Quiet Content

-- Suzie Palmar from Australia.

A moment in meditation
Is worth a day
Of whiling every moment away

Time well spent
In no lament
Lifts our hearts
To quiet content

It is our choice
To mourn or rejoice
Ride our horse
Along our chosen course

Rein in hands
We guide our thoughts
Freeing them from self-rebuke
Picking a track
That takes us on
A joyous ride
Of kin and song

A report on Bhagavan’s visits to Shillong- a beautiful city with beautiful people at the North eastern state of Meghalaya, India.

-Sanjib Bhattacharjee & Smt Champa Nag, Shillong, India

Bhagavan- the founder and core of the International Vedanta Society paid a 3 day visit to Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, a small but beautiful North Eastern state of India.

The arrival 1st of July 2008.
· Respected dignitaries of Shillong welcomed Sri Bhagavan with traditional “Gamosa” and garlands when Bhagavan arrived here at 12.30 pm. He was accompanied by Swami Sankarananda, Vice President IVS, Mrs. Maushumi Deb, Vice President, women’s wing, from Arunachal Pradesh and Miss Shikha Sarkar from Assam. Some of the members present were Sri Sanjib Bhattacharjee, Smt Shibani Talukdar, Sri Siddhartha Nag,Smt Champa Nag, Sri Api Das, Smt Nami Das, Smt Sonali Das, Sri Chandan Dev, Smti Devi Dev etc.
· On His arrival speech, Bhagavan highlighted the importance and significance of appearance of Sri Bhagavan in this earth to a moderate gathering which included devotees other dignitaries of Shillong. While elaborating on the concept of Diksha, Bhagavan said that the traditional “Mantra Diksha” given to the disciples is not enough, but the touch of a highly spirited super power can guide the holy heart to the ultimate realization.

The stay 2nd of July 2008
· Bhagavan said, “Vedanta should not be practiced separately; it should be made a part of our life. Every step and teachings of Vedanta helps us to lead a tension and stress free life”.
· While elaborating on the Mahamantra He said, in earlier days, the Hare Krishna Mahamantra was chanted mostly by people without realizing its inner meaning and power. But now, as the power of the Mahamantra is being discovered, it is now chanted by people of all classes, especially the literate ones, not only in India but also around the world.

· After a long time the devotees had the opportunity to listen to the Advaita Vedanta from the Master. Bhagavan was in the mood of delivering the essence of the highest form of spiritual knowledge to his loved ones. He said-“Common people are aware of three stages- awake ness, dream and deep slumber. But the ultimate internal fragrance of realization comes from the fourth step of spiritual awakening i.e. the “Paramarthik Jagaran” or the transcendental state”. He said that we or rather our mind is constantly trying to get something or the other. Naturally some of our wants are fulfilled while others are not. We feel happy when everything we want is achieved but we start to blame others for our failures and miseries when our wants and desires are not being fulfilled. The main message was that we are only responsible for our sorrows and miseries. “Nobody but me to Blame”. The sooner we can understand this the quicker we will learn to remain contended and happy.

3rd of July 2008
· Bhagavan said that the realization of eternity in every soul can only be explored when the quest for the same is felt inside.
· Sri Bhagavan said, innumerable numbers of people around the world has experienced the essence of realization with His divine touch, but compared to that it is very unfortunate that appropriate recognition is not given by the people, the reason for this being the selfishness of the aspirants who happily experienced the pleasure and joys of Realization but never had tried to express and spread this message to the world.

The departure 4th of July 2008
Every good thing comes to an end. After spending three really wonderful days with Bhagavan, the day of separation finally arrived for the people of Shillong. Devotees with tearful eyes bid farewell to His Holiness Sri Sri Bhagavan who left Shillong for Guwahati on the 4th of July at 9AM accompanied by Swami Sankarananda, Mrs Mousumi Deb and Miss Sikha Sarkar. Members present during Bhagavan’s departure were Smt Tapashi Bhattacharjee, Sri Malay Talukdar, Sri Pradip Rakshit, Sri Pinak Pani Hore, Smt Sudipta Hore, Sri S.R Choudhury, Sri Suparna Choudhury, Smt Chandra Nag, Smti Meenakshi Choudhury and others.

A letter by Swami Probuddhananda.

Dear ..............,
Thanks for your letter. I hope that you will find exactly what you are searching for. To come to your letter point wise, let me explain you a bit so that it might be easy for you to contemplate about the unseen world and the method of approaching this.
Bhagavan is our spiritual Master. A spiritual master is a person who has not only had reached that state of enlightenment but also knows the way how to guide a person to that state. He is not a person, a Master means the knowledge which manifests through Him. So, when you see people devoted towards Bhagavan or any other spiritual personality, you have to know that, they are actually devoted to the knowledge which comes out of a person through the medium called love. This knowledge makes the illusory faculty of our mind to weaken and thus gradually we move towards the supreme knowledge. So, don't be afraid my friend that you have to devote yourself to a person who will drive you according to His/her will, rather if He is a proper Master, His words will open your heart and enable you to see the truth which is there within you for ages. So, a spiritual Master is a must for enlightenment or to realize the truth, because we cannot even comprehend which is beyond comprehension, but one who had traveled upto that limits does. A Master is but impersonal knowledge and love personified.
If you see the life of Swami Vivekananda, you will see that all knowledge he had was from His Master, Thakur Shri Ramakrishna which was transmitted to Him through a state called Samadhi, a state of union with God or the Self.
Now, what is truth? Truth is the actual identity of yours. Who are you? We associate ourselves with the body, the mind, the ego and the outer world, but in reality, we have no connection with those. We are free from all, we are the ever illuminated knowledge, which only is the source of infinite bliss, peace and divine love. We have to know this identity or the real nature of ours and then shall we become enlightened. Enlightenment or realization of truth is in knowing ourselves in reality, not an assumption or guess, but a certain realization,confirmed knowledge which always stays within our heart even if we are fully engaged into all sorts of worldly activities. Though we are engaged in these worldly activities, a simultaneous knowledge flows through us that we are always unattached from all bindings, that we are the Soul, not the body or the ego. This is a very clear realization my friend and is the source of all heavenly qualities and love.
I have reached that state where I felt myself fully separated from the body, mind, ego and the world and felt oneness with the Self or Soul with the divine mercy of Bhagavan. For this there are steps by which one can gradually approach the truth which is within Him. I can tell you if you like. Hope this letter will make you feel better and strengthen your idea that you are actually in a right path, just that, a Master is needed to show you the proper way to your Self.
With love and best wishes, Swamiji

Courage and Spirituality.

Keep walking
Though there's no place to get to.
Don't try to see through the distances.
That's not for human beings.
Move within
but don't move
The way that fear makes you move.
- Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi

Many people are attracted to the allure and beauty of the spiritual path. Who wouldn’t wish for the blessings of inner peace, deep joy, and everlasting love? But for seekers who set their gaze toward the experience of the ultimate truth, this journey also requires courage and determination.

While my life has been a spiritual journey, it has only been fairly recently that I embraced the desire for true union with the divine. I was at a retreat when I began having stirring, profound experiences pulling me into sacred unity. My heart was opening to the spaciousness of divine peace, bliss, and love; love indescribable that pulled me closer to God. But that very night, I had a nightmare of a demon entering my room and trying to seize my soul. Throughout subsequent weeks, the dreams continued bringing wailing ghosts, and oceans of tigers and sharks deep into the midnight hours. These dreams were a shocking juxtaposition to the gorgeous meditations and deep spiritual reflections I was having during the day. For a time, I came to question just what it was I was trying to accomplish. At night, I didn’t want to sleep for fear of the dreams.

The mystics know that the path to spiritual union is both blissful and arduous. The journey begins with a desire for enlightenment. When the proper master arrives and gives us the spiritual practices, it is inevitable that fears begin to arise. After all, we are striving for the highest knowledge, and obstacles are always a part of lofty goals. In fact, they are an auspicious sign that things are progressing as they should, so long as we understand that the fears are a signpost, pointing us toward the barriers keeping us from divine union. Our fears ultimately illuminate our many cherished attachments, desires, and self-definitions like son, husband, wife, mother, engineer, poet, liberal (just about anything on our Facebook profiles!) Sri Ramana Maharshi writes that these fears are nothing but illusions, which emerge like a snake on the roadway ahead. We catch sight of it and begin to worry, but upon the approach we see the snake is nothing more than a rope.

When the fears come, keep faith in your spiritual master, and keep engaged in your practices. When the fears rise, most people withdraw, but the whole process is much easier when one has faith in and guideance from the guru. If focus, desire, and devotion are maintained, the practices will begin to take on less effort, and feel as if they are coming from the inside. When this happens, you will know you have entered the world of the inner-self, and from there, the journey becomes wonderful.

As for me, I had to ask myself what these demons were. What did they want to tell me? Through my work with my spiritual master, and meditation, and lots of self questioning, I came to realize that the shadows carried by these demons were issues of trust, self-worth, and fears of losing all that I loved as I delve deeper into the heart of God. What I learned is that even when things look scary, God is there, lovingly fine tuning His instrument. While this can cause some awkward disharmony for a while, ultimately, it’s a mercy and a blessing to be lovingly orchestrated this way into the divine symphony.

One by one, the seeker is called to face all his or her fears. One by one, we face the sharks and see them dissipate into the sea of consciousness. One by one, we grasp each tiger and say, “Oh, what a kitten you are!” One by one, we look the demons in the face and say, “I am not afraid of you.” We move forward with courage, toward the ultimate of self-knowledge, toward permanent truth and blissful delight at the point of realization.

When the fears rise in you, be glad to know how your journey has progressed! Be grateful for the opportunity to move deeper. Be brave, and see how the space within you opens, how your consciousness expands. Fall into the greater depths of those meditative and yogic experiences that delight you. See how you begin to shine. Move forward and dive deeper, without fear, toward the light and the truth and the divinity which is you.

A letter of Swami Vivekananda.

63, St. Goerge's road, London

7th June, 1896.

Dear Miss Noble,
My ideal indeed can be put into a few words and that is : to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.
The world is in chains of superstitions. I pity the oppressed, whether man or women, and I pity more the oppressors.
One idea that I can see clear as day light is that misery is caused by ignorance and nothing else. Who will give this world light? Sacrifice in the past has been the law, it will be, alas, for ages to come. The earth's bravest and best will have to sacrifice themselves for the good of many, for the welfare of all. Buddhas by the hundred are necessary with eternal love and pity.
Religions of the world have become lifeless mockeries. What the world wants is a character. The world is in need for those whose life is one burning love, selfless. That love will make every word tell like thunderbolt.
It is no superstition with you, I am sure, you have the making of a world- mover, and others will also come. Bold words and bolder deeds are what we want. Awake, awake, great ones! The world is burning with misery. Can you sleep? Let us call till the sleeping Gods awake, till the god within answers to the call. What more is in life? What greater work? The details come to me as I go. I never make plans. Plans grow and work themselves. I only say, awake, awake!
May all blessings attend you for ever!
Yours affectionately,
Vivekananda.

Prayer, by Sinead Ni Bhriain,Swansea,Wales,UK

From –The Book of Mirdad

To pray, therefore, is to infuse the blood with one Master-Desire, one Master-Thought, one Master-Will. It is so to attune the self as to become in perfect harmony with whatever you pray for.
This planet’s atmosphere, mirrored in all details within your hearts, is billowing with vagrant memories of all the things it witnessed since its birth.
No word or deed; no wish or sigh; no passing thought or transient dream; no breath of man or beast; no shadow, no illusion but ply in it their mystic courses till this very day, and shall so ply them till the end of Time. Attune your hearts to any one of these, and it shall surely dash to play upon the strings.
You need no lip or tongue for praying. But rather do you need a silent, wakeful heart, A Master-Wish, a Master-Thought, and above all, a Master-Will that neither doubts nor hesitates. For words are of no avail except the heart be resent and awake, the tongue had better go to sleep, or hide behind sealed lips.
Nor have you any need of temples to pray in.
Whoever cannot find a temple in his heart, the same can never find his heart in any temple.
But you and every man I charge to pray for Understanding. To hunger after anything but that is never to be filled.
Remember that the key to Life is the Creative Word. The key to the Creative Word is Love. The key to Love is Understanding. Fill up your hearts with these and spare your tongues the pain of many words, and save your minds the weight of many prayers, and free your hearts from bondage to all gods who would enslave you with a gift; who would caress you with one hand only to smite you with the other; who are content and kindly when you praise them, but wrathful and revengeful when reproached; who would not hear you save you call, and would not give you save you beg; and having given you, too oft regret the giving; whose incense is your tear; whose glory is your shame.
Aye, free your hearts of all these gods that you may find in them the only God who, having filled you with Himself, would have you ever full.