A Letter From The Archives of I.V.S.

Dear friends,
hope all of you are fine and in the best of your spirits. I am sending you one letter from the records of I.V.S. For protecting privacy the names in the letter have been hidden. Happy reading...

Dear M,
Received your letter. Though things aren't fine with you as you think, its normal for me. This world is not the same again as you put your first step into the world of spirituality. The simple reason is, till now you had known that you have friends, brothers, people who care about you and love you. But, the truth is-- you are and have been alone in this venture called 'life'. We don't have any friends dear brother, nor do we have anybody to care about, because everything that we see is just Maya or illusion. Who is M? Who is F? where is M? Is it a name or a form or a body? Or he a manifestation of pure consciousness? Which is the one whom you call "I"?The more you go deep into this, you find no one, not even the one whom you have known as "I" or M. These are all but a product of ignorance. We are made to think that we are such and such and we believe and so we become. But as one approaches a Master who is true to His heart and firm on the divine knowledge, He tells you , you are not what you had actually known of yourself, you are truth, knowledge and bliss. Thou art that, my brother. Try to get yourself stand firm on this knowledge, you will find nobody had ever betrayed you, nobody had ever loved you. No body ever existed other than you.That's the Knowledge. Know this and be free from all the prejudices of your own mind. The truth which comes to you is a result of the truth which is in your mind. It might not be true, you see it because its in you. Clear yourself, clean yourself, you will find a new M and off course a loving F within you.If you want peace, just watch yourself. Don't blame others, blame yourself rather. That's the only way to be perfect. I know this is not easy to realize in a day. In the walks of life, we do come across many such things which disturbs us, hurts us. For those moments, I can say a sentence which my Master had once said to me and which had become the pole star of my life," Forgive everyone, Understand ! Forgive everyone, Become an Atman, become the Self."
I have every possible reasons to believe that you will be fine and understand my words in its true spirits. If not, you still have Swami Probuddhananda at your service! NOW, JUST SMILE.I love you and everybody else does the same.cheer up!
With love,
Swamiji
Date:21st December,2006
Kolkata

Dear Friends,

Its my pleasure to bring to your notice a recorded copy of My Master's speech on the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Thakur Shri RamaKrishna. I hope that these words of His will provide a light to all of us in this transcendental journey.

Love and light,

Swamiji

Today, the 16th of March 05, in the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of Thakur Shri Ramkrishna, Shri Bhagavan spoke to His devotees thus,Shri Bhagavan," I had started with Thakur Shri Ramkrishna. In the year 1971, Thakur first came to my life. He appeared before me saying, Everything will happen to you. But, I didn't understand whatit meant. Now, everything happened to me, but how? I haveput everything in my life.Inspite of being a house holder, I had practiced this knowledge. That is why this movement had spread worldwide. It has become an International movement. Now if you want to establishVedanta Society, you have to be qualified. You have tobecome. Becoming is religion. This becoming is necessary for everybody. Who have excelled in that, will be evident to him. Because Knowledge is known by itself. Knowledge has to be tested; you have to seethe following things,

a) Have I become truly fearless? When the SelfKnowledge is firm, one becomes fearless.

b) Have I become truly selfless? If the Self Knowledgebecomes firm, one becomes selfless.

c) Have I become a true lover of mankind?

With a firmSelf Knowledge, one becomes a lover of mankind.

(Bhagavan- the founder and core of IVS)

To make the knowledge firm, Shri Bhagavan gave the following directives:-

a) Our austerity (Sadhana) is the Self or the Atman, so as the sayings of the Upanishads goes: Know that Atman or the Self, stop talking of others ; He is the bridge to immortality.

b) To know thy Self, Shri Bhagavan gave this path,Think of your thoughts.

c) If any work is left after the Self Knowledge,its only one, Spread the message of Vedanta to each and every house."

Shri Bhagavan said that after these many years ofexperience the knowledge which came to Him is that ,envy will remain, ego and anger will remain, we haveto accept these. Poison will be there but thereshould be the strength to digest it. Every work ofShri Bhagavan has been accomplished. Now its time forthe devotees to start working. But this work should beperformed by the strength of spirituality. The strength of the Knowledge, love and truth is needed.We have to tell the world about religion in a new way.

Marie Saide's Notes

MIRROR.
Marie Saide, Damascus, Syria.

The good you find in others is in you too. The faults you find in others, are your faults as well. After all, to recognize something you must know it. The possibilities you see in others are possible for you as well. The beauty you see around you, is your beauty. The world around you is a mirror showing you the person you are.


To change your world, you must change yourself. To blame and complain will only make matters worse. Whatever you care about, is your responsibility. What you see in others shows you yourself. See the best in others, and you will be your best. Give to others, and you give to yourself. Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful. Admire creativity, and you will be creative.



Love and you will be loved. Seek to understand, and you will be understood. Listen and your voice will be heard. Teach, and you will learn. Show your best face to the mirror, And you'll be happy with the face looking back at you.

Risa writes from Greece

Hello Bhaktji, how are you? I am fine, here in Greece. I am not lost, as a matter of fact I think I have found myself more than ever before. Things are going very well, because I see them going very well. I am very conscious of my life and what I am doing, I know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. In general I am having a great time. I feel GOD closer than ever before. Actually He is one step away from me, one step that I am afraid to take, but I know that soon I will totally surrender. Things from the past no longer bother me, once they have been done, and taken away by our great Guru (I don't know if I have told you that Bhagavanji has come to my dreams and told me this: "your karmas are now gone" and he presented me a new me). Since that day, any connection I had with my past actions has disappeared, and that is a relief. My future, from the other side, is something that also doesn't bother me at all, as long as I can create my present the way I want it. Everything seems done by the hand of God. My present is full of experiences, some good, some bad, but still they leave no mark on me. They are not being judged by me, they only happen. So you see, Bhaktiji, I am very happy. I know Bhagavan is inside me now, and he will never leave me. It is irreversible now. I hope everybody is OK, give my love to all (even though they know they have it).

Risa

Express your Affection

Quote:

"Immerse in the ever flowing melody of Divine love as you float within the sound of the beats of vibration to higher frequencies.
Tune into the love and affection within to express your magical gifts."
Love wisdom and magic.
Alida Fehily,

Mysteries of Wisdom TM Wisdom Consultant 2005 Psychic of the Year (WA)awarded by the Australian Psychics Association Global Intuitive Demartini Method Consultant 0402 290 490
http://www.mysteriesofwisdom.com.au

My Garden by Maria from Mexico

Sunday was a very special day for me...the gift of Vesak was having a long and deep meditation with the ocean and the earth, feeling the depths of peace...the trees have been showing me how to connect to the earth in sweet stillness, and the birds taught me how to sing from the heart in a subtle but powerful way...and all i could do was thank thank thank...the wind was kind and tender, talking with my skin, remembering me that I am incarnated in this body, sacred temple, and have many things to learn about love, about the true mission of us humans on this planet...i could feel how delicate and fragile my body is, and at the same time I could see that this body and everything around me was just empty on its side....and I could feel the Power of Creation...we just create whatever we need to see to learn our lessons about LOVE...My favorite meditation these days is trying to listen to the secret messages of the wind when it blows and talks to me..about love...i try to taste the hidden symphony of flavors from many dimensions that are in every spoonful i eat, spoon- full of love.... i try to enjoy the infinite layers of vibration a song has...pure sounding love....i feel the multiple notes and colors of the trees i see, of the eyes of the persons i meet...All is full of love...God is in All,and All is God...I am happy and thankful to be able to share with you all, this simple but eternal gift...may we plant more light seeds in our gardens and help others to plant light seeds in their gardens so that everybody would be helping everybody else planting light seeds in their gardens....and one day we could All become just ONE BIG FLOWER of ENDLESS LIGHT...............Aisha

Marie Saide's Notes, Damascus, Syria

From Duality To Non-Duality

You remain small by identifying yourself with the body. You think, 'I am the body'. This thought keeps you in a state of littleness. But expand your view from 'I am the body' to 'I am the soul, the spark of the divine.' In this way rise up from the stage of dualism to the intermediary stage of qualified non-dualism. Then, you must expand further from 'I am the soul, a part of the divine' to 'I am the divinity itself, I am no different from God. God and I are always one.' That is the highest spiritual stage, the stage of complete non-dualism. The feeling you start with, that you are the body, is steeped in dualism; it is the very birthplace of sorrow. As long as you are immersed in duality everything is sorrow and grief. If you identify yourself with the supreme self everything will be happiness and joy.

You must elevate your thinking and always identify yourself with your highest self, thus giving up the false identification with the body. This is the proper attitude for worship. Worship in Sanskrit is called upasana;, which means sitting near to God. But it is not enough to just sit close by and be near. The frog sits on the lotus but does it benefit from the sweet nectar that is in the lotus? Just being near the Lord is of no use; you must also be dear to him. You must be able to taste the honey.

Sai Gita

Dear Everybody,
Today, the 17th April, marks the completion of 4th year of the Mahamantra Divas, the day when Bhagavan had received this HARE KRISHNA Mahamantra from the Infinite. I was writing a letter to one of my friends and these relevant facts came out. Hope it will help you all.

Dear .....
Thanks for writing to me. I am very sorry that I couldn't reply you on time. In future I will be careful enough to answer you as soon as possible.
Let me come to the point :
1) What does a Mantra actually mean?
Its a word or a few words or a sentence describing the glory of the Lord which are often used by aspirants to concentrate on a single subject. For example - starting from Om to Hare Krishna mahamantra are all Mantras used to gather concentration of mind.
2) Why is Mantra used ?
Spiritual world starts from our mind. The body, senses and the external world are considered as outer world. Mind is the gateway of our inner world. If we see very closely, mind is a cluster of thoughts. Many thoughts grouped together seen in a body is known as a mind. The mind is distributed among all the subjects of the world and thats the reason why it cannot experience the Knowledge which is the substratum. Its the source of spontaneous peace and bliss. Because its one, its free and infinite. To bring the mind into one particular point is the objective of Mantra chanting.
3) As the mind continuously chants any Mantra, the distracted mind concentrates into one point, the Mantra. When we keep on chanting, the chanting automatically stops which means our mind has upgraded its potency and can meditate on the consciousness which always flows within each thoughts.
4) With the meditation, the mind can comprehend the presence of inner self and thus thrive to know it in the clearest and closest way. This tendency of mind is known as the desire to get enlightened. The desire of enlightenment makes our mind completely transform into one thought, the desire to know the self. When this thought reaches its climax, the subject of the thought, that is the desire washes out leaving the consciousness alone. This state of complete existence of consciousness or knowledge is called Samadhi or oneness with the Self. After this state is achieved, one knows totally His identity as a soul, not a body or mind or ego. This knowledge which ever remains confirmed and clear within him is called realization. This is the ultimate goal of Humanity, to know Himself, His real Self.
5) If you have to reach the ultimate state, you have to start with a Mantra. But the Mantra should be given to you by a spiritual Master. Spiritual Master is a man who not only knows the knowledge of the Self but knows the way how to reach it and lead a man to that point of supreme realization. Spiritual world doesn't start without a Master, because the one to be known is beyond any comprehension of either body or mind or intellect or the ego.
*** You can start your spiritual journey on your own by selecting any Mantra, as I could see you have already done, but your actual journey will commence only when you come in contact with a Master. For any spiritual enhancement, I will suggest you the Mahamantra which I think I had sent you through the facebook. I repeat it once again,
" HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE."
I had a very intense spiritual experience from the day I had started chanting this Mantra. I am sure this will help you in your advancement also if in anycase you choose to chant this Mantra.
Ironically, today, the 17th of april, is the day when my Master had received this Mantra from the Infinite for the whole world. He was an Advaita Vedantin who discussed Advaita Vedanta all through His life. Oneday, this day, 17th April, 2004, He received the message from the infinite thus, " Get madden and madden the whole world. Chant HARE KRISHNA." From that day, He introduced this Mahamantra within Himself and us though it was long before given by Chaitannya Mahaprabhu. With the chanting of this Mantra, I have seen many spiritual heights achieved which appeared to be quite impossible before. It has changed my life. I don't chant, I churn. It has a great power within it. Bhagavan, my Master said once, I had given the supreme form of vedanta, the doctrine of Birthlessness in this Mahamantra. As I chant all through my days, I see each and every word of my Master is true. I find it much more. Its my life and my Salvation.
Hope you like my letter. I wish all success in your spiritual journey. May God guide you to the final Glory. HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA......
love, Swamiji

Swami Probuddhananda
General - Secretary
International Vedanta Society.

Experiance of Maria from Mexico.

My garden today was craving for water....sometimes is hard to contact with the needs of my seeds and the proper nutrition to make them grow.....so i just surrendered to the feeling trusting that my Higher Self would guide me through the tunnel of confusion and sadness...how can i take care of the seeds of love and true service to the world when i feel little helpless and ignorant?....will my seeds grow wrong or even die?...many questions arise...? how should i deal with this sensations without getting caught in them repressing them or even denying them?...so i prayed....humbly.......and waited...............until a light came in and i realized that the best way was just letting myself go through the clouds of my mind and my emotions, holding on strongly to the witness that watches like an eagle from above......detached from my eagerness of happiness......the happiness i know and experienced deep in my soul.....just let go of it too.....i could feel then that just by ACCEPTING my present situation WITHOUT the need to change it would make everything turn into light again.....it just flowed like a river remembering that the water i needed for my seeds to drink today was already being poured...!!!!!Just letting things pass through me like a living tunnel changed completely the colour of my day.....I contemplated how small i was and i felt happy...cause everyday I need the Lord to take me by His Hand....and every single day i need to remember that if i don't LET BE whatever process of purification is happening to me, in several levels ( even unknown dimensions of my Self), the growth and ripeness of my consciousness could be delayed......so I went to my dance class and danced EVERYTHING I had with me...., and then people would come to me for help and life would smile to me again in simple things that make the Universe Shine Endlessly....i felt ONE with ALL THERE IS......again the lesson was to be present, whatever happens, whatever comes....without judging.......that is the best seed of light for my Garden today....beloved ones I send you my blessings....sat nam

"Toda la felicidad que existe en el mundo viene de querer hacer felices a los demás. Todo el sufrimiento que existe en el mundoviene de querer la felicidad solo para uno mismo." Shantideva

Ram Nam- Chanting the name of Lord Ram

Evening prayers at International Vedanta Society.

A beautiful letter from the Genaral Secretary of International Vedanta Society

Dear everybody, I present before you a letter written in response to a spiritual aspirant by Swami Probuddhananda. I think this letter would be beneficial to our approach in enhancing a healthy spiritual life. Wishing you all the best.
Bhakti Chaitanya
Joint General Secretary
International Vedanta Society

............the letter follows, ...

Dear Adam,
Thank you for your letter. I was very pleased to read your letter. That you are approaching a very truthful spiritual life made me feel delighted.I would at the first instance wish and pray all the success in your approach towards enlightenment.
Now coming to the point. The problem that you have mentioned is a common problem between aspirants. The problem arises when we comprehend the material and spiritual world as different. We engage ourselves in continuous endevour to strike a balance between the spiritual and material world. But we find that after endless efforts we just cannot. The very first thing that we have to know is that there are no two worlds, its one. Our distraction in spiritual world begins when we establish an imaginary relationship between this world and our Self. There was, neither is nor will be any relation between us and the world. The difference of perception among the spiritual and non spiritual person is only in the level of consciousness. We are conscious about everything that surrounds us but we are not conscious about the consciousness with which we are always conscious. Knowing this consciousness as my Self is the goal of all spiritual practice. This consciousness is eternal, divine, pure and free always. Approaching this consciousness we identify ourselves as this consciousness which liberates us from all dualities. we reach that ever unity, oneness.
Now, how to attain this level? Our mind is always engaged in all worldly matters. The moment we withdraw it from worldly affairs, we seem to get dull. We have to continue our search for truth remaining in this world, we have to introduce the power of discrimination in our mind. We have to learn to discriminate everything knowing that its false or temporary,existent now but never eternal. As we keep on doing this, the shades of materialism fades from the mind gradually paving way for the more elevated thoughts in the frame of mind. Elevated thoughts will bring peace and some bliss with it because it is metaphysical. This taste of peace and bliss will bring about a perception of another existence independent of everything, which is always beyond in us and as we keep on approaching the truth, the perception transforms into a confirmed reality. With this confirmation comes the highest goal of mankind, the attainment of the Self Knowledge already inherent in man for ages. I, you and everybody is that. Thou art That.
Read this, think about it for some moments, try to understand it. Many doubts will come, I am sure. Try to fight with the doubts. You will succeed at last. Even, if you think, I will be helpful for you, I am always at your service. I also have a hotmail account, swamiprobuddhananda@hotmail.com. We can have a direct talk if you add me in the messenger.
Lastly, I again pray for your complete accomplishment in spiritual life. Pray always to the Lord within you.
Love, Swamiji

Maria from mexico writes:

Dear Swamiji...waking up this morning and realising that everything that sorrounds me, all that I see and perceive in my life is my creation, the reality I built up with my beliefs, thoughts and actions, made me feel happy rather than a victim of this so-called"world"...Because if I am the author (I AM) of what all my senses perceive, then I am the one who can rewrite the script of the movie I´m looking at..I´m the one and only who can rearrange the flaws and make the dark turn into light..I really think my beloveds we need to wake up to this Truth if we long to be genuine Warriors of the Light...We must practice every minute of our days trying to remember this Truth, till the day we won´t need the resource of Time anymore...TIME is just serving us for THIS lesson to learn.. that everything we see is US and that God is everywhere, in every situation, in every little thing and every single being...God is desguised in all that happens to us giving us the opportunity to spread our love, our infinite compassion, our faith and generosity...
IN how many people have you REALLY seen God today?..I believe that just practicing this Truth, daily seeing the Divine in every being that walks our path, and wishing them from deep within, everlasting Bliss and Happiness, is one of the best seeds of Good Karma we can plant in our Garden of consciousness...and one day, maybe not far from now, our reality will gloriously change ... God Bless you ALL
Aisha

Letter from Risa, Devotee of Bhagavan from Greece

Hello Swamiji,

I just arrived to my village after 2 weeks at Athens. I had to do some work there, sell some clothes and it is only now that I came to see my family and settle my things. I have been doing very fine, sometimes I had time to practice, sometimes not but I never felt disconnected from God. Actually I think that it is impossible now for me to disconnect from Him even though the situation around me doesn't help me to practice at all. I saw my mother and she is very happy with my progress, she noticed that I seem much more mature now, and most of my friends too. And the fact is that I feel very firm to what I am now. That's why I think that it would be very difficult to stray from the path chosen for me. It is not a matter of me leaving it; It won't leave me!!!! I mean that, my mind has been very quiet, and I surely enjoy this quietness. I also tested myself in some ways to see whether I could stray, but as I told you it doesn't let me, and I am very happy about that. Other than that everythings going on fine. I got sick but it is a matter of climate change. Anyway, that is all Swamiji, send me news soon.

Love
Risa

letter From Kojima Halliday, Devotee of Bhagavan, London

Swamiji,

Hello. How are? Thank you for your letter. In spite of your kind words, they are strange to me because I do not see any evidence that they are justified. I look into myself and see only insincerity, laziness and an utter lack of laudable qualities. I have observed Bhagavan and so I think I know something of what sincerity and hard work and various other spiritual qualities look like. I also see something of that in you.

I am often surprised when you say I have done some good work, because I do not really remember doing any. Remembering what this body has done frankly does not interest me, but if I am brought to do so, it again seems strange because the impression I get is that all these things happened to someone else. I therefore feel somewhat ashamed to think about it, as I appear to be taking the credit for what someone else has done. Working till late may sometimes feel like work at the time, but afterwards, it is quickly forgotten whether it be successful or otherwise, and I have to make an effort to remember having done it.

In any case, the times when an effect seems to occur in other people, and my mind is pulled higher, is when I am speaking about spirituality, especially Bhagavat Tattva, or meditating with other people. What happens when it is going well is that I shut up, and another power begins to speak from my lips. I am just a bystander at such times, so how can I say that I have done work? How is doing nothing, while another entity is at work, working? Saying that I have worked seems even more untruthful than in the context described in the previous paragraph.

What do people want from life? I find myself talking about love, seeing that this is what attracts them. It seems to create an effect in them. However, I do not find myself yearning after love, and I do not remember any time in my life when love was really important to me. To be honest I cannot really be bothered to think about it. However, it occasionally strikes me as strange that I talk about it, understand everything I hear about it, make others sincerely yearn for it, yet I cannot really say that I experience it or care much about getting that experience. There remains a sort of intellectual desire to experience it, that I do not generally think about, as I am aware that it is an aspect of the divine life.

I do not really find myself caring about love, but following the pattern of conversations and correspondence I have with others, it certainly appears that I care that other people should attain it. Once again, I look into myself, and it is unclear where this talk comes from. Trying to make others yearn for and know love does not seem to come from my feeling, rather it appears that it is simply becoming my nature to do so. Typing this, I have just looked into myself again and saw what seemed like a hollow vessel, a machine that is increasingly powered by a force that has been seeping in since I met Bhagavan. There is little love, yet loneliness is something I have probably never experienced. It seems strange. How empty is it possible to be?

I know perfectly well why I have come to this plane, and that is to do the works of Bhagavan. I do not feel I have come to get anything else. I remember the words of Thakur, "jiva is shiva". I meditate with someone and spend the meditation alternately trying to scrape up the will to make a heartfelt prayer that the person I am meditating with will be pulled closer to Bhagavan, and immersing myself as deeply as possible. Thakur once said that he would incarnate ten thousand times just so that one soul could achieve liberation. I feel a deep weariness in my soul that I have felt since I was a teenager, and I suspect that if I did not know I was destined to do the works of Bhagavan, I would probably be approaching the point where I would be counting down the days to my death. Yet, I would like to be like Thakur. Having observed Bhagavan and felt something of that Power inside me, I feel I have lost the right to fail. I know that if I carry out my God-given duty, I will attain all aspects of the divine life whether I desire them or not.

Hare Krishna,

Koji

A Highly Encouraging Letter from a True Spiritual Person

Thank you swamiji!!
I'm liking it!I know him and love his music!...
we talked to Christian yesterday and he's coming next month to mexico.
I'll tell you about my spiritual life...I meditate and I try to make maditation my lifestyle, constantly sitting in my neutral witness while doing my daily things and activities...meditate in every act and moment..I try to do that...I approach totality practicing the truth in the simple things, compassion, peace, patience and respect to my husband and friends, and remembering that everything around me is Me and is God...we are one...I practice yoga and I pray to all kinds of Gods, ascended Masters, Buddhas, Deities and different manifestations of Divinity that appear in my life...I'm open to all religions and ways of approaching the experience of GOD and UNITY...my dancing and singing are ways to approach spirituality too...all the best for your class....love and light for your day
...Siri Bhagwati Kaur( Maria Aisha Skoufalos, Mexico)