Guru Purnima~ 2012

Steadfast

Charles Gibson, Spain

Be steadfast in your spiritual practice. It may seem at times that the mind is full of painful emotion and your thoughts are 'not spiritual' at all. The development of awareness and spiritual progress is not always apparent to us, so keep going, simply aware of all that is going on in the mind, without reaction or judgement.

We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves believing that we must do something, in fact it is through Gods grace that we progress spiritually. So keep on with your practice or 'non-practice' whatever it may be with full effort and determination but without that stress of thinking you are the doer. This detachment from the result of practice is the same as surrender to God or acceptance of your own state of mind. This detachment allows us to be steadfast in spiritual practice.

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.

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.

Narayana's Experience with the mahamantra

Dear Friends,
Today we received a letter from Narayana (Xavier Vidal Bueno), a devotee of Bhagavan from Spain. In 2007 he stayed here at Varanasi for some months. Though a naughty and fun loving boy, he has seriously dedicated himself for strict spiritual practice. After reading his letter its real joy to know that the spiritual flower in him is blossoming well. Please read on.....

Hello everybody,

I would like to share the experience I had last night, it was wonderful for me.
Some days ago I decided to do japa (chanting sacred mantra in the mind) at night before going to bed, and last night I was doing so. Normally I enter into a state of half sleep when I am about to finish and then I wake up again and finish the japa; this is because after work I'm very tired and I do the japa liyng on the bed. But yesterday was different, In some point of the japa ( wich I was doing with the full mahamantra ) I started to feel great pleasure and my energy increasing and some parts of my body moving like when you are nervous and tremble. As I felt that I wasn't tired and my concentration was increasing. I decided to folow with the japa for longer than normally; pleasure was increasing as it seemed that I was sinking deeper and deeper in the mahamantra as well as energy and prayers to God would come to my mind every time realizing the Truth of his presence. I could feel the flowing of energy through my limbs and my mind getting clearer as I got deeper and deeper concentration. I started the Japa at 11:30 pm and I finished at last at 3:00 am without any interrumption. This is the first time that I can do such a long japa and when I finished I felt everything was alive.

Thanks God!

Jai Bhagavan!

Hare Krishna!

Narayana

Friday 13th June 2008
Barcelona,Spain

Jennifer Helminsky, New jersey, USA.

We must not seek union with the Divine for reasons of the self, but in the service of mankind. There is nothing to be gained from merging with the Supreme Reality if it does not lead others to the same end. We are here to open the way for others. We clear the way, we make ready the path, and we mark the trail. We must be the presence of God for all to see, so that they too may find the face of the Beloved within.

Those who have gone before us - Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Jesus, Buddha, all saints and lovers of God - are remembered and revered the world over. Their message and their example do not fade with the passing of time. They live forever, and they continue to serve mankind, lifting them up from ignorance and suffering, even so long after their passing. This is what we must strive to attain. We must seek to realize the Ultimate Truth not for ourselves, but for all of humanity now and yet to come. God is mankind. We are God. We must empty ourselves and be purified so that we may be filled with the fire of His Love. We must pour out the Divine nectar over the Earth. Let no soul go untouched.

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.

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 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....