Cristian, Devotee of Bhagavan from Chile writes his experience about Bhagavan's stay at Varanasi

Wed, Feb 27, 2008
Dear Friends,
today Bhagwanji left Varanasi.

we are full in emotion. no many words now. but just wanted to thanks everibody because being with him and seing increse the family everyday is plenty of hope/

Bhagwan is out of our understanding. really. people fell in love to him just in a few hours.. and as result deep joy is coming.

a group of 24 chilean people came to see him. and all them were very touched by his grace- i am not saying this just in words.. - really they were able to see the grandness of His love and feelit inside as never before.

the atmosphere has been full of spirit..

and is amazing to see the change in pleople just after a few days with Him.

i am very gratefull of all this and the opportunity to be with him and all.

Bhagwan health is also good. he has dance a lot. and enjoy every moment with new devotees.

i hope and wish the best for IVS, which is no more than the visible part of this celebration togeter with Bhagwanji.

is a tremendous Power in Him and pure love come to all because of that.

love to all.

Cristian.

#if you see clouds one day in the sky are just clouds, doesnt mean that the sun if not there.

Sharada Writes

Dear everybody.
Hope you all are enjoying the divine life which Bhagavan has gifted us...Yes , this shows how great He is as He has gifted us the life of divinity , for which people spend years after years doing Sadhana...What is Sadhana??? We all have His 10 commandments written in the script of Sadhana...But we must realise the contents of Sadhana from within...There Bhagavan has told us to meditate & practice Vedanta...In my previous letters I told you all about the cyclical process of practicing & preaching Vedanta...But what are the benefits that we are going to get if we keep a regular touch of meditation & practicing Vedanta???
Regular meditation will help us in establishing our own selves....yes our own being...to know the self , where God resides...Vedanta says - KNOW THYSELF....Why does it say so? As because there's no one else other than God , other than Brahman...We all are just the portion of this Brahman , nothing else....Vedanta teaches us to be independent , to be confident on thy self , that I am for God , God is within me...Vedanta teaches us to listen to our own soul.........In ''Flashes of Vedanta'' we can see that , ''TO KNOW THE SELF IS THE KNOWLEDGE , OTHERWISE IGNORANCE.'' Yes, ignorance...but why ignorance?Vedanta teaches us to put our mind towards self-knowledge , to believe into within...to listen to thy heart & not depend on others.....Bhagavan also tells - EXPAND THY HEART...This is the only way to salvation...Just by mere saying will not help...you have to put it into practice...Expand yourself , your heart...which can only be possible through regular practice of Vedanta...Work , work & work...It will show the representation of your own thought....Express yourself as much as possible....Relish the taste of Vedanta from within , then you can relish the taste of Bhagavan's love....Know this , if we are to work for anyone , we have to work for God...If we want to live for anyone , we must live for God.....If we are to be the servant of anyone , we must be the servant of God....We must feel God within each of our cell...
So make your own heart as large as possible free from any disturbances , calm & quiet , enjoy the taste of Vedanta...Be self-confident , be free , if there's exist anything , it's only God...He is within you , within me , everywhere....His divine love changes our mind from dry desert to the beautiful cool Oasis...Its the only way-through of getting peace...Its the only way of gifting homage to our Lord , who has made our lives so special , so beautiful....We must be like Him....We must become firm & strong like Him.......We must become God.......Live for God , work for God & then to become God by ourselves...This is our goal , our Sadhana.....Do you all agree , friends???
I shall be heartily waiting for the reply to this letter from all of you.....God bless you all.....JAY BHAGAVAN.
With lots of love & regards,
Sarada...

Letter from Sarada, devotee of Bhagavan at Kolkata

My dear friends,
How's everything going? I n the last letter I told you all regarding practicing & preaching Vedanta. Yes,really...preaching Vedanta will make our own heart clear about any doubts, if comes in front of us....as because teaching others will result into knowing twice...different questions will come in our mind , we will look for that answer & after we know that answer our own self will develop...Isn't it so?
In one of the books of International Vedanta Society named ''Flashes from Vedanta'' , we find on the very first page , its telling about three things , i.e. , WILL, DETERMINATION & CONCENTRATION....What are these???Yes , definitely we all know the meaning of these three words..But how many of us do really have these three things???These three are the pillars of our society our civilisation...But do we really feel them at this present context???Willingness of getting something is there in our mind , but does that willingness of having some material thing do really bring peace in our soul??? We should have the will of having that ultimate knowledge which will make us say- Yes, I am living in peace!!! How many in this world can really say this from heart??? Only few....But we have to achieve that as because we have got the touch of Bhagavan-The God, who is even beyond this Supreme....Will , determination & concentration makes a perfect character which is very very important in our spiritual ground....
The path is laid already...Now this willingness of going towards this path will be our first step towards spiritualism...Willingness should be a pure one which must come from deep within the heart...that yes I want to have the knowledge of supreme...this willingness is the first pillar of getting success & to build a good character....Yes, I want to have this...Yes, I shall be like this....Willing to get something will result into having that in future , may be not immediately but surely in future...Our will should be to get the Ultimate after which there will be no other longings will remain....That's the highest one...
Now comes the determination...Strong willingness will result into determination that we have to have this....i.e., the determination of knowing the truth....the determination of being the truth...The determination which we find inside Bhagavan of giving love to all...The determination that has built His character & made Him Bhagavan today. This is called the true determination...The determination of achieving the goal of life...But what's the actual goal??? The actual goal is that to achieve the supreme which is the Master of all the other goals in this world....Do you agree with me or not??? Yes we need the determination that will hold us firm in this path ,that will help us in holding the faith on God & trust in ourselves , that will give us peace , that will help us in building our character...the strongest of all the strong characters!!!
Then it comes the Concentration..Yes , this is another important point of getting the hold of our character...Whatever we do , it should have our full hearted concentration...Concentration is a word that we use in many aspects...but how many of us do really have it??? But if we strongly believe in the Almighty & have the determination , He will bless us with the concentration that will help us in concentrating on our goal of achieving the Supreme...Concentration is a very tough job in this material world as our mind is always full of worldly bindings...Our mind always tends to go towards that material world as because it is already habituated in living there...So very strong determination & immense concentration is needed for keeping the hold of our mind in a stable position...Though its a tough job , but again I must repeat the words of Bhagavan that - ''If I can do this, you can also.'' So as we have already got the touch of Bhagavan , we must show Him regards by following the way He acts...We must grow the determination , willing power & concentration just like our Master, Bhagavan....
He has shown us the way...now its our job to follow the path...But being in this path is not so simple...It needs great effort & this effort needs some continuous process which again must have the three strong pillars- WILL , DETERMINATION & CONCENTRATION...& these three pillars will grow gradually as we practice Vedanta regularly.....So here , we can see a cyclical process :
PRACTICING VEDANTA->PREACHING VEDANTA->GROWING OF WILL,DETERMINATION & CONCENTRATION->AGAIN PRACTISING VEDANTA & PREACHING VEDANTA.......
This cycle will ultimately result into knowing ourselves....will result into being The God....& ultimately to show due homage to our beloved Bhagavan.....So come on friends...let start riding this cycle forever till eternity......
With lots & lots of love,
Sarada....

Letter from Swami Probuddhananda, General Secretary, I.V.S

Dear Everybody,

At the very outset, I wish you all the best in the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Shri Guruma. On this occasion, all the branches of IVS celebrated this day with a full day spiritual programme. I hope you too have celebrated this day wherever you have been.

Here in Guwahati, we are planning for the next step of the organization as a whole. One of the important aspect of this discussion is the celebration of the 20th convention in Guwahati. During the last year convention in Kolkata, we had decided not to celebrate in the manner in which it was been done. We had taken a resolution that only the members will be allowed to attend this convention. But now we have to think differently. We will have this year’s convention in Guwahati on the 19^th of Nov.’08 and we will invite the whole world to attend this. For this, the work has already been started. We will have a spiritual camp for 7 to 10 days where all the spiritual aspects will be discussed, we will have a daily spiritual routine and we will have the opportunity to see, hear and be near Bhagavan. The process will be started from the respective branches in India and abroad from now.

During the convention in Varanasi in the year 2006, we were determined to make this organization into a truly International organization. We did it. I am thankful to everybody from the core of my heart. Each one of us had a role to play during that convention. Now, this time too, we have a determination. We aim to spread the message of Bhagavan, His teachings to the world. As we could do it then, I believe, we will do this again. Today, during a conversation with the Vice President of IVS, it came out, “ We will take the message of Bhagavan to the whole world this time.” As it came out, Maharajji, Ramananda and myself went to the Brahmaputra river and prayed so that this becomes a reality. Ironically, we were the same three persons who worked during the convention in Varanasi. If the message of Bhagavan has to be propagated, it has to be now .Moreover there was a declation of Swami Vivekananda that a new Sun is going to rise in the far east besides the river Brahmaputra. Lets all work for this. Goals are the milestones in our lives. This is our goal now.

During this convention, I intend to bring out 10 books of International quality on the teachings and life of Bhagavan. Most of them will be in English, Hindi and Spanish. I urge everybody to work for this. Write down all you have of Bhagavan’s words, His teachings or events from now. Take your time. We have 4 months to do the base work. Compile it into a book and send it to me. Some of the books will be on the teachings and words of Bhagavan, some of them will be on the experiences of ours with Him. I have a plan to publish to book with a title “ Those who lived with God”.. Lets all work for this. I am sure we will have the divine grace of Bhagavan in this endeavor.

Until next time, Its Swamiji with love from IVS HQs, Assam

Dance Presentation during the Occassion

Sri Bhagavan being felicitated by NGO's of Kolkata

Sri Bhagavan's falicitation venue- the Indumani Sabha Griha, Jadavpur University, Kolkata

19th Annual Convention in Pictures.

Dear friends,
I am uploading the pictures of the Annual Convention.I think there is some technical problems with bloggers uploading pictures.Its taking too long to upload.
(Photo-Day1. Nagar Parikrama in Tollygunge, Kolkata)

19th Annual convention Invitation

Dear Sir/ Madam,

On behalf of the International Vedanta Society, I have the immense pleasure of inviting you with family and friends to our 19th Annual International Convention at Kolkata.
The three days Spiritual programme will commence from the 18th of November to the 20th of November'07 at Kolkata, India.
The details of the programme are as under :

18th November 2007: Felicitation of Bhagavan by welfare organisations of Kolkata for His noble work and service to mankind.
Venue: INDUMATI SABHA GRIHA;Jadavpur University
Time: 10.30A.M.

19th November 2007:Foundation day celebration and daylong spiritual programme.
Venue: 'PAVILION HALL' , RAVINDRA SOROVOR STADIUM, Kolkata.
Time: 10.00 A.M onwards

20th of November 2007: Meditation and Spiritual programme
Venue: TARUN SENGUPTA MEMORIAL HALL, Birati, Kolkata.
Time: 05.00 P.M


Thanking you,

In the service of Bhagavan,
Swami Probuddhananda.
General Secretary
International Vedanta Society.

For further details/informations please contact:
Swami Prajnanananda: 9831265681
Swami Nirgunananda : 9231656828
Swami Sankarananda : 9831265692
Sanjoy Banerjee : 9831172705
or write to,
swamiprobuddhananda@hotmail.com