Vedanta

The

Kesari

February 2020
1

The Vedanta Kesari

Cover Story
Sri Ramakrishna :
A Divine Incarnation
page 11

1
`15
A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly
of the Ramakrishna Order since 1914
F ebruary
2020
 2

Mylapore Rangoli
competition

To preserve and
promote
cultural
heritage, the
Mylapore Festival
conducts the Kolam
contest every year on the
streets adjoining
Kapaleswarar Temple near
Sri Ramakrishna Math,
Chennai.

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 3

T he V edanta K esari
A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of The Ramakrishna Order Vol. 107, No. 2
ISSN 0042-2983

107
th

Year of Publication CONTENTS FEBRUARY

ry 2020
r S to
ve
Co
11
Sri Ramakrishna: A Divine Incarnation
Swami Tapasyananda

46 20
Women Saints of FEATURES Vivekananda
Varkari Tradition Rock Memorial
8 Atmarpanastuti
Arpana Ghosh
9 Yugavani
10 Editorial
Sri Ramakrishna and the A Curious Boy
18 Reminiscences
Pilgrimage Mindset Gitanjali Murari
27 Vivekananda Way
Swami Chidekananda 36 Special Report
51 Pariprasna
Poc
53 The Order on the March ke
t
41 25Ta
le
s

Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam – Poorva: Magic, Miracles

Touching 100 Years and the Mystical Twelve
Lakshmi Devnath
t
or
ep

34
lR

31
ci a
Spe

Editor: Swami Mahamedhananda

Published by Swami Vimurtananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai - 600 004 and
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 The Vedanta
of 95
t i s sue
b e r 18
Firs ept
em
, S He was a much-celebrated and much-feted Swami.
va din
a His famous address at The World’s Parliament of Religions,
hm
Bra Chicago in 1893 had catapulted him to the status of a super star. But
Swami Vivekananda was not one to bask in chaffy glory. A letter to one of
his trusted followers, from the USA, dated 12 Jan 1895, read, ‘I want to preach my
ideas for the good of the world. …What work have you done in the way of advancing the ideas
February 2020

and organising in India? …My life is more precious than spending it in getting the admiration
of the world. I have no time for such foolery.’
Swamiji, as Swami Vivekananda was fondly addressed, loved and revered his motherland
as his own mother. Every breath of his aspired for her well being and every cell in his body
yearned that she regain her lost glory. She had been a beacon light for the world until repeated
4
invasions pillaged her ruthlessly and left her not just poverty-stricken but also psychologically
drained. The latter struck at the very core, underlying the urgency for immediate redressal.
The Vedanta Kesari

Swamiji’s panacea for this lay in India’s very own practical and ennobling Vedantic wisdom.
Vedanta recognises no weakness. It proclaims that in every individual lies a mine of strength.
All that is needed is an effort to draw from it.
Swamiji started looking for the right channel to propagate the powerful message of
Vedanta. He opted for the print medium and decided to bring out a journal, giving it the name
Brahmavadin. In February 1895, he sent from USA $100 and a letter to his trusted disciple
Alasinga Perumal. The letter read: ‘Now I am bent upon starting the
journal. Herewith I send a hundred dollars… Hope this will go just
a little in starting your paper.’
If selflessness and devotion would have a form, it
would have borne the name of Alasinga Perumal.
Brahmavadin became Alasinga’s calling and the first
issue rolled out from a press in Broadway, Chennai
on 14 September 1895. The magazine included a First iss
The Ved ue of
poem of Swamiji specially composed for the anta Ke
sari, Ma
occasion. It was titled, ‘The Song of the Sannyasin’. y 1914
One verse ran thus:
Kesari One hundred and seven
years and going strong….

“Strike off thy fetters! Bonds that bind thee down,

Love, hate — good, bad — and all the dual throng,

For fetters, though of gold, are not less strong to bind;

February 2020
(Handwritten words in Swamiji’s own hand)
With this message that marked its mission, Brahmavadin made a determined entry into
the strife-ridden climate of pre-independence India. The birth of the magazine was certainly 5
an occasion for celebration but the struggles were far from over.

The Vedanta Kesari

One of Swamiji’s letters to Alasinga read: ‘I learnt from your letter the bad financial state
that Brahmavadin is in.’ This was followed by another letter that carried the line, ‘I pledge
myself to maintain the paper anyhow.’
Bolstered by this pledge, Alasinga Perumal braved on, surmounting many an impediment.
Sadly, Swami Vivekananda passed away in 1902, at the age of thirty-nine. Alasinga’s intense
anguish morphed into heightened devotion towards the magazine. But the next hurdle in
Brahmavadin’s journey came in 1909, in the form of Alasinga’s own demise. In May 1914, the
magazine, tottering as it was, floundered and ground to a halt.
It was at this crucial juncture, that the Ramakrishna Mission stepped in to revive it. The
Mission was itself in its nascent stages with many a teething problem but nothing could come
in its way of reviving the Brahmavadin. For, had not their beloved Swamiji repeatedly said, ‘The
Brahmavadin is a jewel – it must not perish!” And so, the very same month when Brahmavadin
closed, it was resuscitated with the new name The Vedanta Kesari.
The history of The Vedanta Kesari is much more than just a tale of sweat, toil and a dream
realized. It is a narrative of Swamiji’s passion for India and Alasinga’s devotion to his master.
It is a celebration of love, transcending forms.

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February 2020
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The Vedanta Kesari

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 Atmarpanastuti
Sri Appayya Dikshitendra

Sloka - 5
त्वं वेदान्तैर्विविधमहिमा गीयसे विश्वनेतस्त्वं विप्राद्यैर्वरद निखिलैरिज्यसे कर्मभिस्स्वैः ।
त्वं दृष्टानुश्रविकविषयानन्दमात्रावितृष्णरन्तर्ग्रन्थिप्रविलयकृते चिन्त्यसे योगिवृन्दैः ॥ 5
5) O Lord of the Universe! Your innumerable glories are sung in the
upanishads. O Bestower of boons, you are worshipped by Brahmanas and others
by the performance of the rites assigned to them. You are meditated upon by yogis
who have developed distaste for all enjoyments in this world and in other (higher)
February 2020

worlds, for the loosening of the internal knot (of bondage).

Sloka - 6
ध्यायन्तस्त्वां कतिचन भवं दुस्तरं निस्तरन्ति त्वत्पादाब्जं विधिवदितरे नित्यमाराधयन्तः ।
अन्ये वर्णाश्रमविधिरता पालयन्तस्त्वदाज्ञां सर्वं हित्वा भवजलनिधावेष मज्जामि घोरे ॥ 6
8
6) Some cross over this transmigratory existence, which is very difficult to
cross, by meditating on You; others by always worshipping Your lotus-feet in the
The Vedanta Kesari

manner laid down in the scriptures; and yet others; who are devoted to the rules
of Varna and Ashrama by obeying Your commands in that respect. Not following
any of these paths, I am being submerged in the terrible ocean of samsara.

Sloka - 7
उत्पद्यापि स्मरहर महत्युत्तमानां कुलेऽस्मिन्नास्वाद्य त्वन्महिमजलधेरप्यहं शीकराणून् ।
त्वत्पादार्चविमुखहृदयश्चापलादिन्द्रियाणां व्यग्रस्तुच्छेष्वहह जननं व्यर्थयाम्येष पापः ॥ 7
7) O Destroyer of Cupid! In spite of having been born in this lineage of great
men, and having imbibed some drops of the ocean of Your glories, with my mind
turned away from the worship of Your feet, and because of the fickleness of my
senses, alas! I, this sinner, am engaged in trifles and am making my birth futile.

Translated by Sri. S.N. Sastri.

 Yugavani

Holy Company

W
hen the Divine Mother was born as the daughter of King Himavan, She
showed Her various forms to Her father. The king said, “I want to see
Brahman.” Thereupon the Divine Mother said: “Father, if that is your desire,
PA G E S P O N S O R : K U M . V. D H A R S H A N I H A R I , C H E N N A I

February 2020
then you must seek the company of holy men.”
Sri Ramakrishna looked at the householder devotees seated around him and said with
a smile: Why shouldn’t it be possible for a householder to give his mind to God? But the
truth is that he no longer has his mind with him. If he had it, then he could certainly offer
it to God. But, alas, the mind has been mortgaged—mortgaged to ‘lust and gold’. So it is
necessary for him constantly to live in the company of holy men. When, he gets back his 9
own mind, then he can devote it to spiritual practice. Either he should think of God in

The Vedanta Kesari

solitude day and night, or he should live with holy men.
Holy company begets yearning for God. It begets love of God. Nothing whatsoever is
achieved in spiritual life without yearning. By constant living in the company of holy men,
the soul becomes restless for God.
What are the spiritual disciplines that give the mind its upward direction? One learns
all this by constantly living in holy company. The rishis of olden times lived either in
solitude or in the company of holy persons; therefore, they could easily renounce ‘lust and
gold’ and fix their minds on God. They had no fear nor did they mind the criticism of others.
It is good to live in the company of holy men now and then. The disease of worldliness
has become chronic in man. It is mitigated, to a great extent, in holy company.
Whatever may be a householder’s profession, it is necessary for him to live in the
company of holy men now and then. If a man loves God, he will himself seek the company
of holy men.
Repeat God’s name and sing His glories, and keep holy company; and now and then
visit God’s devotees and holy men. The mind cannot dwell on God if it is immersed day and
night in worldliness, in worldly duties and responsibilities; it is most necessary to go into
solitude now and then and think of God.
— Sri Ramakrishna
 Editorial
Seek God Wholeheartedly
O
nce a theatre artist who had come
to perform in a devotional play at
the Dakshineswar Kali temple,
asked Sri Ramakrishna, “How does one realise
the Atman?”
Sri Ramakrishna replied, “Longing is the
means of realising Atman. A man must strive to
attain God with all his body, with all his mind,
and with all his speech.”
This was also Jesus Christ’s counsel to a
Jewish lawyer who asked “Which is the great
February 2020
commandment in the Law?” Jesus gave two
commandments, of which the first is, “Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
What does it mean to strive with all our
10 mind, all our speech, and all our body?
It means to hunger for God with our
whole personality. Our mind should be filled
The Vedanta Kesari
only with the leela and teachings of the Lord;
our ears should hear only the singing of His
name and glories; our eyes should behold only
His form and His devotees; our lips should
constantly repeat only His name; and our hands
should serve only the Lord and His devotees.
The scriptures teach us, “Whatever ought
to be given up, has to be given up with body,
mind and speech, and whatever ought to be
accepted, has to be accepted similarly. Then and
then only will the aspirant be fit to realise God.”
A perfect example of one who practised this is
Sri Ramakrishna. As soon as he heard that
wealth was as worthless as a clod of earth, he
“took a few coins and clods of earth and threw
them into the Ganga, repeating over and over
again, rupee–earth, earth–rupee.” This idea
became so internalised that if he even
unwittingly touched a coin, his body retracted
with sharp pain! To overcome the vanity of his
high caste and acquire humility, he thoroughly
cleaned with his own hands the drain of the
temple sweeper’s residence. Again, in order to
reinforce his knowledge that Shiva is in all
beings, “he ate and put on his head, as Prasada,
a little of the leavings from the leaf-plates of the
poor people” at the Kali temple.
The body and the senses have their own
animal level intelligence and instincts. And the
mind is a huge storehouse of samskaras –
positive and negative. Harmonising thought,
word, and action is the first step in disciplining
and sublimating these instincts and samskaras.
This disciplining will empower us to understand
and experience subtle spiritual ideas. And this
unification and purification of body, senses, and
mind is called Trikarana Shuddhi.
The first step towards Trikarana Shuddhi
is to hold on to truth in our everyday life. In
general, even those of us who are serious about
spiritual life, become hypocrites due to
carelessness or laziness. We have one thing in
our mind but something else on our lips. Again
we say one thing and act differently. And an
untruthful personality can never realise the
ultimate Truth.
Once Sri Ramakrishna agreed to visit a
neighbouring devotee’s house. But he
remembered about it only late at night.
Immediately he went over to the devotee’s
house. Though the household was asleep, he
stepped into their premises just to keep his
word. There are numerous other such examples
from the life of saints. Though it may appear
impractical, the point is, it is the way to train
the mind to hold on to truth.
Finally, another thing we can practice is to
put all our mind, all our speech, and all our
body into whatever work we do – everyday
activities and duties of life. This will give us the
strength to seek God wholeheartedly.
 Cover Story

Sri Ramakrishna: A Divine Incarnation

SWAMI TAPASYANANDA

What is the Vedanta preached by Sri Ramakrishna? A brief answer is found in this selection
from Synthesis of Vedanta, published last year by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. The book is
itself a compilation from two books by the author – Sri Ramakrishna: Life and Teachings and
Bhakti Schools of Vedanta. Swami Tapasyananda (1904 – 1991) was one of the Vice-presidents of
the Ramakrishna Order. Cover page artist: Sri Maniyam Selvan, Chennai.

T
owards the close of 1865, some
three or four months after Sri
Ramakrishna had completed the
sadhana of madhura-bhava, there arrived at
Personal God or the Divine Mother, who had
hitherto been a part and parcel of Sri
Ramakrishna’s life. In this connection there is an
interesting incident that took place later that

February 2020
Dakshineswar an august personage who was to reveals Tota Puri’s attitude on this question. One
PA G E S P O N S O R : S M T. B R A G A D A S . , C H E N N A I

play an important role in Sri Ramakrishna’s
life. That was Tota Puri, a sannyasin of
the Naga sect, who was an adept in
Advaita Vedanta, and who, as a symbol
of his having overcome body-
consciousness, went about naked
day, while in Tota Puri’s company, Sri
Ramakrishna, at the approach of dusk,
began to clap his hands and take the
Divine Name, as was his daily habit.
11
Thereupon Tota, who could not
appreciate such devotional habits,

The Vedanta Kesari

from one holy place to another. Sri
Ramakrishna called him Nangta, or
the Naked One. He is said to have
practised Advaita discipline for
forty years on the banks of the
N a r m a d a a n d to h ave
attained nirvikalpa samadhi.
After that, it was his habit to
go about the country, always
staying in the open, and never
remaining in any place for more than three
days. As Rani Rasmani’s temple extended
hospitality to all wandering ascetics, Tota Puri
also halted there on his return journey from
Gangasagar. Sri Ramakrishna soon got
acquainted with him, and Tota recognised in
the former a highly competent spiritual
aspirant to whom he felt inclined to impart the
spiritual illumination he had gained.
Now, in the brand of Advaita which Tota
Puri professed, there was not much room for a
sarcastically asked him, “Are you
making chapatis?” Nevertheless, he
offered to initiate him into sannyasa
and teach him Vedanta, and Sri
Ramakrishna agreed to the proposal,
provided he had the permission of
h i s M o t h e r. To t a P u r i
understood the term ‘Mother’
to mean his earthly mother,
and with a suppressed cynicism,
asked him to hurry to get that permission. Sri
Ramakrishna approached his Divine Mother and
prayed to Her in an ecstatic mood to give him
the right direction, and received the command:
“Be initiated by him. Tota Puri has been sent
here only for that purpose.”
So, the day for initiation was fixed, and
the ceremony took place in a hut under the
Panchavati in the temple compound. After
sannyasa, Tota imparted the teaching of Advaita
Vedanta, the purport of which is that Brahman
 alone is real, that the world is a mere
appearance projected by ignorance and having
no ultimacy, and that the jiva in his real nature
is Brahman Himself.
The teacher asked the pupil to practise
discrimination along these lines and take the
mind to a state of contentless self-awareness.
When Sri Ramakrishna attempted to do so, the
form of the Divine Mother always arose before
him. Under the persuasive compulsion of Tota
Puri, he fixed the mind between the brows and,
when the Mother’s form appeared, he conceived
of jnana (knowledge) as a sword with which he
cut through that form, thus dissolving it in Pure
Consciousness. His mind then merged in
nirvikalpa samadhi or absorption in Unmodified
February 2020
Consciousness, the highest attainment of
Advaitic spiritual discipline.
He remained in that summit state of
Consciousness for three days continuously. Tota
Puri was stupefied with wonder to see that his
12 disciple had attained nirvikalpa samadhi so
quickly and effortlessly, whereas he himself had
The Vedanta Kesari
taken forty years of strenuous practice to attain it.
All of those who came to teach Sri
Ramakrishna got ample returns from his
company in the form of completion of what was
still imperfect in their spiritual attainments.
Thus, Jatadhari came to realise in Sri
Ramakrishna’s company that his Ishta, Ramlala,
was not a mere presence in the image, but the
Universal Being pervading everything. The
Bhairavi Brahmani also had her knowledge
perfected by Sri Ramakrishna’s association. It
was, however, in the case of Tota Puri that a
conversion was effected under conditions that
looked like a miracle in a real sense.
We have already observed that Tota had
little regard for a Personal God. He accepted
only the Impersonal Absolute, the Brahman of
the Vedanta, and considered the idea of a
Personal God, a Divine Person, who is the
Creator, Preserver, etc. of the universe and the
bestower of grace on devotees, as a figment of
the imagination, like the world of duality itself.
This extreme and unbalanced form of Advaitic
conviction got corrected in Sri Ramakrishna’s
company. It happened this way:
Instead of his usual three days, Tota
continued to stay at Dakshineswar for several
months; and in the course of it he became the
victim of an attack of an excruciating form of
dysentery, which medicines failed to relieve.
The suffering was so intense that even the
disciplined mind of Tota found it difficult to
keep itself above body-consciousness, absorbed
in Brahman. He therefore thought it better to
put an end to that stumbling-block of a body.
With this end in view, he walked into the
Ganges towards the deeper levels, where the
water would be sufficient to drown him. But to
his astonishment, he found that even though he
waded almost over to the other bank, the water
in the river was too shallow to drown him.
At this point, a new revelation came to the
astonished mind of Tota. His conviction till then
had been that the Ultimate Reality is Pure Being
but he realised through a new revelation that It
was Pure Will also. It is this Cosmic Will, the
Power of Brahman, that Sri Ramakrishna knew
as the Divine Mother and that Tota had denied so
far. Now, from his incapacity to court even self-
chosen death, he found that without the sanction
of that Divine Will, the Reality of realities, not a
leaf can move in this world. He realised the glory
of the Divine Mother in everything, and became
a changed man. By Sri Ramakrishna’s grace, his
knowledge was completed when he thus came
to understand that Brahman is Personal-
Impersonal or Being-Will.
Merged in Advaitic Consciousness
After Tota’s departure from Dakshi-
neswar, Sri Ramakrishna spent some six
months continually absorbed in nirvikalpa
samadhi without any awareness of the body
and the external world. Of this condition,
Swami Saradananda writes:
 The Master was in that nirvikalpa state
continually for six months. “I was,” said the
Master, “for six months in that state from which
ordinary mortals never return, for, the body of
one attaining to that state lives for twenty-one
days only and then falls like a dry leaf from a
tree. There was no consciousness at all of time,
of the coming of day or the passing of night. Just
as flies enter into the nostrils and the mouth of
a dead man, so they entered into mine; but
there was no awareness of it. The hair became
matted on account of the accumulation of dust.
Calls of nature were perhaps answered
unconsciously. It was a miracle how the bodily
life was sustained. It should have succumbed
PA G E S P O N S O R : S M T. U S H A R A M A K R I S H N A N , C H E N N A I
then and there. But a holy man came there to
save it. He had a small stick like a ruler in his
hand. He recognised my state as soon as he saw
it, and came to know that much of the Mother’s
work was yet to be done through this body, that
much good would be done to many if only it
could be saved. Therefore, he would carry food
in time, and by striking this body again and
again, would try to bring it back to
consciousness. The moment he saw signs of
consciousness appearing, he would thrust some
food into the mouth. Thus, on some days a little
food found its way into the stomach and on
others, it did not. Six months passed that way.
Then the Mother’s command was heard:
‘Remain in bhavamukha! For the spiritual
enlightenment of man, remain in bhavamukha!’
This was followed by illness, blood-dysentery;
there was a wringing pain in the intestines and
it was excruciating. It was after continually
suffering for about six months that the mind
gradually came down to the normal body-
consciousness; before that it used to be merged
in the nirvikalpa state always.”1
What is Bhavamukha?
The commandment to remain in bhava-
mukha brings us to an important subject in Sri
Ramakrishna’s life. Bhavamukha is a new
expression unknown to religious texts in
Sanskrit, and is for the first time given out by
Sri Ramakrishna himself, as he heard it from
the command of the Divine Mother. Literally
translated, it means ‘the threshold or gateway
of Becoming or the world of change’. The idea is
that just as a person sitting at the gate or
threshold of a building has access at will to
both within and without, and is in close touch
with the affairs on both sides, so there is a state
of consciousness which is a sort of a junction
between the absolute and the relative aspects
of existence, between the nirvikalpa and the
savikalpa states of consciousness.
The meaning and implication of the
attainment of this state of bhavamukha have to
February 2020
be explained in the light of Sri Ramakrishna’s
own teachings, as the concept is very new and
forms a part of his contribution to Vedantic
thought. According to Sri Ramakrishna, a jiva, if
he really attains nirvikalpa samadhi, never
returns to relative consciousness. His body 13
remains alive for about twenty-one days in that
state, and then perishes. It is only the
The Vedanta Kesari
adhikarikas (prophets with divine missions)
and avataras (Incarnations of the Lord) who
come back to the relative consciousness from
the nirvikalpa state. They are drawn back to the
relative consciousness by their love for jivas
grovelling in ignorance, and thus they are the
expressions of God’s redeeming love.
Sri Ramakrishna explains this with an
analogy of his: There is a vast enclosure with
high walls, from which very delightful sounds
and fragrance are being wafted. There is a road
around the enclosure, and there are a number
of people going round and round along the
road. Some of them are attracted by that
delightful sound, and with difficulty they get up
on the high wall and look down at the
overpoweringly charming sights spread within
the enclosure. They are so taken with it that
they jump down into the enclosure, forgetting
everything else, and they never come out. But
 occasionally there will be a few among them
who remember the tragic fate of the numerous
heedless men going round and round, and so go
out to the road to give them the good tidings
and to lead them to the higher destiny awaiting
them within the enclosure. The Divine
Incarnations and adhikarikas are such
expressions of Divine mercy, and therefore
form manifestations of His redeeming power.
Such personages have no ends of their own to
seek, not even salvation, and are entirely
devoted to the welfare of all who are suffering
in samsara.
Sri Ramakrishna explains it in another
way also, justifying the doctrine that the
Ultimate Reality is Being-Will and not mere
February 2020
Being, as maintained in the classical Vedanta.
Unlike Sri Ramakrishna’s theory about
nirvikalpa samadhi, the classical Vedanta
maintains that there can be jivas who attain the
nirvikalpa state, and yet continue to retain the
14 body. They are called jivan-muktas or the
liberated-in-life. Vedanta explains this by the
doctrine of prarabdha, the operative karma or
The Vedanta Kesari
the quantum of karma that has brought the
present body into existence. While the sanchita
(stored up) karma, and agami (accumulating
and inoperative) karma are burnt up by
knowledge (jnana), it is dogmatically
maintained that the prarabdha remains
undissolved until its momentum is exhausted.
No argument is advanced for this beyond the
analogy of an arrow released from a bow, which
stops not until it has struck the target.
But Sri Ramakrishna questions this
doctrine. He contends that if karma, be it only
prarabdha, is real and operative even after
nirvikalpa samadhi, then the Divine Mother, the
Personal God, who even according to the
Vedanta is required to make insentient karma
operative, must be accepted as a greater reality
than prarabdha. The classical Vedanta is very
much loath to accept such a position, because,
according to its teaching, in nirvikalpa samadhi
even God is sublated and non-dual Brahman
alone is; and this non-dual Brahman, as
expounded in the Vedanta, is Pure Being and
not Being-Will, as it would be if this theory of
Sri Ramakrishna is accepted. According to him,
however, the Divine Mother is not sublated in
nirvikalpa samadhi. What happens is that She
reveals Herself as the Impersonal also, holding
Personality in abeyance. Reality is Being-Will.
When the creative process is on, Will is
dominant, and Being is latent as the substratum
of change. When the creative process is
withdrawn, Pure Being subsists, Will latent but
not sublated. Sri Ramakrishna illustrates this by
the example of the snake in motion and the
snake at rest. The snake in motion and the
snake at rest are only two modes of the same
snake. So, the Personal and the Impersonal are
the modes of the one Being-Will, and there is no
question of sublating either.
The Impersonal aspect is realised only
when the individual ego and the entire karma
sustaining it are dissolved. That is nirvikalpa
samadhi. If the individuality is to be revived, it
can be affected only by a factor outside the
karma theory, which presupposes the chain of
cause and effect. So Sri Ramakrishna maintains
that it is only by the will of the Divine Mother
that a person merged in nirvikalpa samadhi
regains individuality, and not by prarabdha.
This individuality is not the old one, but a
transformed one: God-centred, and not body-
centred. Emerging from nirvikalpa samadhi by
the Mother’s will, the transformed individuality
recognises that the one Sat-Chit-Ananda is
sportively manifesting as the jiva (the sentient
being) and the jagat (the insentient world).
From the view of ignorance, the jiva and
the jagat form a multiplicity different from the
Spirit. But enlightenment reveals that without
Himself undergoing any change, the Sat-Chit-
Ananda, who is Being-Will, has manifested
Himself as the jiva-jagat, which continues to be
one with Him. In the creative phase, He is God
 the Personal, along with the jiva-jagat, and when
creation is withdrawn, He is the Impersonal
Absolute. The Personal and the Impersonal are
recognised as the obverse and the reverse of the
same coin—a non-dual but coeval existence. Sri
Ramakrishna illustrates this by the example of
the terrace and the steps of the staircase leading
to it. Until the terrace is reached, the steps of the
stairs are considered as distinct and different
from the terrace, and are left behind as not being
the terrace. But when the terrace is reached, it is
found that the steps too are made of the same
substance as the terrace.
Sri Ramakrishna calls a person established
in this kind of perfect enlightenment a vijnani, in
contrast to jnani who rejects the world of jiva
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I . R . C H I N T H A I A H , H Y D E R A B A D
and jagat as an appearance and seeks the
Brahman transcending them. The vijnani rejects
nothing. He perceives the whole universe not as
maya, but as leela (sportive manifestation) of the
Personal-Impersonal, the Being-Will Divine. He
accepts both the terrace and the staircase as real.
In accepting a fruit, he takes the whole of it into
account—the seeds, the flesh, and the rind; for
they all together constitute the whole, and a
complete knowledge and acceptance of the fruit
involves the acceptance of the whole.
This knowledge of the totality cannot be
had by mere talking or philosophising. It is
attained by one only through the Mother’s
grace, for which one has to yearn and pant. This
yearning and panting for the Divine, is
according to Sri Ramakrishna, the highest form
of sadhana, and all the practices and disciplines
given as sadhana in Yoga and Tantra are only
the means for evoking it. For this feeling to
m ature, ren uncia tion of a l l worl dly
attachments, or what Sri Ramakrishna calls
kamini-kanchana, is needed. Only then does the
Mother’s grace operate. Sri Ramakrishna’s
illustration—the parable of children being left
by their mother in the nursery to play by
themselves until they begin to cry out of
hunger—has already been referred to earlier.
Now, it has been pointed out that the
vijnani gains back an ego when he emerges
from the nirvikalpa state. But this ego or
individuality is entirely different in quality from
that of the unenlightened man. To put it briefly,
the ordinary man’s ego is body-centred, while
the vijnani’s is God-centred. The body-centred
ego is based on a sense of absolute reality of
difference, and expresses itself in terms of ‘I’
and ‘mine’ with regard to all objects and
individuals. It evaluates everything and
everyone in terms of their contribution to its
pleasure and survival. An ego-centred man may
love others, but it is in terms of his narrow self
and the preservation of that narrow self and its
interests is his primary concern in life. In
February 2020
contrast to this, the vijnani’s ego is entirely
based on a sense of intimate relationship with
God as His son, servant, comrade, sweetheart,
etc. He looks upon all beings and objects,
irrespective of their attitude towards him as a
friend, foe or neutral as manifestations of the 15
Lord to be loved and served, and not as objects
for his enjoyment and aggrandisement.
The Vedanta Kesari
Apart from these ethical implications, the
state of vijnana has its metaphysical and
psychological significance. The state of mind of
the vijnani is what is called bhavamukha. The
mind of the ignorant man is circumscribed by his
individuality, and he sees everything else as
discrete objects outside himself, having their fixed
contours. But the vijnani is aware of a Cosmic
Whole, a Cosmic Mind, from whom the ideation
known as the universe radiates and in whom all
beings and objects are like bubbles in a layer of
water, or waves on the ocean’s surface—a part
and parcel of the Whole, but with individualities
that are of the stuff of ideas or fluid contents of Its
own stuff or substance. He is not only aware of It
but feels as one with It, either as a part of It or as
Itself. So, when it is said that bhavamukha is the
state of mind of the vijnani, it means that the
vijnani is aware of his identity with the Cosmic
Whole. As a consequence, a person in the state of
 bhavamukha shares the knowledge and outlook
of the Cosmic Whole. Just as a spider stationed in
the centre of its web can go to any part of it,
similarly, he can at will go on the wings of ecstasy
to any dimension in the cosmos. He can attune
himself to every stratum of Consciousness, from
the crudest to the most evolved, and share their
characteristic experiences at will. Thus a vijnani’s
state of bhavamukha enables him to be ‘all things
to all men’.
Being one with the Cosmic Whole in
consciousness, he becomes the conduit for the
expression of Its powers in the relative world.
As the vijnani can traverse the whole gamut of
the manifestation of Consciousness, he may
behave like the humblest of the humble when
February 2020
he is in the attitude of the devotee. But when
his individuality gets attuned to a sense of
identity with the Immense Cosmic ‘I’, his
behaviour will be different. As a conduit of the
will of that Universal ‘I’, he becomes a centre of
16 immense spiritual energy capable of even
making a sinner into a saint by an act of will.
The Vedanta Kesari
In Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master, this
alternation between the devotee-mood and the
saviour-mood was often noted, because his life
was recent and was subjected to study by men
who closely observed and recorded it, unlike in
the case of the past Incarnations, whose lives
have been clothed, long after their passing
away, in thundering miracles by poets and
mythologists. This process of distortion was
partly due to a studied effort on the part of
their followers to hide their human side. For,
they felt it detrimental to their glory as
divinities if any human qualities were allowed
to percolate through their divinities. But an
Incarnation is man and God in one, and the
concept loses all its significance when the
Incarnate is made into a Deity. Sri
Ramakrishna’s life has enabled us to
understand the significance of Incarnation in
the proper perspective.
The Immense ‘I’ or the Cosmic Whole, of
which we have been speaking till now, is the
junction-point between the Absolute and the
relative, the Impersonal and the Personal, the
nirguna and the saguna aspects of the Divine
Mother—the universal Being-Will. And to be
established in that is to be in bhavamukha, the
threshold of relative consciousness—a state in
which the mind can ever dwell in the Divine in
both His absolute and relative aspects, and yet
without the least distraction to this union,
apply itself actively to everyday concerns.
Established in that, Sri Ramakrishna was in
touch with all aspects of the Mother’s evolution
as the world of manifestation, combined with a
keen sense of their unity with Her.
It must be clearly noted that the person in
bhavamukha is not in touch with the
manifestation of the Whole alone, which Sri
Ramakrishna called leela, but also with the
unmanifested Absolute state of It, the nirguna,
for which he used the term nitya. When he is in
the awareness of the leela, the knowledge of the
non-separate or hypostatic nature of the leela
in relation to the nitya is fully present in his
awareness. He is always in touch with It, the
nitya, even while he is in the leela. That is the
significance of being in the ‘threshold state’. But
he could also be in the nirvikalpa state—that of
full identity with the nitya, the Infinite and the
Absolute as Pure Being, with Will not sublated,
according to Sri Ramakrishna, but in abeyance.
This is a point on which Sri Ramakrishna’s
doctrine differs from the traditional Advaita
represented by Tota Puri, the point on which
Tota Puri got corrected by Sri Ramakrishna’s
company. The Immense ‘I’, whose play is the
leela, is not sublated, but is only held in
abeyance or in latency in the nirvikalpa state.
The vijnani, who is poised in the state of
bhavamukha, can at will be merged in the nitya
with no link to the leela. This is the state of
nirvikalpa from which there is no return for the
 ordinary jiva. It is only the Incarnations, as Sri with that Will when he manifested the capacity
Ramakrishna insists, who pass from the one to give enlightenment and liberation to jivas. He
state to the other, and who are in touch with could also be at any lower levels of
both aspects. Hence their uniqueness, identification up to that of a humble devotee
expressing itself simultaneously as jnana and worshipping Her through images or
bhakti of the highest order, which a jiva cannot participating in the weal and woe of fellow
attain in one and the same state. It looks human beings.
somewhat contradictory, but the supreme truth It is said that, in the days of his intense
can be expressed, though inadequately, only in physical suffering, Sri Ramakrishna expressed
the language of paradoxes. his willingness to take any number of such
On this point, Sri Ramakrishna said, bodies and endure endless suffering if he could
referring to his own condition, that the natural bring illumination and put an end to the
state of his mind was sufferings of even a single
towards the nirvikalpa, jiva. This expression of all-
wherein there is the total In the days of his intense consuming and universal
obliteration of multiplicity physical suffering, love is the most significant

February 2020
and the ‘I’-sense. In that Sri Ramakrishna expressed his implication of the Divine’s
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I A R I N D A M M I T R A , C H E N N A I

state, one is lost to willingness to take any number command to him to

humanity at large, as any
kind of communication is
out of question. But the
Will of the Divine Mother,
which is operative even in
the nirvikalpa state, unlike
of such bodies and endure
endless suffering if he could
bring illumination and put an
end to the sufferings of even a
single jiva.
remain in bhavamukha.
For one whose natural
state was the bliss of
nirvikalpa samadhi, to 17
come down, in order to
serve suffering humanity,

The Vedanta Kesari

in the teaching of classical
Vedanta, does not allow
the Divine Incarnate to remain in that state. He
is an expression of the Divine’s grace, of His love
for jivas in samsara. As such, in order to keep up
his link to the external world, Sri Ramakrishna
used to create some small artificial desires in his
mind, like: “I want to go to such and such a
place”, “I want to meet such and such a person”,
“I want to eat such and such a thing”, etc., and
with the help of such created desires, he forced
his mind to remain at the threshold of relative
consciousness, bhavamukha, from where he
could communicate with the world without
losing hold of the nirvikalpa. In bhavamukha, he
had no will separate from the Will of the
Immense ‘I’ or the Universal Mother. As that Will
directed, he could be in complete identification t him a Divine Incarnation.
Reference: 1) Great Master, Vol. I, pp. 411–412
to the level of body-
consciousness and inhabit
a filthy human body subject to all kinds of
ailments, trials, and tribulations, is a far greater
act of mercy than anything we can conceive
of—say, of an emperor abandoning his palace
and living in a slum with all its filth and
privations in order to serve the slum dwellers.
Yet , this was what was done by Sri
Ramakrishna, the greatest lover of mankind
that the modern world has produced, when he
held in abeyance the tendency of his mind to be
merged perpetually in nirvikalpa samadhi and
forced it to live in the state of bhavamukha in
order to save mankind. Thus, he was a
conspicuous expression of that redeeming
power of God. That is the implication of calling
t
 Reminiscences

Reminiscences of Sargachhi
SWAMI SUHITANANDA

Swami Premeshananda (1884 – 1967) was a disciple of Holy

Mother Sri Sarada Devi. For over two decades he lived at
Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachhi, West Bengal. Under his
inspiration countless people led a life of spirituality and service, and
many young men and women entered into monastic life. His
conversations – translated from Bengali and presented below –
were noted by his attendant who is now Srimat Swami Suhitananda,
one of the Vice-Presidents of the Ramakrishna Order.
(Continued from previous issue. . .) 46
February 2020

20.11.60 (contd...) a matter of joy.” Soumyananda was intelligent

Maharaj: ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तां स ्तथैव
भजाम्यहम्, “In whatever way men worship Me”.
(Gita 4:11). As an example, Sri Ramakrishna
used to give this analogy: whoever wants to dye
18 his piece of cloth in whichever colour, will get
his desired colour by putting his cloth in the tub
containing seven dyes. Sri Ramakrishna didn’t
The Vedanta Kesari
– he understood my viewpoint and removed
the weapons.
When we got independence, I used to side
with the Muslims, because the whole country
was against them. One person was extremely
anti-Muslim. I explained to him the structure
and the condition of the ancient Arab society,

say anything new; whatever he said is in the
scriptures. In Sylhet a brahmin read The Gospel
of Sri Ramakrishna and said, “All this is in the
scriptures; there’s nothing new.” I quarreled
with him and said, “Everything in it is new!” But
now I see that what he said is right. All the
teachings are truly in accordance with the
scriptures.
21.11.60
Maharaj: Once, in Sylhet, a riot between
Hindus and Muslims became imminent. The
Hindus stacked various weapons in the Sylhet
ashrama. The householders wanted to use the
ashrama as a centre of resistance. Soumya-
nanda was young; he was excited and gave his
consent. I wrote to him: “We are sannyasins.
For us Muslims and Hindus are equal. Besides,
if they kill us, it won’t be tragic– rather it will be
how Prophet Mohammed transformed it, and
the gradual changes which took place under the
administration of the ulemas. When all this was
explained, he said, “90% of my animosity has
gone away.”
21.11.60
Maharaj: I saw Sarat Maharaj [Swami
Saradananda] for the first time in Mayer Bari
(Holy Mother’s House). He was sitting behind a
small desk. I thought he was an administrator
or a steward.
I saw a widow in the courtyard of the old
Math house. Somebody said that she was the
wife of Jogin Maharaj [Swami Yogananda’s
premonastic name]. What an aura of divinity she
had! The Math used to help her in some ways.
I once asked Shuddhananda Maharaj
“Why don’t you screen people before admitting
 them into the Order? He replied, “Look here.
Had there been any such screening, I wouldn’t
have been admitted to this Order.” Hearing his
reply I felt giddy; with whom was I indulging in
flippant talk!
I recollect that one day Khoka Maharaj
[Swami Subodhananda] was lying down and I
gently massaged his body. Another time I sang
a song. Brother Ramlal [Sri Ramakrishna’s
nephew] and Akshoy Kumar Sen [the author of
Punthi] were there. After listening to my singing
Maharaj remarked, “What wonder that his voice
is so sweet! He has tasted the sweet oranges of
Sylhet – sweet songs are bound to come out
from his throat.”
Another day a reading session was going
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I G . V E N K ATA R A O, H Y D E R A B A D
on in the Math; it was probably from a book
written by Mahendra Nath Datta [Swami
Vivekananda’s younger brother]. When
somebody commented on a certain statement
in the book, Mahapurush Maharaj said, “Oh!
Mahinder’s talk!” (i.e., don’t take it seriously!)
Books have been published on Raja
Maharaj [Swami Brahmananda]. I once went to
offer my salutations to him at Girish Babu’s
house [Girish Chandra Ghosh]. He asked, “Have
you received any initiation?” Once I saw Girish
Babu on the road at Baghbazar in front of a
house; he was wearing a short dhoti. Those
days I was staying with Mokshada Babu in a
boarding house in Kolkata.
I recall that one day Raja Maharaj,
Baburam Maharaj and others were sitting side
by side in the visitors’ room in the Math. I sang
songs there.
When I first met Master Mahasaya [M, the
recorder of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna] I
sang the song Shata koti shashi hase Mayer
charana-nakhare,“Millions of moons are
beaming from the nails of Mother’s toes.” I was
completely overwhelmed by the time I ended
the song. Tears flowed from my eyes. How
ecstatic I used to be those days! Like the
wandering minstrels I used to do japa round
the clock. Master Mahasaya later told Durgesh
Babu of Sylhet that after the passing of Sri
Ramakrishna he had not heard such
overwhelming songs from anyone else.
During our meal-time, we recite the
mantra ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्महविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम्। ब्रह्मैव तेन
गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना।। (Gita 4:24). It has a very
high meaning. Compared to it the mantra अहं
वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः। प्राणापानसमायुक्तः
पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् (Gita 15:14) is rather easier to
understand. For this reason, I recite Aham
vaishvan aro bh u t va al so al on g w it h
Brahmarpanam.
Alas! Alas! If we were prepared, what
February 2020
heights we would have reached by now! Sri
Ramakrishna came and gave us predigested
spiritual food. If we were prepared all of us
could have become Trailanga Swami [the great
saint of Varanasi whom Sri Ramakrishna also
met]. The Divine Mother Herself gave me the
19
mantra from her own mouth; I should have felt
The Vedanta Kesari
liberated right at that moment.
I have seen Gangadhar Maharaj [Swami
Akhandananda] a grey haired, fifty-plus
sannyasi coming out of Jnan Maharaj’s room,
and walking along the embankment with a
spring in his steps. I thought that we rarely see
Bengalis with such a physique. He came and
asked my name. As I told him he said, “I know, I
know it very well.” Then we discussed songs.
Mother asked Rasbihari Maharaj to kill an
insect. It was flying around the lamp. Mother
said, “Kill it. Their life is like that.” Mother used
to say, “Only men can be sannyasis; sannyasa is
not for women. It’s to be understood that those
women who have become sannyasinis have a
manly personality.” I sowed flower plants at
Jayrambati. Mother said, “I will remember my
sons whenever I look at them.”
(to be continued...)
 Article
Vivekananda Rock Memorial
T he Vivekananda Rock Memorial is celebrating its 50 th Anniversary this year.
This article gives a brief account of how it came into being.
S wami Vivekananda’s mission for
rejuvenation of Bharat began with
the plan he hit upon sitting on “the
last bit of Indian rock”. He reveals this in a letter
that he wrote to his brother-disciple Swami
Ramakrishnananda on 19 March 1894 from
America: “Sitting on the last bit of Indian rock—I
hit upon a plan …. Suppose some disinterested
February 2020
sannyasins, bent on doing good to others, go
from village to village, disseminating education
and seeking in various ways to better the
condition of all … through oral teaching, and by
means of maps, cameras, globes, and such other
20 accessories – can’t that bring forth good in time?
…. We, as a nation, have lost our individuality,
The Vedanta Kesari
and that is the cause of all mischief in India. We
have to give back to the nation its lost
individuality and raise the masses.”
The Rock at Kanyakumari
The spiritual power of the Rock which is
the feet of Bharatmata, drew Swami
Vivekananda to Kanyakumari. After his sojourn
as a wandering sannyasi across India, Swami
Vivekananda reached Kanyakumari in Dec
1892. During his travelling, he had seen how
Indians had degenerated into poverty,
ignorance and utter loss of self- confidence. He
was greatly distressed that under the rule of
foreigners, the last of whom were the British,
Indians had forgotten their own identity. But
even amidst this degeneration he could see the
unique spiritual potential of the land. He
identified this potential as the tool which would
uplift his fellow countrymen from their stupor,
and not only that, but also empower them to
contribute to the progress of human
civilisation. How to achieve this was the
question that was tormenting his mind.
After praying fervently to Bhagavati
Kanyakumari, Swami Vivekananda came out of
the temple. The sacred last bit of Rock
surrounded by the waves of the sea attracted
his attention. He felt a spiritual pull towards the
Rock on which Bhagavati Kanyakumari had
performed penance in the ancient past, the
proof of which is her footprint still marked on
it. Instantly he felt that the Rock on which
Parashakti successfully did Her penance would
be the seat where he too would find answers to
his painful questions. As he had no money for
boat fare, he jumped into the sea and swam to
the Rock. For three days and three nights from
25 to 27 of December 1892, he remained
immersed in meditation. And what a
meditation it was! He was meditating not for
his own salvation, but for alleviating the
spiritual and physical distress of his country
men and women. After three days when he
returned to the shore, he told people who
enquired about him, that he was a disciple of
Sri Ramakrishna, and sitting on the Rock he had
discovered the mission of his life.
Discovering his life-mission
While meditating on the Rock, Swami
Vivekananda realized that the downfall of India
was not because of her dharma, but precisely
because of ignorance of dharma. So he decided
that the Vedantic truth of Oneness, respect for
 diversity, potential divinity of man, and the host
of associated spiritual ideas had to be reached
out to the masses across the land. This idea
later clinched his decision to go to the World’s
Parliament of Religions at Chicago in USA and
present Hindu dharma to the world at large. If
the message of Vedanta successfully
reverberated across the world, then Bharat’s
confidence in Hindu dharma would be restored
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , C H E N N A I
and strengthened. He realised that the mission
of his life lay in inspiring fellow men and
women to strive and manifest the divinity
within them for the good of mankind.
Rousing call
From the stage of the Parliament of
Religions, Swami Vivekananda captured the
attention of America. Scores of Americans
eagerly imbibed the message of Sanatana
Dharma that he delivered for over four years.
On his return to Bharat in 1897, he gave a
rousing call to the nation: “Arise! Awake!! Stop
not till the goal is reached!”
Eknathji showing the model of the Memorial
to senior Swamis of Ramakrishna Order
Bid to erase Vivekananda’s association
with the Rock
On seeing Swami Vivekananda’s
photographs, the people of Kanyakumari
recognised him as the swami who had
February 2020
meditated on the Rock. Later, in Swamiji’s
memory the people of Kannyakumari
established a Vivekananda Library. But many
felt that Swamiji’s visit and meditation on the
Rock needed to be properly commemorated.
In the year 1963, the Birth Centenary of 21
Swami Vivekananda was being celebrated all
over the country. Now the people of
The Vedanta Kesari
Kanyakumari wanted to build a memorial for
Swamiji on that very historic Rock where the
unknown monk was transformed into a nation-
builder and a jagadguru.
Initially things moved smoothly. But
unfortunately a section of Christian community
was instigated and it started demanding that
the memorial of St Xavier should be built on the
Rock. To fabricate their claim, they erected a big
Swami Vireswaranandaji, President,
Ramakrishna Math & Mission, giving benediction
 stone cross on the Rock. It became a communal
issue! Naturally some who could not accept this
falsehood, removed it one night. The Tamil
Nadu State Government then took the stand
that it was indeed Vivekananda Rock, but no
memorial could be built on it.
Blessings of Ramakrishna Mission
The Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Committee approached Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh for help. The Sangh deputed Sri Eknath
Ranade to take up the cause. Knowing that the
Memorial work would be a full-time task,
Eknathji was relieved of his responsibilities in
the Sangh.
Before going to Kanyakumari, or to Madras
February 2020
(now Chennai) where the Vivekananda Rock
Memorial Committee had its registered office,
Eknathji first went to Calcutta (now Kolkata) to
seek the blessings of Srimat Swami
Madhavananda Maharaj, the 9th President of
22 Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.
Revered Maharaj blessed Eknathji and told him:
“As we are a sannyasi organization we cannot
The Vedanta Kesari
involve in this directly as it may need agitations
etc. You go ahead and Thakur will bless you,
Swami Vivekananda will bless you, and you have
my blessings also. You are born to do this work.”
Obstacles at three levels
Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee
nominated Sri Eknathji as its Organizing
Secretary. He faced difficulties at three levels –
a section of local Christian community was
opposing a memorial for Swami Vivekananda
on the Rock; the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
had taken the stand that he would not allow the
memorial to be built on the Rock; and Sri
Humayun Kabir, Union Minister of Scientific
Research and Cultural Affairs while referring to
the controversy had said that the memorial on
the rock would spoil the natural beauty. The
subject of Rock Memorial had all the potential
to be a communal flash point.
Eknathji decided first to meet Sri
Humayun Kabir. The minister avoided meeting
him. Therefore, with the help of some swamis
from Ramakrishna Mission, Eknathji contacted
the journalists of Kolkata and held a Press
Conference. The next day, the newspapers in
Kolkata highlighted the news that Sri Humayun
Kabir, elected by the people of Kolkata, was
opposing a Memorial for Swami Vivekananda,
the revered son of Kolkata. The outcry forced
Sri Humayun Kabir to immediately invite
Eknathji for a meeting and later announce that
he was not against the Memorial for Swami
Vivekananda. The first hurdle was thus cleared.
Support from 323 MPs
Eknathji next met Sri Bhaktavatsalam,
Chief Minister of Tamilnadu. Though the CM
refused to give permission, Eknathji kept the
dialogue alive. He also realised that he needed
to try at a different level. He collected
information that the Chief Minister obeyed
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in political
matters, and that he was an ardent devotee of
the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamkoti
Peetham, Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati,
commonly known as Paramacharya.
Eknathji went to Delhi and requested Sri
Lal Bahadur Shastri for help. He was told to
wait for a better time. Due to the 1962 Chinese
invasion the situation in Delhi was depressive.
But Eknathji did not sit quiet. He met various
leaders and eminent personalities in Delhi and
apprised them of the matter. As the centenary
year was coming to a close, he again went to Sri
Lal Bahadur Shastri, who told him to get within
three days the signatures of at least some
members of the Parliament appealing for the
Memorial.
After three days Eknathji submitted to
Shastriji the signatures of 323 MPs – practically
all the MPs present in Delhi at that time.
Shastriji was stunned. Cutting across political,
regional and creedal lines all the MPs had
 signed. How did Eknathji, a pracharak of the
Sangh get the signatures of all MPs? Eknathji’s
appeal was simple. “In the interest of our
nation, to pay our respects to Swami
Vivekananda, can we not rise above our
political, regional and religious colours?” All
responded positively.
When all the MPs desired the Memorial, it
meant the whole country was aspiring for it.
Responding to this development, Sri
Bhaktavatsalam agreed for a statue of Swami
Vivekananda on the Rock, with the condition that
the temple should be only a 15 by 15 feet shrine.
Purity, Patience and Perseverance: Key to
Success
Deciding that the Memorial should match
the aspirations of the nation, Eknathji took the
Chief Minister’s permission to consult about the
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , C H E N N A I
designs for the temple with the President of
India, the Prime Minister, other prominent
public figures, the President of the Rama-
Left to Right: Swami Ranganathanandaji,
Sri Eknath Ranade & Smt Indira Gandhi
inside the Memorial
krishna Order, and the Paramacharya of Kanchi
Kamakoti Peetham.
The Kanchi Paramacharya took keen
interest in the design of the Memorial. Under
his directions the traditional temple architect
Sthapati Sri S. K. Achari designed the temple.
Only it was a little bigger than what was
permitted – the Sabha Mandapam alone was
130’x 56’! Gradually, over the next four years,
permission was obtained for Sripada
Mandapam, Dhyana Mandapam, administrative
quarters, helipad, rain water reservoirs etc.
Funds?
Funds was a big challenge from the very
beginning. For six years, almost on an average
February 2020
650 workers worked every day in stone
sculpting, polishing, construction etc. Their
salaries had to be paid every week. Sometimes
when the salary could not be paid Vivekananda
Rock Memorial Committee (VRMC) took loan
just to feed the workers. There were 23
suggestions to suspend the work. But Eknathji
did not agree. He wanted the Memorial to be
The Vedanta Kesari
constructed in time at any cost, for he had
another bigger vision to materialise.
To raise funds VRMC printed one-rupee
folders with the picture of the proposed
Memorial, Swami Vivekananda, and his
inspiring quotations. Public Committees were
formed in each state comprising people from
various walks of life cutting across political,
regional, sectarian lines. Thus 85 lakh rupees
were collected through one rupee and two
rupee donations from the common people.
Almost all the state governments in spite of
whatever party was in power donated one lakh
rupees for the Memorial. The Central
Government donated Rs. 15 lakhs. The first
donation of Rs. 10,000/- was given by Swami
Chinmayananda of Chinmaya Mission.
The two-month inauguration
Within a record time of six years, the
grand memorial costing one crore and thirty
 lakhs rupees was ready for inauguration.
Kanyakumari was then a small village with no
facilities to accommodate large numbers of
people. Therefore, the inauguration programme
was panned out for two months, allotting a
separate time for each state.
Swami Vireshwarananda, the 10 th
President of Ramakrishna Math and
Ramakrishna Mission, consecrated the
Vivekananda Rock Memorial. It was formally
inaugurated on 2 September 1970 by the
President of India Sri V. V. Giri. The inaugural
celebrations were attended by many dignitaries
including Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi,
and Vice President of India Sri G. S. Pathak.
Sri Eknath Ranade
February 2020

Vivekananda Kendra: The second phase of

the Memorial
Eknathji did not want to limit the Memorial
of Swami Vivekananda to a granite building. He
felt that the real living memorial for Swami
24 Vivekananda would be the lives of men and
women dedicated to the nation in serving the
needy and suffering people. Thus, on 7 January
The Vedanta Kesari
which all Members of Parliament overcoming
party politics appealed for; a memorial for which
people throughout the country gave one rupee
or two-rupee donation; the only memorial for
which almost all state governments donated a
minimum of one lakh rupees each; a memorial
which has the harmonious blending of different

styles of Indian traditional architectures. The

1972 Vivekananda Kendra a spiritually-oriented
service mission was started.
Young men and women ready to dedicate
their whole life in selfless work are trained by
Vivekananda Kendra and called jeevanvrati
karyakartas. They are sent to different parts of
the country, where with the help of local
volunteers, they take up various service
activities like education in tribal and rural
areas, rural development, natural resource
development, cultural research, publications,
youth motivation, samskara varga for children,
and yoga vargas. Today, Vivekananda Kendra is
working in over 1005 places in cities across the
country and in the border states like Assam,
Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Andaman.
This year, Vivekananda Rock Memorial is
celebrating its 50th Anniversary. It is in every
sense a national memorial. It is – a memorial for
Memorial is also perhaps the only such example
in the world where a Memorial in granite gave
birth to a living memorial, a mighty service
organization.
The story of the Memorial is also the story
of Sri Eknath Ranade. Eknathji’s The Story of the
Vivekananda Rock Memorial reveals a unique
personality full of grit, brilliant acumen,
resourcefulness, patriotism, and love for Swami
Vivekananda. In his lecture ‘My Plan of
Campaign’ delivered in Madras, Swami
Vivekananda gave a call: “Men, men, these are
wanted; everything else will be ready, but
strong, vigorous, believing young men, sincere
to the backbone, are wanted. A hundred such
and the world becomes revolutionized.” Eknath
Ranade was one such personality. He was a
soldier of Swami Vivekananda and played his
part in rebuilding India.
 Pocket Tales

A Curious Boy
GITANJALI MURARI
A fictional narrative based on incidents from the childhood of Swami Vivekananda.

T
he little monkey stuck out its tongue from a safe distance. “Wait till I catch you,”
Naren giggled, chasing it around the courtyard. The drawing-room door opened
and his father stepped out with a tall, fair-complexioned man. “Jamal chacha,”
Naren gave a shout of joy and ran towards the guest. “Where have you been all these days?
I have been waiting for you! Remember the story you had begun the last time you were
here, the one about the camels in Afghanistan? Please finish it today…”
Jamal Khan ruffled Naren’s hair and shook his head, “It will have to be another time,
my boy…I have some urgent business to attend to...but,” and he winked. “I have brought

February 2020
you a small gift…” and taking out a box from his bag, he handed it to Naren. “These are
Turkish sweets…I hope you like them…”
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I V I S H N U T. A . , C H E N N A I

“Thank you,” smiled Naren. “May I give some to my monkey?”

Jamal Khan laughed, waving goodbye. “You may share them with whomever you wish…”
Naren opened the box. Rows of almond-studded sweets gleamed in silver foil. The 25
monkey chittered, tugging his dhoti. “Have some patience,” he scolded. “Look, here comes

The Vedanta Kesari

Munshi babu…first we must offer him some…”
“No, no thank you,” the clerk tried to edge away. “I cannot eat anything that is touched
by…er…someone outside my caste…it will be better if you did not eat it too…”
Naren promptly bit into one piece, closing his eyes in ecstasy. “It is delicious…do try one…”
“Hare Ram! What have you done! You have lost your caste now…”
“Munshi babu…” Vishwanath Dutta quietly interrupted from behind.
“Please don’t put such ideas in my son’s head…Naren, forget all this talk…go play outside…”
But Naren could not forget. “Lose my caste,” he wondered, feeding the monkey a sweet
and popping another one in his mouth. “What can it mean?” One by one his pets gathered,
the goat, the rabbits, pigeons, all wanting a taste of the sweets. “Do you have an answer?”
he asked them and when the pigeons flocked outside the drawing-room door, his face lit
up and he rushed inside.
It was a large room with a great deal of furniture, and on the carpeted floor were
several hubble-bubbles, all lined up together. “One for every community,” Naren murmured,
reading the little stickers on them. He chose the one for Brahmins first, putting the curling
pipe to his lips. Exhaling the smoke, he glanced down at his hands and feet. “I haven’t
The author, a media and television professional for over 20 years, is now a writer of fiction. She lives in
Mumbai. gitanjalimurari@yahoo.com Illustrator: Smt. Lalithaa Thyagarajan. lalithyagu@gmail.com
 February 2020

26
changed and I feel just the same as before,” and moved to pick
up the one next to it, a brass hookah used by Christians. Once again
The Vedanta Kesari

he put the pipe to his mouth, pulling hard.

After a few moments, he shrugged and tried them all, till only one remained. It was a
beautiful hubble-bubble inlaid with mother-of-pearl. He had seen Jamal Khan and other Muslim
gents smoke it. Sucking in his cheeks, he inhaled deeply, coughing and sputtering a little.
“Naren, what are you doing?” Vishwanath Dutta, who had silently entered the room,
asked, a smile twitching his lips.
“Baba, you know what munshi babu said,” he began. “About losing caste…I didn’t lose
anything after I ate the sweets, so I thought of trying these different hookahs…”
“And have you lost anything yet?”
“No baba…I don’t feel any different and the hookahs taste the same…I don’t
understand why we keep so many…one should be enough for everyone…”
Vishwanath chuckled. “Well done my curious child! Keep that enquiring spirit alive
and Truth will have no choice but to reveal itself to you…”

In religion there is no caste; caste is simply a social institution.

— Swami Vivekananda
 PULLOUT FOR REFERENCE

Series 5: Issue 4: Vedantism - contd.

I Defining Hinduism
ISSUE
ISSUE 25
10
II Books of the Hindus

The Core Principles

III
of Hinduism

IV The Practices of Hinduism

V The Task Ahead

focus in this issue:
Vedantism - part 2
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I M . N . TA LWA R , U T TA R A K A N N A D A

February 2020
This is the second issue of the talk 'Vedantism', delivered in Jaffna on 24th
January 1897. In the first issue of this series we explored Sections I & II

as shown above. Please refer Vivekananda Way Issue 24 for the same. In this
issue, we explore Section III >>
27

The Vedanta Kesari

The Core Principles of Hinduism

1: Who created this world?

SRISHTI
─ The world was not created on a specific day.
─ It is not as if a God came one day and created the
world. God is eternally creating - is never at rest.
─ The Sanskrit word for creation, properly translated,
should be projection and not creation. Thus, the word
we use is "Srishti" which means projection.
EVOLUTION

To say, therefore, that it [the world] had a INVOLUTION

beginning is utter nonsense. No question can
occur as to its beginning or its end. Therefore
wherever in our scriptures the words beginning and
Designed &
end are used, you must remember that it means the developed by
beginning and the end of one particular cycle; no ILLUMINE
more than that. Knowledge Catalysts
®
www.illumine.in
 2: What is God?
─ What makes this creation? God. What is this Brahman? He
─ Although we use the English word God, there is is eternal, eternally pure,
a good deal of difference in meaning. It is better to eternally awake, the almighty,
confine to the use of the Sanskrit word Brahman. the all-knowing, the all-merciful,
the omnipresent, the formless, the
─ Brahman is the general cause of all
partless… He creates this universe.
manifestations.

3: Is God partial or impartial?

God's mercy is equal for all
─ God's mercy falls equally on all people. It is we
who make the difference.
Cloud of Rain
─ God's mercy is like a cloud of rain, which falls
equally on all fields. But it is the well-cultivated
field that gets the advantage of the shower.
February 2020

The mercy of God is eternal and

unchangeable; it is we that make the
differentiation. Well-cultivated field Neglected field

28
The Vedanta Kesari

4: Why are some people happy or unhappy?

LIFE IS ETERNAL
Our past lives Our present life
the sum total which people in different
creates our present conditions of life
The human will stands beyond all circumstance. Before it — the strong, gigantic,
infinite will and freedom in man — all the powers, even of nature, must bow down,
succumb, and become its servants.
─ It is not this birth that is
responsible for people's happiness
or unhappiness. What they did in
their last birth is responsible for this
Our future lives
difference in the current life. This is
the Law of Karma.
─ Each one of us carries within
us the burden of our past, and
therefore we are responsible for
what we suffer; yet, each of us is the
maker of our own fate.
─ Therefore, we alone are
responsible for what we suffer and
our future is we are also free to transform our
within our control
circumstances.
 5: What is the Soul?
─ We cannot understand God in our scriptures without knowing the soul.
─ Souls are without beginning and without end, and immortal by their very nature. All
powers, blessing, purity, omnipresence, omniscience are buried in each soul.
─ Thus, in every man and in every animal, however weak or wicked, great or small, resides
the same omnipresent, omniscient soul - the Atman.
─ The Atman is separate from the mind, as well as from the body. The Atman goes
through birth and death, accompanied by the mind, the Sukshma Sharira.
Between me and the
The Atman is the real soul of man
smallest animal, the
difference is only 1. My gross body or Sthula Sharira - this is the
first layer.
in manifestation, but as a
3 2. My subtle body or Sukshma Sharira - this
principle he is the same as
is the second layer, and lies behind the gross
I am, he is my brother, he body. It is mind; the fine body, made of fine
2
has the same soul as I have. particles, which goes from birth to death, and
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , T E Y N A M P E T, C H E N N A I

The talk of the brotherhood
of man becomes in India the
brotherhood of universal
life, of animals, and of all life
down to the little ants — all
these are our bodies.
February 2020
so on.
3. Atman - lies behind the mind. This is the
1 Soul, the Self of man. The Atman is separate
from the mind as well as from the body, and
this Atman goes through birth and death
accompanied by the mind (the sukshma
sharira) 29
[In the West manas (mind) is often identified

The Vedanta Kesari

as soul; while the Hindu regards the soul as a
manifestation of God]

6: What is the goal of the human soul?

─ The goal of the soul is neither to go to higher & higher
more & more
happiness and
heavens nor to go to lower & lower hells.
NS

temporary states ─ According to the Hindu scriptures, even in the highest

E
AV

of enjoyment
HE

heavens you are a slave! Whichever state you climb to, you
ER
GH

are still bound by the conditions around you.

HI
D
AN

─ Therefore, the goal of human life is to be free of internal

ER
GH

or external nature - i.e. to attain Mukti or freedom.

HI

PATH TO Nature must fall at your feet, and you must trample
ETERNAL
BLISS
on it and be free and glorious by going beyond. No
LO

more is there life; therefore no more is there death.

W
ER

No more enjoyment; therefore no more misery. It is bliss

AN

less & less

D
LO

happiness unspeakable, indestructible, beyond everything. What

W
ER

and temporary
we call happiness and good here are but particles of that
HE

states of misery
LL

eternal Bliss. And this eternal Bliss is our goal.

S
 7: What is the cause of birth & rebirth, and what is the cure?
─ The Atman is not the cause of birth It never ages; the ancient One is always
and rebirth. the same. How did It come down to
earth? There is but one answer to that in
─ It is our ignorance which is the cause.
our scriptures. Ignorance is the cause of all this
─ The cure is Knowledge. It will free us
bondage. It is through ignorance that we have
from bondage.
become bound; knowledge will cure it by taking us
─ Knowledge is born when we develop to the other side.
intense love for God. And, knowledge
... with that intense love will come knowledge, and
is also born when we love all human
ignorance will disappear, the bonds will break,
beings as temples of God.
and the soul will be free.

8: What is the relationship between soul and God?

There are two types of relationships mentioned in our scriptures - the
personal relationship and the impersonal relationship, as shown below:
February 2020

In the personal relationship, God is viewed as -

The Omnipresent creator, preserver, and destroyer of everything. ...liberation
The eternal Father and Mother of the universe. consists in
30 One who is eternally separate from us and from all souls. coming near to
And, liberation is in coming near Him and living in Him. Him and living in Him.
The Vedanta Kesari

In the impersonal relationship, God is viewed as:

An impersonal, omnipresent Being, where adjectives are taken
away as superfluous and illogical, such as:
● Not a knowing being - as knowledge belongs to the human mind ...misery
● Not a thinking being - as thinking is a process of the weak consists in
thinking of
● Not a reasoning being - as reasoning is a sign of weakness
ourselves as different
● Not a creating being - as none creates except in bondage
from this Infinite,
● Notsomeone who works - as work is for fulfillment of wants Impersonal Being;
and desires and liberation consists
The impersonal "It" is used to refer to this impersonality. This is in knowing our unity
the Advaitic conception of God. with this wonderful
Impersonality.
Every one is but a manifestation of that Impersonal.
And, liberation consists of knowing that we are He - and
realizing our unity with this wonderful impersonality. TO BE CONTINUED...

If you have any questions on this lecture, do post your queries on

www.vivekanandaway.org
You can also access previous issues of Vivekananda Way here.
 Ma
gic
,M
ira
cle
s and e
the Mystical Twelv

LAKSHMI DEVNATH

Roots in the Air and Shoots in the Soil

The Story of Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar
(Continued from previous issue. . .)

February 2020
wo minutes passed. Nothing seemed to happen. “Swami Thaatha, you said …”
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I H E M A N T D. VA K I L , M U M B A I

Poorva whined.
“Poorva, we are indeed in a different place.” The Swami stressed each
syllable.
“Are we? Yes, we are. How? Anyway, that doesn’t matter.” Poorva jumbled her
31
questions and answers in elation. Her enthusiasm increased considerably when, through
the open door of a house, she saw Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar. He was in deep meditation. A

The Vedanta Kesari

young man was standing respectfully at a short distance from him.
The Swami began, “We’re at Thiruvekka, at the Aazhvaar’s home. Do you recall hearing
this name before?” Poorva scratched her head, trying to remember, and the Swami
reminded her, “This is Poigai’s native place.” He continued, “The young man attending on
Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar is Kanikannan. He sees the Aazhvaar as his guru – follows him
around like a shadow, and takes care of all his needs.”
“Look!” Poorva muttered under her breath. Through the open door, they saw an old
woman, who had been sweeping the floor, fall at the feet of the Aazhvaar. Poorva wondered
whether the woman had done anything wrong till she heard Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar say,
“I am very pleased with your services. Tell me, how can I reward you?”
The woman’s answer was so feeble that Poorva could not hear her.
Yet, wonder of wonders, when the old woman got up, she had become young! Poorva whistled
in surprise. “I must say, Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar is an expert at turning old people young.”
“Remember Pey Aazhvaar saying that Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar has magical powers?
He has rewarded the maid’s loyal and devoted service by …” The Swami did not get to
complete his sentence, as there was a sudden change of scene.
The author is a researcher and writer with various books and articles on Indian music and culture to her credit.
lakshmidevnath@gmail.com Illustrator: Smt. Lalithaa Thyagarajan. lalithyagu@gmail.com
 “Wow!” gaped Poorva. “This is ammmaaazzzing.”
“Close your mouth. It looks like a dark tunnel!” cawed two birds as they flew past her
and perched on a tree.
The rude remark shook Poorva, but she did not respond. In front of her stood a
magnificent palace! A flag with the emblem of a bull was flying from the mast above.
“The Pallavas …” she whispered.
“You’re right.”
Poorva looked up. There were those rude, raucous ravens again. “You mind your …”
she began.
“What’s that? Speak up a little – you either open your mouth too wide or not at all!”
With that taunt, the birds took off.
Poorva was nonplussed. This trip was throwing up surprises by the minute. She
realized that she was invisible only to human eyes. The birds had seen her. What was more,
they could actually understand her language, and she theirs! Poorva’s chest swelled with
February 2020

pride. She was wondering what other hidden talents she might have, when she heard loud
voices coming from inside the palace. The next moment, she was peeping through an open
window.
“Pardon me, Your Majesty …” a young man was pleading.
32
The Vedanta Kesari
 “Gosh, isn’t that Kanikannan? I wonder what crime he has committed.” Poorva was a
little agitated. She turned her attention back to the scene.
“Your Majesty, please pardon me. It was for special reasons that my revered guru,
Bhakthisaara, the yogi of Thirumazhisai, restored the youth of an old woman. I concede
that your request is similar. Nevertheless, I’m sorry I cannot convey it to him. Riches and
power do not mean anything to my illustrious guru. He is a great poet, whose words will
adorn only the Lord and not mere mortals. His magical powers will be used only to do the
Lord’s work and not for selfish gains.”
Poorva saw the Pallava king’s face turn a deep purple. He thundered, “I banish you
from my kingdom!” The ruthless roar sent a ripple of fear through Poorva. At the same
time, she could not help chuckling, for the king looked quite comical in his rage.
A woebegone Kanikannan stepped out of the palace gates, and Poorva followed him
to the Aazhvaar’s house. She remembered the Aazhvaar’s song, which the Swami had
translated for her, and wished that the king would respect other people’s principles.
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I R AV I C H A M U T U R I , H Y D E R A B A D

February 2020
As she wondered what would happen next, the doors opened and the Aazhvaar
walked out.
Poorva jumped up and briskly followed him. The Aazhvaar entered a temple. She felt
that, heartbroken as he must be, he had perhaps come there to pray. She too said a small
prayer on Kanikannan’s behalf and decided to explore the temple, when she heard
Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar’s voice. It was coming from the sanctum. To whom was he 33
speaking?

The Vedanta Kesari

Through the feeble rays of sunlight piercing the darkness, Poorva tried to identify the
other person. Nothing had prepared her for what she saw. “Incredible!” she gasped in disbelief.
“He is actually talking to God. I thought the Aazhvaar was sad, but looks like he’s mad!”
She heard the Aazhvaar say, “Kanikannan is leaving, O Lord of Kanchi! And I go with
him. You too should not stay here. Roll up Your serpent bed and come with us.” Vishnu
promptly rolled up His serpent bed like one would a mat, and docilely went with him.
Poorva looked at the Aazhvaar with added respect. If someone could not only talk to God,
but also get Him to follow orders, he must be one great person.
En route, Kanikannan joined them, and all three left town. A flabbergasted Poorva
saw several gods from other temples follow them.
She ran behind the procession, muttering to herself, “My friends are never going to
believe this. I can imagine their reactions … Oh, I must not daydream. This is too exciting
an event to be missed.”
Poorva sensed a general unease in the air. She surmised that everyone had heard the
news of the Lord leaving town. Dogs, cats, cows, even the plants and trees seemed to wear
a desolate look. Night was fast setting in. Poorva hurried on, anxious that she should not
lose sight of the threesome. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened.
(to be continued. . .)
This story book is available through
www.lakshmidevnath.com
 Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam –
Touching 100 Years
February 2020
R
amakrishna Math and Ramakrishna
Mission brings out 22 cultural and
spiritual magazines in 13
34 languages. Of these, four magazines have
completed 100 years of publication. Prabuddha
Bharata is into its 125th year of publication,
The Vedanta Kesari
Udbodhan into its 121st year, The Vedanta
Kesari into its 107 th year, and Prabuddha
Keralam into its 106th year of publication. Now,
there is one more feather in the cap of the
Order’s magazine publication with Sri
Ramakrishna Vijayam, our Tamil magazine
joining this centenary club.
Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam started its
publication in 1921 from Sri Ramakrishna Math,
Chennai under the guidance of its then head
Swami Sarvananda. Over these 99 years Vijayam
has carved a special niche for itself in spreading
the message of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda
across Tamil Nadu. For scores of people it is a
touchstone for understanding the deeper truths
of Vedanta and Hinduism in practice.
Vijayam is a role-model for other Tamil
spiritual magazines. The people behind its
illustrious journey are its dedicated monastic
editors, and numerous admirers. From among
the earlier editors, the noteworthy stalwarts
are Swamis Vipulananda, Rudrananda,
Chidbhavananda, and Paramatmananda. Sri R.
Ramakrishnan and Sri Anna Subramaniam,
disciples of Swami Shivananda who was a direct
disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, were closely
involved in the publication of Vijayam.
Vijayam underwent a big transformation
in its content, layout, and circulation under
Swami Kamalatmananda, who was its editor
from 1985 to 2000. With the help of agents, the
magazine became the first spiritual magazine
to be sold in general magazine stores along
with other popular magazines. Its circulation
increased from 1,100 copies to 93,000 copies
reaching every part of Tamil Nadu and even
some other states. Later under the editorship of
Swami Vimurtananda, the magazine’s
subscription reached 1,75,000 copies. Today,
under the editorship of Swami Apavargananda,
the magazine is entering into its centenary year
holding aloft the banner of Sanatana Dharma.
The uniqueness of Vijayam is in the
manner in which it presents the epics, the
puranas, religious doctrines and philosophy in
a simple language supplemented with stories
 and pictorials. Its readership is across a wide
section of people including traditional and
modern devotees, children, youth, and the
elderly. Vijayam acts as a bridge connecting the
ancient spiritual tradition of Alwars and
Nayanmars with the new revived Vedantic
message of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi,
Swami Vivekananda and other direct disciples
of Sri Ramakrishna.
At a time when our youth are being
influenced by the largely sensual, and unethical
media, internet, and cinema content, Vijayam acts
as a spring of noble ideas and pure feelings and
tries to keep the young minds connected with our
PA G E S P O N S O R : S M T. M A D H AV I C H A M U T U R I , H Y D E R A B A D
culture. Through articles based on Swamiji’s man-
making philosophy, and regular competitions
Vijayam empowers the youth to grow as self-
confident, patriotic, and service minded citizens of
India. Twelve lakh students participated in a
competition conducted in 2012, and the prize-
winners were felicitated by the then Chief Minister
Dr. Jayalalitha. Not surprisingly, Vijayam is perhaps
the only spiritual and cultural magazine with the
largest number of young readers – One lakh
subscribers of Vijayam are students!
Vijayam’s influence on Tamil print media is
seen in the development where most of the Tamil
magazines and papers now have a spiritual
supplementary or at least some pages dedicated
to spirituality. Vijayam has also been a platform
from where many writers, and artists have
established themselves in the field of religious
literature. The magazine is also a resource
material for speakers on religion and spirituality.
Vijayam articles for students, teachers and
mothers are so inspiring that they are brought out
in book form which are fast selling.
Honourable Vice-President of India Sri Venkaiah Naidu
On 12 January 2020, the year-long
centenary celebrations of Sri Ramakrishna
Vijayam was launched by the Honourable Vice-
President of India Sri Venkaiah Naidu in a
programme held at Narada Gana Sabha,
Chennai. Inaugurating the celebrations, the
Vice-President also digitally launched the Sri
Ramakrishna Vijayam Mobile Subscription App.
The other dignitaries on the stage were His
Excellency the Governor of Tamil Nadu Sri
Banwarilal Purohit, Sri Jayakumar, Honourable
Minister of Fisheries, Government of Tamil
Nadu, Srimat Swami Gautamananda Ji, one of
the Vice-Presidents of the Ramakrishna Order
and head of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai.
Swami Vimurtananda, Manager and previous
February 2020
editor of Vijayam welcomed the gathering and
S w a m i S u k h a d e v a n a n d a , S e c r e t a r y,
Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College,
Chennai, delivered the words of thanks.
Many organisations and institutions have
come forward to celebrate the centenary of Sri 35
Ramakrishna Vijayam. The Chennai Institute of
Technology conducted various competitions for
The Vedanta Kesari
school and college students to commemorate
the Centenary of Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam. Over
1.40,000 students participated in the
competitions and the prize winners were
felicitated by the Vice-President in the
Centenary Inaugural Function. Also, as part of
the celebrations from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021
cultural programmes like musical
performances and discourses by eminent
artists and speakers have been arranged in 15
localities across Chennai city. Programmes are
also scheduled outside Chennai to spread the
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda message.
His Excellency the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Sri Banwarilal Purohit
 Special Report

Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission

Synopsis of the Governing Body Report for 2018-19
The 110th Annual General Meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur
Math on Sunday, the 15th December 2019 at 3.30 p.m.

T
February 2020

he Ramakrishna Mission won the following recognitions: (i) The Ministry of External
Affairs, Government of India, presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award to the
Ramakrishna Mission, in recognition of its service activities in South Africa. (ii)
RKMVERI (deemed to be university), Belur, was awarded the highest grade of A++ by the National
Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). (iii) Purulia Vidyapith received the Best School
Award from the School Education Department, Government of West Bengal.
36
The headquarters and a number of branch centres of the Mission and the Math commemorated
the 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Addresses at the World’s Parliament of Religions in
The Vedanta Kesari

Chicago, USA, by holding various programmes. In the essay writing, recitation and other cultural
competitions, about 1.14 lakh students participated. Our centres also conducted 88 conventions for
youths and devotees in which about 34,000 people took part. Some of our centres in the USA and
other countries also held public meetings, lectures and cultural events.
New branch centres of the Ramakrishna Mission were started in: (i) Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh,
(ii) Cuttack, Odisha, and (iii) Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Telangana. A sub-centre of the Ramakrishna
Mission, directly under the supervision of the Headquarters, was started at Shyamsayer in
Bardhaman, West Bengal, in September 2018. Subsequently, the ashrama was made a full-fledged
branch in October 2019. A new sub-centre of Rajkot Math was started in Ahmedabad. The Phoenix
Ashrama in South Africa was made a full-fledged branch centre of the Ramakrishna Mission, and
the Johannesburg Ashrama was made a sub-centre of Phoenix Ashrama. A new branch centre of
the Ramakrishna Math was started in Dublin, Ireland.
In the educational field, the following new developments deserve special mention: (i) In
collaboration with Peerless Skills Academy, a Skill Development Project was started to strengthen
the vocational training courses conducted by our centres. (ii) Baranagar Mission centre added a
higher secondary section in the school. (iii) Garbeta centre started an English-medium primary
school. (iv) Lumdung centre started a primary school. (v) Malda centre introduced an English-
medium section in its school.
In the medical field, mention may be made of the following new developments: (i) Dehradun
centre started a super-specialty eye care centre. (ii) Itanagar centre extended two of its operation
 theatres. (iii) Kankhal centre started an eight-bed high dependency unit. (iv) Lucknow centre set
up a fully-equipped IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) laboratory. (v) Seva Pratishthan centre built a
Cardiology ward and started an Endocrinology department. (vi) Visakhapatnam centre set up a
speech therapy unit at its cerebral palsy clinic and a learning centre for children.
In the rural development field, the following new projects deserve special mention: (i) Khetri
centre started a handicrafts training centre for local women. (ii) Ranchi Morabadi centre developed
watersheds covering 6969 hectares of land and started a Seed Village Programme to produce
quality seeds. The centre also adopted Nawagarh Gram Panchayat of Angara Block to develop it into
a Model Tribal Gram Panchayat. (iii) Sargachhi centre started a Krishi Vigyan Kendra to help farmers
reap the benefits of modern agricultural technologies.
A number of our centres took forward Swachchha Bharat Abhiyan by holding cleanliness
drives and awareness campaigns. The following centres require special mention: (i) Mangaluru
centre held (a) 36 cleanliness drives in and around Mangaluru. (b) 558 cleanliness drives in many
villages of Dakshina Kannada district. (c) 35 seminars in colleges attended by 12,300 youths. (ii)
Ramharipur centre built 57 toilets in Birrah village, Bankura.
PA G E S P O N S O R : S M T. R A J A M S U B R A M A N I A M , C H E N N A I

Under the Ramakrishna Math, the following developments deserve special mention: (i) A new

February 2020
gangway and pontoon-type jetty were set up near Sadhu Nivas at Belur Math. (ii) Kankurgachhi centre
constructed a dispensary building. (iii) Rajkot centre started a dental unit in its dispensary. (iv)
Shyampukur Bati centre purchased a four-storey building for extending its activities.
Outside India, the following developments deserve special mention: (i) The California Heritage
Council presented a certificate to the San Francisco centre (USA) in appreciation for the work of
restoration and preservation of the Old Temple. (ii) The newly built Vivekananda Bhavan and 37
Brahmananda Bhavan at Chandpur centre (Bangladesh) were inaugurated.
The Mission and Math undertook several relief and rehabilitation operations in the wake of

The Vedanta Kesari

natural calamities including devastating floods in Kerala, Karnataka, the North East and other parts,
and cyclonic storms such as Titli and Gaja which had affected Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu
and West Bengal. The operations involved an expenditure of Rs. 42.41 crore and benefitted 9.73
lakh people.
During the year, the Mission and the Math undertook welfare work by way of providing
scholarships to poor students and pecuniary help to old, sick and destitute people. Expenditure
incurred was Rs. 21.45 crore.
Medical service was rendered to more than 78.32 lakh people through 10 hospitals, 88
dispensaries, 41 mobile medical units and 916 medical camps run by the Mission. Expenditure
incurred was Rs. 259.42 crore.
Nearly 2.68 lakh students studied in Mission’s educational institutions ranging from
kindergarten to university level and also in non-formal education centres, night schools, coaching
classes, etc. A sum of Rs. 357.97 crore was spent on the educational work.
A number of rural and tribal development projects were undertaken by the Mission with a
total expenditure of Rs. 73.21 crore, benefiting about 70.56 lakh people.
We take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to our members and friends for their
kind cooperation and help in carrying forward the service programmes of the Ramakrishna Mission
and Ramakrishna Math.
(Swami Suvirananda)
General Secretary
 A New Sri Ramakrishna Math at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
(A Sub-Centre of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai)
AN APPEAL TO SERVE GOD IN MAN
Dear Devotees and well-wishers,
We pray that Sri Ramakrishna may shower
His blessings on all your endeavours.
Thanjavur is a historically and culturally
important city, famous for its art and ancient
architecture, especially temples.
It was Swami Vivekananda’s earnest desire to install Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna
in every town and spread the culture of worship and service. We now propose to
begin a centre in Thanjavur and initiate various activities:
February 2020

l Youth Camps - to develop self-confidence, awareness of health and yoga etc.

l Balaka Sangha - to train children in cultural and spiritual traditions, etc.
l Spiritual Practices - daily puja, bhajans, japa yajna, parayanam, discourses.
l Spiritual & Cultural Literature - promotion and sale.
l Seminar/Workshops - for teachers, doctors and other professionals.
38
l Medical Services - for the poor and needy.
The Vedanta Kesari

To establish a new centre and conduct the above activities, an amount

of Rs. 7 Crore is required. We invite you to contribute whatever you can
and be a part of this noble mission.
Names of those who contribute Rs.10,000/- and above
will be inscribed in the Math premises.
Donations are exempted under Section 80 G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Donations may be sent cheque/DD in favour of “Sri Ramakrishna Math”.

For Online donation please visit https://donations.chennaimath.org
After online payment please intimate us by email your address, and PAN number.

Yours in the Service of the Lord,

Swami Gautamananda,
Adhyaksha.

Sri Ramakrishna Math

31, Sri Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, Chennai-4.
& : 24621110. email : mail@chennaimath.org
Website : www.chennaimath.org
For more details - Mob : 98409 87307
The Vedanta Kesari February 2020
39
 SWAMI ATMASTHANANDA BIRTH CENTENARY COMMITTEE
91/1, SOUTHERN AVENUE, KOLKATA - 700029, W.B.
Email: swabcc2020@gmail.com Visit us: www.atmasthanandacentenary.com
Mobile: +91 9433654275, 8617023976, 9804984939, 9836463887
AN APPEAL
Dear Devotees,
Swami Atmasthananda Birth Centenary Committee is going to organise a Memorial
Programme to celebrate the Centenary of Srimat Swami Atmasthanandaji Maharaj, the 15th President
of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission in Kolkata on Sunday, 10 May 2020.
The Committee is extremely glad to announce that two
Commemorative Volumes — one compiling the writings, lectures, interviews
& letters of Revered Maharaj in Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati and English and the
other comprising the reminiscences of Revered Maharaj by sannyasis of
February 2020

the Ramakrishna Math, sannyasinis of Sri Sarada Math, devotees and

eminent personalities — will be released on that day. A pictorial
biography and a documentary DVD based on the life and teachings
of Revered Maharaj will also be released in the function. Also, a
commemorative souvenir will be released on that day. Most Revered
President Maharaj and the Vice Presidents of the Ramakrishna
40
Order would grace the occasion.
The Committee requests devotees and admirers of Revered
The Vedanta Kesari

Maharaj to share from their personal collections the

photographs and letters of Revered Maharaj via email for the Commemorative Volumes.
The Committee cordially invites you to become a Delegate Member and to attend the
Programme. Limited numbers of Delegate Membership cards on a first-come-first-served basis
will be issued. The delegate charge is Rs. 1,500/- per person. Each Delegate Member will get a
complimentary gift of the documentary DVD, Souvenir and 30% discount on the
Commemorative Volumes and the Pictorial Biography.
The Committee appeals to the devotees, admirers and well-wishers of Revered Maharaj to
support us with financial contribution for this noble cause. All donations (cash/ cheque) and
registration charges should be made in favour of: “SWAMI ATMASTHANANDA BIRTH
CENTENARY COMMITTEE”. The surplus amount will be donated to “Ramakrishna Math &
Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math”
Bank Details: Bank name: State Bank of India Calcutta University Branch; A/c
Name.: Swami Atmasthananda Birth Centenary Committee; A/c No.: 38782094486,
IFSC Code: SBIN0007766.
Donate online from our website: https://www.atmasthanandacentenary.com
After online money transfer, please intimate us by email or phone about your
registration/donation/sponsorship.
Thanking you,
S. K. Roy, President, Centenary Committee
 Article

Sri Ramakrishna and

the Pilgrimage Mindset
SWAMI CHIDEKANANDA
(Continued from the previous issue…)

I
n the previous issue we saw, in the ‘conflicting nature of the human mind’ are
light of Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings, 1) detrimental for spiritual aspirants who wish to
why places of pilgrimage especially experience a spiritual transformation during
manifest the presence of god and 2) the their pilgrimage. It is not sufficient simply to
necessity for cultivating a pre-pilgrimage mind- have a spirit of devotion; we must also cultivate
set prior to visiting holy sites. By cultivating the vyakulata or intense spiritual yearning, as well
pre-pilgrimage mind-set before visiting places as a devotional focus and introspective mind-
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I D H A R A M V I R S E T H , D E H R A D U N

February 2020
of pilgrimage, spiritual aspirants are able to set. Understanding this necessity, Sri Rama-
build a momentum krishna would develop “a
toward a specific spiritual specific spiritual mood”
mood and an intros- For one who is endowed with before entering a place
pective mind-set. This devotion, devotion increases with of pilgrimage. Swami
mind-set, in turn, helps the influence of holy places. Saradananda writes, “The 41
pilgrims to counter the Master told us many times
external and internal that he visited each holy

The Vedanta Kesari

distractions in places of pilgrimage, and also
helps them to “easily become spiritually
awakened.”1 In this issue we will discuss the
practical application of the pre-pilgrimage
mind-set in the light of the teachings of Sri
Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami
Vivekananda.
As already discussed, Sri Ramakrishna
before embarking on a pilgrimage emphasised
the importance of cultivating a spirit of
devotion: “For one who is endowed with
devotion, devotion increases with the influence
of holy places. And as for one who does not
have that, what will he gain?”2 In the previous
issue, we discussed how external distractions
like the presence of ‘lust and greed’ in places of
pilgrimage, and internal distractions like the
place with a specific spiritual mood in mind.”3.
Sri Ramakrishna would often say sadhan korte
hoy, ar ekta kono bhav ashray korte hoy, “One
must do spiritual practices and also take refuge
in a definite spiritual attitude.”
However, the problem for spiritual
aspirants is that Sri Ramakrishna does not
further elaborate on how to cultivate this
“specific spiritual mood” or any of the other
elements for cultivating a pre-pilgrimage mind-
set. Moreover, his own mind—as he himself put
it—was like a “dry matchstick”4 in that it could
easily ascend towards the Divine at the
slightest stimulation. But Sri Ramakrishna’s
extraordinary state of mind is simply too high
an ideal for the majority of spiritual aspirants
to emulate.

The author is a sannyasi of the Ramakrishna Order and is serving at Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata.
swamichidekananda@gmail.com
 In this regard, we find a great deal of
practical, down-to-earth advice in Swami
Vivekananda’s “practical training”5 to Margaret
Noble (Sister Nivedita’s pre-monastic name),
prior to their journey to Amarnath in 1898.6
Swamiji’s advice can help all spiritual aspirants
to cultivate a pre-pilgrimage mindset. His
instructions were especially helpful to Margaret
Noble as she had only arrived in India on 28
January 28 1898—just five months before her
trip to Amarnath—and possessed very little
knowledge of the history, culture, and spiritual
heritage of India. Swamiji’s pre-pilgrimage
training of Sister Nivedita consisted of a four-
step process. First, he prepared her mind for
the pilgrimage by spending countless hours
February 2020
discussing the historical, cultural, mythological,
philosophical, and spiritual significance of
Amarnath, including Shaktism, Shaivism, and
Advaita Vedanta. He also removed hidden
cultural and religious biases within her mind
42 which would have prevented her from
assimilating the spirituality of Shiva and Uma,
The Vedanta Kesari
and in a broader sense, the spiritual heritage of
India. Second, for this trip Swamiji chose a
particular spiritual theme for Margaret Noble,
which was compatible with her nature,
upbringing and spiritual disposition. Third,
after sufficient training, both the teacher
(Swamiji) and the student (Nivedita) separately
withdrew from external activities into
meditation, and contemplated upon the place
of pilgrimage in the light of the specific theme
chosen by Swamiji. Fourth and finally, on the
eve of their pilgrimage, she distributed alms
and secured the blessings of local sadhus.
Let us now examine each of these four
stages in greater detail.
First stage: Removing cultural and
religious biases and acquiring historical,
cultural, mythological, and spiritual knowledge
of the pilgrim centre to be visited.
Sister Nivedita records that three months
prior to their pilgrimage to Amarnath, Swami
Vivekananda began —first in Belur and then in
Almora—to prepare Nivedita for her impending
journey. In his discussions with her, though
Swamiji covered the entire landscape of India’s
historical and spiritual heritage, he especially
emphasised the mythology of Uma and Shiva.
Nivedita describes Swamiji’s teachings on Shiva
and Uma in Almora as intensely dualistic and
devotional at times: “In the mornings, we still
had long talks...on the history of Siva-worship...
Another day coming at sunrise when the snows
could be seen, dawn-lighted from the garden, it
was Siva and Uma on whom he dwelt—and that
was Siva up there, the white snow-pikes, and
the light that fell upon Him was the Mother of
the World!” However— at times—when
Swamiji’s mind soared to the Absolute realm,
he described Shiva not as the personal God or
as the inner-controller (antaryamin) but as the
all-pervading Divine Consciousness. She
records, “For a thought on which at this time he
was dwelling much was that God is the
universe—not within it or outside it and not
the universe God or the image of God—but He
it, and the All.”7
Here, Swamiji was obviously influenced
by Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings on vijnana, a
state in which he realised that Brahman “has
become the universe and its living beings”8 or
Brahma satyam Jagat satyam, Brahman is real
and the Universe is real.9 In addition, he says
that this realm of vijnana can only be
experienced by Ishvarakoṭis, eternally free
souls and not by jivakotis, bound souls.10 Sri
Ramakrishna considered Narendranath, later
Swami Vivekananda, to be an Ishvarakoti.11
Sister Nivedita had an intellectual and
philosophical bent of mind, and hence it was
important for her to learn about Shiva from the
different philosophical standpoints. She further
explained that Swamiji did not merely restrict
 his teachings to the spiritual: “But it was not
religion only that he poured out upon us.
Sometimes it would be history. Again, it would
be folk-lore.”12
Apart from all the knowledge Swamiji
imparted to Margaret Noble, the devotional and
spiritual fervour with which he conveyed this
knowledge left a tremendous impression upon
her. He did not merely convey dry knowledge;
instead, he injected his own bhava or subtle
spiritual emotion and feelings for Shiva and
Uma into his teachings. She describes Swamiji’s
deep love for Shiva at this time: “He had a
surpassing love for Mahadeva…[the] very air of
the Himalaya was charged for him with the
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , M I S S I O N R D. , B E N G A LU R U
image of that ‘eternal meditation’ that no
thought of pleasure could break….[H]e
understood...the meaning of the nature-story
that made the Ganges fall on the head of the
Great God, and wander in and out amongst His
matted locks, before she found an outlet on the
plains below. He had searched long for the
words that the rivers and waterfalls uttered
amongst the mountains, before he had realised
that it was the eternal cry ‘Bom! Bom! Hara!
Hara!’”13 Nivedita, being a competent spiritual
aspirant, was able to receive this transmission
of spiritual emotion. This had the effect of
making Shiva and Uma come alive in the heart
and mind of Nivedita, during the trip and
afterwards as well (a point we shall discuss in
the next article).
Next, Swamiji removed the hidden
cultural biases about India from Margaret
Noble’s mind. Anyone who wants to assimilate
the spirituality of India must understand the
link between its culture and its spirituality.
When British citizens visited British-ruled India
in the 19th century, it was natural for them to
feel ethnically and culturally superior to the
colonised India. Margaret Noble initially had
such cultural biases to some extent. After
initiation when Swamiji “asked her now to
w h i c h c o u n t r y s h e b e l o n g e d ”, S h e
described her own “passion of loyalty and
worship for the English flag,
giving it much of the feeling
that an Indian woman Anyone who wants
would give to her Chosen to assimilate the
Deity.”14 Understanding her
spirituality of India
attachment, Swamiji was
keen to remove this bias
must understand
from her mind, as he knew the link between its
t h a t i t wo u l d b e a n culture and its
impediment for both her spirituality.
spiritual life as well as for
her future work in India.
Unwilling to “tolerate blindness of half-views
and prejudices born out of ignorance”, Swamiji
February 2020
“pointed out errors in her judgements and even
scolded her”: “Really, patriotism like yours is
sin!” 15 She continued, “These morning talks at
Almora, then, took the form of assaults upon
deep-rooted preconceptions—social, literary
and artistic — or of long comparisons of Indian 43
and European history and sentiments, often
containing extended observations of very great
The Vedanta Kesari
value. But he had revealed a different
standpoint in thought and feeling, so
completely and so strongly as to make it
impossible for her to rest, until later, by her
own labours, she had arrived at a view in which
both these partial resentments stood
rationalized and accounted for.’16
Fortunately, Swami Swarupananda, a
brother-disciple, helped Nivedita to understand
Swamiji’s ideas. His elucidation “helped her to
understand the atmosphere in which they lived.
He formed a sort of link between her Master’s
mind and her own, and Nivedita was grateful to
him for all he did for her. He taught her the Gita,
asked her to offer her past at the feet of
Ishwara. From him she learnt to meditate.”17
Though it caused dissent and conflict at times,
Swami Vivekananda was keen to remove the
hidden western cultural biases within
 Nivedita’s mind, which would otherwise
prevent her from assimilating the essence of
Uma and Shiva, and in a wider sense, the
spirituality of India. Without this spiritual
power and transformation, she would be
unable to see Shiva in the Ice Lingam in
Amarnath and serve India with her whole heart
and soul.
The main purpose of acquiring various
types of knowledge is to further deepen
shraddha or one’s faith in the holy place to be
visited and its presiding deity. Sometimes
pilgrims coming from abroad—or even within
India—may have doubts arising either from
cultural bias, religious intolerance, or even
atheism. Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna in the
February 2020
Bhagavad Gita how this doubting mind
prevents one from making spiritual progress:
अज्ञश्चाश्रद्दधानश्च संशयात्मा विनश्यति।
नायं लोकोऽस्ति न परो न सुखं सश ं यात्मनः।। 4.40
“The ignorant, the man without shraddha,
44 the doubting self, goes to destruction. The
doubting self has neither this world, nor the
The Vedanta Kesari
next, nor happiness.”
It is possible that even sincere spiritual
seekers may have doubts or may not fully
appreciate the spirituality of a holy place.
However, if they have shraddha and are aware
of the limitations of their own knowledge and
experience, they will seek spiritual solutions
through sincere questioning and debating,
followed by contemplation and meditation, as
in the case of Nivedita described above.
Hence, if spiritual aspirants desire to
make a pilgrimage fruitful, in addition to
acquiring knowledge beforehand, they should
also strive to remove hidden biases which may
prevent them from accepting the sanctity and
spiritual power of the holy place they plan to
visit and the reality of its presiding deity. In
other words, to derive maximum benefit from
their impending pilgrimage, spiritual aspirants
must first acquire knowledge—historical,
mythological, cultural, and spiritual—about the
pilgrimage site beforehand and then attempt to
convert this knowledge into love in their heart
for the holy place and its presiding deity. This is
the first stage of cultivating the pre-pilgrimage
mindset.
Second stage: Choosing a specific theme
After acquiring the necessary knowledge,
the next step for aspirants is somehow to
integrate the knowledge into their very being by
choosing a spiritual theme or mood for the
pilgrimage which is compatible with their nature
and upbringing. If the theme is authentic, then
the spiritual aspirant can further cultivate and
integrate the spiritual mood. As already
discussed, Sri Ramakrishna mentions that before
going to a place of pilgrimage, he would cultivate
a specific spiritual mood. He also describes the
two different types of dispositions for spiritual
aspirants: “A man born with an element of Shiva
becomes a Jnani; his mind is always inclined to
the feeling that the world is unreal and Brahman
alone is real. But when a man is born with an
element of Vishnu, he develops an ecstatic love
of God.”18 While it is true that aspirants normally
possess tendencies toward knowledge and
devotion, there will be one pre-dominant
tendency over the other. In Nivedita’s case, she
had an intellectual bent of mind, a quality of
Shiva. However, even for aspirants with the
quality of Shiva, Sri Ramakrishna encouraged the
path of devotion, i.e., the harmonious
development of head and heart.
The difficulty that many pilgrims face is to
know and understand their own nature and
disposition. Such an understanding requires
either spiritual maturity or a spiritual teacher.
Margaret Noble had only recently arrived in
India, and was still a novice with very little
knowledge of India and its spiritual greatness.
For this reason, Swami Vivekananda himself,
her enlightened teacher, had chosen a specific
theme for her pilgrimage, which was consistent
 with her leaning toward knowledge. Knowing
her dedication, Swamijii decided that she was
to be “dedicated unto Shiva” for the work of
India, and focused on this particular theme to
the exclusion of all else. She describes Swamiji’s
exclusive focus on Uma and Shiva before their
trip: “Several months later [prior to the trip to
Amarnath] he [Swamiji] never talked of any of
the gods save Uma and Siva. For Siva and the
Mother made the great workers. Yet I
sometimes wondered if he knew at this time
how at the end of every theme was bhakti.”19
PA G E S P O N S O R : I N M E M O R Y O F S R I B I J A N B I H A R I D E Y, K O L K ATA
Amarnath with him, and be dedicated to Siva....
From this time we saw very little of the Swami.
He was full of enthusiasm about the pilgrimage
and lived mostly on one meal a day, seeking no
company, save that of sadhus. Sometimes he
would come to a camping-ground, beads in
hand.”20
Fourth stage: Serving sadhus and securing
blessings from them
Prior to embarking on the pilgrimage to
Amarnath Cave, Swamiji took Nivedita around
to meet different sadhus, so that she would

Third stage: Withdrawing into meditation receive their blessings for a successful
and cultivating an introspective mindset pilgrimage. She writes, “That afternoon [on the
Hence, as the time of pilgrimage neared, day before their pilgrimage] he took his

Nivedita, equipped with the proper knowledge,
theme, and bhava, withdrew herself from other
external activities to further cultivate and
deepen her “spirit of devotion”. She did this
externally by undergoing physical austerities
such as fasting, living in solitude, etc., and
internally by meditating and contemplating on
Uma and Shiva. It is this tapasya that gives an
February 2020
[spiritual] daughter [meaning Nivedita herself]
round the camp to be blessed, which really
meant to distribute alms.... We stayed a whole
day, at this village of the shepherd, to keep
ekadasi, and early next morning the pilgrims
left.”21 45
In the next article, we shall further discuss
how Swami Vivekananda’s training of Nivedita

The Vedanta Kesari

introspective and focused mindset necessary
for a pilgrimage.
In addition to preparing Nivedita’s mind,
Swamiji withdrew himself from the company of
others after deciding to go to Amarnath.
Nivedita records, “[as] we sat at lunch, the
Swami invited his [spiritual] daughter
[referring to herself ] to go to the Cave of
prior to her pilgrimage, not only facilitated her
recognition of the “living Shiva” in Swamiji after
his darshan at Amarnath, but also brought
about her own remarkable transformation—
first, from Margaret Noble to Sister Nivedita,
and finally— from Sister Nivedita to Lokamata,
mother of the people.
(To be continued)

References
1) Sri Ramakrishna and his Divine Play [hereafter DP], 605 2) DP. p. 606 3) DP. 607 4) The Gospel of Sri
Ramakrishna, p. 629 5) The Master as I saw Him, p. 83 6) Notes of some wanderings with the Swami Vivekananda
[hereafter Notes] , p. 92, 7) Notes. p. 24-5 8) Kathamrita, p. 50-51 9) See Prabuddha Bharata ‘Editorial’ December
1956, p. 479. Toward the end of his life, Swami Turiyananda declared from the standpoint of vijnana Brahma satyam
jagat satyam, Brahman is real and the Universe is real, – as a counterpoint to the classical Advaitic dictum, Brahma
satyam jagat mithya, Brahman is real and the universe is unreal. 10) Mahendranath Gupta, Gospel, p. 237
11) Life of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 1, p. 87 12) Notes. p. 5. 13) Notes. p. 51. 14) Notes. p. 16 15) Sister Nivedita:
The Dedicated. Pravrajika Atmaprana Kolkata: Sister Nivedita Girls’ School, 2017, p.46 16) Notes. p. 17 17) Sister
Nivedita, p.45 18) The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 713 19) Notes. p. 7. 20) Notes. 91-92 21) Notes. 92-93
 Article

Women Saints of Varkari Tradition

ARPANA GHOSH

(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

Concluding article in the series on the Varkari tradition of Maharashtra.

Sant Soyarabai matter how oppressive and cruel the world is.

S
o yarabai (end of 13 th and At Pandharpur in Vitthala and his bhaktas –
beginning of 14th century C.E.) the Varkaris – he saw this all-encompassing
was the devoted wife love that embraced the whole world in a
of Chokamela, a great devotee of Lord spirit of understanding.
Vitthala. The couple lived in Little is known of Soyarabai’s life
February 2020

Mangalvedhe a few kilometres away except that she served her husband
from Pandharpur. Attracted by faithfully and was a spiritual seeker.
Vitthala and the bhakti movement, Chokamela’s sister Nirmala had
they later spent most of their life in married Soyarabai’s brother Banka.
Pandharpur. Though they were pure in Both families stayed together
46 heart and Vitthala’s name was and most intriguingly all four lived in
continuously on their lips, they were a high spiritual state, composing
The Vedanta Kesari

looked down upon, as they belonged to abhangs for Vitthala!

a very downtrodden class of society They became the loving
— they were ‘Mahars’, ‘untoucha- disciples of Sant Namdev, and
bles’! Soyarabai’s foremost guru was
Mahars had to do all the menial cleaning naturally her husband. She was also greatly
tasks in the village including removal of dead devoted to her sister-in-law Nirmala. It is
animal carcasses; they were therefore wonderful to see that despite their poverty and
considered impure and even their proximity deprivations they never fretted about their
was deemed polluting. As outcastes, they were livelihood, but lived in harmony and singular
denied education, knowledge of the scriptures, devotion to Vitthala!
access to certain social facilities in the village, They were lovingly integrated into that
and were also forbidden entry into the temple. first wonderful association of bhaktas in
This was Chokha’s background when he Pandharpur; Sants - Namdev, a tailor; Janabai;
arrived with Soyarabai in Pandhari. He had Gora, a potter; Narahari, a goldsmith; Savata, a
always aspired for something higher which gardener and foremost among all of them –
could raise him above his debased – existence Sant Jnaneshvar and his siblings! As long as
a human dignity which was beyond caste, a they were in the company of these sants their
longing for God which could not be erased no life was blissful; but the moment they stepped
Arpana Ghosh, a German by birth, is settled in Chennai for 27 years. She has embraced Vitthala Bhakti and
is Vitthala’s German Varkari. arpana-ghosh@hotmail.com
 out they had to face the atrocities of society.
Especially the brahmins did not accept that a
mahar could rise to be reckoned as a sant and
be revered by others socially superior to him!
Chokamela and his family were not
allowed to enter the Vitthala temple. Hence
Choka calls himself a ‘singer on the threshold’.
There, at the entrance steps, at the mahadvar,
he sang his abhangs with pure love and longing,
begging for grace. It is told that Vitthala himself
brought Choka secretly into the temple and
PA G E S P O N S O R : D R . S U B R A M A N I YA B H A R AT H I YA R R . , K A N C H E E P U R A M
garlanded him besides gifting his necklace. The
priests who were enraged about this, accused
him of stealing the necklace and banished the
family to the other side of the river.
God always stays with his bhaktas and
Pandurang would come to their poor cottage
and share their simple, stale morsels! What a
paradox that Vitthala, the holiest of the holy,
rejects the puja in his temple to eat in the house
of ‘impure outcastes’! There are abhangs
describing the joy of having Vitthala as a guest
in their poor cottage and welcoming him with
an arati lamp lit with the five pranas – a symbol
of total surrender.
There is an interesting legend about
Soyarabai. The couple intensely longed for a
son, and Vitthala finally granted their wish. In
the late stage of Soyarabai’s pregnancy Chokha
left to fetch his sister from another village to
help in the delivery. Chokhamela however,
immersed in Vitthala, joined a bhajan
procession and forgot all about it. Soyarabai
was left all alone in that state. Then Panduranga
himself assumed the form of Soyarabai’s sister-
in-law, delivered the child and thus became a
midwife for the sake of his bhaktas! When
Chokha finally returned, their son was already
born and the soiled clothes washed! It is also
stated that at the name-giving ceremony
Vitthala was present and named their only son
Karmamela. Upajata Karmamela, vace Vitthal
savala . . . . “Karmamela was born, a promise
from black Vitthal. As soon as everyone exalted
in Vitthala’s name, the
husband of Rukmini came
running to perform the 12th Impurity occurs
day name-giving ceremony not by touching
with all the necessary the body,
materials – so says Chokha’s Pollution is in
Mahar-wife.”
your heart and
Soyarabai eventually mind,
became a widow when
Chokhamela died with many Says with
conviction
other workers in the nearby
Mangalvedhe while helping Choka’s Mahari
to construct a parapet wall
which collapsed. His guru
Namdev himself went to collect his bones and
February 2020
distinguished them from those of the others by
the sound Vitthala emanating from them. Sant
Chokhamela’s bones were buried right in front
of the Mahadvar, the big gate of Vitthala’s
temple – the beloved ‘threshold’ from where he
used to sing his abhangs; there is his small 47
samadhi shrine even today!
The Vedanta Kesari
There is an instructive anecdote told
about Chokhamela. One day the Devas from
Indraloka came rushing in search of Vishnu/
Vitthala for help. Something awful had
happened! The nectar of immortality churned
from the milk-ocean, had spoiled! At that time
there was a festival in Pandharpur, and all the
devotees were seated in rows to partake
prasad. Vitthala pointed out to Chokhamela and
said, “Let Chokhamela stir the amrit with his
finger, he will fix it!” This story is a paradox, for,
amrit can never be spoilt! The story shows that
a pure devotee of the Lord has the power to
purify the whole world even if he is outwardly
an outcaste! A painting depicting this incident
is hanging right in Chokha’s little samadhi
shrine opposite the Mahadvar.
After Chokhamela’s death, Soyarabai
spent the rest of her life with his sister Nirmala
in Mehunpur, immersed in bhajans.
 Their abhangs
There are about 350 abhangs of Sant
Chokamela, and 62 abhangs of Soyarabai. They
had no education in the remotest sense, but
their abhangs are full of love and wisdom! The
highly educated Sant Ekanath (16th C.E.) wrote
his famous abhang ‘Kaya hi Pandhari, Atma ha
Vitthala, “The body is Pandhari, the Atma
Vitthala”. More than 250 years earlier,
expressing a similar experience the uneducated
Chokamela had sung Deha hi Pandhari Atma
Panduranga. And their high level of God
realization made them dare question
untouchability and the hierarchy of the caste
system.
The basis of Vitthala bhakti is that God
February 2020
does not consider high or low; he considers only
pure love! Uncha niche kahinene bhagavanta –
This abhang of Sant Tukaram sung daily by the
varkaris, lists many bhaktas from the lower
strata and describes how Vitthala out of love,
48 helps them in their work. Sant Chokamela is
depicted here as dragging off dead animal
The Vedanta Kesari
carcasses together with Shri Vitthala – one of the
many odd works of a mahar!
Soyarabai was deeply devoted to her
husband  and her abhangs reflect the same
emotions and themes as Chokamela. Like
other sants they composed songs on the
absolute importance of God’s name, the
bliss of Pandhari, and the joyful meetings
with the Varkaris during the pilgrimages. But
the underlying tone of most of the songs is
heart-rending: feelings of utter lowliness,
disgust with the world, questions on
untouchability, the inability to understand this
birth and karma, and this endless waiting for
Vitthala’s mercy at the temple gate. “I’m your
poor wretch, a dog, barking, in the hope to get
your leftovers - waiting at the door for
mouthfuls!”
Soyarabai signs her abhangs with the
mudra mhane Chokhyachimahari, ‘the  Mahar-
wife of Choka’. She must have hated the stigma
associated with a mahar, but in her songs she
takes almost a defiant pride in calling herself a
mahari! Since the Mahars were living from the
scraps and leftovers of the higher castes, the
request for leavings, ucchishtha, is a common
imagery in the abhangs. With the call Johar, a
greeting of the lower castes to the higher,
Chokamela would call on Vitthala: Johar
Maybap, “It’s me Choka, your mahar! I brought
my empty plate to get your ucchishtha, your
leavings, i.e., your love!”
Soyarabai feels the stigma of impurity
when she sings, Hina mi kaya vanu deva,
tumhiKeshavaudara, “I’m weak and low, how
can I describe your glories? Generous one,
Keshava! Make me happy and show me your
feet! Even if the broadest river flows over me,
this body will not get pure! Please, save the
drowning one! says Chokha’s Mahari.” Again,
she challenges the state of impurity by singing
Dehasi vitala mhana to sakala, atma to nirmala
shuddhabuddha, “All say the body is unclean,
but the soul is pure! At the moment of birth
everyone’s body becomes impure, there is no
immaculate birth! … Impurity occurs not by
touching the body; pollution is in your heart
and mind says with conviction Choka’s Mahari.”
Like all the other Varkari sants, Soyara
also extols the greatness of God’s name as the
easiest and only way to cross over this terrible
samsara. Kalikala kampe name uccharitam,
“Death is trembling when the Name is uttered,
everything is achieved by saying ‘Vitthala’!
These three syllables are so easy to pronounce;
repeat them all the time! It removes all pain,
weariness and suffering of life. Have full faith in
the Name and hold on to it from within! says
Chokha’s Mahari.”
Sometimes Soyara would get a glimpse of
Vitthala and that would make up for all her
miseries. Aji majha sarva purava navasa, “Today
all my vratas were fulfilled! I have seen
 Vitthala’s feet! The troubles of endless births Nirmala tells Vitthala in an abhang
have come to an end. His form appeared before Tumcha bharavasa dharoni manasi, “I’m sure of
me! I kept thinking of those feet, and now I you, full of determination I took refuge at your
finally saw them on the brick! My mind feet! Now do what you think is right, I have
cannot contain this happiness, says Chokha’s unburdened myself! I’ve put my head into your
Mahari.” lap, Nirmala says: save me or kill me, my whole
In another popular abhang, she expresses burden is now yours!”
this cherished vision of oneness and the means Vitthala bhakti with its tradition of sants,
to achieve it: avagha ranga eka jhala, rangi the pride of Maharashtra, stands for equality
rangala shriranga, “When all colours became for all, to embrace all mankind in one single
one, they were coloured in the Supreme colour ‘caste’ of Vitthalaprem. Choka and Soyara never
– Sri Hari! The concept of ‘me’ and ‘you’ has used their abhangs as a means of public
become meaningless on protest, but as a means of
s e e i n g t h e L o rd o f self-expression. Theirs
Pandhari! No place for Death is trembling when the was a peaceful revolt
differences, lust and against untouchability, to
Name is uttered,
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I H E M A N T G U P TA , C H A N D I G A R H

February 2020
anger also ran away! change the mentality of
Though in the body, you Everything is achieved by saying the oppressors through
are not aware of it, Vitthala! prembhakti and
beyond, ever in samadhi! knowledge.
The seer and the seen
have vanished, says Chokha’s Mahari.” Bahinabai 49
Soyarabai describes the mood in Pandhari Bahinabai (1628 – 1700) was a disciple of

The Vedanta Kesari

when thousands of Varkaris celebrate the
great Ashad Ekadashi lost in the bliss of bhajan
Ananda sohala ashadi Pandhari, “A festival of
bliss – Ashadi (Ekadashi) in Pandhari, down at
the Chandrabhaga kirtan is roaring! The shouts
of ‘Jay, jay!’, a festival of bliss! It is raining nectar
on the Vaishnavas! No body consciousness, no
other thought — all these sants call out
Vitthala’s name! Hearts overflowing, this is the
arati of love, Soyara comes rolling on the
ground blessed by the dust of the feet of these
Vaishnavas!”
Soyarabai was equally devoted to her
husband and her sister-in-law. In her abhang
Chokha Nirmala ekarupa, darushane hare tapa,
she says “Choka and Nirmala are one, all misery
is gone by having their darshan! Unceasingly
they repeat the name of Vitthala, there is no
difference between both of them! The greatest
tirtha is Nirmala, the Ganga is flowing there!”
Sant Tukaram and for various reasons she is
very significant. A Brahmin by birth, she wrote
her whole lifestory by herself in auto-
biographical verses. In many of her verses she
deals with the various difficulties she faced as
a woman seeker and her mental agonies.
Bahinabai’s greatest significance however is the
reconciliation she achieved between duty and
devotion, between marriage and her love for
God. This is very rare among the medieval
women saints who generally rejected their
samsar and husbands in their quest for God. 
Bahinabai’s marriage was by no means happy,
there were conflicts and she was even a victim
of domestic violence. But by God’s grace she
was able to harmonise her marriage and her
devotion to Vitthala.
She was born in 1628 in Deogaon, near
Verul (the present day Ellora), a beautiful,
sacred tirtha. Her father was the Kulkarni, the
 scribe, there. Her parents were childless for
long and Bahina was their cherished first-born
after a lot of austerities. When she was just five
years old her parents married her to a vedic
priest, a learned but ill-tempered scholar who
was thirty years old and a widower.
Owing to a family-feud they had to leave
Deogaon. Taking their son-in-law along, they
walked as mendicant brahmins and visited many
holy places. On their way they came to
Pandharpur, where the little Bahina was deeply
impressed by the atmosphere of bhakti and heard
for the first time verses of Tukaram and other
sants. Eventually they settled down in Kolhapur.
A turning-point in Bahina’s life came
when her parents were gifted a cow with a calf
February 2020
in alms. Aged ten then, she describes the deep
emotional bond that developed between her
and the calf. The calf would eat only from
Bahina’s hand, follow her around everywhere
and at night they would even sleep together.
50 She says: “If the calf was out of sight, I felt
troubled like a fish out of water!”
The Vedanta Kesari
At this time Jayaram Swami, well-known
for his kirtans and harikatha came to Kolhapur.
Bahina and her parents attended the kirtan
accompanied by their calf. When people
removed the calf due to lack of space, both
Bahina and the calf started crying for each
other so inconsolably that it drew the attention
of Jayaram Swami, who blessed Bahina and
caressed her head. Such a happy event however
ended in disaster! When her husband came to
know of this he was angered by the attention
Jayaram Swami gave his wife. He punished
Bahina by tying her up and beating her
mercilessly. Nobody dared to interfere, but the
cow and her calf were very distressed and
stopped eating altogether; a few days later the
calf died. Bahina lay unconscious for three days
and wished to die as well. In this state, however,
she had the vision of Vitthala and Tukaram as
one. Sant Tukaram blessed her and gave her the
mantra ‘Ram Krishna Hari’. With all her heart
she accepted him as her Guru even without
having seen him in physical form. Bahina was
suddenly a totally changed person. She sat all
the time meditating and her heart was
overflowing with Tukoba!
Now people started venerating her and
flocked for her darshan which again didn’t go
down well with her husband, an orthodox
vaidik. His ego was hurt and he was jealous of
the attention Bahina received. He hated also
the idea that she as a Brahmin had accepted a
lower caste as her guru; and so he threatened
to leave her. At that time Bahina was three
months pregnant, and though anguished, she
reconsidered her position in society and
decided to hold her husband as her God and
Guru. Divine intervention came – Bahina’s
husband became very sick overnight. He was
bedridden for a whole month, fearing imminent
death. Bahina nursed him patiently. When he
repented and promised Bahina to bring her to
Dehu, the hometown of Sant Tukaram, he
recovered. What bliss for Bahina to meet her
Guru in person and to experience all the bhajan
and harikathas there! She describes how one
day the inspiration to write verses came upon
her like “the tide of the ocean”, like “the words
of God stamped in her heart!”
For many years they lived in Dehu, and
Bahinabai gave birth to her daughter Kashibai
and later to her son Vithoba. After Sant
Tukaram’s physical disappearance in 1650, the
family shifted to Shirur where she died at the
age of 72 in 1700. On her deathbed, she
composed a very unique set of abhangs, where
she describes her twelve previous births to her
son Vithoba. She says that during all these
births she was a spiritual seeker and asserts
that the present birth would be her last.
Bahinabai has written about 728 abhangs
and she signs them in the last line as ‘Bahina
(Continued on page 52...)
 Pariprasna
Srimat Swami Tapasyananda Ji (1904 – 1991), was one of the
Vice-Presidents of the Ramakrishna Order. His deeply convincing
answers to devotees’ questions raised in spiritual retreats and in
personal letters have been published in book form as Spiritual Quest:
Questions & Answers. Pariprasna is a selection from this book.

QUESTION: How is service of humanity possible

without keen interest in such service and how can such
interest arise without attachment to work? So is it not likely
that the acceptance of the doctrine of work without
attachment will remove all incentive to real and efficient
service of others?
What is the recompense of work without interest or

February 2020
attachment?
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I S . A N I L K U M A R , C H E N N A I

MAHARAJ: Interest is of two kinds, personal interest

and impersonal interest. Personal interest, as in business, is always motivated by considerations
of personal gain. Under this inducement, man can do much for the advancement of society, provided
he is guided by a proper sense of discipline and a code of honour. Give and take is the norm to be
followed here. It is the generally prevailing law of life. 51
Impersonal interest is applicable only to people who have risen to a higher level of thought

The Vedanta Kesari

and living, who feel that life is not worth living if it offers opportunity only to live for oneself and
to work only for personal gain. They want a higher sanction for human effort than mere interest
born of personal gain. Now the ideal of work without attachment is applicable only to such persons.
In the questions raised above it is assumed that everyone can adopt this ideal or is capable of
adopting it, or is asked to adopt it. That is not correct. A person who can temperamentally feel
inclined to work only when work fetches personal gain, is incapable of serving humanity with
detachment or out of compassion. Give and take is the only law for him.
To one who feels it is not worth living only for the narrow self, interest can be created in work
only from higher considerations born of one’s identification with wider groups, causes or ideals.
Thus service of a community, service of one’s country, service of humanity, and service of God have
provided such souls of higher evolution with motives for action. It is wrong to think that in such
actions there is no interest and there is no zeal in work. Great zeal and energy have been shown by
workers in the service of great causes though they do not gain anything personal through it.
Detachment does not mean indifference but zeal without consideration of personal gains.
But complete detachment combined with efficiency in the most genuine sense is possible
when service or work of any kind becomes a part of one’s devotional life. The conviction that all
the world belongs to God and that we are His humble servants entrusted with certain duties, must
become the most dominant note in our life. We must also feel that all the energy we get mentally
and physically is from God and that success and failure are attendant on His will and that we are
merely His instruments. If we are fully entrenched in this conviction, born of devotional experience,
 we will be detached in the fullest sense of the term and also be most zealous in the cause for which
we are working, be it country, humanity or anything else we could consider as God’s. A sense of
instrumentality is also needed to get full detachment and this is possible only when a devotional
element supplements the pursuit of impersonal values like patriotism, humanism, etc.
As for the question of recompense for work without attachment, the issue is raised only by
persons who can think in terms of personal gain alone. The feeling that a cause has been promoted
or one’s duty has been done properly, is the recompense. The recompense is qualitative, not
quantitative and cannot be called recompense in the ordinary sense. It improves the quality of our
spirit, it makes us better men and women, it pushes us forward in the path of evolution.
Those who work with detachment in the devotional spirit, gain God’s grace, says Sri
Ramakrishna: ‘A servant works for years for his master without any personal consideration. The
master, being pleased with him, puts him on his own seat of honour and tells others that he is as
good as himself and they should all obey him. A devotee who works for God’s sake without a tinge
of self, is raised by Him to His own exalted state.’
According to the Vedantic doctrine upheld by Shri Shankaracharya, detached work purifies
the mind and prepares the aspirant for the higher discipline of knowledge, Jnana-nishtha.
February 2020

(Continued from page 50...)

52
Women Saints of Varkari Tradition
The Vedanta Kesari

mhane’. She has a few songs on Vitthala and
Pandharpur, where she discusses philosophy
and morals, right conduct and Guru, seva to the
husband etc. One very famous abhang however
stands out and is repeated again and again. In
this abhang she compares the Varkari
Sampraday to a temple: Santa Kripajhali,
imarata phala ali, “The Sants gave their blessing
and the building rose up! Jnanadeva laid the
foundation and erected the temple. His disciple
Namdev  built the walls by his widespread
kirtan. Ekanath erected the pillar by writing his
Ekanathi Bhagavath, and Tukaram became the
pinnacle!”
(Concluded.)

Despite the concept of equality in Vitthala bhakti, caste and gender egalitarianism is
rather an ideal than a social reality even among the Varkaris today! Dalits were allowed
entry into the Vitthala temple only in 1947 after an uprising! In a historic move towards this
equality, the Supreme Court ended in 2014 the centuries old monopoly of the hereditary
Brahmins over Vitthala’s temple. Two women now serve as priests for Rukmini Mata, and
priests from backward classes perform the ritual worship of Sri Vitthala along with the upper
caste priests.
 The Order on the March
News & Notes from Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , V E R S O VA , M U M B A I
Headquarters
The 110th Annual General Meeting of the Ramakrishna
Mission was held at Belur Math on Sunday, 15 December.
Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj, President of the
Ramakrishna Order, chaired the meeting. In all, 139 monastic
members, 62 lay members and 81 associates attended the
meeting.
The birthday of the Holy Mother was celebrated at Belur
Math on Wednesday, 18 December. Thousands of devotees
attended the celebration throughout the day. Cooked prasad
was served to about 32,000 devotees. Swami Balabhadrananda
chaired the Public meeting held in the afternoon.
As a sequel to the year-long celebrations of the 125th
anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago addresses, an
All India Alumni Meet of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna
Mission educational institutions was held at Belur Math
on 28 and 29 December. Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji
Maharaj inaugurated the event and Swami Suvirananda Ji,
General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Order, welcomed the
delegates. All the five Vice-Presidents of the Order addressed
the different sessions of the two-day Meet. Sri Bibek Debroy,
Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
of India, and a number of distinguished alumni from various
walks of life shared their views. In all, 2000 lay alumni, 150
monastic alumni, 300 other monastic brothers and 700 guests
took part in the Meet.
February 2020
News of Branch Centres
Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji
Maharaj dedicated the newly built
assembly-cum-prayer hall at Jhargram 53
centre. Srimat Swami Shivamayananda
Ji, one of the Vice-Presidents of the
The Vedanta Kesari
Order, inaugurated the coaching
centre building, named Saradalaya, at
Coimbatore Math.
A special worship and public meeting
were held at Kasundia centre, Howrah,
on 22 December, the janma-tithi of
Swami Shivananda, to mark the taking
over of Ramakrishna Vivekananda
Ashram and starting of a branch of the
Ramakrishna Mission there. The General
Secretary presided over the meeting
which was attended by nearly 300 monks
and 2000 devotees.
Sri Prahlad Singh Patel, Minster
of State for Culture and Tourism,
Government of India, inaugurated a 4D
Virtual Reality (VR) short film on Swami
Vivekananda at Vivekananda House
of Chennai Math. The film with an
immersive experience of water, aroma,
 and wind effects brings alive Swamiji’s wanderings in India
and his meditation on a rock in Kanyakumari. Sri Acharya
Devvrat, Governor of Gujarat, visited Rajkot Ashrama.
Sri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State for Animal
Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises, Government of India, addressed the
devotees at Mangaluru centre.
Dr Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, a central university
in Madhya Pradesh, felicitated Mayavati Ashrama for its
exemplary role in spreading the message of Advaita Vedanta
through its publications. An allopathic dispensary was
inaugurated at Barisha Math.
Values Education and Youth Programmes
The following centres conducted value education
workshops, conventions, camps, lectures, etc: Barasat math:
Convention (660 delegates and 150 guests); Coimbatore
February 2020
Mission: 3-day residential convention (411 delegates); Delhi
centre: 4 Workshops in Delhi and Noida (183 teachers);
Rajkot Ashrama: 16 programmes (1326 students from 8
schools); Vadodara centre: 2 programmes on its campus and 7
programmes outside (3358 students)
54
Cyclone Relief
West Bengal: In the wake of the devastation caused by
The Vedanta Kesari
Cyclone Bulbul in November, the following relief services
were conducted: Baghbazar centre distributed 1050 blankets,
140 dhotis, 800 saris, 1600 shirts, 600 trousers, 100 children’s
garments, 100 plastic sheets, and grains/grocery items among
988 families in South 24 Parganas district. Belgharia centre
distributed 2000 blankets, 3000 saris, 3000 lungis and 2108
mosquito-nets among 2108 families in South 24 Parganas
district. Taki centre distributed 3000 blankets, 3000 saris and
3000 lungis among 3000 families in North 24 Parganas district.
Batticaloa
Flood Relief
Sri Lanka: In response to the floods
caused by heavy rains and breach of
embankments of lakes in and around
Batticaloa, the Batticaloa sub-centre of
Colombo Ashrama distributed 5490 kg
rice, 1398 kg dal, 1398 kg sugar, 325 kg
milk powder, eatables, and other necessary
items among 594 affected families.
Fire Relief
Arunachal Pradesh: Aalo centre
provided clothes and other kitchen
necessities to 5 families whose houses
were completely burnt down in a village
near Aalo. Meghalaya: Shillong centre
distributed food items and clothes to 5
PA G E S P O N S O R : D R . A LO K K . R . PA U L , C L R I , C H E N N A I
families affected by a fire accident.
Winter Relief
32 centres of the Order distributed
14,290 blankets, 1,842 shawls, 13,235
sweaters, and 1,601 jackets to needy
people.
Distress Relief
26 centres of the Order distributed
30,895 shirts, 18,535 trousers, and 3,821
saris to needy people
Economic Rehabilitation
Under self-employment programme,
Khetri centre gifted 103 sewing machines
to the needy people and Rahara centre
gifted 2 cycle rickshaw/van and 2 sewing
machines.
Vijayawada
55
 Vol.107. No.2 The Vedanta Kesari (English Monthly) February 2020.
Regd. with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under No.1084 /
56
1957. Postal registration number: TN / CH (C) / 190 / 2018-2020. Licensed to
Post without prepayment TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-259 / 2018-2020.
Date of Publication: 24th of every month; Posted on 27 January 2020

When the real history of India

will be unearthed, it will be
proved that, as in matters of
religion, so in fine arts, India is
the primal Guru of the whole
world.
— Swami Vivekananda

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