduct all actions of the external world? Who conducts different functions within his body? If anyone deliberates, it becomes clear that all such actions are not under his control. Wind blows from one side to the other, fire burns, flame shoots up, rising and setting of the sun, seasonal rainfall, etc. under whose subjection theses phenomena do occur? It is clear that all the following activities like birth and death, regular functions of organs, mind and intellect are not under the subjection of a man. It is true that the man following certain laws of nature turns it according to his motive; he examines not only external division of the world like : the division relating to beings (आध त क); that arising from deity (आध द ववक) and, also, the functions of the internal organs of the body and that of organs and mind; he controls certain aspects; and, he manufactures newer and newer machines and instruments according to the needs of scientific investigations. But, so far, 7

8 Atmajyothi none has discovered the cause for the following aspects: The laws of nature are in order, all the methodical activities of the visible nature are conducted independently without the help of human beings; and, there is no probability of finding out the cause in the future; isn t it? By this, what is proved? ष स म र दव पव ष द त स य ष स म दक ननचच न रचच म त य वत पञ चम इत According to this sentence of the उपतनष, it is only the Truth that the Air, the Sun, the Fire, the Rain, the Death; and, their honoring deities who are not under the subjection of man all of them work under the Rule of God. Similarly, do we have freedom in the functions of our body, organs, vital air, mind and intellect? If we sincerely deliberate on this matter, the answer is : No, we don t have श र त रस य श र त र मनस मन यर दव च ह व च स उ प र णस य प र ण चक ष षचचक ष रत म च य र प र त य स म ल ल क दम वक न क (This Self) is the Ear to ears, the Mind to mind, the Speech to speech and the Eye to the eye; the prudent ones who have given up everything leaving this world become Immortals. According to this श र त, all the functions of organs, mind, vital air, etc. are conducted in the presence of the Self, the God. ध र व was eager to praise, then the Lord touched the upper cheek of the boy by His Conch which was composed of the Vedas; then, he praised Him : य न प रववचय मम व चभमम प रस प सञ ज वयत यण लशक त र स व म न अन य चच हस चरणश रवणत वग द न प र ण न नम गव प र ष य भ यम ग O Lord, You are endowed with all powers, You have entered in me; You have filled the luster and shine of life (ज वकल ) in these organs of mine like hands, feet, ears, skin, etc; You have filled the entire Cosmos, hence, You are the प र ष; salutation to Thee! This sentence of the प र ण declares that all the functions coming from self (आध य क त मक) are conducted by God alone. Those people who have this awareness are Supreme Devotees; they have crossed the Illusion forever. Those who exercise the secondary devotion should offer all of their activities to God as all these are His alone; nothing belongs to them. 8

9 SKM Updates SKM Updates November was a festive month even as we celebrated multiple festivals and also had a Vidya Vahini session. The month started off with the Vidya Vahini session on 5 th November and followed closely by the festival of lights- Deepavali. The children made a beautiful Deepavali Ghar (home) and lit it with earthen lights. The BIG highlight of the month was the celebration of Swami s 91 st birthday coinciding with the 25 th year Silver Jubilee celebration of the school. The programme held on on 27th Nov included Grama Seva covering 2 villages (120 homes), cultural programme and Narayana Seva providing Lunch for almost 700 people. The programme went off very well and was the culmination of more than a month's tireless effort of all teachers, students and volunteers. Specific teams had been formed to oversee various aspects of the programme such as Grama Seva team, decorations team, photography team, sound system team, food serving team etc. The ubiquitous feeling at the end of the day was that this was a unique programme which left an indelible impression on all the guests and participants. We share a few pics from the event in the next few pages. Hope you enjoy viewing it as much as did while participating and volunteering. Hope to see you also as a part of this event next year. 9

10 SKM Updates Rangoli by villagers amidst Pallaki, Nagarsankeertan and Grama Seva 10

11 SKM Updates Beautifully decorated Altar Nagarsankeertan concluding with Arathi 11

12 SKM Updates Make Up for Children Stage Decoration & Cultural Programme 12

13 SKM Updates Felicitation of Ex-Teachers of the school 13

14 SKM Updates Cultural Programme 14

15 SKM Updates Fleeting Moments Lasting Memories 15

16 SKM Updates Narayana Seva: Lunch Prasadam for All 16

17 SKM Updates Volunteers at work on 26 th evening 17

18 The Volunteer Team with their Lord SKM Updates 18

19 Perspective The Awakening Invite -by Nandhini Rajagopal This is my attempt to summarize my exhilarating experiences at the recent Swami 91st birth day celebrations held at SKM. I come from a non-parthi background and completely new to the act of selfless charity. Execution of the program showed the detailed planning by the SKM team. Not even the best of critiques could have found anything amiss in any segment organized. I could feel the presence of God in every single cell around SKM. As my chotu friend Shiva mentioned, SKM is a fantastic power source and the fulfilling experience is like recharging our souls. Warmth and kindness showed by the SKM team was overwhelming. While most of us whine to take care of couple of guests, the hospitality displayed at SKM for 25+ guests radiated their principles in life. Swamis birthday celebrations began with Grama seva and Narayana seva. Swami was carried in a pallaki and was followed by the bhajans team. We all were welcomed by enthusiastic villagers with beautiful rangoli s and personal notes wishing Swami on his birthday. Sevas concluded with an aarthi for Swami at school. School programs KO with three tiny tots invoking Ganesha s blessings followed by wonderful performance by the girls dancing and praising the deeds of Ganesha. A special note here is to the make-over team headed by Poornima. All girls were dressed identically from head to toe. Lord Ganesha himself had joined the girls to share our happiness and excitement. Kids studying in Std I detailed on how thoughts, words, and deeds are summation of all our actions. I still remember the line our words and deeds arise from our thoughts. I am still in shock and aww seeing the values that are instilled in these kids. We also had future super stars acting in skits. Theme followed in skits were emphasizing on life principles. I had the opportunity to watch only two skits and will share my experience. The first skit was based on mythology, when it is kids and mythology we obviously have the ever shining Krishna. The Krishna skit was staged by kids from III Std (!!). The theme was on 19

20 Perspective Krishna hearing to true and soulful worshipping. A special note here, Krishna skit was enacted in English. The second skit was in Hindi with a theme of life values and how important it is for us adults to not just speak or sing values but follow and live as an example to our kids. Since, I was with other volunteers in the food section, was unable to catch up with the rest of cultural programs. We had a cake cutting ceremony for Swami and concluded the program with Swamis aarthi. A sumptuous meal (parupu payasam, jilebi, usuli, poori, chenna, beans curry, curry, puliogare, papad, rice, sambar, rasam, curd rice, and pickle) was served to the villagers, kids, and volunteers totaling to My observation at SKM was people lived what others preach. There was no selfish acts, hardly any arguments, people live with minimal fuss and arguments - almost a rare instance to observe. There was only happiness, content smiles, and helping hands all around. It is just so overwhelming to even write this article, this article is just the tip of the ice berg. Pictures speak a 1000 words and I am sure you all will understand the magnanimity of the event and realize Swamis blessing in every single frame when you view them in the earlier pages. Life s simplest pleasures are life s greatest Joys, a huge thanks for inviting us Team SKM and helping us realize Swamis blessing. 20

21 Random Musings The joy of Book Browsing -by Prakash Srinivasan I own a Kindle and have a collection of about hundred books yet one of my favourite hobbies is visiting the bookshop. At least once a month I visit different book shops to review the new books that have been launched. I firmly believe that ebooks and physical books will always co-exist. In my case I use the Kindle for reading my non-fiction collection and I have a collection of classics as physical books. One of the greatest advantages of the Kindle is that you can read multiple books of different genres at the same time and it's impossible to carry more than two books in such cases so obviously the Kindle is the best solution. What I have been doing off late is that I check out the latest books at the book shop and then order the Kindle version which gets downloaded instantly. The Kindle has made book buying an impulse purchase. One more advantage with the Kindle is that there are monthly deals on Kindle Books which makes it very affordable. In most cases I buy the ebook only after checking out the physical version as the experience of handling a physical book is irreplaceable. I have a large collection physical books collected over the past two decades and most of these are either classics, comics or spiritual books. My all time favourite classic book is the spiritual Masterpiece, Shrimad Bhagavatam. I have the hard bound version of it as I read it and re-read it with many pauses to understand and imbibe its meaning. One more healthy Trend is the emergence of second hand bookshops. It is a Win-Win scenario as we get many rare books at half the price. These second hand book shops have become very popular owing to the above reasons. They are a boon especially for the student community. The advent of technology has only made book reading a more enjoyable experience. 21

22 Chinna Katha Leave What Must Be Left Once a King went to a forest for hunting. There he was separated from his entourage and lost the way. While walking in darkness, he slipped and fell into an old well. Fortunately, he firmly caught hold of some roots of the branches of a nearby banyan tree as they were hanging in the well. Thereby, he saved himself from falling into the well. After some time, a person doing Nama Sankirtan happened to pass that way. Hearing the sound of groaning coming from a nearby place indicating that someone was in distress, he came near the well and peeped into it. Seeing someone hanging in the well, he managed to procure a rope from somewhere to pull him out. Throwing the rope in the well, he addressed the person in trouble, "Catch hold of this rope firmly; I will try to pull you out slowly." The king had a doubt: what should I catch at - the roots of the branches of the banyan tree or the rope? In the same way, man becomes the victim of doubts in certain situations and loses his discrimination. First, the roots of the branches of the banyan tree were the means by which the king saved himself. But to come out of the The king had a doubt: what should I catch at - the roots of the branches of the banyan tree or the rope? Well, he should have left those roots and caught hold of the rope. Here, the roots symbolise the world which man keeps holding. But some day or the other, he has to know the path which can lead him to his redemption. Leaving the roots and catching the rope are the means which lead him to the path of his liberation. 22