Satsangam

To, All Members, If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions, so we have to know how to act. By knowing how to work, one can obtain the greatest results. Even the lowest forms of work are not to be despised. You see others as you see yourself.  As you increase Love and grace toward yourself, you will offer the same to those around you. Let go of mind-reading, assuming that you know what other people are thinking and why they do what they do. We sincerely pray for the departed and for the mental strength of the survivors. May they have the courage and wisdom to face the consequences of this terrible natural calamity. Our prayers are with all the affected people and the adjoining Indian States. Swami Udit Chaithanya

To, All Members, Devotee .: How will the sexual impulse cease to be? Maharishi .: When differentiation ceases. D.: How can it be effected? M.: The other sex and its relation are only mental concepts. The Upanishad says that all are dear because the Self is beloved of all. One’s happiness is within; the love is of the Self only. It is only within; do not think it to be without: then differentiation ceases to operate. ('Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi' 335)

To, All Members, Satchidananda alone is the Guru. If a man in the form of a guru awakens spiritual consciousness in you, then know for certain that it is God the Absolute who has assumed that human form for your sake. The guru is like a companion who leads you by the hand. After the realization of God, one loses the distinction between the guru and the disciple. 'That creates a very difficult situation; there the guru and the disciple do not see each other.' It was for this reason that Janaka said to Sukadeva, 'Give me first my teacher's fee if you want me to initiate you into the Knowledge of Brahman.' For the distinction between the teacher and the disciple ceases to exist after the disciple attains to Brahmam. The relationship between them remains as long as the disciple does not see God. -From Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Sri Ramakrishna Mission

It may be useful to try to place ourselves, for the moment, in something akin to the divine standpoint rather than our own individual ego-personality, and try to understand what this means as to the perspective and understanding about our own role in the world and the unity of the entire creation. Obviously it is not easily possible to make this leap without preparation, but we can at least work with different perspectives that will provide analogies to the situation. The first one is to imagine that the cells of our body are akin to separate individuals in the world. We know, from our standpoint experiencing the entire body, that each cell is part of a larger whole, a unified “oneness” if you will and what impacts one, impacts all, and thus, we need to treat each cell with respect and provide it what it needs to grow, thrive and contribute to the health and well-being of the whole. The next one is the perspective of the impressionist artist. One can view a painting of Van ...

To, All Members, We need a heart to feel, a brain to conceive, and a strong arm to do the work. Make yourself a fit agent to work. In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart. Take courage and work on. Patience and steady work , this is the only way. Go on - remember patience and purity and courage and steady work. So long as you are pure, and true to you principles you will never fail. Swami Udit Chaithanya

To, All Members, Maharshi then read out from the Tamil version of 'Yoga Vasishta' the story of Deerga Tapasi who had two sons, Punya and Papa. After the death of the parents the younger one mourned the loss and the elder brother consoled him as follows : “Why do you mourn the loss of our parents? I shall tell you where they are; they are only within ourselves and are ourselves. For the life-current has passed through innumerable incarnations, births and deaths, pleasures and pains, etc., just as the water current in a river flows over rocks, pits, sands, elevations and depressions on its way, but still the current is unaffected. Again the pleasures and pains, births and deaths, are like undulations on the surface of seeming water in the mirage of the ego. The only reality is the Self from where the ego appears, and runs through thoughts which manifest themselves as the universe and in which the mothers and fathers, friends and relatives appear and disappear. ...

To, All Members, Sankaracharya was a Brahmajnani, to be sure. But at the beginning he too had the feeling of differentiation. He didn't have absolute faith that everything in the world is Brahmam. One day as he was coming out of the Ganges after his bath, he saw an untouchable, a butcher, carrying a load of meat. Inadvertently the butcher touched his body. Sankara shouted angrily, 'Hey there! How dare you touch me?' 'Revered sir,' said the butcher, 'I have not touched you, nor have you touched me. The Pure Self cannot be the body nor the five elements nor the twenty-four cosmic principles.' Then Sankara came to his senses. Once Jadabharata was carrying King Rahugana's palanquin and at the same time giving a discourse on Self-Knowledge. The king got down from the palanquin and said to Jadabharata, 'Who are you, pray?' The latter answered, 'I am Not this, not this-I am the Pure Self.' He had perfect fait...

To, All Members, We can now see and appreciate the Gita’s approach to spiritual development. The Gita does not ask the seeker to abandon life, or any of the elements that constitute the human being,– mind, life and body. The actual work or actions to be carried out, in fact, may remain the same before realisation and after. The Gita points out that the important change is the status of the consciousness from its normal basis in mind-life-body to the uninvolved consciousness that is outside and independent of the individual ego-personality. Sri Aurobindo describes it thus: “This upward transference of our centre of being and the consequent transformation of our whole existence and consciousness, with a resultant change in the whole spirit and motive of our action, the action often remaining precisely the same in all outward appearances, makes the gist of the Gita’s Karmayoga. Change your being, be reborn into the spirit and by that new birth proceed with the action to whi...

To, All Members, We are energy. Everything in this university is. Each thought is also a powerful energy wave. So when we think about something, we give it energy. It is therefore, important for us to remember that once we have identified a negative belief residing in us, we have to stop giving it energy and stop thinking about the negative events it created for us. Instead, we have to give energy to the corresponding positive belief. We need to know that talking ill of others in private is a sin. You must wholly avoid it. Many things may occur to the mind, but it gradually makes a mountain of a molehill if you try to express them. Everything is ended if you forgive and forget. Swami Udit Chaithanya

To, All Members, *Mr. Raghaviah* : Men of the world that we are, we have some kind of grief or another and do not know how to get over it. We pray to God and still are not satisfied. What can we do? *Maharishi .: *Trust God. *Devotee .: *We surrender; but still there is no help. *M.: *Yes. If you have surrendered, you must be able to abide by the will of God and not make a grievance of what may not please you. Things may turn out differently from what they look apparently. Distress often leads men to faith in God. *D.: *But we are worldly. There is the wife, there are the children, friends and relatives. We cannot ignore their existence and resign ourselves to Divine Will, without retaining some little of the personality in us. *M.: *That means you have not surrendered as professed by you. You must only trust God. Sri Ramana Maharishi ( source: Talk 43 )

To, All Members, Chaitanya experienced three states of mind. First, the conscious state, when his mind dwelt on the gross and the subtle. Second, the semi-conscious state, when his mind entered the causal body and was absorbed in the bliss of divine intoxication. Third, the inmost state, when his mind was merged in the Great Cause. This agrees very well with the five koshas, or 'sheaths', described in the Vedanta. The gross body corresponds to the annamayakosha and the pranamayakosha, the subtle body to the manomayakosha and the vijnanamayakosha, and the causal body to the anandamayakosha. The Mahakarana, the Great Cause, is beyond the five sheaths. When Chaitanya's mind merged in That, he would go into samadhi. This is called the nirvikalpa or jada samadhi. While conscious of the outer world, Chaitanya sang the name of God; while in the state of partial consciousness, he danced with the devotees; and while in the inmost state of conscious...

To, All Members, Sri Aurobindo introduces the Gita to his review of the yoga of works: “The greatest gospel of spiritual works ever yet given to the race, the most perfect system of Karmayoga known to man in the past, is to be found in the Bhagavad Gita. In that famous episode of the Mahabharata the great basic lines of Karmayoga are laid down for all time with an incomparable mastery and the infallible eye of an assured experience.” Any explanation of a yogic path is limited by the obstacle of human language, linear, fragmented and partial in its ability to express deeper truths, and the framework of language based in the mental consciousness, which cannot comprehend and express the experience of states of consciousness outside the mental realm. Thus, the Gita can describe the path, but not communicate the actual experience. Ancient seers recognised this limitation and thus, the teachings generally can only be fully appreciated and understood by those who have the expe...

To, All Members, Success comes through a perfectly scientific process. A person who wants to become a success believes that he is going to be successful. He slowly does away with all doubts and fears and marches ahead. Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome. Success, Peace and Happiness - these everyone wishes to attain in life. It should not be difficult to achieve these, because each soul is potentially divine. That is, everyone has infinite possibilities and incredible potential to make his life blessed Swami Udit Chaithanya

To, All Members, When a vasana is released and it comes into play, it is associated with the light of the Self. It passes from the heart to the brain and on its way it grows more and more until it holds the field all alone and all the vasanas are thus kept in abeyance for the time being. When the thought is reflected in the brain it appears as an image on a screen. The person is then said to have a clear perception of things. He is a great thinker or discoverer. Neither the thought that is extolled as being original, nor the thing, nor the country which is claimed to be a new discovery, is really original or new. It could not manifest unless it was already in the mind. It was of course very subtle and remained imperceptible, because it lay repressed by the more urgent or insistent thoughts or vasanas. When they have spent themselves this thought arises and by concentration the Light of the Self makes it clear, so that it appears magnificent, original and revo...

To, All Members, The devotees would often approach Sri Ramakrishna to get their doubts about spiritual life clarified. They would ask him about various types of aspirants, the role of a guru or a spiritual teacher in the life of a sadhaka, etc. In particular, they would express their amazement at the spiritual strength or power of some of the spiritual aspirants who live in close proximity to their gurus. Sri Ramakrishna would patiently answer them. He would often refer to two types of spiritual aspirants, namely the jivakoti and the ishwarakoti. He would say that the jivakotis are normal spiritual aspirants, who have to struggle hard to get some spiritual enlightenment. They need the grace or guidance of a guru, and he would compare them to the outer pillars of a huge prayer hall. The ishwarakotis are those spiritual aspirants who are born with exceptional samaskaras or spiritual tendencies. They are virtually born free and remain practically untouched by the vagaries...

Humanity acts based on the motive force of desire, and much of our mental development and focus is based on ways to both satisfy and justify this vital force of attraction and repulsion in action. The ego represents a limited formation that essentially is built up around a set of (for the most part) habitual responses to objects of desire, and the specific organized set of these responses that we identify with through the ego-consciousness we call ourselves, our personality, and our being. In fact,however, this is a surface being that is both ephemeral and transitory in nature. There is a deeper, true self that is not based on the ego, and not focused on the satisfaction of desires, that represents the true reality of our existence. The process of Yoga works to unveil this hidden true self and bring it to the fore, thereby shifting the motive principle of action from desire-based to divine-centered. Sri Aurobindo weighs in: “The spiritual life will draw its sustenance not f...

To, All  Members, Most of our difficulties in our daily life come from being unable to hold our minds. Every reaction in the form of hatred or evil is so much loss to the mind, and every evil thought or deed of hatred , or any thought of reaction, if it is controlled, will be laid in our favour. Each time we control hatred, or a feeling of anger, it is so much good energy stored up in our favour, that piece of energy will be converted into the higher powers. It is a weakness to think someone is dependent on you, and that you can do good to him. This belief is the mother of all our attachment, and through this attachment comes all our pain. Therefore developing the attitude of non-attachment is the great lesson in life, and when we have learned it fully , we shall never be unhappy. By non-attatchment you overcome and deny the power of anything to act upon you . What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies Within U...

The basis of all systems, social or political, rests on the goodness of men. No nation is great or good because Parliament enacts this or that, but because its men are great and good. -Swami Vivekananda NOTE : SO GREAT ..SWAMIJI ( Hence the so called  leaders ( Political ) must  have  GOODNESS IN  THEM, OTHERWISE  OUR PARLIAMENT WILL  BE  PANDEMONIUM ( It is already!)

To, All Members, *Devotee  :Is it not possible to get a vision of God? *Maharishi : "Yes. You see this and that. Why not see God? Only you must know what God is. All are seeing God always. But they do not know it. You find out what God is. People see, yet see not, because they know not God". Sri Ramana Maharishi

To, All  Members, Many sincere householders would come to Sri Ramakrishna for his holy company. Every now and then they would ask him whether it is possible to realise God, even while living in the world as a householder. The reason perhaps is the fact that in his company they used to experience a tremendous sense of spiritual uplift, but when they went back to their familiar household surroundings they would be confronted by numerous problems and difficulties associated with life in the world. Hence, their minds would often be in doubt as to their ability to reach the Ultimate Goal of life. Sri Ramakrishna would console them and assure them again and again that it was possible to realise God or the Ultimate Goal of life even while living the life of a householder. But he would ask them to follow certain disciplines to achieve their goal. In particular, he would advise them again and again to keep the company of the holy or engage in Satsang, which has a tremendous p...

To, All Members, M(ind) Y(our) Mind - Youth Camp ? : A squad of around 20 enthusiastic youth led by Br. Atharvana Chaitanyaji embarked upon a journey to explore the answers of these ? #?Mind?-boggling questions : What is MIND? How is the MIND created? Are we in our MIND's Control or We are controlling our MIND? What is the MIND's true use/purpose? How should one use the MIND? What dose it mean by MINDING the MIND? What happens once the MIND is mastered? The youth not only learnt these answers validated by our Scriptures, but also through interactive discussion and activities, the Secret of how the power of the MIND  can be used to accomplish anything and everything one desires was revealed to the campers by Shrimati Gauriben Barad - a Chinmaya Mission Ahmedabad family member. Citing the examples of from the text "Upadeshsara"of Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi, Atharvanaji equipped the campers with the road map to break-free the shackles of o...

To, All Members, Spiritualism cannot be limited to any religion or age. Spirituality begins with ‘self-enquiry’ (search for Truth). Many of us have the belief that we can take up spiritualism at our ‘retirement age’ – it could be right, but the fact is that most of us at that time would actually be in ‘search of peace’ and not in ‘search of Truth’ – so it can’t be spiritualism. Self –enquiry is the first step towards our spiritual up liftment. Self enquiry is that ‘what you enquire within yourself, about yourself and the external world’. It is a gradual process and in this process we often wonder like a child and ask our self – ‘Who am I?’… ‘Where was I?’… ‘What is this world- who created it, why?’… ‘What is life-death?’…etc.., and many such questions. These questions may depend on each individual and his surrounding. Many of us do think of such questions – but we don’t hold on to them for a long time as it is just one among many thoughts that pass through our mind. It ...

To, All Members, Chattambi Swamigal, "I have taught him everything." When Balan was two years old, Chattambi Swamigal returned to the Menon home. Every evening the family and neighbors would gather around him for a satsang, which was often followed by a Veena recital lasting hours. Chattambi Swamigal would speak on Sanskrit and Tamil scriptures and relate stories from Hindu mythology. His vast knowledge along with his own personal experiences and meetings with other holy men made him a fountain of inspiration. But this visit by Chattambi Swamigal is especially remembered because of a unique exchange between the yogi and the toddler Balan. One day, after his midday meal, the yogi had retired for his customary rest, lying on a cot in the wide, shady verandah. He then called Manku (Balan’s mother) to bring Balan to him. Taking the boy, he set him on his chest and began to tease and jostle him in a playful manner. He spoke to the boy in a strange lan...

To, All Members, Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested, all our life. We must have life-building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas. If you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library. You are the makers of your own fortunes. You make yourselves suffer, you make good and evil and it is you who put your hands before your eyes and say it is dark. Take your hands away and see the light. Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvellous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the cause of all our woes and it is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment. Swami Udit Chaithanya

To, All Members, As soon as selfish desires arise, as soon as some selfish pursuit is followed, immediately the whole man, the real man, is gone: he is like a brute, he is a slave, he forgets his fellow men. No more does he say, 'You first and I afterwards', but it is 'I first and let every one else look out for himself'. That Self-existent One is far removed from the organs. The organs or instruments see outwards, but the self-existing One, the Self, is seen inwards. You must remember the qualification that is required: the desire to know this Self by turning the eyes inwards.  All this universe was in Brahmam , and it was, as it were, projected out of Him, and has been moving on, to go back to the source from which it was projected, like the electricity which comes out of the dynamo, completes the circuit, and returns to it. The same is the case with the soul. Projected from Brahmam, it passed through all sorts of vegetable and animal forms, and at la...