September/October 2013 Vol. 24, No.5

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1 September/October 2013 Vol. 24, No.5 CHINMAYA MISSION SAN JOSE PUBLICATION

2 MISSION STATEMENT To provide to individuals, from any background, the wisdom of Vedanta and practical means for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become a positive contributor to the society. Chinmaya Lahari Our Duties To perform and fulfill your duties correctly you must very carefully examine, reflect upon and understand life in society and your place in it. As an individual you have duties towards yourself, as a domestic being, you have duties towards your elders and to those who are younger than you, as a social being you have duties toward the society, and lastly as a living member in a competitive world you have some duties towards your chosen profession. All these duties are to be undertaken and fulfilled with a sense of loyalty and devotion to the Lord, who in His Great Wisdom has placed you where you are in your exact circumstances

3 ONTENTS Volume 24, No.5 September/October 2013 From The Editors Desk Chinmaya Tej Editorial Staff... 2 Status of Building Project... 3 Mother Durga... 4 Finding the Way... 6 Thought Pots & God Can Holistic Management Love's labour can never be lost Gurudev - The Virat Purusha Meditation with Talks on Vedanta Bala Vihar Locations & Choir Bhakti Rasamrutam BalViHar Magazine - Gita Chanting Classes for Children Tapovan Prasad Scheme of Study for Chinmaya Study Groups Community Outreach program Vedanta Study Groups Adult Sessions Satsangs with Br. Prabodh Chaitanya Prabodhji's Classes at Bala Vihar Locations Prabodhji's Classes at Sandeepany Swami Tejomayananada s Itinerary PAGE1

4 FROM THE EDITORS DESK Tej, is a bi-monthly publication of Chinmaya Mission San Jose. CMSJ is in the process of getting the necessary permits to build the New Facility. The City of San Jose is studying the building drawings and when they are approved we shall begin the construction of our New Building. We are happy to show you some elevation drawings of the projects. We invite you to visit the site when you can. News and events update via e-newsletter on CMSJ web-site is serving our timely announcements. Please keep us updated with your addresses and send them to Cmsj-news@chinmaya.org If you do not hear from us or Chinmaya Tej, please forward your address and to me indicated on this page. Chinmaya Tej is also available for viewing on our website. Chinmaya-Tej will be mailed to all Sponsors and Members of Chinmaya Mission San Jose. Send your subscription marked, Chinmaya-Tej, CMSJ, 1050 Park Ave., San Jose, CA CHINMAYA TEJ EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR Uma Jeyarasasingam / umakj@sbcglobal.net CO-EDITOR Rohini Joshi ELECTRONIC EDITORIAL ADVISOR Satish Joshi CONTRIBUTORS Subbu Venkatkrishnan, Swami Chinmayananda, Shaila Suta, Haimavathy, Swami Tejomayananda, Swami Swaroopananda DESIGN & LAYOUT four waters media, inc. PRINTING PigMint Press, Redway, CA DATA BASE Kapil Vaish MAILING Autozip, Ukiah, CA CONTACT Ph: (650) Fax: (650)

5 PAGE3 status new building Chinmaya Vision A Commitment to Excellence Current Status as of mid-march, 2014 Hari Om and Salutations to Chinmaya Family!! With the Lord's Grace and Pujya Gurudev and Pujya Guruji's blessings, the construction continues to progress quite smoothly. The expected completion of construction is in the first quarter of None of this would be possible without the wholehearted ongoing support from the entire Chinmaya Mission family. As you look to enjoying the holidays and closing out 2013, we look forward to your continued support to help us continue to fulfill our financial obligations with the bank. This would be the right time to make a donation that will help us reduce our dependency on bank loan. We look forward to your continued support to help us continue to fulfill our financial obligations with the bank. If you would like to make a pledge, please contact Meena Kapadia (meenakapad@yahoo.com) or Sanjay Rao (raosanjay@yahoo.com). Thank You and Warm Regards, CMSJ Board of Directors

6 Mother Durga BY SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA from Tapovan Prasad, October 2002 Mother Durga is the Power Terrible, that manifested out of the eternal Truth, which is Paripoorna and so has in It all powers. In Her we have the representation of a total synthesis of Sree Parvati, Sree Laxmi and Sree Saraswati. Man, the imperfect, the bound, the sorrowful, has a thousand enemies within. He is riddled with negative thoughts, fears, yearnings. A sadhaka must get rid of these lawless villains within. By Mother Kali s kripa (grace), these destructive monsters are to be annihilated. No amount of soft persuasion can avail. The forces of Sri Rudra must be applied. There must be a deep, determined, adamantine resolve and a fight royal within, as sanguine as the Kali s ferocious sword dripping with blood and unless the sadhaka is ready to wear about his neck the skull garland of these murdered false values, there can be no peace or order within. 4PAGE

7 This is the reason why, during the nine days of Devi Pooja, we have an invocation of Sree Kali in the first three days, we invoke Sree Lakshmi in the second set of three days, and then we worship Sree Saraswati in the concluding three days. Kali is the mighty power of destruction, invoked so that the seeker can destroy all the negative tendencies in oneself. Thereafter, Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, is invoked to cultivate the nobler emotions and sentiments in him, the inner wealth of his heart. One who has thus accomplished the cleansing of one s inner personality alone can, with sure success, worship Sree Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning and also She who gives the essence (sara) of our own Self (swa). The study of the Upanishads is futile and cannot bring about any spiritual awaking in one who has not made his heart pure. One must weed out the false values of desire, lust and passion and must cultivate love, charity, self-control and the other virtues. When one has thus invoked Kali and has adored Lakshmi, one is fit to enter the Temple of Sree Saraswati. She leads us to the end of our slavery, of the devil in us, the passions and lusts. This is symbolized by the burning of the effigy of lower nature on the tenth day of Durga Puja called Dussehra. This is also called the day of Enlightenment vidyarambha. PAGE5

8 Catch Them Young BY SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA (TAPOVAN SEPT 2002) In horticulture creepers are trained by the intelligent gardener to grow and spread themselves in the required direction and to slowly fill up the given trellis. The young seedlings grow in the direction in which the gardener guides them, and ere long the dream-vision of the gardener is fulfilled in all its detail by the steadily growing plants. A sculptor with a vision of beauty works steadily on a piece of stone and carefully chips off, bit by bit, the rough granite masses that are concealing the beauty, proportion and harmony of the form that he had conceived in his mind and visualized in the stone. Finally speaking form emerges out to smile on the on-looker; the inert stone comes to life under the chisel and hammer of the artist! A little pup of an intelligent breed is selected by the trainer and slowly trained to accomplish intelligent acts of service to mankind. Later on, the trained dog unearths crimes which were riddles to the more intelligent and organized police. In short faculties that lie dormant in creatures can be brought out into their full brilliance and efficiency when they are properly cultivated and intelligently trained. It has become one of the most modern superstitious fashions in our society to blame the growing generation and to accuse the youth of the country for their lack of discipline and of faith in the higher and nobler values of life. If among the intelligent and the educated we watch an almost complete break up of character, it is the nation s cultural bankruptcy at this moment that is the cause of it. Ancient history of the world and its various cultural units if studied detachedly point to us the remedy for this inward shattering. 6PAGE

9 There is yet nothing to despair. Our cultural Revival Plan must have necessarily a minimum of three schemes: schemes to revive (a) manhood; (b) womanhood and (c) childhood. Men and women are taken up for re-education and rehabilitation together and separately in our Mission s study groups and Devi groups. Children are being trained in many of our branches, all over the country, by the Mission members especially by the members of the Devi group, at our various Chinmaya Balvihars. Children of today are to be the inheritors of tomorrow and the future world is to be guided on proper lines by the growing children of today. Unless we train them properly to take up this great responsibility, they too shall fail as our fathers failed and many of us are failing today. Some, more than hundred, centers are today training children. And during my recent wanderings I met almost all of them, and was extremely happy not only in watching the progress of the little ones but also in noticing the amazement and wonder of the neighbors, and sometimes of the very trainers who are training them, at the development the children register in an incredibly short time. Parents and elders will perhaps be witnessing the early beginners of the new Bharat that we are planning for the glory of the future times to come. The development and growth in this general enthusiasm, mental habits, intellectual efficiency and physical discipline could have been staggeringly spectacular, if only we could have given these little ones a healthier schoolatmosphere and a more satisfactory home-environment. But these two are not now as they should be. That in spite of these hurdles they have all come up so beautifully well-disciplined at all levels, is a fact which declares the intrinsic cultural stamina in the Hindu race. This sort of a national rebuilding programme may today seem like a far cry but when the world emerges out of its own day s wilderness, it shall, in the saner eras that are yet to come, learn to see the necessity of adopting these intelligent methods. We can bring together children from various centers and give them the chance of celebrating a family re-union. If children are thus brought together to live in the company of each other, I for one feel confident that a better mutual understanding and love, based upon mutual appreciation, can be discovered in their hearts. Upon such sacred personalities, strength, cultural brotherhood and spiritual companionship alone can a saner world be built up, and a more harmonious culture for our country be evolved. Parents and elders will perhaps be witnessing the early beginnings of the new Bharat that we are planning for the glory of the future times to come. PAGE7

10 Saint Tukaram THE MENTOR OF THE MASSES BY SHAILA SUTA (Tapovan Prasad, Sept 2002) Year after year, devotees go on periodic pilgrimages to Pandharpur, Dehu (Tukaram s birthplace near Pune) and Alandi (Jnanadev s birthplace). They are called varkaris. The great names associated with this Bhakti cult are Namadev, Jnanadev and Eknath. Tukaram was born into this rich heritage. Tukaram was the second of five children born to Bothoba and Kankai in the year They were traditionally agriculturist, shudras, believed at that time to be of low caste. Tukaram was married at an early age to Rukma and had a son by her. However, she was weak and an asthmatic, incapable of carrying on the arduous task of running a household in those days. So he was married again to a woman called Jijabai. In 1625, when he was barely seventeen years old, he lost both his parents. Soon his sister-in-law also passed away and his elder brother Saoji, who was of a spiritual bent of mind, went away to Varanasi. Tukaram had to shoulder the entire responsibility of the household. The small trade money-lending and agricultural work which was handed down to the young Tukaram did not flourish well. In the year 1629, there was a major drought and the village witnessed untold suffering His wife Rukma died of starvation, followed soon after by his eldest son. The countryside was swept by pestilence and the ravaging armies of the Moghuls. The agony of this devastation scorched the sensitive heart of Tukaram. It was at this time that a deep restlessness took hold of him; the first stirrings of an intensely spiritual life began to surface and he left for Bhamnath, a quiet place on the hills. In solitary communion with nature, he had glimpses of the Glory beyond, beckoning him to the cool, soothing presence of the Lord of his heart. Eventually he returned to the household, where Jijabai bore the brunt of the responsibilities, as Tukaram gravitated more and more towards his inner spiritual life. At times, entrusted with money or small trade, 8PAGE

11 he would distribute the amount to any suffering soul in need and return home empty-handed. It was around this time that he started composing small lyrics called abhangs, meant to be sung. He was greatly attracted by the teachings of the Geeta, and read Jnaneshwari, the Marathi commentary by Jnanadev and went on to write his own interpretation of the Geeta, emphasizing the aspects of advaita and bhakti, in his Mantra Geeta. When the time was ripe, he received mantra deeksha by a satguru, around the year Babaji Chaitanya, the disciple of Keshava Chaitanya, whose guru was the famous Raghava Chaitanya, appeared to Tukaram, when he was in a trance-like state. To quote an abhang, in Tukaram s own words, He placed his hand on my forehead, And showed the very ecstasy Then the whole fine blue light appeared Colours shed, it entered the colorless, And pure remained the light of the Self. (shau dehache matha ) Tukaram s life entered a new phase after this event. His poetic instant was strengthened by a dream in which Namadev appeared with Panduranga and asked him to compose abhang s. Poems started flowing spontaneously and his kirtans drew devotees from far-flung places. The aura of divine love was irresistible. One of the devotees drawn to him with great intensity was Bahinabai, who came from an orthodox Brahmin family. Tukaram was persecuted by the rigid brahmins who stuck to outward forms of worship, not understanding the essence of spirituality and universal love. Their hostility was spearheaded by one Rameshwar Bhatt, who insisted that all his poems and writings should be thrown into the Indrayani river flowing by, if he wanted to avoid excommunication. Forced to obey, Tukaram tied up all the papers, weighed with a big stone and consigned them to the waters. He was on the banks of the river with a heavy heart, mentally communing with Panduranga. Was it not He who bade him compose the poems? What was His will now? Why this divine play? He sat agonizing thus for thirteen days, without food or water. The Lord, who is the embodiment of compassion, graced the papers to float up to the surface of the river, none the worse for thirteen days of submergence! With this incident, Tukaram s greatness as a bhakta came to be recognized and even the irate Rameshwar became an admirer and follower of Tukaram in the later years. Many miracles are recounted about this period of Tukaram s life. Once, a God-intoxicated devotee left his child who was very ill, to participate in Tukaram s kirtan and satsang. The child died and the wife brought the PAGE9

12 lifeless little one to the satsang, upbraiding her husband s lack of concern. Tukaram began to sing, imploring the Lord in heart-rending terms, joined by the other devotees. Slowly, the child opened its eyes, proving beyond doubt the presence of the all-merciful Lord in the satsang. Tukaram s sense of oneness with all living creatures is seen clearly in another story that is handed down. Once, when he was passing by a field, the birds which were feeding, flew away, seeing his approach. Stricken by this he prayed soulfully to the Lord to remove whatever impurity there was in his mind and body, which made the birds fear him and fly away. He remained still lost in meditation, till the birds returned and perched on him. Many are the legends which fan the flame of bhakti in responsive hearts. Those who set about verifying facts and writing dry, arid biographies, lose the very essence of the matter. Tukaram s end is shrouded in mystery. Bahinabai sings, O Tukaram! While we were looking at you, you disappeared in a flash. Others say that a wondrous chariot carried him away. Suffice it to say that this great saint left his mortal coils in the year The rich storehouse of abhangs left behind by this bhakta is cherished to this day, as a unique contribution to Marathi literature. They are studied for their sheer poetic value by scholars of merit. But they are truly kept alive by the Maharashtrian peasants who sing them with every breath. The words and phrases used by this god-intoxicated poet have enriched the language forever. His abhang's have been collected from many sources. They are not available in chronological order, but they delineate the spiritual autobiography of the composer very clearly. Simple imagery from the daily life of the villagers lends color to the exotic lyrics. The anguish of a seeker disenchanted by worldly life is clearly portrayed. The mind is tortured as if on a hot plate. It is blown out by parching like puffed grains. English translations do not do justice to the beauty of the original. The travails of an indigent other-worldly person, tortured by ignorant priests, hounded by moneylenders, weighed down by the unending responsibilities of a householder, find expression in his abhang s, all directed towards the Lord. He denounces the hypocrisy of those learned pandits who could not soak their hearts in the infinite love of the Lord. A brahmana who gets angry after touching a mahar is not a brahmana, Suicide is the only expiation for such a brahmana. 10PAGE

13 PAGE 11 The growing number of his devotees in the later years included many inimical to him originally, who underwent a change of heart. This created a social revolution of sorts, cutting across the rigid caste system. Tukaram s ecstasy in the vision of the Lord as the Universal Person is seen in many abhang s. I seek these people because the Lord is in all They are limbs of the same body. I see Thy Lotus-feet Here, there, everywhere! Not a grain of dust but Thou art there! the One Allah; who is He? He hath entered into All. He moves in many garbs. He shines in many forms. Another abhang portrays the death of the ego: I have seen my death with my own eyes, That three worlds were filled with joy, I enjoyed it as the Universal Soul. (Aapule maran ) The earthly form of the saint is no more, but in his wake the abhang's continue to be sung with divine fervor by the varkaris marching on to meet the Lord.

14 In translating Vedanta into action, I realized that the one area where I had to invest my efforts was my own mind. I was told that the entire world is a magic of the mind and that cleansing the mind was the only way to behold the Truth. Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda used to say that the mind is nothing but the flow of thoughts just as a river is nothing but a flow of waters. So cleansing my mind meant cleansing my thoughts. Do I cleanse the texture of the thoughts or do I cleanse the mind of thoughts altogether? I realized that I had to do both simultaneously. The entire subject was too abstract for my liking. How do I know what is the texture of my thoughts or how many thoughts flowed through my mind on any given day? I invented a game for myself. I visualized a whole lot of big, ornate, empty pots in front of me. My thoughts about my family went into one pot, thoughts related to work in another, thoughts of my neighbor into the third, thoughts of my enemy into the fourth, thoughts of God into the fifth, and so on. Initially it was very irregular. After inventing the game I forgot all about it for some days. With all my good intentions, the mind played hide and seek, for it was reluctant to reveal itself to me. Then I had to buckle down in earnest and tell myself that I would visualize the pots every night before going to bed and put all my thoughts into them before I went to sleep. Now some regularity was achieved. As the days went past the game became more interesting. There were days when the pot containing thoughts of my son started overflowing and the pot reserved for my pet enemy was near empty. On other days the enemy pot would have filled up. More pots entered the picture thoughts of food, thoughts of travel, etc. As the classifications became clearer, I observed certain facts. 12PAGE

15 PAGE 13 Some pots were sweet and some bitter, some indifferent. The problem pots, the one with problems at work and the pot containing thoughts of the building contractor, were full of fear, anxiety and worry. I was glad to empty my mind of these thoughts at night. The thoughts of my hobbies, vacations, loved ones, etc., were sweet and I liked to see these pots full and overflowing at night. The indifferent thoughts, about unrelated and meaningless, trivial things were like garbage. I was glad to sweep them up and empty them into the garbage can. As the exercise progressed, through the months, I started recognizing and putting the thoughts into their respective pots throughout the day. It was a lot of fun. One of the things which bothered my at this stage was the repeated surfacing of thoughts regarding problems. Even after taking the necessary action, the worry or anxiety remained in the mind. It was at this time that I also realized that the container for thoughts of God remained relatively empty on all days, while the other pots overflowed at sometime or other. This gave me a brilliant idea. I labelled the container for God thoughts as God Can. What I cannot do, God can. So I started putting all my problem thoughts into the God Can! Soon the God Can started overflowing. The game became very fascinating. There was little time to think of other things. All my thoughts were about my thoughts. I saw my fears and worries vanish deep into the God Can, never to surface again. It was so comforting that I tried putting some other thoughts also into the God Can. I put my loved ones into the God Can. I felt very good and secure that He will take care of them. All the good things I enjoyed good food, comforts, my hobbies, my vacations all went very quickly into the God Can. Thank you God for giving me all these wonderful things I was as excited and frantic as a child at play, putting all the thoughts I could pick up, even the indifferent ones, into the God Can. Soon I saw that the God Can alone was needed. All the other pots remained empty. And the God Can was sweet beyond compare, golden and shining. Having enjoyed this sweetness for a long, long time, I realized that the I was also a thought and it belonged to the God Can. I cannot remove the I thought, but Cod can. So, quickly I put the I thought also into the God Can. Now I am free to play with thoughts whenever I want and empty them into the God Can when I am done. BY HAIMAVATHY (Tapovan Prasad, 2002)

16 BY SWAMI TEJOMAYANANDA (Tapovan Prasad, Sept 2003) Holistic Management Management implies many factors a manager, the resources to be managed, the goal to be achieved and the methods to be employed. The Manager It is very clear that the manager has to be a human being, because a machine doesn t manage things by itself; a human being has to install the machine. First of all, a manager has to learn to manage himself, only then he can manage others. He has to have a good value system from where he can draw his strength and function efficiently. Resources to be Managed All the things to be managed fall under three categories man, materials and money. Without building up and managing monetary resources, we cannot function successfully. The materials to be managed may vary. In business, the material will depend on the kind of product to be generated. In educational institutions, it is of an entirely different kind. In a household, it is different still. A renowned professor of management told me that ultimately all management boils down to the management of man. And there are only two types of men those who have difficulties and those who are difficult. It is perhaps easier to manage people who are difficult, because you already know they are difficult! The Goal to be Achieved A person has to manage the resources for a particular purpose. The goal may vary depending on whether he is managing a household, an institution, a political party and so on. However, the wider goal has to be kept in mind. If the people, for whose happiness and welfare we claim to function, are themselves exploited or made miserable, it defeats the very purpose. These days we talk about industrialization, globalisation, liberalisation, etc., but in the process, all the nations are reduced to the state of markets only, either a good market, or a potential market. Most people are reduced to the status of consumers, only to be exploited. 14PAGE

17 Methods of Management These days we hear of many systems of management, like the American model, the Japanese model, the Indian model, the Eastern model, Indian ethos, etc. There are many systems, but I don t think any system is foolproof. The success or failure of the system ultimately depends on the person who is going to manage. In the political area, for example, a dictator may happen to be very democratic and benign like Bhagwan Ramchandraji, while democracy may see the emergence of great dictators. Sometimes, in a democratic system, the people elect their own persecutor! Values in Management We may know many theories of management, but without values they have no value. We talk of value-based management, value-based business, value-based education, value-based politics we know it all. The problem is that we do not implement it. We do not live our values. There is corruption everywhere; even in religion, there are fake sanyasis! It has become a way of life. Now we call it co-operation, not corruption. All of us know in our heart of hearts that everything has to be value-based, but there is always a feeling that it cannot be done. Some thought has to be given to this. There are four kinds of people: 1. Those who are unscrupulous and have no values at all. 2. Those who have values but are not able to live up to them. 3. Those who accept values, but feel that it is not possible to practise them in today s world and so consider them irrelevant. 4. Those who have wrong values in life. If one has no values at all, one s life will be valueless and this type of life is not worth living. If one has the values but is not able to live up to that, the only thing one has to do is to become strong. And if a person has the wrong values, God help him! It is the third kind of person I am concerned about now, because his attitude is very insidious and dangerous. Are values really irrelevant today? Is it true that nobody respects values? A little thinking shows that all of us respect values and respect only those people who respect values and are able to follow them. There is no doubt about it. The only problem with us is that we want to see these values in someone else! I may earn money by whatever means, fair or foul, but I want my accountant to be vary honest, my servant to be honest, my watchman to be honest! I may speak the truth or not but I want others to speak only the truth. But the power of truth is such that even when a person tells a lie, that person avers that he is telling the truth, because the lie, the untruth, has no face to show it goes in the name of truth only. PAGE 15

18 Another interesting thing we observe is that the mafia or the underworld doing dishonest business flourish, because even in their dishonest business there is honesty. The business may be dishonest, but among themselves a perfect unwritten law obtains. Sharing of profits and money is done as per the word given. One of the greatest assets in business is credibility. Once it is lost everything is lost. You may cheat once, twice, but if your credibility is lost, you are finished. A businessman who was teaching his son said, son, in business two things are very important one is integrity and the other wisdom. Integrity means that once you have given a commitment, a promise, you must fulfill that, even if you have to suffer a loss for it sometimes. Wisdom is to avoid giving any promise, making any commitment! Coming to match-fixing in cricket, for instance, did anyone like that? No. Why not? It is because there is something in us that revolts against such things. There is an innate sense of values in us. We may applaud a person for great achievements but we respect a person only for what he is. What one has and what one is are totally different things. The great values of life never become irrelevant and ultimately they alone succeed. Thus, lasting success is achieved by hard work, honesty, loyalty, integrity; it is achieved by these values alone and not by anything else. Sacrifice vs. Compromise There are two ways of living one is called compromise and the other sacrifice. In both, a person has to renounce something. God has made life such that without renouncing you cannot live here. Inhaling is possible only when you exhale also. If you say you won t exhale you cannot live. Without giving up the lower, you cannot get the higher, you cannot grow. In compromise man gives up higher values and ideals for lower gains. In sacrifice he gives up lower things for the higher. Renunciation is involved in both. A man of compromises has never become an ideal anywhere in this world; only a man of sacrifice becomes an ideal, a leader worthy of respect. This is a historical truth. So our thinking must be, I have to renounce anyway, either this or that. What am I going to renounce? When I renounce my ideals, my values, it means I am selling myself, selling my soul. On the other hand, by refusing to compromise I may suffer a little, undergo some hardships and forego some comforts. So what? One has to pay a price for everything. So be it. Some people come to me in their old age, having retired from high positions, with all the comforts life can offer, but suffering from sleepless nights. There is a small thing called conscience. 16PAGE

19 You go on shutting it up, but for how long? All those memories of past misdeeds are haunting them. The price has to be paid in this manner. In compromise there will be immediate pleasure, no doubt, but pain follows in its wake. It is better to die once than die of guilt moment to moment. Only when that type of conviction comes is it possible to sacrifice. Holistic Management In holistic management, holistic means whole as well as holy, that is, purifying. It includes all the factors discussed so far. Without this vision and without these values no management can be successful. Doubting these values and thinking they are irrelevant is more dangerous than not having them at all. This world is very straightforward. Fire seems to say, Touch me not, I am hot. If you touch me you will be burnt. If you follow the rule, the rule itself will protect you but if you don t, be ready for the consequences. Strangely enough, man is not afraid of committing sins; he is only afraid of being caught. He is not afraid of action, rather he is afraid of consequences. If you do not want the consequences, then why do you indulge in that action? There is a beautiful sloka in Sanskrit: प"#य%य प ण यस य फलम च छन त फल म*छ,त प ण य प"#य. न इच छन त न इ*छ,त म नव म नव न प प फलम च छन त फल म*छ,त प प क र वन त प प. क5व6,त यत नत य7नत pu yasya phalamicchanti pu yaª na icchanti m nav na p pa phalamicchanti p pam kurvanti yatnata ḥ People want the results of meritorious deeds, like happiness etc. but they do not want to do meritorious deeds. They do not want the consequences of sins but they commit sins deliberately! Now the choice is yours. That is the beauty of human life, we can become devatas (divine beings) or we can become daanavas (demons), both are possible. If we want to be happy, there is no choice other than to follow a proper value system. Nobody wants to live a life of suffering. We have to stand up and try our best, so that at least we can say that we tried. Of course, when we try, it is a trying period, but it will lead to joy, a great sense of fulfillment. It is immaterial whether others appreciate and applaud or not. We would have lived a life of right values. That is the most important thing. Values are never irrelevant, they are independent of time and space. Values are not for others alone they are first for ourselves, then for others. Be afraid of the consequences of your actions. Everybody has to renounce, don t live a life of compromise, make it one of sacrifice the choice is yours. This is holistic management of yourself and thereby of others. PAGE 17

20 Love s labour can never be lost... So long as we live, we cannot avoid action. And obviously, each one of us seeks a sense of joy, happiness or fulfillment as a result of our actions. Hence, a proper understanding of the nature of action is necessary for us to be able to obtain the desired results from our actions. Actions can be broadly classified into three types: unproductive, productive and inspired. In reality there is no action that does not produce some result. However, most of our actions in our day-to-day life do not produce any positive, substantial or long-term results, nor do they give us a sense of achievement like, for example, watching television, going to parties, visiting bars, chatting over the phone or engaging in mundane conversations. Certainly there may be an initial sense of thrill or excitement in them, but their effects are certainly not long-lasting, and we must admit that we indulge in most of these activities without any specific purpose or goal. Indeed, very often it is simply to get away from the boredom we experience in life. All actions done with a specific purpose or goal in mind, planned out and executed intelligently to bring about a desired result, are called work. Our day-to-day duties at home, in the office or in society constitute work. Work produces results, which can be used to build our lives. There is a sense of achievement and by this we can fulfill many of our desires. But when work becomes routine, it becomes monotonous; one tends to then seek change and ends up indulging in unproductive activity to escape from boredom. Work without inspiration becomes labour. Labour is tiring and painful. The result of labour is never fulfilling. A laborer always complains that he has not got his just result. All selfish work eventually becomes labour where more pay and less work becomes the policy. Most of our work these days has become mere labour: children labour through school; mothers find work at home tedious; fathers find their field of work unsatisfying and often jump into the rat race, all of which breed countless worries and numerous tensions. 18PAGE

21 PAGE 19 Love transforms work into inspiration, with efficiency as its result. And efficiency in work naturally brings about success, no matter what one s field of pursuit. Not only is there a sense of achievement and satisfaction, but also an extreme sense of joy. Unlike all other forms of action which are fulfilled only in their results, inspired activity is a fulfillment in itself. In other words, the desired joy is gained not upon completion of the action, not afterwards, not in the distant future, but in the very action itself, as one works, then and there. Selfishness downgrades work, making it sheer labour. On the other hand, selflessness uplifts and transforms work into inspiration. Selfishness can end only with love. Only when there is love in the heart will we be ready to give up our own selfish wants and desires in order to bring joy and happiness to others. When actions are dedicated with love to a higher altar or goal, the ego with all its selfishness dissolves. The higher and nobler the altar of our love, the greater the dedication and surrender, and the greater the inspiration and joy. Thus, inspired work done with dedication is an expression of love. Such love in action alone is called seva or service. The great master, Swami Chinmayananda, said beautifully, Everyone with knowledge exerts, sweats and toils But only a few succeed in life. They generally forget that the mind is the doer in us, and the body is but our tool. Learn to bring your mind to where your hands are working then see the results. Actions become excellent, and success is the tribute life pays to excellence. Such seva not only enriches the performer materially and spiritually, it also benefits many around. The wise have said, That alone is living by which many others live. This is called the yagna spirit in the Bhagavad Geeta the spirit of sharing. The whole universe is the expression of this giving. The sun gloriously burns to give warmth the light, the ocean sacrifices itself to become vapor, the clouds condense into rain that gushes into streams to quench the parched earth and the earth in joy tears open its breast to nourish the world with abundance Thus the universe resolves as adoration to the universal spirit and every action becomes worship. BY SWAMI SWAROOPANANDA from Tapovan Prasad, October 2000

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23 PAGE 21 QA Ambassador of the Lord Q. I would like a clarification on the statement Be an Ambassador of the Lord. How does one go about achieving this in practical life? AA: An ambassador is one who has been trained to become an instrument representing his country, and he is expected to behave and voice forth only the policies of his mother country. He has, thereafter, no individuality nor any personal opinion, and he is 24 hours, all the 7 days of the week, so long that he is in the foreign country. To be His ambassador, is to bring out in our activities the glories of the Self as our scriptures declare, as directly experienced by the immortal rishis. Since the Self in you is the Self everywhere, every name and form around you is nothing but you yourself in different forms, naturally, therefore, your relationship with everything, at all times, at all places and under all conditions, should be one of love with respect and reverence. It is the ego (perceiver, feeler, thinker) tickled by its own selfish desires that arrogantly asserts and breaks this total harmony with the infinite Wise Self. Surrender the ego and let Him play through you as the country expresses in other countries through its ambassadors. SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA

24 Chinmaya Mission San Jose Sept Class Schedule Saturday / 6:30-8:00am / Sandeepany Ashram Guided Meditation & Mandukya Upanishad Brahman is the only Reality. Nothing else is real. All the Universe, consisting of the evershining Sunday, moon and stars, is a dream - a long, long dream. How can this everlasting Universe perceived in the waking state be a dream? In the great Mandukya Karika, the illustrious Seer and Acharya, Sri Gaudapada tries to answer this question. The Karikas explain clearly and proves with various inferences and logic that this Universe is nothing but a dream. Saturday / 1:45pm-3pm / Fremont BV Location Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 8, Yoga of Meditation The Lord teaches the path of meditation by which one can attain the highest possibilities in life. To a true seeker, a thorough study of this chapter is sufficient direction and guidance to attain the highest through meditation. Saturday / 4:45pm-6pm / San Ramone BV Location Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 2, Yoga of Knowledge Chapter two of the Gita titled Sankhya Yoga is essentially a summary of entire Bhagavad Gita wherein three main topics are covered: Knowledge of Self, Preparation required for gaining Self Knowledge and Characteristics of Man of Realization. Sunday / 9am-10am / San Jose BV Location Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 16: Yoga of Divine and Devilish Qualities. This chapter elaborates on the two different types of personalities that covers all of beings: jivas with Daivi sampatti and jivas with Asuri and Rakshasi sampatti. The main theme of this chapter is to address the concerns of a seeker as to what qualities to adopt (divine) and what qualities to give up (devilish, or not so divine). Sunday / 10:30-11:30am / San Jose BV Location Discourses on Atma Bodha. Bhagavan Shankaracharyaji expounds on the nature of the Self and the means to attain realisaturdayion whereby one can be free from the cycle of birth and death. Monday / 10am-11:30am / Sandeepany Ashram Discourses on Sri Ramacaritamanas of Sri Goswami Tulasidas. One of the most popular texts of Hindu Philosophy is the Ramayana wherein we learn about the life, trials and tribulations of the Lord, Sri Rama and His Beloved Consort Sita. Dive deep into the manasa lake of exploits of Lord Rama and discover your true Lord within. ALL CLASSES AND MEDITATION SESSIONS ARE FREE 22PAGE

25 Wednesday / 10am-11:30am / Sandeepany Ashram Kathopanishad: Dialogue with Death revealing the Truth about the Self. Nachiketa demondaystrates the qualifications of an ideal student and his dispassion for the world which makes him fit for the Self Knowledge. Lecture follow Wednesday by guided meditation. Tuesday & Thursday / 6:30am-7:30am / Sandeepany Ashram Brahma Sutra: Brahma Sutras constitute the central text of Vedanta Philosophy. The Vedanta doctrines enshrined in the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, etc. are summarized in the Brahma Sutras. These are also known as Vedanta Sutras, the Sutras that give exposition of Brahman as revealed by the Vedas. Tuesday & Thursday / 7:30pm-8:30pm / Sandeepany Ashram The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the greatest of the Upanishads by its size as well as substance. The six chapters are divided into three kandas which deal with upadesha, upapathi or exposition and meditation. SANDEEPANY ASHRAM 1050 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA SAN JOSE BV LOCATION Lincoln High School, 555 Dana Avenue, San Jose, CA FREMONT BV LOCATION Washington High School, Fremont Blvd.,Fremont, CA SAN RAMON BV LOCATION California High School, 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon, CA HOME SATSANG WITH BR. PRABODH CHAITANYA 1st Friday of each month / 8pm - 9pm TEXT: Sat Darshanam Kirtida and Kamlesh Ruparel s Residence Seaton Ave, Saratoga, CA / Ph: nd Friday of each month TEXT: Chandogya Upanishad, Ch 6 Geetha & Sanjay Rao s Residence Cupertino Road, Cupertino, CA / Ph: rd Friday of each month TEXT: Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 Sweta & Jnana Dash s Residence 6789 Glenview Drive, San Jose, CA / Ph: Please visit for more information. PAGE 23

26 FREMONT SAN JOSE BALA VIHAR LOCATIONS WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL 38442, Fremont Blvd. Saturdays: 1:30 pm Contact: Lakshmi Prakash / (510) LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL 555 Dana Avenue, San Jose Sunday: Session I-9:00am, Session II-10:30am, Session III-11:45 am Contact: Uma / (650) SAN RAMON CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL 9870 Broadmoor Drive/San Ramon, CA Saturdays: 4:30 pm Contact: Meena Kapadia / (925) SHIVA ABHISHEKA & PUJA AT SANDEEPANY SAN JOSE CONDUCTED BY MISSION MEMBERS Time: 7:30-8:30 pm / Every 2nd Monday of the month SWARANJALI YOUTH CHOIR Those who are interested in joining the choir as a vocalist or musicians please be in touch with the contact for each event. SAN JOSE Choir sessions are held every alternate Sundays between 2:00-4:00 p.m. VENUE: Sandeepany / San Jose TEACHERS: Prema Sriram, Jaya Krishnan CONTACT: Prema Sriram: NANSUK@aol.com SAN RAMON Choir sessions are held once every two weeks, Saturdays at 2:00pm - 3:00pm VENUE: California High School 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon, CA TEACHER: Shailaja Dixit CONTACT: Shailaja at (925) FREMONT Choir is held weekly on Saturdays, 12 noon - 1:00 pm VENUE: Washington High School / Fremont TEACHERS: Natana Valiveti and Rajashri Iyengar CONTACT: Natana at natana@yahoo.com 24PAGE

27 Bhakti Rasamrutam (The sweet essence of Devotion) Swaranjali, Chinmaya Youth Choir, has produced 10 CDs containing 100 Bhajans, glorifying the Lord in many Indian Languages. The Bhajans are rendered by 15 students of Swaranjali, with devotion, an offering to the Lord as their contribution to the New Building Project. Choir participants who sang on the Bhaktirasamrutam album were trained by Prema Sriram, Jaya Krishnan and Jayshree Ramkumar. The CD is entitled, Bhakti Rasamrutam, the sweet essence of Devotion. All details on this CD are posted on our web-site, chinmaya-sanjose.org. This is a rare gift which is very inspirational and uplifting. The proceeds from the CDs will add to our Fund-raising efforts. Thanks to all who contributed their time and talents to the production of the CD. PAGE 25

28 Kids' Own Magazine... BalViHar Parents... This is a monthly magazine published by Central Chinmaya Mission, Mumbai for Children. It is packed with stories, puzzles, arts and craft ideas, children s contributions of essays, riddles, games, and much more. You can subscribe to it directly. The annual subscription is $30 and you will receive it monthly by air. We suggest that you subscribe in your child s name so your child will have the pleasure of receiving his or her own magazine from India. Make your checks payable to Central Chinmaya Mission Trust and mail it to: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Saki Vihar Road, Mumbai , India GITA CHANTING CLASSES FOR CHILDREN BY MALLIKA SUBRAMANIAN San Jose: Lincoln High School / Every Sunday Contact: (408) Fremont: Washington High School / Every Saturday Contact: (510) San Ramon: California High School Every Saturday (3:15pm - 4:15pm) Contact: (510) PAGE

29 Our thanks to all our Sponsor families who have continued to support us for many years and to all Member families who have found our programs to benefit their children thereby supporting us. We have room for more Sponsors and Members. Please invite your friends to join the larger Chinmaya Family of the Bay Area. CMSJ SPONSORSHIP... Annual Contribution $500 CMSJ MEMBERSHIP... Annual Contribution $200 Chinmaya - Tej.... Annual CT Sponsors $300 Chinmaya - Tej.... Annual Subscription $50 (Receive Chinmaya-Tej only) TAPOVAN PRASAD A MONTHLY SPIRITUAL OF CHINMAYA MISSION WORLDWIDE Published by Chinmaya Chinmaya Mission Worldwide It is Internationally acclaimed Publication filled with articles and reports that are inspiring and educational. Hindus living all over the world keep in touch with their spiritual heritage through Tapovan Prasad. Annual Subscription by Airmail: US $25 (12 issues) Make checks payable to Tapovan Prasad, and mail to Chinmaya Mission No.2, 13th Ave., Harrington Rd, Chetput, Chennai, , India PAGE 27

30 CHINMAYA STUDY GROUPS 1. Self Unfoldment 2. Tattva bodh 3. Bhaja Govindam 4. Atma bodh 5. Manah Shodhanam 6. Upadesa Saram 7. Narada Bhakti Sutra 8. Meditation and Life 9. Bhagavad Gita Introduction Ch.1 & Jnanasarah 11. Kenopanishad 12. Gita, Ch Dyanaswaroopam 14. Kaivalya Upanishad 15. Gita, Ch Isavasya Upanishad 17. Gita, Ch Bhakti Sudha 19. Gita, Ch Mundaka Upanishad 21. Gita, Ch Sat Darshan 23. Vivekachoodamani Vedanta Study Groups held in the Bay Area are listed in this issue of Chinmaya Tej and you may contact them if you wish to join a Study Group. 28PAGE

31 PAGE 29 Community Outreach Program Seva Opportunities CHINMAYA MISSION SAN JOSE SAN JOSE Are You Willing to Volunteer or Just Sponsor the Program? If yes, please call Krishna Bhamre: (408) or We need VOLUNTEERS for preparing and serving Hot Meals for the Homeless. Lunch bags are prepared at Los Altos Community Center. All Youth volunteers are required to sign up with Krishna Bhamre. Meals For The Homeless Program: Served at San Jose s Emergency Housing Consortium at Orchard Drive off Curtner Avenue (Adult & Youth Volunteers & Sponsors). FREMONT Fremont BV sponsors Sandwiches For The Needy. On the 2nd Saturday/Washington High School in Fremont. Parents of Bala Vihar and the kids prepare 70 Sandwiches, bag them and provide chips, fruit and juice. The Sandwiches are delivered to the Tricity Homeless Coalition, where they are served to adults and children. The Shelter is located on 588 Brown Road, Fremont, CA In addition, last Christmas, Fremont Bala Vihar donated new blankets, sweaters, sweat shirts, and infant warm clothes etc. to the homeless at the shelter.

32 VEDANTA STUDY GROUPS ADULT SESSIONS Concord: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 8 Sevak: Vipin Kapadia Contact: Meena Kapadia (925) Time: 7:30 pm ( Wed.) Cupertino: Questions and Answers Sevak: Ram Mohan Contact: Ram Mohan ( ) Time: 7:30pm (Thurs) Evergreen: Self Unfoldment Sevika: Venkatesh Srinivasan Contact: Bipin Thakkar, (408) Time: 10:30 am (Thurs.) Fremont: Atma Bodha Sevika: Lakshmi Prakash Contact: Hetal Hansoty (510) Time: 6:30 am (Sun.) Fremont: Atma Bodha Sevak: Lakshmy Prakash Contact: Hetal Hansoty ( ) Time: 6:30 a.m. (Sun) Fremont (WHS): Sadhana Panchakam Sevak: Lakshmy Prakash Time: 3:15-4:15 pm (Bala Vihar Time) Fremont: Jnana Sarah Sevika: Priya Batheja Contact: Priya Batheja (510) Time: 6:30 am (Sun.) Los Altos: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 3 Sevika: Uma Jeyarasasingam Contact: Ruchita Parat (650) Time: 7:30 pm (Thurs.) Los Gatos Jnanasarah Sevak: Sandeep Tiwari Contact: Sandeep Tiwari ( Time: 8:00 pm (Fri.) Satsangs with Br. Prabodh Chaitanya All events are from: 8:00-9:00pm 1st Friday of each month: Kirtida & Kamalesh N. Ruparell Text: ABC s of Vedanta Ph: (408) nd Friday of each month: Geetha & Sanjay Rao Text: Srimad Bhagavatam - Kapil Gita Ph: (408) rd Friday of each month: Sweta & Jnan Ranjan Dash, Almaden Text: Aparokshanubhooti Ph: (408) PAGE

33 All classes held weekly unless otherwise stated Milpitas: Vivekachudamani Sevak: Uma Jeyarasasingam Contact: Suma Venkatesh (408) Time: 7:30 pm (Tues) Mountain House: Tattva Bodha Sevika: Padmaja Joshi Contact: Padmaja Joshi (209) Time: 9:00 a.m. (Sun) Redwood City: Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 7 Sevak: Jayarami Reddy Contact: Sunil Jeswani (650) Time: 7:30 pm (Fri.) San Ramon: Bhagavad Gita Ch 9 Sevika: Bela Pandya Contact: Sireesha Balabadra (925) Time: 7:00 pm (Wed.) San Ramon Cal Hi: Bhagavad Gita Ch 4 Contact: Meena Kapadia ( Sevak: Meena Kapadia Time: 3:15 pm (Sat) San Ramon: Kathopanishad Sevak: Padmaja Joshi Contact: Lakshmy Prakash Time: 5 pm (Sun.) (510) Skype(ID:Padmapatra) Saratoga: Bhaja Govindam Sevika: Kalpana Jaswa Contact: Kalpana Jaswa (408) Time: 10:30 am (Thurs.) West San Jose: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 6 Sevak: Krishna Kumari Reddy Contact: Krishna Kumari Reddy (408) Time: 8:00 am (Wed.) Walnut Creek: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 Sevak: Vipin Kapadia Contact: Rakesh Bhutani (925) Time: 9:30 am (Sun.) Prabodhji's Classes at Bala Vihar Locations Fremont: Session 1:30-3 pm Bhagavad Gita Ch 3 Danville: 4:30-6 pm Gitas from Tulsi Ramayana San Jose: Session 1: 9 am Bhagavad Gita Ch 11 Session 2: 10:30 am Gitas from Tulsi Ramayana Prabodhji's Classes at Sandeepany Mondays: 10-11:30 am Sri Ramacaritamanas Wednesdays: 10-11:45 am Kenopanishad (followed by Sanskrit class) Tuesdays & Thursdays: 6:30-7:30 am Brahma Sutra Tuesdays & Thursdays: 7:30-8:30 pm Brhadaranyaka Upanishad Saturdays: 6:30-8:30 am. Guided Meditation and Mandukya Upanishad PAGE 31

34 Swami Tejomayananada ITINERARY SUMMER 2014 DATE LOCATION / EVENT PHONE 3 May-14 May Sidhbari Chinmaya Tapovan Trust Bhagavatam Canto May-12 May Phagwara Land: Punjab India Mobile: Shri Hanuman Chalisa 18 May-23 May Kolwan Chinmaya Vibhooti Pune Maharashtra Geeta Chapter V-Amrta Bindu Upanishad. (Camp in English) 23 May-25 May Kolwan Chinmaya Vibhooti Pune, Maharashtra, India Naada Bindu Festival for the Arts 28 May-30 May Hong Kong Satsang 1 Jun-8 Jun Piercy (1-707) Chinmaya Mission West, Piercy, California USA Vedanta Camp 9 Jun-12 Jun Chinmaya Kesari (1-707) Piercy Chinmaya Mission West, Piercy, California USA YEP Course Inauguration 13 Jun-14 Jun Inauguration of new ashram location (1-408) Sandeepany San Jose Clayton Road, San Jose, CA PAGE

35 It is important to choose the right ideal an ideal worthy enough to sacrifice one s life for. ~ Swami Chinmayananda Join the Chinmaya Family as SPONSORS We invite you to join our Sponsorship program so that you can help us to promote, sustain and continue to teach adults and children, alike, the Hindu Dharma which is our Heritage. Chinmaya Mission began its service to the Hindu Community some 20 years ago in the Bay Area.We are funded by public contributions. Your contribution, as a Sponsor, goes towards the operation of Sandeepany. Many families who are taking part in the various classes that we offer to adults and children, have enrolled themselves as Sponsors. They enjoy many benefits and become an integral part of the spiritual family at Sandeepany. Sponsorship is an annual contribution of $500 per family. The donation is tax deductible and can also be paid bi-annually, quarterly or monthly. What Do Our Sponsors Receive? They enjoy all the classes offered at Sandeepany Schools for adults and children. They will receive the journal, MANANAM and the bi-monthly Newsletters: Chinmaya Tej and CMW Newsletter. Sponsors are invited to attend Weekend Retreats held periodically at Sandeepany. UNITED WAY CONTRIBUTIONS Your contributions to United Way can now be designated to Chinmaya Mission San Jose (United Way I.D. No ). The Mission is enrolled to receive such contributions with United Way Agency in Santa Clara. Chinmaya Family would like to thank you for your support.