1

Vol.111 « Issue: 2 « Monthly « February 2024 « Price: ` 20

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Cover Design: Swami Vivekananda sprinkling the holy Ganga water on all indicating the spread of his Master’s
life-giving message across the world. Artist: Sri Sudhir Mirage, Kolhapur (Courtesy: Vivekananda Illam)

02 Swami Vivekananda Jayanti 06 to 14 Vivekananda Navaratri

February

11 Swami Brahmananda Jayanti (at Vivekananda House)

13 Swami Trigunatitananda Jayanti 03 & 17 Ashtami
The Vedanta KesariAdbhutananda Jayanti
24 Swami 2 06 & 20 Ekadashi February 2024
 3

Contents
 Vedic Prayer: Tanme Manaḥ Śivasaṃkalpam Astu 6
 Editorial: ‘My Devotee Never Perishes’ 8
 Vivekananda’s Experiment with
Spiritual Methods 10
S wami Satyapriyananda
 Operation Narada 16

THE
S wami Atmavikasananda
 Features of a Holy Man 20

Vedanta 
S wami Japasiddhananda
Empowering Students—

Kesari 
The Swami Vivekananda Way
Prof. C. B alaji

In Search of God—ईश्वरान्वेषणम्
23

29
A Spiritual Monthly of
the Ramakrishna Order Prof. Kumarnath Bhattacharya
111 th
Year of Publication  Reminiscences of Sargachhi—Varanasi Series 32
S wami Suhitananda
February 2024  Special Report: 114th Annual General Meeting
of the Ramakrishna Mission 34
Vol. 111, No. 2
ISSN 0042-2983 Bala Kesari
 Pocket Tales: Gadai, The Saviour of All 36
E ditor
Gitanjali Murari
S wami D ivyakripananda
Yuva Kesari
Published and Printed by
Swami Dharmishthananda,  Insights from the Flood Relief Workers 38
Sri Ramakrishna Math Trust, Ramasubramanian o .b.
No. 31, Ramakrishna Math Road,
 The Sacred Geometry 39
Mylapore, Chennai – 600 004 and
Printed at M/s. Rasi Graphics Pvt. Ankit Arora
Limited, No.40, Peters Road,  Vivekananda Way: The Vedanta 40
Royapettah, Chennai – 600 014.
Illumine Knowledge Resources
Website: www.chennaimath.org
E-mail: vk@chennaimath.org  Book Review 44
Ph: 9345663015  The Order on the March 46
Please send your feedback:
vk@chennaimath.org
 The Vedanta Kesari
One hundred and eleven years and going strong….
ri,
Kesa
nta
e Veda 914
Th May 1
His famous address at The World’s Parlia-
ment of Religions, Chicago in 1893 had
catapulted Swami Vivekananda to the status of
a super star. But Swamiji was not one to bask in
chaffy glory. He wrote in a letter dated 12 Jan
1895, ‘I want to preach my ideas for the good of
the world. … What work have you done in the
way of advancing the ideas 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 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 regains her lost glory. Swami-
ji’s panacea for this lay in India’s very own
practical and ennobling Vedantic wisdom. Ve-
danta 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.
For the propagation of the powerful mes-
sage of Vedanta, Swamiji opted for the print
medium and decided to bring out a journal,
giving it the name Brahmavadin. In February
1895, in a letter to his trusted disciple Alasinga
Perumal, he wrote: ‘Now I am bent upon start-
ing the journal. Herewith I send a hundred
dollars … Hope this will go just a little in starting
your paper.’
Brahmavadin became selfless and devoted
Alasinga’s calling and the first issue rolled out
from a press in Broadway, Chennai on 14 Sep-
tember 1895. The birth of the magazine was
certainly an occasion for celebration but the
struggles were far from over. But Alasinga
braved on, surmounting many an impediment.
Sadly, Swamiji passed away in 1902, at the age
The Vedanta Kesari
of thirty-nine. Alasinga’s intense anguish mor-
phed into heightened devotion towards the
magazine. But the next hurdle came in 1909, in
the form of Alasinga’s own demise. In May
1914, the magazine, tottering as it was, floun-
dered and grounded to a halt.
It was at this crucial juncture, that the
Ramakrishna Mission stepped in to revive it.
Had not our beloved Swamiji said, ‘The Brahma-
vadin is a jewel – it must not perish!’ And so, the
very next month when Brahmavadin closed
down, 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
realised. It is the roaring Lion of Vedanta that
forces the foxes of human weaknesses to run to
their holes.
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The Vedanta Kesari 5 February 2024

 ay ic
er
Pr ed
V

।। Tanme Manaḥ Śivasaṃkalpam Astu ।।

May My Mind Dwell On That Which Is Auspicious
(Continued from the previous issue ...)

यत्प्र॒ज्ञान॑मु॒त चेतो॒ धृति॑श्च॒ यज्ज्योति॑र॒न्तर॒मृतं॑ प्र॒जासु॑ ।

यस्मा॒न्न​ऽऋ॒ते किञ्च॒न कर्म॑ क्रि॒यते॒ तन्मे॒ मनः॑ शि॒वस॑ङ्कल्पमस्तु ॥
- Vājasanēyī Samhita, 34-3
Introduction
The 1st and 2nd mantras were explained in the previous issues. The 3rd mantra of the six man-
tras is discussed here.
Mantra Word Meaning
यत् — by whom; by the (grace) of the all-knowing and all-powerful God; प्रज्ञानम् — the best
knowledge and the knowledge in the form of self-prepared inspiration; उत​— not only that; चेतः
— the basic philosophy of disposition or state of the mind or feelings; च — and; धृतिः — firmness,
steadiness, courage, confidence, bravery, valour; यत् — that mahāttava; प्रजासु — in all living beings;
अन्तः — in the subtle part of the heart; अमृतम् — perpetual or eternal; ज्योतिः — self-luminous Jyoti;
यस्मात् ऋते — without which; कर्म — an act or deed (secular or Vedic or Smarta karma); किञ्चन — how
much ever or whatever; न क्रियते — the action of (cannot be done); मनः — omniscience; तत् — that
Ishwara; मे — to self; शिव-संकल्पं — mind with good intentions and auspiciousness; अस्तु — may God
answer our prayers.
Mantra Meaning

Raghava S. Boddupalli, is a Ph.D., Institute of May that soul which is the access to knowl-
Sanskrit and Vedic Studies (ISVS), Sanjayanagar, edge, memory, mental stability, and is the
Bengaluru. imperishable Jyotiswarupa of living beings, with-
out which no work can be done, may that soul

The Vedanta Kesari 6 February 2024

inspire my mind to have good will. No Vedic ritual is performed without God’s grace — let the
omniscient Ishwara, with a heart-full of good will and auspiciousness, answer our prayers.
Explanation
The mind which is endowed with intelligence, memory and determination, and which gains
knowledge of the elements both within and without in the universe and becomes immortal, is what
makes actions possible.
The mind has four aspects to it: Manas (thinking mind), Buddhi (intelligence), Chitta (mem-
ory or impressions) and Ahankara (ego).
Often ‘mind’ is considered to be thoughts. The mind provides (thinks) thousands of thoughts
all the time. Every object stimulates thoughts that disappear later. When a distant memory is re-
called, emotions arise about it and then vanish. This passing or thinking aspect of the mind is called
the Manas. It keeps pouring out unfiltered information. Hence, these Mantras continuously reassert
the need to have auspicious thoughts. These auspicious thoughts do not allow the mind to drift into
harmful thoughts.
When the Manas is left unattended, it will keep giving us many choices that we will not know
what to choose. These endless choices lead to confusion and doubt. That is where Buddhi, the fac-
ulty of intellect (prajnanam), comes into play. The function of Buddhi is to know, judge, decide, and
discriminate. Buddhi provides the right direction that inspires us to move towards Dharma and
Moksha (liberation). It leads the mind from confusion to utmost clarity. Buddhi is often experienced
as the ‘inner voice’ that always tries hard to persuade the Manas to follow the path of Dharma. But
that voice is often drowned by the natural inclination of the Manas to move towards the impres-
sions and stored-up memories in the Chitta.
Chittas (Chetas) means the subconscious mind. It is the storehouse of memory. Our samskaras
or impressions of various past lives are stored here. These impressions are caused by repeated or
habitual patterns of the past, based on thoughts, speech and actions. These impressions are like
waves on the surface of a lake, and they keep rising and falling.
Forcibly stilling the mind will not provide a permanent solution as it will only lead to suppres-
sion. Manonasa (permanent stilling of mind) has to be attained through wisdom and the right action
of removing the seeds that cause agitation and fluttering in the manas. Therefore, buddhi is always
pointing us towards doing sadhanas, Yajña and purifications so that the impressions stored up as
at the Chitta level can get released. When that happens, the ‘waves’ of the Chitta become still and
calm, and become the closest reflection of the Self. Hence, Patanjali declares, ‘yogas chitta-vritti
nirodhah’, meaning yoga is ‘stilling the modifications or fluctuations of the mind impressions’. The
manas which always follows the Chitta then effortlessly sinks into the Self. And hence, Buddhi plays
such an important role.
Ahankara (ego) is the ‘I-sense’ in us. Ego borrows its identification from manas and Chitta. So
the state of manas and Chitta determines the state of ego.
A mind that is powered by the buddhi eventually begins to gain mastery over the five ele-
ments—Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether—and their relative sense perceptions. These five natural
elements are in nature and also in human beings. A subtle and pure mind easily connects with the
one universal mind—the Supreme-Mind. (To be continued. . .)

The Vedanta Kesari 7 February 2024

 l
iar
to
di
E
‘My Devotee Never Perishes’
Qualification to Serve
Whenever we want to appoint a person
for a particular job, we check for the aptitude of
that person to perform that job. The broadly
understood post-colonial model is to fix the
nature of the job first and then train the work-
ers or design the education system accordingly.
This model helped the governments to design
a simple education system that produces grad-
uates required for various agencies of the
government and that largely served their pur-
pose. We want qualified people for designated
jobs. The complete spectrum of employment is
so much compartmentalised that there is no
scope for little deviation or freedom for evolu-
tion. If we take a peek into the system of
training adopted by our ancient teachers, we
will find a completely different paradigm of
education.
In the olden times, the emphasis happens
to be on individual development. Rather than
defining the final outcome of the individual’s
development at the outset as in the form of
what qualification he is going to achieve, for
example, engineer, doctor and so on, they kept
on improvising the environment of the individ-
ual, so that one could explore the best possible
outcome of one’s individual development and
at the same time contribute to the society at
large.
For example, in Ramayana, could we
imagine Sri Rama setting up some kind of army
training institute for the vanaras so that they
will be capable of fighting the war in Lanka?
The Vedanta Kesari
What we rather see is the infusion of dedication
in the vanaras towards the goal Sri Rama was
pursuing and making it a collective goal of larg-
er humanity. If we reasonably consider those
vanaras as initially unqualified for fighting the
armed battle, then we must be surprised at
their later achievements. As it is said, अमन्त्रम्
अक्षरं नास्ति, नास्ति मूलमनौषधम् । अयोग्यः पुरुषो नास्ति,
योजकस्तत्र दुर्लभः ।—There is no letter which
doesn’t have a charm, there is no root which
doesn’t have medicinal properties. There is no
person who is not able, but rare is the one who
knows his or her capabilities.
Dynamics of Evolution Through Service
As there is a cause behind every effect,
there is a cause also behind the birth of every
human being. Everyone is born with a purpose
to fulfill. If the surroundings of an individual
does not provide the ambience for him or her
to explore the cause for which they were born,
then it may damage their very life force. The
more the life force (prana), gets into complexi-
ties, the more difficult is our journey to
perfection. Therefore, a sincere seeker after
perfection is required to purify his pranas be-
fore commencing any of his sadhanas. Once this
is done, one gets clear light on which path to
proceed.
In the primitive stage of evolution, a per-
son is selfish and thinks of oneself as entitled
to attention and wants to be served by others.
In this immature state of mind, one thinks that
his family or financial status are enough to
impose one’s superiority on others and ex-
8 February 2024
pects others to fulfill all of one’s needs and
wants. Such self-centredness creates a vicious
atmosphere around oneself and bars any no-
ble idea or emotion from entering one’s life. If
such claims of entitlement start growing in
society, then there would be more prob-
lem-creators than problem-solvers. Therefore,
one must at least understand the necessity of
giving before taking something. After a little
evolution of mind, such a person enters the
next stage.
In the mediocre stage of self-develop-
ment, a person has a sense of duty. He
understands the benefit of give and take rela-
tionships in the world and thrives by sharing
with others what he wants others to share with
him. He would not like to sabotage social stabil-
ity for his own sake.
In the higher stage of evolution, one be-
comes more and more unselfish. He gives what
he can without expecting anything in return.
He often bears losses to help others and at
times is even criticised by those people whom
he had helped. Having been in a similar situa-
tion several times, Pandit Ishwarchandra
Vidyasagar, upon hearing that such and such a
person was vilifying him, would question, ‘Had
I ever helped that person in the past?’ If such a
noble minded person is not devoted to God or
is not religious, then such sufferings may reach
the limits of his patience and he may in the end
turn negative and pessimistic. On the other
hand, the devotee of God gets constant inspira-
tion to serve God in all forms of humanity. He
is least likely to get perturbed by the blows of
the society that he is serving as God. He is hap-
py to take all the blows as rebuke from his
beloved God and bear the sufferings with pa-
tience in silence. Even in the face of calamity,
the servant of God remembers His promise: न
मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति — ‘My devotee never perishes’
(Gita, 9.31).
The Vedanta Kesari
The Divine Assurance
The unselfish people in the world are
those who are on the receiving end of misery
and sufferings. They seldom get the happiness
and respect that a person of worldly achieve-
ments gets. Yet, they stick to their guns and
struggle to keep their spirits high. They leave all
expectations to get anything in this world and
the next. Among these persons, those who are
devotees of God are assured by Him of yoga,
acquiring that which one doesn’t possess and
kshema, preserving that which is already ac-
quired. As Sri Samartha Ramdas says in his
Manache Shlok, Instructions for the Mind, ‘नुपेक्षी
कदा राम दासाभिमानी’— ‘the Lord is proud of his
devotees and never forsakes them’.
Suggested Prayers
In a similar tune, Upanishads are recom-
mending us to pray like this: ‘माहं ब्रह्म निराकुर्यां मा
मा ब्रह्म निराकरोदनिराकरणमस्त्वनिराकरणं मेऽस्तु …’—
Every­thing is Brahman, of which the Upanishads
speak. May I never turn away from Brahman.
May Brahman never turn me away. Let there be
no turning away, no turning away at least on my
side. May I be devoted to God. May God not deny
His existence (His grace and blessing) to me.
Swamiji too teaches us to pray in the fol-
lowing way:
Stick to God! Who cares what comes to
the body or to anything else! Through the ter-
rors of evil, say—my God, my love! Through the
pangs of death, say—my God, my love! Through
all the evils under the sun, say—my God, my
love! Thou art here, I see Thee. Thou art with
me, I feel Thee. I am Thine, take me. Do not go
for glass beads leaving the mine of diamonds!
This life is a great chance. What, seekest thou
the pleasures of the world?—he is the fountain
of all bliss. Seek for the highest, aim at that
highest, and you shall reach the highest (CW,
6.262: Letter dated 31st July 1894).
9 February 2024
 le
ic
rt
Vivekananda’s Experiment with
A
Spiritual Methods
Swami Satyapriyananda
S
pirituality admits experimentation as a
science, which Swami Vivekananda car-
ried out in the East and in the West. Here
are two passages to understand why Swamiji
decided to conduct the experimentation, ‘Dual-
ism and Non-dualism’.
Passage 1: In the talk, ‘My Plan of Cam-
paign’ delivered at the Victoria Hall, Chennai, on
9 February 1897, Swamiji said in support of
Dualism:1
It has become a trite saying that idolatry
is wrong, and every man swallows it at the
present time without questioning. I once
thought so, and to pay the penalty of that I
had to learn my lesson sitting at the feet of a
man who realised everything through idols; I
The author is a sannyasi of the Ramakrishna
Order and lives in Belur Math.
The Vedanta Kesari
allude to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. If such
Ramakrishna Paramahamsas are produced by
idol-worship, what will you have? … Produce
such noble natures by any means you can. Yet
idolatry is condemned … because some hun-
dreds of years ago some man of Jewish blood
happened to condemn everybody else’s idols
except his own. …
Passage 2: In his lecture, ‘Is Vedanta the
Future Religion?’ delivered in San Francisco on
8 April 1900, during his second trip to the West,
Swamiji said in support of both Dualism and
Non-dualism:2
Sometimes I agree that there is some
good in the dualistic method: it helps many
who are weak. If a man wants you to show
him the polar star, you first point out to him a
bright star near it, then a less bright star, then
a dim star, and then the polar star. This pro-
cess makes it easy for him to see it. … All the
10 February 2024
 various practices and trainings, Bibles and
Gods, are but the rudiments of religion, the
kindergartens of religion.
He raises the question, ‘How long will the
world have to wait to reach the truth if it fol-
lows this slow, gradual process? And where is
the surety that it will ever succeed to any ap-
preciable degree? After all, gradual or not
gradual, easy or not easy to the weak, is not the
dualistic method based on falsehood? Are not
all the prevalent religious practices often weak-
ening and therefore wrong?’ The masses ‘have
been taught to consider themselves helpless,
miserable creatures and to depend upon the
mercy of some person or persons for salvation.’
Curiously, many saints have been produced
following the slow but gradual path of Dualism.
He predicted, ‘The hour comes when great
men shall arise and cast off these kindergartens
of religion and shall make vivid and powerful
the true religion, the worship of the spirit by the
spirit.’
The Experiment: Dualism and Non-dualism
The experimental approach of Swamiji
sparks forth in the second of the above
speeches:3
I want to make the experiment. The
teachings of Vedanta … were never really ex-
perimented with before. Although Vedanta is
the oldest philosophy in the world, it has al-
ways become mixed up with superstitions
and everything else.
Everyone says that the highest, the pure,
truth cannot be realised all at once by all, that
men have to be led to it gradually through wor-
ship, prayer, and other kinds of prevalent
religious practices. I am not sure whether that
is the right method or not. In India I work both
ways: In Kolkata, I have all these images and
temples — in the name of God and the Vedas,
of the Bible and Christ and Buddha. … But on
The Vedanta Kesari
the heights of the Himalayas I have a place
where I am determined nothing shall enter
except pure truth. … I wish I had been brought
up entirely on that, without all the dualistic
superstitions.
The East and the West
Several philosophers—Ramanujacharya
(Ramanuja), Nimbarka, Madhvacharya (Madh-
va), Vallabhacharya (Vallabha), Sri Krishna
Chaitanya—established the Bhakti Schools of
Vedanta on a strong foundation. 4 Several
saint-poets – men, women and even young boys
and girls – were born in India who reached high
spiritual states called Bhāva, and poured forth
their rich inner experiences and deep yearning
for God-vision as well as God’s love for His dev-
otees in poems surcharged by the expression of
love. These lives form the subject-matter of
several devotional movies also. There is also
portrayal of gods in images becoming living and
visible to help their devotees in times of crisis.
Some foreigners, and not just Indians alone, too
were compelled to believe that these incidents
are real occurrences.
Three of the above-mentioned philoso-
phers were born on the sacred soil of South
India. They are Madhva, Ramanuja and Shanka-
racharya (Shankara). People in South India are
quite aware of the contribution of these three
eminent philosophers and of others to the web
of India’s spiritual thought. They look upon
Dualism, Qualified Non-dualism and Non-Dual-
ism as three progressive thoughts of Vedanta,
one following the other. Each of these has a vi-
brant following even to this day.
Shankara is credited with the philosophy
of Non-dualism. However, this system requires
‘absolute abstinence from action and attach-
ments, in the case of those who want to realise the
identity of Atman with Brahman’.5 In the com-
mentary on Vivekachudamani by H. H.
11 February 2024
Chandrasekhara Bharati translated into English
by P. Sankaranarayanan and published by the
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, we find in the discus-
sion under verse 2 that the aspirant for
Non-dualistic sadhana should possess a human
body, be a male, excluding (a) the Kshatriyas who
have to be engaged for a greater part of their time
in ruling over their kingdom, (b) the Vaishyas
busily engaged in agriculture, trade, etc., (c) Shu-
dras who by reason of not having a sharp intellect
are fit only for menial works, and (d) women be-
cause they are involved in child-bearing and
child-rearing activities. Study of the Vedas and
reasoning based on such studies are ‘whole-time’
occupations. This rules out a large section of the
population! A philosophy may be grand and
stout, but it must be applicable in the daily lives
of vast masses of humanity. That is, it must be
practical in the daily lives of the masses. Non-du-
alism is purely philosophy which can stand on its
own feet without the need for a theosophical
support. However, what is achieved is: ‘total
cessation of misery and attainment of supreme
joy’ for the sadhaka; there is nothing in it for
others resulting from the sadhaka’s sadhana. A
person who is hungry or sick must take the med-
icines or prescribed diet oneself; it cannot be
done by proxy. Thus there arises the question of
utility and feasibility of Advaita Vedanta of Shan-
kara as understood today.
We have other philosophers who are not
‘mere armchair philosophers, but great men—
great in intelligence and great in the sublimity
of their lives.’6 ‘Their most distinguishing fea-
ture is their insistence on devotion to a
personal deity with auspicious attributes as the
means of salvation, and the Jiva’s distinction
from that deity in bondage as well as in salva-
tion. There are several other subsidiary
differences arising from this.’7
‘Those who cherish devotion to a Person-
al Deity with auspicious attributes may find
The Vedanta Kesari
Shankara’s Non-dualism insufficient. It is for
this reason that within three centuries after
Shankara, the voice of dissent was heard from
Bhaskaracharya (Bhaskara) and afterwards by
a succession of Vaishnava teachers headed by
Ramanuja.’8
According to them, the Vedas do not make
a distinction between the Absolute (Brahman)
and God (Ishvara), or equate the Jiva with Brah-
man. They hold that the Vedantic scriptures
reveal (a) an ultimately real God with infinite
auspicious attributes, (b) that samsara and
liberation are real, and (c) that spiritual sadha-
na is … a real and earnest striving. They further
maintain that (d) Divine Grace is the main fac-
tor in the liberation of the Jiva from samsara.
Spiritual disciplines are meant (e) not merely
for purification of mind, but directly for the at-
tainment of salvation. They maintain that (f) a
subject and an object are the irreducible mini-
m u m i n ex p e r i e n ce , a n d t h a t ( g ) a
subject-objectless existence without attributes
is either a metaphysical fiction or at the most a
Nihil (a Sūnya). (h) Sense perception is not a
subjective projection or an illusory appearance,
but an apprehension of something having an
objective counterpart forming a segment of
reality. All these ideas, which go counter to
Shankara’s metaphysics and religion, they jus-
tify by reason supported by scriptural
statements which they claim to interpret in the
light of Mimamsa rules of interpretation, as
Shankara too does.9
Swami Tapasyananda writes: ‘Ramanuja’s
was the first comprehensive criticism of the Ve-
danta as expounded by Shankara some three
centuries before him. The other schools of Bhak-
ti Vedanta that came after him have only taken
up his criticisms and teachings with minor
re-statements to suit their theological leanings.’10
Madhva was a critic of Shankara’s Non-du-
alism and also of Ramanuja’s Qualified
12 February 2024
Non-dualism. ‘Madhva’s system of Dualism is
the most powerful reaction to the extreme ide-
alistic trend verging on solipsism that overtook
the Non-dualistic Vedanta preached by Shanka-
ra about four centuries earlier.’11 It must be
noted here that Tapasyananda himself was an
erudite scholar who rose to become a Vice
President of the Ramakrishna Order.
In Support of Dualism
Everything is not in favour of Non-dual-
ism, nor is everything wrong with Dualism,
seeing that it produced even in modern times
when science almost rules the roost, a Rama­
krishna, ‘the consummation of two thousand
years of the spiritual life of three hundred mil-
lion people’ as correctly stated by Romain
Rolland. He would have been eligible for vener-
ation even for his vision of the Divine Mother;
he even became universal owing to the spec-
trum of spiritual practices he underwent of
different sects of Hinduism, difficult-to-practise
Tantra sadhana, Non-dualstic realisation under
Totapuriji that broadened his spiritual canvas
to include Christianity and Islam, demonstrat-
ing through personal realisation that all
spiritual paths lead to the same goal.
There were others, far too many to re-
count, who had reached the loftiest heights of
spiritual realisations through the path of devo-
tion under the guidance of Ramakrishna
himself. One such is Gopala’s Mother (Gopal-
er-Ma). Swamiji had seen her ecstatic states in
person and acknowledged the truth of her real-
isations. He even told his American and English
disciples that ‘she represented an era of ancient
Indian ideals of purity and devotion.’
Secondly, Dualism is said to be the kinder-
garten of spiritual life. That is not a blame, for
such gradation exists even in secular education.
For people with weak minds it is easier to ob-
serve some drills, because they find it difficult
The Vedanta Kesari
to exercise their
brains in sophisticat-
ed reasoning, when
confronted with the
many immediate
problems of worldly
life.
Thirdly, Dualism
is a convenient re-
ligious approach
where one can
lean upon the cho-
sen Deity whenever
one is in distress. ‘Open
the heart and pray to God; He listens to even
the footfalls of an ant. He will respond to your
genuine prayer.’ There is no tangible proof or
response that God listens to one’s prayers and
answers them in the way he wants them to be
answered. No proof is needed for the devout
who have the conviction that God’s Will is the
best for them.
Fourthly, Dualism does not require strin-
gent rules of competence from the aspirants as
required by Non-dualism. So, the fallen, the
struggling, the backward, anyone who seeks
sympathy as also the evolved—even those who
are busily involved in activities and have no
time to spare to adopt the Non-dualistic ap-
proach, all find a suitable broad window for
themselves in Dualism. In fact, history has on
record that great saints have come up from the
lower ranks which were condemned by society.
In Support of Non-dualism
Against these and possibly other argu-
ments in favour of Dualism, one may argue that,
Dualism is falsehood. God alone is. Where is the
scope for another entity? How can a Dualistic
approach based on the false multiplicity in ex-
istence lead one to the Truth of Oneness of
existence? Prayers are answered claim the
13 February 2024
Dualists; these prayers are answered not from
without but from within claim the Non-dualists.
The problem in reducing God to a Person is:
where is He located?
A Personal God is too demanding: one
must surrender oneself entirely to Him in
thought, word and deed. This would lead to
fanaticism. Several historical wars took place
due to religious fanaticism.
Again, the scriptures of these various re-
ligions come into conflict: which of these
scriptures are right and which ones false?
Which scripture is the most superior among
them all? Should the scripture be in agreement
with social conventions and expectations? If
need arises can the scriptures be altered to suit
the changing social needs? Is the content of the
scriptures sacrosanct? These questions are
very relevant in today’s world.
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Way
Look at the way Ramakrishna handled the
breaking of the leg of the image of Krishna in
the Radhakanta temple at Dakshineswar,
saying that He should be treated like the
injured son-in-law in the family, and
that the broken leg of the image should
be repaired. He pointed out simultane-
ously to a higher dimension of perception
that Krishna being Akhanda (Indivisi-
ble), cannot be broken by the
mere breaking of a leg of His
image. This is the ‘Personal –
Impersonal’ approach, side
by side.
The Deity transcends
the image; the Deity and
not the image is
the object of wor-
ship. Vivekananda
explained that God
is in the image as
The Vedanta Kesari
He is everywhere; it is therefore alright to wor-
ship God in the image but it is not correct to
worship the image as God. Thus he differentiat-
ed image worship from mere idolatry.
Ramakrishna said that the human being should
likewise be worshipped as divine (Shiva-
jnane-jivaseva).
Swami Vivekananda in the West
In the West, Swamiji gave lectures span-
ning Dualism and Non-dualism. It may be
asked, why Swamiji placed Non-dualistic Ve-
danta before his western listeners who could
not abstain from actions and attachment, and
devote time wholly for Advaita sadhana. Swam-
iji said that the people in the West had finished
with bhoga and were ready for yoga.
Swamiji did not preach Vedanta using
‘wonderful methods of joining words, rhetorical
powers, and explaining texts of the books in
various ways – these are only for the enjoyment
of the learned, and not religion.’12 He preached
practical Vedanta, (a) which was derived from
the realisations of Ramakrishna: God alone
is and He has become the universe, living
beings, twenty-four cosmic principles,
incarnations and all of nature; (b) which
had gone ‘beyond what was recorded in
the Vedas and Vedanta’; (c) in which there
was ‘a state higher than even samadhi’;
(d) that could be practised in the
work-a-day world observing
that ‘whatever exists is God
Himself’; (e) that stated Truth
directly ‘without the … hypo-
crites, who invent all sorts of
engines of tyranny in the shape
of doctrines of Paramarthika
and Vyavaharika’13; (f) and
prescribed the method of
‘service to human beings
in the spirit of wor-
14 February 2024
ship of God’, which finds great appeal. This
flavour of Non-dualism suited the East and the
West alike.
As to why Swamiji preached Vedanta
based on Ramakrishna’s realisations, without
directly mentioning Ramakrishna, it is said, ‘the
people of the West were proud of their science
and of their philosophies based on science and
reason. They had to be shown … the Vedanta, a
teaching embodying spiritual values, which is
in agreement with the trends of science and
rational cogitation. On the other hand, if he had
expounded the Indian Bhakti system or the
personal life of Ramakrishna, they would have
felt that they had something to match with it in
Christianity and did not require a missionary
from India to teach parallel doctrines. To those
who came to him closely with the intention of
practising spiritual discipline, he spoke about
Bhakti also according to their competency.’14
Consider well, Indians, did you ever lack philos-
ophy, or religion or spiritual realisation that
you aped the West?
Swamiji was looking into the future when
he said that gifted children will be born who
will take to the Non-dualistic method. This is
why he thought of the experiment of directly
following the Non-dualistic method instead of
the gradual Dualistic method. In his experiment
in Mayavati, Swamiji found out on his only visit
to the Advaita Ashrama in January 1901 that a
shrine had been set up with Ramakrishna as
References
1) Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda [Hereafter
CW], 3:218.
2) CW, 8:140-41.
3) CW, 8:140-41.
4) Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, Swami Tapasyananda,
(Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1990), [Hereafter,
Bhakti Schools]
5) Ibid., p. xii.
6) Ibid., p. xvi.
The Vedanta Kesari
the Deity! While there is no shrine in the Advai-
ta Ashrama at Mayavati today, the monastic
inmates follow the same spiritual practice —
cessation of the modifications of the mind stuff
through devotion. There is not another centre
yet free from ritualism and distribution of the
holy prasad!
The major conclusions of Non-dualism are
the Divinity of the Soul and Oneness of Exist-
ence. A life-style which embodies these two
principles is what is needed. Therein lies the
genius of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. The
psycho-physical domain is God only and need
not be rejected as unreal; in that resides the
Jiva. So here is a case of the Jiva and God occu-
pying the same psycho-physical domain. One is
to seek God in all of existence.15
The God within regulates our thoughts
and actions. Interpersonal relationships get
divinised. A socially disadvantaged person is
seen as the divine and served. Just as a temple
has to be first cleansed to give it an environ-
ment fit for worship, the service to the needy is
to make the person the Taj Mahal of all temples.
Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘religion is not for
empty stomachs’. During his pilgrimage with
Mathurnath Biswas, he insisted twice that Ma-
thur should serve the poor of the locality with
oil for bathing, clothing and food even if the
expense was too huge to prevent the continuing
of the pilgrimage. Did not Mother Kali do like-
wise with Rani Rasmani?
7) Ibid., p. ix.
8) Ibid., p. ix.
9) Ibid., pp. xi-xii.
10) Ibid., p. 31.
11) Ibid., p. 127.
12) CW, 2:164.
13) CW, 5:15.
14) Bhakti Schools, p. xxiv.
15) CW, 4:496.
15 February 2024
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Operation Narada
Swami Atmavikasananda

(Continued from the previous issue ...)

I
n the previous part we saw that after Narada
defeated lust and anger, he went to meet
Lord Shiva and boasted to him about his
victory over Kamadev and thereafter, carrying
the victory torch, he went to meet Lord Vishnu.
Every act of the Lord is for the well-being of his
devotees, but once in a while the method
adopted is unique. It depends on the spiritual
The author is a sannyasi of the Ramakrishna
Order and serves at the Ramakrishna Mission
Headquarters, Belur Math.
aspirant’s aptitude and the extent to which the
disease has spread. The more severe the dis-
ease, more intense is the treatment. Ultimately,
the blessings and compassion of the Lord are
the driving force behind this treatment. Ma-
harshi Narada was suffering from such a deadly
disease. He narrated the story of his victory
over lust to Lord Vishnu in a self-boasting man-
ner but at the same time he was pretending to
be humble; but Lord Vishnu had realised that
Narada was bitten by the bug called ego and if

The Vedanta Kesari 16 February 2024

this tree of egotism spread its branches, it
would bring about destruction of his favourite
devotee. Hence, in order to free him of this vice,
Lord Vishnu came up with a Lila. After having
boasted about his feat, as Narada was returning
from Vaikuntha to Prithvilok, Lord Vishnu cast
his spell or Maya on Narada’s way.
On his way back to Earthly realm, Narada
came across a large kingdom named Suyojan.
Sheelanidhi was the ruler of this kingdom. The
city of Suyojan was extremely beautiful. The
people of the kingdom were as good looking as
Kamadev. Narada was surprised to see such an
amazing city. On so many occasions he had
travelled by this route to Vaikuntha, but he had
never come across this city. Who was the ruler
of this city and why was the city decorated
with huge pandals and shamiyanas? When he
asked the people around, he was told that ar-
rangements for princess Vishwamohini’s
swayamwar—a type of marriage where a wom-
an chose a man as her husband from a group of
suitors—were underway. The kings and em-
perors from faraway countries had come
together for the swayamwar. When King Shee-
lanidhi heard that the great sage, Narada was
in his city he considered this to be a good omen
and invited Narada to his palace. The king was
extremely pleased with this coincidence. The
princess was summoned. Vishwamohini salut-
ed the saint with folded hands. Her name
completely justified her beauty. In fact, she was
more beautiful than the angels of heaven. Nara-
da could not take his eyes off her. He was
mesmerized by her beauty and thought to
himself, ‘She is so beautiful!’
A mere glance from Vishwamohini was
enough for Narada to discard his sense of dis-
crimination, dispassion and knowledge. In the
book ‘Vivekachudamani’, there is a very beauti-
ful description about how a deer, elephant,
moth, fish and black bee die when they get ad-
The Vedanta Kesari
dicted to the five senses namely sound, touch,
light, taste and smell. The deer gets attracted to
sound, the huge elephant to touch, moth to
light, fish to the taste of the food tied to the bait
and bee to the smell of honey, and thus, they
bring about their own destruction. So, one can
only imagine the plight of human beings who
are drawn towards these five senses. Just beau-
ty was enough to bowl over Narada. He, who
had gained victory over lust was now filled with
desire.
A time comes in one’s life when one suc-
cumbs to the five senses and thus, makes a fool
of himself. One surrenders in situations when it
is not necessary to surrender, surrenders be-
fore people who are not worthy of such an act.
Before falling prey to the senses, a person
thinks, ‘I will enjoy it one last time; experienc-
ing it once will not cause any harm; after this I
will control myself’. And this is what happens
every time and it is too late before one realises
that all his actions have had a cascading effect.
Not just spiritual aspirants, but even common-
ers go through such situations, and these
learnings can act as a guide to all those who
want to prosper in life.
Lust is invisible. The curse of Lord Shiva
has made it invisible. Sometimes it is easy to
fight an open battle than face someone who is
resorting to guerilla warfare. Lust spreads its
web in different forms, using different means.
Narada easily got entangled in this web. In re-
ality, the moment he saw this enchanting city,
his sense of discrimination should have alerted
him; but the truth is that lust and ego can make
anyone blind.
Now, Narada wanted to study Vishwamo-
hini’s palm. It was fine as long as he was
mesmerized by her beauty, but this was taking
it a bit too far. Just as diabetes causes the or-
gans to fail one after the other, in a similar
manner, lust takes control of the senses. It does
17 February 2024
not attack at one go. It kills the queen, knight,
rook, bishop and pawns on a chessboard and
catches the helpless king alone. Narada now did
not care much for knowledge, discrimination,
dispassion, reasoning or ridicule. He was total-
ly consumed by lust! So, it is very important to
be wary of lust. Here, lust does not only imply
sexual pleasure, it means any desire that is
driven by pleasure and greed. It can be desire
for money or desire for fame. Such desires be-
come the cause of one’s downfall. Hence
beware! Excess of lust-anger-greed in our life
disturbs the balance of life, and here Narada
had all these in ample quantity. Gradually greed
was spreading its wings, ready to act.
Even Lord Vishnu, whom Narada wor-
shipped wholeheartedly, had to go to exile due to
Kaikeyi’s greed. Manthara is ‘greed’ and Kaikeyi
is ‘action’. Manthara had stayed in Ayodhya for a
considerable period of time but till then she had
not caused any damage. However, when greed
and action worked together hand in hand, it was
the start of destruction. In day to day life, one
has to take some action to carry on in life, and it
is also natural to feel greedy, but one should be
cautious that greed does not cross its limit. It is
perfectly fine to take some action for the sake of
gaining something but not for the sake of greed.
There is a thin line between gain and greed. Gain
can change into greed in the blink of an eye. As
long as action is driven by greed, it can be kept
under control but when action drives greed,
destruction is inevitable. Narada was now get-
ting into the second situation.
After studying Vishwamohini’s palm,
Narada learnt that whoever married her would
be immortal. Kamadev’s arrows, though late,
were now showing their effect on Narada. Nara-
da thought, this was a great scheme, buy one get
one free!! Immortality free with Vishwamohini!
The arrow had found its target. But Narada had
misread the future. Temptation makes one turn
The Vedanta Kesari
a blind eye towards common sense. It blurs the
other things and the person only concentrates
on ways to achieve the desired object. That is
what happened to Narada. The actual prediction
was that an immortal male will marry Vish-
wamohini. But what was Narada’s prediction?
One who married that girl would become im-
mortal. He interpreted it in such a way so as to
suit his need. Narada, who had now become
selfish, decided to marry the girl. But he was
now posed with a serious problem. He was sure
that since he was not beautiful, the princess
would never marry him. He thought, ‘I must
look extremely beautiful, if I want her to marry
me. Now, who is the most beautiful person in
this whole world?’ After thinking for some time,
he realised that there is no one as beautiful as
the Sri Hari himself and decided that he should
request the Lord himself to make him beautiful.’
A person infected by temptation does not
behave any differently. He has no shame. He
does not care for the mockery directed towards
him by other people. A great sage like Narada
was going to make an appeal for beauty. He was
getting impatient since he did not have the time
to go to Vaikuntha. The swayamwar was about
to start. He thought, ‘If I pray to the Lord, he
will appear before me. It’s better that I call him
here rather than going to Vaikuntha’.
Lust or any other form of desire unsettles
the mind. It makes one restless. One is unable to
discriminate properly. Similarly, Narada had
some doubts in his mind. He said to himself,
‘What if the Lord refuses to give his beauty? He
will definitely try to dissuade me from getting
married and ask me to worship him for the rest
of my life. It will be better if I do not tell him the
purpose of this request. To accomplish a big
task, secrecy is of utmost importance, else it can
create a complete mess. Without divulging any
details, I will just request the Lord to give his
beauty.’ Having taken the decision, Narada
18 February 2024
prayed to Lord Vishnu to appear before him and
the Lord, who always thought of the well-being
of his devotee, appeared immediately.
Narada folded his hands and said, ‘O Lord,
I have a special request for you. I want to bor-
row your appearance. I want to be beautiful like
you.’ The Lord said, ‘Narada, you are more
beautiful than me. So many Yogis practise aus-
terities to attain such beauty. But why do you
want my appearance?’ Not wanting to divulge
any details, Narada hastily replied, ‘O Lord,
please do not reject my request. I have a very
special task to perform. I have never asked you
for anything. But today I request you for your
beauty.’ Lord Vishnu understood that Narada
was entangled in the web of lust. But a true
doctor does not prescribe a medicine which can
harm his patient. Lord Vishnu said, ‘If you wish
to borrow Sri Hari’s appearance, I will give it to
you; but remember that your welfare will be
foremost in my mind.’ Saying this the Lord dis-
appeared. The swayamwar was due to take
place shortly. The kings and emperors who had
come to attend the swayamwar were sitting in
their finest attire. But Narada was taking slow
confident steps because now he had no reason
to worry. There was no one as good looking and
as handsome as him at the swayamwar. Narada
took his seat and saw that Lord Shiva’s two
disciples, known as Rudraganas, were sitting
next to him. Ignoring the decorum of the gath-
ering, they both were laughing at Narada. ‘One
cannot expect manners from these Rudraganas’,
thought Narada and waited impatiently for the
swayamwar to begin. And finally, king Sheelani-
dhi’s beautiful daughter Vishwamohini entered
the swayamwar hall with a garland in her hand.
(To be continued ...)

In Belur Math, on the bank of Ganga, there is a temple dedicated to Swami Brahmananda, the
spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna and the first president of the Ramakrishna Order. He is also known as ‘Raja
Maharaj’, ‘Rakhal Maharaj’ or simply ‘Maharaj’. His temple stands on the spot where his body was cre-
mated on his passing away on 10 April 1922. It was dedicated by Swami Shivananda on 7 February 1924,
Maharaj’s birthday.
The temple has a marble image of Swami Brahmananda. Sri Ramakrishna once declared him to be
a boyhood companion of Sri Krishna in his earlier birth. As if to remind that fact, there is a little image of
child Krishna below Swami Brahmananda’s image. It is worshipped on special occasions like Sri Krishna
Janmashtami. On the top of the temple dome there is a Chakra (Disc), symbolising Maha Vishnu’s weapon.
The upper storey of the temple is maintained as Maharaj’s bedroom; it has a cot and a few other things
used by him. It is opened to the public once a year on Maharaj’s birthday.
This year 2024 is being commemorated as the centenary year of this Temple.

19
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Features of a Holy Man

Swami Japasiddhananda

(Continued from the previous issue ...)

Lead: Exclusive benefits of holy company

were mentioned in the second verse. Subse-
quent to it, now the factors that lead to such
greatness are presented in the next two verses.
3. Characteristic features of a Sādhu
तापं शान्तं कामरोषादिजन्यं
कूटं क्रौर्यं कल्मषं चाऽपि मृग्यम्।
ज्ञानं चर्यं रामकृष्णादिनव्यं
साधुर् यस्मिन् भाति कल्याण-शीलम् ॥३॥
Translation: He is a Sādhu in whom, the
fire, born of lust and fury, is doused, craft, cru-
elty and sin are absent, knowledge and
behaviour praised (endorsed) by Rama,
­Krishna etc., are present, and, shines benign
and auspicious character.
Notes:
1. Rāmakṛṣṇādinavyaṃ—‘praised (endorsed) by
Rama, Krishna, etc.’: This word also refers to
Bhagavān Śrīrāmakṛṣṇa-paramahaṃsa-deva.
The expression jñānaṃ caryaṃ rāmakṛṣṇā-
di-navyaṃ, can also mean ‘the neo gospel and
life of Sri Ramakrishna, etc.’ In that case, by
‘etc.’ is meant Śrī-Sāradādevī, Svāmī
Vivekānanda, Svāmī Brahmānanda, and the
galaxy of spiritual luminaries who came with
Sri Ramakrishna, as also the revered illu-
mined monks of the holy Ramakrishan Order.
The author, a sannyasi of the Ramakrishna Order, is The word navyaṃ has two meanings: ‘fit to be
serving as the Head of the Department of Sanskrit praised’, and ‘new’. The first sense is derived
and Philosophy, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda
Educational and Research Institute (Deemed-to-be- by adding the suffix yat to the root ṇu stutau
University) Belur Math, West Bengal. of the adādi (second) conjugation. The second

The Vedanta Kesari 20 February 2024

 sense comes from the abstract form of the
noun nava ‘new’. Both the senses are relevant
here.
This word Rāmakṛṣṇādinavyaṃ, in ei-
ther sense highlights the necessity of
authentication of the realisation and conduct
of a Sādhu. Spiritual attainments should be
testified and endorsed by scriptures and the
tradition of illumined souls. The Gītā, there-
fore, gives the due place for tradition: evaṃ
paramparā-­prāptamimaṃ…, ‘thus got by un-
interrupted succession (tradition)’.10
Ācārya Śrī-Śaṅkara-bhagavatpāda11 in
his commentary on the Gītā, elsewhere, says
in unmistakeable terms: asampradāyavit sar-
vaśāstravidapi mūrkhavad-evopekṣaṇīyaḥ,
‘one who is ignorant of the tradition, though
learned in all scriptures, should be ignored
very much like an idiot’.12 In his commentary
on the Muṇḍaka-Upaniṣad Shankara explicitly
forbids independent venture into Brahman,
where he says, śāstrajño’pi svātantryeṇa brah-
majñānānveṣaṇaṃ na kuryād—‘even he who
is knowledgeable in scriptures, should not
pursue the knowledge of Brahman inde-
pendently’.13 Thus ‘Rāmakṛṣṇādinavyaṃ’, is a
very relevant and essential term here.
2. Kūṭaṃ krauryaṃ kalmaṣaṃ cā’pi mṛgyam
—‘he is a Sādhu in whom craft, cruelty and sin
are absent’: Swamiji wanted his followers to
be men and women of impeccable character
even as he himself was. In a letter to Alasinga
Perumal from New York on 19th November,
1894, Swamiji wrote: ‘There should not be a
breath of immorality, nor a stain of policy
which is bad’.14 In another letter from America
on 23 January 1896, Swamiji made it clear: ‘…
I would have no traitors, I tell you plainly,... No
hypocrisy with me’.15 Again, elsewhere he
wrote: ‘No great work can be achieved by
humbug’.16 An attempt is made to capture
these ideas here in this verse. Swamiji spoke
The Vedanta Kesari
in English what the scriptures conveyed in
Sanskrit. For instance, scriptures say:
v ‘na yeṣu jihmamanṛtaṃ na māyā ceti- in
whom there is no crookedness, no falsity,
no pretence.’17
v ‘alūkṣā dharmakāmāḥ syuḥ- (those who
are) not cruel, and intent upon achieving
merit’18, and
v Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣat- emphasises sin-
lessness, as in ‘yaśca śrotriyo-­‘vṛjino’-
­kāmahataḥ’.19
3. Sādhur yasmin bhāti kalyāṇa-śīlam—‘he is a
Sādhu in whom shines benign and auspicious
character’: Swamiji always insisted on charac-
ter formation, rather than mere scriptural
study. He once said: ‘If one man is made, it
equals the result of a hundred thousand lec-
tures’.20 Mahatma Gandhi also said: ‘An ounce
of practice is worth more than tons of preach-
ing’.21 Formation of an impeccable character
is a bounden duty of an aspiring Sādhu. Swa-
miji said: ‘...first make character – that is the
highest duty you can perform’.22 In the case of
a liberated Sādhu, his character becomes a
source of inspiration and solace for others,
for, he is the manifest God, the abode of all
benediction and prosperity. Scriptures say:
nityotsavo bhavet teṣāṃ nitya-śrīr-nitya-maṅ-
galam / yeṣāṃ hṛdistho bhagavān
maṅgalā-yatano hariḥ //
Lead: A Sādhu in whom the aforemen-
tioned features are manifest, excells in various
areas of human activity, some of which are
stated below.
4. Sādhu Excels in …
निःसन्देहं दर्शनं तस्य शास्त्रे
निःसंकोचं शासनं त्वात्ममात्रे।
निष्प्रत्यूहं यानमध्यात्मयोगे
निःसङ्गत्वं साधुशस्त्रं प्रयोगे ॥४॥
Translation: Sādhu is one whose under-
standing of scriptures is free of doubts,
21 February 2024
disciplinary actions are directed against him-
self, spiritual absorption is unimpeded, and
potent weapon is detachment.
Notes:
1. Niḥsandehaṃ darśanaṃ tasya śāstre—‘Sād-
hu’s understanding of scriptures is free of
doubts’: This expression presupposes diligent
study and tapas as the assets of a holy man.
One pointed endeavour with stupendous
struggle is what is called as tapas - austerity.
In India, a holy man is often referred to as
tapodhana ‘one who possesses the wealth of
austerities’. Even in material science excel-
lence necessitates herculean effort, what to
speak of the spiritual sciences. Memorable are
the words of Swamiji in this matter: ‘… hard
Tapasya, or practice of austerities in the shape
of devout contemplation and constant study
of a subject is at the root of all illumination in
its respective spheres’.23 Sādhu is a spiritual
scientist.
2. Niḥsaṃkocaṃ śāsanaṃ tvātmamātre—‘Disci-
plinary actions of a Sādhu are directed to
oneself’: This is one of the touch-stones of
References
10) Śrīmadbhagavadgītābhāṣyam (Gita), ed. Mani
Draviḍa, 2 Vols, (Śrīdakṣiṇāmūrti Maṭha Prakāśana,
2015), Vol.1, p.197, Ch. 4, V.2.
11) Hereafter Shankaracharya or Shankara.
12) Gita, Vol.2, p.621, Ch.13, V.2.
13) Upaniṣadbhāṣyam, ed. Maṇi Draviḍa, 3 Vols,
(Śrīdakṣiṇāmūrti-maṭha-prakāśana, Varanasi, Vol
1, 2011; Vol 2, 2012; Vol 3, 2011), Vol.1, p.140;
hereafter Draviḍa.
14) CW: 4.369.
15) CW: 8.372.
16) CW: 6.315.
17) Draviḍa. Vol.1, p.170; Praśnopaniṣat, 1.16.
The Vedanta Kesari
Sādhuhood: he is unsparing on himself in
matters of discipline. A true Sādhu, conscien-
tiously trains himself, and brings all his
faculties of criticism and judgement to bear
on himself, and never finds fault with others.
He never encroaches upon the freedom of
others, much less criticise or scorn them. The
science of Yoga says: akṣipātrakalpo hi vid-
vān—‘an enlightened man is as sensitive as
the eyeball’.24 Here by sensitiveness is meant
vigilance, self-discipline, and self-edification.
Regarding others, he is always accommodat-
ing, loving and forgiving. This sweet
confluence of extreme features – merciless
self-discipline and boundless forgiveness for
others - sets him as a sui generis (in a class by
himself).
3. Niḥsaṅgatvaṃ sādhuśastraṃ prayoge—‘Sādhu
wields the excellent weapon of detachment’:
Compare Gītā: asaṅgaśastreṇa dṛḍhena chit-
tvā tataḥ padaṃ tatparimārgitavyam—‘after
severing hard (the attachments) with the
weapon of detachment that state has to be
sought for’.25
(To be continued …)
18) Draviḍa. Vol.1, p.170; Taittirīyopaniṣat, 1.11.
19) Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣat, 4.3.33.
20) CW: 7.135.
21) See <brainyquote.com>
22) CW: 6.315.
23) CW: 4.436.
24) P.N. Mukerji, Yoga Philosophy of Patañjali, (Calcutta:
University of Calcutta, 2000). (akṣipātrakalpo
hi vidvān says Vyāsa in his commentary to the
aphorism pariṇāma-tāpa-saṃskāra-duḥkhair-
guṇavṛtti-virodhācca duḥkhameva sarvaṃ vivekinaḥ
2.15), p.143.
25) Gita, Vol.2, pp.776-778, Ch15, V.3,4.
22 February 2024

Empowering Students—
The Swami Vivekananda Way
Prof. C. Balaji
S
wami Vivekananda is considered as an
icon of youth for his powerful and positive
influence on them for the last 125 years
and counting. In 1984, the Government of India
announced that 12th January shall be celebrated
as National Youth Day, every year from 1985.
Swamiji continues to be an inspiration nonpa-
reil for people from all walks of life, not only
from India but also from abroad.
In what follows, we will look at the sub-
ject of ‘empowering students’ based on
Swamiji’s teachings. According to him, educa-
tion is the manifestation of perfection present
already in man. Swamiji once declared that a
nation is advanced only in proportion to the
spread of education and intelligence among its
masses. He regarded education as indispensa-
ble in the emancipation of man and society. It
would indeed be instructive to first understand
Swamiji’s views on the goals of life and see how
they compare with contemporary western
thought. Once the basic understanding of the
goals of life are fleshed out, we then proceed to
dive deep into how to use Swamiji’s ideas to
become more empowered students. By ‘em-
powerment’, we mean the ability to become
The author is Professor, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras & Editor-in-
Chief, International Journal of Thermal Sciences,
Elsevier.
The Vedanta Kesari
A
rt
ic
le
stronger and more confident in what one
speaks, does or communicates, having clear
conviction in one’s ideas and actions.
Swamiji’s Approach to the Goals of Life and
Empowerment
According to Swamiji, there are four goals
of life, as advocated in the scriptures. These are:
i) Practice of Righteousness - Dharma
ii) Acquisition of wealth - Artha
iii) Fulfillment of desires - Kama
iv) Liberation - Moksha
Now, let us see what the contemporary
western thought is, on the needs (or goals if one’s
basic needs are satisfied) of life. According to
Maslow, the needs of life are five and these can be
represented in the form of a pyramid i.e., they
represent a hierarchy of needs with the condition
that the need at the bottom has to be fulfilled
before the next goal can be sought, as shown in
Fig.1. Maslow postulated that once the basic
needs along with safety needs are taken care of,
a human being longs for social interactions. This
is also called an inclusion want or need. Once this
is transcended, a human being looks for needs
that satisfy self-esteem, like achievements, name,
fame, wealth creation and so on. However, at the
apex of the pyramid is self-actualisation, wherein
an individual feels that he has reached his full
potential in contributing to society and people
around him. Even so, the caveat is that the work
23 February 2024
done by an individual at this stage is not for name
or fame, but for the sheer joy of doing it without
the expectation of rewards. This goal proposed
by Maslow resonates very closely with the ideas
presented in the Bhagavad Gita, which have been
reiterated by Swamiji several times.
Self-
Actualisation
Esteem Needs
Social Needs
Safety Needs
Basic Needs
Fig. 1: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
(Source: Maslow, Theory of human motivation,
Psychological Review, 1943)
According to Swamiji, the goal of mankind
is knowledge, which actually leads to liberation
or moksha. Pleasure is not the goal! Mistaking
pleasure as the goal of life is the root cause of
human misery. Swamiji also taught that all
knowledge is inherently present in man. Let us
consider, for example, Newton’s law of gravita-
tion. The falling of apples was not a consequence
of the pronouncement of the law, rather the law
is the explanation for what was always happen-
ing before and will happen in the future too. All
knowledge whether in science or spirituality is
already present in the human mind.
Going a little further, one can say that the
macrocosm (world) is indeed present in the
microcosm (mankind) or that both are the
same. It is for recognising and realising this
unity that all of us are struggling, though many
of us are not even aware of this. Our continuous
The Vedanta Kesari
search for happiness through ‘objects’ in the
outside world is a testimony to the fact that we
have inherently forgotten the connection be-
tween the macrocosm and microcosm. Our
goals and aspirations are often not long term
which is a consequence of the perception of in-
completeness in us, though it is a Vedantic truth
that we are already and always complete or
‘Poorna’. Right knowledge is absolutely essential
for us to eventually learn this truth. Knowledge
can be of the outer world or of the inner Self,
known as ‘apara’ and ‘para’ vidya respectively.
However, often this knowledge is covered, be-
cause the characteristics of the knower and the
way we try to know are often subjective. The
challenge then for a student or a teacher for that
matter is to ‘uncover’ or ‘discover’ real knowl-
edge, so that the signal is separated from the
noise, so to speak. This is the essence of educa-
tion! In this journey, a teacher plays a great part.
If one looks very deeply, it is clearly evident that
all machines, works of art, and automobiles are
essentially a display of thought and the manifes-
tation of the will of man. In effect, all man-made
things are created twice in this world. First, in
the mind and then in the actual form.
Swamiji explained that, will is caused by
character and character is manifested by Kar-
ma. The word ‘Karma’ originates from the
Sanskrit word ‘kri’, meaning to do. The basic
principle is that we earn only what we deserve.
To deserve, we need to work hard and while we
do this, it is essential that we stay within the
tenets of ‘dharma’.
Swamiji gave utmost importance to hard
work. He believed that the highest form of work
is that which is executed without motives, which
is frequently referred to as ‘nishkama karma’
and is one of the central tenets of Bhagavad Gita.
While it is very difficult to reach this level, slow-
ly and steadily, if unselfishness increases, our
work will begin to shine with glory!
24 February 2024
 With the above in perspective, let us now Self learning
focus on Swamiji’s ideas on education that Know
(rare in general)
come as a godsend for empowering students.

Progress in knowledge
Swamiji declared that education is not Lifelong
the amount of information that is put into learning

one’s brain that runs riot there, undigested Don’t know

throughout one’s life. He averred that educa-
tion must have life-building, man-making,
Supervised
character-making assimilation of ideas. The learning
idea of service as a part of man’s lifelong edu-
(Don’t know)2
cation and life itself is a key attribute in
Swamiji’s teaching. Swamiji declared that if
anyone has assimilated five ideas and made Time in Years
them his life and character, he has more edu- Fig.2. A depiction of the ‘(Don’t Know)2’ Problem
cation than anyone who has memorised a
Idea 2: Work Hard and Get ‘Pleasantly’
whole library. Inspired by Swamiji’s ideals, we
Stressed
will now see five ideas to become a better
learner and a more empowered student. Scientific research has confirmed the role
of stress in learning. Being discontent or dis-
Idea 1: Become a Lifelong Learner
contentment with the present is the first step
Swamiji said, ‘That man or that society towards progress. Hence, progress is all about
which has nothing to learn is already in the ‘Optimal disenchantment’ and channelising this
jaws of death.’ Through the above saying, he has disenchantment. Learning is all about ‘Optimal
forcefully reiterated that learning has to be restlessness’. Eustress or ‘good stress’ so to
lifelong and needs to proceed first from our speak is required for bringing out the best in
acknowledgement of ignorance i.e., we need to THE HUMAN FUNCTION CURVE
know that we do not know, so that we can en-
deavor to know whatever be the subject of
study or sport or art. The ignorance of the igno- Eustress
Hyperstress
rance can be termed as ‘(Don’t know)2’ i.e., often
Performance

we do not know that we do not know (see

Fig.2). As learning progresses in one’s life, su- Hypo stress
pervised learning in school and college, give
way to unsupervised or self-learning. Quite of-
ten life itself is a great teacher. In fact, the whole
of life is a learning process and experiences Distress
often hold the key here. Even so, it is impossible
for a human being to learn everything by expe-
Pressure
rience alone as one simply does not have the
Fig.3. The Yerkes – Dodson curve on the
time and means to do it. The experience of role of stress in human performance
teachers and guru are great aids in this fasci- (Source: Yerkes RM, Dodson JD,1908, Journal of Comparative
nating journey. Neurology and Psychology, 18, 459-482.)

The Vedanta Kesari 25 February 2024

us. Stress by itself is not stressful until it be- anxiety while high skill and low challenge leads
comes distress. The famous inverted U curve of to boredom. The essence of the flow theory is
Yerkes and Dodson that compares performance presented in Fig.4. This theory can be extended
in a task (originally proposed for animals and to any activity and not necessarily creative pur-
later extended to include human performance) suits or learning. Since it is impossible for one to
is shown in Fig.3. From Fig.3, it is clear that an stay in flow for a long time on an activity, conse-
optimal stress is required to bring out the best quent upon either skill or challenge or both
in us and too low a stress as well as too high a changing with time, it is essential that a student
stress results in low performance or burnout works on increasingly more involved and chal-
respectively. A reasonable level of ‘good stress’ lenging problems/topics in his study so that
or ‘eustress’ gives the necessary boost to suc- there is greater opportunity for one to be in flow.
ceed in challenging tasks. From a student This will then bring out the best in a person.
perspective, the way to understand the above
theory is that all endeavors are associ- Challenge
ated with a certain level of stress and High
one would do well to expect it, so that Arousal Anxiety Flow State
one is better prepared to deal with the
situation. Increasing Decreasing
Skills Challenge
Idea 3: Try to Work on Increasingly
More Difficult Problems
Increasing
It is popularly said, ‘In a day, when Less
Challenge Demanding
you do not come across any problems,
Skills
you can be sure that you are travelling Boredom
Low
in a wrong path.’ Arousal
Contrary to what we usually be- Skill
lieve, the best moments in our lives, are Low Efficacy High Efficacy
not the passive, receptive, relaxing times— Fig.4. The flow theory of creativity (Source: The Psychology of Optimal
although such experiences can also be Experience -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Professor of Psychology,
enjoyable if we have worked hard to attain University of Chicago)
them. The best moments usually occur when a Idea 4: Try to Develop Healthy Inter­
person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits personal Relationships
voluntarily to accomplish something difficult Patanjali in his highly acclaimed text, Yoga
and worthwhile. Sutra, lays out four cardinal attributes to pro-
The idea of optimal experience has been mote healthy interpersonal relationships which
skilfully articulated by Prof. Mihaly Csikszentmi- will stand a student in good stead not only
halyi, who proposed the flow theory for during his/her studies but during their work
creativity. According to him, when skill is bal- lives also, as invariably any professional has to
anced by challenge, there is flow, a state deal with colleagues and stakeholders all the
characterised by a sense of immense satisfaction time. According to Patanjali,
and timelessness. If skill is lower than the chal- Maitri karuna mudita upekshanam
lenge level of an activity or task, it leads to Sukha duhkha punya apunya

The Vedanta Kesari 26 February 2024

 Vishayaanaam bhaavanaatah
Chitta prasaadanam
Swamiji defined guiding principles in
inter­personal relationships by brilliantly artic-
ulating the above lines from Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutra in his commentary thus:
v Be friendly with others when they are happy
(maitri)
v Empathise with the sufferings of others (karu-
na)
v Absence of jealousy in the success of others
(mudita)
v Indifference to the wicked (upekshanam)
The above four attributes are in increas-
ing order of difficulty and the more one strives
to attain these, the better will the interpersonal
relationships be. This in turn promotes a
stronger feeling of purpose as well as ‘santosha’
or contentment and spur one to work for the
greater good with even more vigour. These are
to be followed in all situations be it, happy
(sukha) or painful (dukkha), fortunate (punya)
or unfortunate (apunya).
Research has shown that social relation-
ships influence the physiological processes
taking place in the body as well as one’s mood
and even the immune system. The importance
of the ‘greater good’ was always regarded as
one of the highest goals by Swamiji, and it holds
the key to long lasting and mutually respectful
interpersonal relationships. His immortal lines
read thus, ‘He alone lives who lives for others.
Others are more dead than alive’. In view of the
above, it is pertinent to cultivate these attrib-
utes even as a student.
Idea 5: Creativity and Thinking Differently
To be creative means to be courageous, to
experiment, to take risks, and create something
new. Creativity is the ability of the mind to
have a keen sense of curiosity so that it is not
confined to any particular area. Many psycho-
The Vedanta Kesari
Fig.5 Dick Fosbury (Source: Wikipedia)
logical processes are involved in creativity,
such as cognition, problem-solving, emotion,
memory, and so on. Highly spiritual people are
generally creative. Needless to say, Swami
Vivekananda was unequivocally a creative ge-
nius. Let us now look at an unusual instance of
creative thinking in sports which can serve as
a motivational example.
Dick Fosbury, an American athlete revolu-
tionized high jump by leaping backwards over
the bar, for the first time in the 1968 Olympics
at Mexico. Fosbury went on to win the gold
medal and set a new record (See Fig.5). Now
almost all modern high jumpers use the back-
ward ‘flip.’ Fosbury challenged conventional
wisdom that all high jumpers have to jump only
in the forward direction and the rest is history.
Another example of creativity, which is
likely to resonate with the youth of today is
Apple and its products. Combining technology
with design and aesthetics with functionality, is
one of the most significant contributions of
Apple. Many of its products like the iPhone,
iPad, laptops and so on were able to brilliantly
marry technology and beauty.
From the above two examples in two
completely different fields, it is evident that
trying to be creative in whatever one does, big
or small can go a long way in empowering
students, or any individual for that matter to
push the frontiers so that they can perform
better.
We now conclude here by presenting
some of the ever-inspirational quotes of Swam-
27 February 2024
iji that resonate strongly with the theme of this
article.
Ever Inspirational Quotes of Swamiji
(Focusing on Youth and Students)
Message to Students
v Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is
reached.
v Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life
- think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the
brain, muscles, nerves, and every part of your
body, be full of that idea, and just leave every
other idea alone. This is the way to success.
Faith in Oneself
v You cannot believe in God until you believe in
yourself.
v All the powers in the universe are already
ours. It is we who have put our hands before
our eyes and cry that it is dark.
v If faith in ourselves had been more extensive-
ly taught and practised, I am sure a very large
portion of the evils and miseries that we have
would have vanished.
v Never think there is anything impossible for
the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so.
If there is sin, this is the only sin - to say that
you are weak, or others are weak.
On Character
v What we want is to see the man who is har-
moniously developed ... great in heart, great
in mind, great in deed …
References
1) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
(Mayavati: Advaita ashrama, 1989).
2) Vivekananda – A biography (Mayavati: Advaita
ashrama, 1964).
The Vedanta Kesari
v We want the man whose heart feels intensely
the miseries and sorrows of the world...
v And we want the man who not only can feel
but can find the meanings of things, who
delves deeply into the heart of nature and
understanding.
v We want the man who will not even stop
there, but who wants to work out the feeling
and meaning by actual deeds.
v Such a combination of head, heart, and hand
is what we want.
In sum, the key to achieving Swamiji’s
goal of greater good in society lies in education.
Character building has to be at the core of edu-
cation. Education needs to empower students
holistically more than just provide them with a
source of living. It is character alone that leads
to one’s expansion, makes one more inclusive
and has the potential to make the world a bet-
ter place. In Swamiji’s own words, education is
not ‘filling the mind with a lot of facts’ and is
actually ‘the manifestation of the perfection
already in man’.
Steps for Empowerment – The Swamiji Way
v Have immense faith in oneself.
v Have immense faith in man.
v Feel for others.
v Set high ideals.
v Work tirelessly.
v Be virtuous and moral to the hilt.
v Work towards the ‘greater good’ and with
increasing unselfishness.
3) My India – The India Eternal (Kolkata: Ramakrishna
Mission Institute for Culture, 1993).
4) Channeling Youth Power (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna
Math).
28 February 2024
 Po
em
In Search of God—ईश्वरान्वेषणम्
Prof. Kumarnath Bhattacharya

[श्रीमद्विवेकानन्दस्वामिपादेन आङ्ग्लभाषायां विरचितस्य ‘In Search of God’ शीर्षकपद्यस्य देवभाषायामनुवादः]

This poem was jotted down in English by Swami Vivekananda and posted to Prof. Wright
of Harvard University on 4 September 1893, precisely a week before the commencement of the
Parliament of World Religions in Chicago. He requested the professor to edit it as he wrote it in
a hurry. But the professor wrote back that he wouldn’t edit the poem and added that, to ask for
credentials from Swami Vivekananda amounted to asking the sun for the right to emit its rays.
This poem vividly depicts Swamiji’s own struggles for God and the subsequent realisation. To all
spiritual aspirants, this is a marvellous piece composed by Swamiji. Prof. Kumarnath Bhatta­
charya, who is based in Nabadwip, has translated the whole poem into Sanskrit in different
metres for different stanzas.

उपत्यकायां प्रतिपर्वतं च, गीर्जागृहे मन्दिर-मस्जिदादौ । मृदुर्भव्यशान्तिदायकः स्वरः, ‘हे पुत्र, मत्पुत्र मदीयपुत्र’ ।
कोराण-बाइबेल-कथासु वेदे, अन्वेषितस्त्वं विफलाश्रुपातैः ॥ कण्ठोप्यकुण्ठो हृदि वादितोऽभूत्, स्वरेण मन्द्रेण मनोहरेण ॥
[उपजातिर्वृत्तम्] [तदेव]
निःसङ्गबालो विपिने विलोलो, रुदन् यथा व्याकुलितः प्रयाति । प्रत्येकमात्मस्थितसूक्ष्मतन्त्री, तेनातिगानन्दित झङ्कृताभूत् ।
महावने नष्टपथो विषङ्गो, भ्रान्तस्तथा भीतियुतो भ्रमामि ॥ उत्थाय तिष्ठन्ननु चिन्तयामि, तादृक्स्वरस्तिष्ठति कुत्र सम्यक् ॥
‘कुत्रासि मे त्वं भगवन् मदीयः’, प्रतिध्वनिः शंसति ‘नास्ति, नास्ति’ ॥ [तदेव]
[तदेव] यो मां तथाकारयतीह नित्यं, सम्भाष्य सस्नेह-समादरेण ।
प्रयामि चान्विष्य हि यत्र तत्र, अमुत्र सर्वत्र पथि प्रदीर्घे ॥
प्रयाति रात्रिर्दिवसश्च मासो, शीर्षे हुताशो ज्वलति प्रकामम् । [तदेव]
जाने न रात्रिर्दिवसः कथं स्यात्, द्विभागभग्नं हृदयं च जातम् ॥ पुनः पुनर्व्याकुलमानसोऽहं, प्राप्ते निशान्ते च तमेव कान्तम् ।
[तदेव] असावसौ सोऽपि पुनः स्वरोऽसौ, तदीयमाह्वानमहं श्रृणोमि ॥
लुण्ठामि गङ्गापुलिने प्रतप्तो, रौद्रेण तप्तः स्नपितश्च वृष्ट्या । [तदेव]
तप्ताश्रुभिः स्याच्च रजःप्रसिक्तं, हाहाकृतिर्नश्यति विश्वरावैः ॥ निमज्जितं मे परमप्रशान्तिमध्ये निरुद्धं हृदयं मदीयम् ।
[तदेव] आवेगमानन्दममन्दमेवं, लब्ध्वा निमग्नं परमप्रशान्तौ ॥ [तदेव]
जाज्वल्यमानो भवदेष आत्मा, लब्ध्वा परं ज्योतिरभूतपूर्वम् ।
नानामतानां च महाजनानां, नाम्नाह्वयाम्याकुलदैन्यदीनः । उन्मोचितं द्वारमिदं हृदो मे, निरर्गलं मे हृदयं च जातम् ॥
पन्थानमादर्शय मे दयस्व, प्राप्तं पथो ये खलु लब्धवन्तः ॥ [तदेव]
[तदेव] आनन्द आनन्द महाननन्त:! समेति कोऽयम् अपरूपरूपः ।
प्रियो मम प्राणमनःस्वरूप! सर्वस्वभूतो दयितो मदीयः ॥
दीनार्तनादैर्बहुवर्षपातो, जातं निमेषेण युगायितं मे । [तदेव]
हाहारवाभ्यन्तरतस्तदा मे, नाम्ना ममाकारयति स्म कश्चित् ॥ तथान्तिके तिष्ठति सन्निषण्णो, ममैव चानन्दनिकेतनेऽस्मिन् ।
[तदेव] विराजसे राजमहाविभूति, भव्येन ऋद्धो हृदये मदीये ॥ [तदेव]

The Vedanta Kesari 29 February 2024

 तस्माद्दिनात् प्रभृति यामि यदैव यत्र, ज्ञातं मया भवसि
पार्श्वचरो हृदि त्वम् ।
आसन्न-भूमि-शिखराद्रिषु सानुषुत्वं, दूरातिदूर-बहुदूर
गतस्तथोर्ध्वम् ॥
[वसन्ततिलकं वृत्तम्]
चन्द्रालोके विमलकिरणे तारकानां द्युतौ च
उद्भासेऽस्मिन् दिवसवलयस्यापि सर्वप्रकाशे ।
ज्योतीरूपो ज्वलति जगतां तत्प्रभा तस्य शक्ति-
तस्या लोका जगति वितते विम्बितास्ते भवन्ति ॥
[मन्दाक्रान्ता वृत्तम्]
प्रत्यूषो महिमोज्वलोऽतिमहितो हीनापराह्नस्तथा
निःसीमोऽतिमहातरङ्गिततनू रत्नाकरः सागरः ।
सौन्दर्ये प्रकृतेस्तथा च ललिते गीते विहङ्गस्य च
तं प्रेक्षे च समस्तमाध्यमतयाऽहं सो हि सर्वात्मकः ॥
[शार्द्दूलविक्रीडितं वृत्तम्]
यदा तीव्रं दुःखं ग्रसति विपुलं मां हतधियं
यदा चित्तं जातं सकलबलहीनं च विवशम् ।
यदा मां सर्वेयं प्रकृतिरपि निष्कास्य नयति
समायुक्तैः स्वीयैर्दृढमनमनीयैरिह नयैः ॥ [शिखरिणी वृत्तम्]
अहं मन्ये कर्णे तव जपितमाकर्ण्य मधुरं
मम प्रेमी, ‘चाहं तव निकटचरश्चास्मि निकटे’ ।
Original Poem by Swami Vivekananda
O’er hill and dale and mountain range,
In temple, church, and mosque,
In Vedas, Bible, Al Koran
I had searched for Thee in vain.
Like a child in the wildest forest lost
I have cried and cried alone,
‘Where art Thou gone, my God, my love?’
The echo answered, ‘gone.’
And days and nights and years then passed —
A fire was in the brain;
I knew not when day changed in night,
The heart seemed rent in twain.
I laid me down on Ganga’s shore,
The Vedanta Kesari
मदीयं सम्प्राप्तं हृदयमपि तस्माच्च सबलं
न मे भीतिः काचित् तव दयित नेदिष्ठवसतेः ॥
सहस्रान् मे मृत्योः प्रबलभयदाद् भीषणतमात् ॥ [तदेव]
तदीयाभिर्वाग्भिर्भवति हि शिशोर्मीलितदृशो
यदाङ्के तन्मातुः सुखशयनसुप्तिर्हि सुगमा ।
यदा हास्यैर्लास्यैरकपटशिशूनामपि गणे
तदाहं प्रेक्षे त्वां निकटमिह तिष्ठन्तमनिशम् ॥ [तदेव]
पूते मैत्रगते करस्य सुखदे संमर्दने तिष्ठति
प्रीतः पार्श्वचरो द्वयोरपि तयोः सो मध्यगः शोभनः ।
सः सिञ्चेदधरे सुधां सुमधुरां मातुः प्रिये चुम्बने
मन्ये तं हि सुधाप्रदं शिशुमुखे ‘मामेति’ मिष्टश्रुतौ ॥
[शार्द्दूलविक्रीडितं वृत्तम्]
त्वं मे दिव्यो भवसि हि महान् प्राचीनसन्तरूपे
त्वत्तो जाता बहुविधमता धर्ममार्गप्रवृत्ताः ।
वेदो बाइबल् प्रभवति सतस्ते च कोराणसूरो
गायन्त्येते शुभसमरसञ्चैकतानं भवन्तम् ॥
[मन्दाक्रान्ता वृत्तम्]
त्वं मे त्वं मे भवसि हि महान् आत्मनामात्मरूप-
स्तीव्रैर्वेगैः सततचलतां जीवनानां गतिस्त्वम् ।
ॐ तत्सदों भवसि हि महान् ईश्वरस्त्वं मदीयः
प्रेमी मे त्वम् अहमपि तव प्रीतिधन्यस्तवैव ॥ [तदेव]
Exposed to sun and rain;
With burning tears I laid the dust
And wailed with waters’ roar.
I called on all the holy names
Of every clime and creed,
‘Show me the way, in mercy, ye
Great ones who have reached the goal’.
Years then passed in bitter cry,
Each moment seemed an age,
Till one day midst my cries and groans
Some one seemed calling me.
A gentle soft and soothing voice
That said ‘my son’, ‘my son’,
30 February 2024
That seemed to thrill in unison
With all the chords of my soul.

I stood on my feet and tried to find

The place the voice came from;
I searched and searched and turned to see
Round me, before, behind.
Again, again it seemed to speak —
The voice divine to me.
In rapture all my soul was hushed,
Entranced, enthralled in bliss.
A flash illumined all my soul;
The heart of my heart opened wide.
O joy, O bliss, what do I find!
My love, my love, you are here,
And you are here, my love, my all!

And I was searching thee!

From all eternity you were there
Enthroned in majesty!
From that day forth, where’er I roam,
I feel Him standing by
O’er hill and dale, high mount and vale,
Far far away and high.
The moon’s soft light, the stars so bright,
The glorious orb of day,
He shines in them; His beauty — might —
Reflected lights are they.
The majestic morn, the melting eve,
The boundless billowy sea,
In nature’s beauty, songs of birds,
I see through them — it is He.
When dire calamity seizes me,
The heart seems weak and faint,
All nature seems to crush me down,
With laws that never bend.
Meseems I hear Thee whispering sweet
My love, ‘I am near’, ‘I am near’.
My heart gets strong. With Thee, my love,
A thousand deaths no fear.
Swami Vivekananda
Thou speakest in the mother’s lay
That shuts the baby’s eye;
When innocent children laugh and play
I see Thee standing by.
When holy friendship shakes the hand,
He stands between them too;
He pours the nectar in mother’s kiss
And the baby’s sweet ‘mama’.
Thou wert my God with prophets old;
All creeds do come from Thee;
The Vedas, Bible, and Koran bold
Sing Thee in harmony.
‘Thou art’, ‘Thou art’ the Soul of souls
In the rushing stream of life.
‘Om tat Sat om.’ Thou art my God.
My love, I am thine, I am thine.

The Vedanta Kesari 31 February 2024

 es
ri
Se
89
Reminiscences of
Sargachhi—
Varanasi Series
Swami Suhitananda
(Continued from the previous issue ...)
25.05.63
Maharaj: There is a God and it is as if He is
having fun by forcing us into this world after
tying our eyes. The reality is—He has become
everything. It is He who has been suffering. It’s
very hard to explain the matter. I kept my finger
dipped in ice. That causes a lot of suffering to my
finger. Both are suffering. The finger thinks that
it is suffering due to cold—I too think that I am
suffering due to chill. क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु
भारत—O descendent of Bharata, know the Kshet-
rajna (embodied Self ) in all the Kshetras
(bodies) to be Myself (Gita, 13.2). However, we
are on the dualistic plane, and therefore, I think
that everything is ‘Mother’s will’. अव्यक्ताहि
गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते—The goal of the Unmani-
fested is very hard for the embodied to reach
(Gita, 12.5). A certain person remains busy with
flower, sandal-paste, Ganga and Vishwanath—he
is quite happy. I too remained like that earlier.
However, so long as we remain on the dualistic
plane it is better to do prayer. The real thing is to
purify the mind. If the mind becomes pure, truth
would manifest itself on its own.
Question: Maharaj, nowadays rajoguna
and tamoguna have become dominant in me. I
feel sleepy and forgetful.
T h e a u t h o r, o n e o f t h e Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t s
of the Ramakrishna Order, presents here his
conversations with Swami Premeshananda (1884–
1967), a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.
The Vedanta Kesari
Maharaj: When rajas and tamas appear in
our body and mind, know that it is due to some
form of bodily irregularity. Our vital force is
dependent on our food. Some rajas and tamas
may appear in those who cultivate spiritual
thoughts due to past impressions. I have earlier
derided people by calling them tamasik etc.;
now I experience the consequence of that. All
day long I remain overcome only by tamoguna
– lying and lying on the bed.
Towards the end of the Gita everything in
human life has been analysed in detail. It espe-
cially talks about the three gunas. There are
many who are tamoguni, but they feign sattva.
Again there are some who are sattvaguni in
appearance but they don’t hanker after libera-
tion—they want to remain busy with worship
and such things. There are some who read the
Gita and the Chandi. But that is only a religious
observance to them; they don’t have any desire
to enter into the heart of their contents.
Question: Is there then no necessity to
read the Gita and the Chandi regularly?
Maharaj: The purpose of reading is to get
information about the route. Sri Ramakrishna
32 February 2024
asked us to proceed according to the shastras.
He himself said, ‘How much I have heard!’
No person is independent. His nature and
disposition have been formed as a result of his
past actions. A poor Brahmin has entered into
wedlock; he says that He who has given the
tongue, will arrange for the meal. In Karma
Yoga Swamiji says – Your present state is due to
your Karma and again it can be changed by
Karma. Views such as ‘God’s will’, ‘Writing on
the forehead’ are all non-Hindu. They say, God
resides in the sky and they show by the gesture
of the hand—God is up there.
Everything is written clearly in the Gita –
what God is, what grace is, when it is bestowed
and on whom. The Lord says—ददामि बुद्धियोगं—I
give that Yoga of understanding (Gita, 10.10).
Make a note of it – Religion is nothing but
conducting oneself according to the rules of
Nature; conducting oneself with the knowledge
of what the service of life is, so that one can live
happily in this world. The Vedic scriptures also
say this—how one can live well in this world.
One must have enjoyment first. Honour and
prestige, good food and dress are required first.
Otherwise, renunciation doesn’t come. Sri
Rama­krishna has said that yearning doesn’t
come unless one finishes with enjoyments.
1.06.63
A young Brahmacharin has come to Kashi.
He comes to Premesh Maharaj now and then and
Maharaj too shows affection towards him. He
went to see Vishwanath in the morning and
came back with flowers, garland, and the charan-
amrita (water with which the deity’s feet had
been washed) for Premesh Maharaj. Maharaj
told him, ‘You are a monk. Why should you spend
so much money? Even if you get some money,
give it to the poor. You could have offered wor-
ship mentally. If that were not satisfying enough,
you could have taken a bel leaf with you.’
The Vedanta Kesari
A little later a doctor came—he was a
householder. Maharaj said to him, ‘See, the
samsara ashrama (the householder’s stage of
life) is the primary stage of life. Brahmacharis,
vanaprasthis (those retiring from household
life) and sannyasins, all depend on those lead-
ing the householder’s life. Our scripture says
धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ—O best among
the Bharatas, I am that desire in beings which
is unopposed to Dharma (Gita, 7.11). It means,
dharma, justice, morality, tradition, all are pre-
served out of the householder’s stage of life’.
9.06.63
Question: Maharaj, now and then I hear
about the downfall of spiritual seekers. God, no
doubt, knows about everything; why does
downfall take place in spite of that?
Maharaj: Great harm may take place if
people do not study their subconscious mind. I
have come to the kitchen unknowingly attract-
ed by the smell of the five seasoning spices; I
have not seen him for long—let me go and see
him. Taking this opportunity, I had a look at the
woman in his house. Somebody is a very good
person; but I couldn’t understand why he went
to Mughalsarai railway station yesterday. In
course of cross-examining him, I learnt
everything. He has relatives there—he went to
meet those people and they received him cor-
dially. That relative’s family drew him, but he
went there on the pretext of Mughalsarai sta-
tion. The relatives were the real cause; that
created the excuse for visiting the station.
We prepare fifty different dishes and offer
to the Deity—we know our tongue desires their
taste. But we sublimate that desire. It has to be
seen that common sense is aroused in those
who embrace the monastic life newly; the pur-
pose of monastic life has to be made clear to
them. Some facilities for food and dress have to
(Continued on page 37 ...)
33 February 2024
 or al
ep i
t
R pec
S
114th Annual General Meeting of the
Ramakrishna Mission
The 114th Annual General Meeting of the
Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur Math on
Sunday, the 17th of December 2023, at 3.30
p.m., in which, Swami Suvirananda, General
Secretary of Ramakrishna Math and Rama­
krishna Mission, presented the ‘Report of the
Governing Body of the Ramakrishna Mission on
the working of the association during FY 2022-
23’. A synopsis of the report is given hereunder:
1) Awards and Recognitions:
a) Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, Barrack-
pore, Dt. North 24-Parganas, Kolkata presented
the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Award to the
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission
in recognition of their service activities.
b) National Assessment and Accreditation
Council (NAAC) awarded A++ grade to Viveka-
nanda Centenary College, Rahara, Kolkata and
The Vedanta Kesari
A+ grade to the College of Arts & Science and
the Maruti college of Physical Education, Coim-
batore, for five years.
c) Four of our degree colleges secured
distinguished positions in the India Rankings
announced by the National Institutional Rank-
ing Framework (NIRF), Ministry of Education,
Government of India: Vidyamandira (Saradapi-
tha, Belur) - 15th rank, Vivekananda Centenary
College (Rahara, Kolkata) - 8th rank, Residential
College (Narendrapur, Kolkata) - 19th rank, Arts
& Science College (Coimbatore) - 71st rank.
d) The Narendrapur (Kolkata) off-campus
centre of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda
Educational and Research Institute-RKMVERI
(deemed university)-Belur, Howrah, West Ben-
gal was adjudged the ‘Best Centre of All India
Network Programme on Organic Farming’ by
the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
34 February 2024
(ICAR) - Indian Institute of Farming Systems centres and sub-centres, spent Rs.1171.61
Research, Modipuram, Meerut. crore towards various services as per the fol-
e) A student of Ramakrishna Mission lowing details:
Vidyalaya, Narendrapur, Kolkata secured the
state 1st rank (99.2%) in the Higher Secondary
Examination of the West Bengal Council of Amount
Number of
Higher Secondary Education. Name of the spent in
beneficiaries
f) The higher secondary school at Malda Sector Rupees
in lakhs
(West Bengal) was awarded the Swachh Vidya- (Crore)
laya Puraskar (District Level Award) from the Relief &
Department of School Education & Literacy, Rehabilitation 5.31 7.46
Ministry of Education, Government of India. General Welfare 38.75 28.42
g) Blind Boys’ Academy at Narendrapur, Medical 86.30 412.08
Kolkata bagged the State Award for Empower- Educational 3.08 594.53
ment of Persons with Disabilities for its Braille
Rural
Press. Development 70.67 101.54
h) Vivekananda Netralaya (eye hospital)
Publication of
at Dehradun received NABH certification for 2 literature 27.58
years under the Entry Level - Small Healthcare
Total 1171.61
Organisation programme.
i) Mysuru Ashrama was awarded the Am-
rita Mahotsava State Award in recognition of its 4) Activities outside India:
service activities.
a) Baliati center, Bangladesh consecrated
2) New Branch Centres: the newly built Shri Ramakrishna Temple.
a) A new branch centre of the Rama­ b) Chicago center, USA inaugurated its
krishna Mission was started in Sahudangi Hat, new unit, ‘Home of Harmony’ in Chicago.
Dt. Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. c) Two Sunday schools - one at Colombo
b) New branch centres of the Rama­ centre and the other at Batticaloa - received the
krishna Math were started in Bhuj (Gujarat), Best Sunday Religious School Awards from the
Chengam (Tamil Nadu) and Yadadri Bhuvana- Department of Hindu Religious and Cultural
giri (Telangana). Affairs, Government of Sri Lanka.
d) The Ramakrishna Mission and the
3) Activities in India:
Ramakrishna Math, through their 96 centres
The Ramakrishna Mission and the Rama­ and sub centers situated in 24 countries out-
krishna Math, through their 224 Indian branch side India, rendered various service activities.
We take this opportunity to thank our members, well-wishers and devotees for their
invaluable support and cooperation in carrying forward the service programmes of the Rama­
krishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math.
(Swami Suvirananda)
17 Dec 2023
General Secretary
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission

The Vedanta Kesari 35 February 2024

 le et
Ta ck
s
Po
Gadai, The Saviour of All
Gitanjali Murari
A fictional narrative based on incidents from the childhood of Sri Ramakrishna.
G
adai sat motionless in the shrine, his
hands folded in prayer, tears streaming
from his half-closed eyes. Noticing his
state, Rameshwar remarked to Chandramani,
‘Gadai is in spiritual ecstasy again, ma. He’s
fortunate to have this experience repeatedly,
almost at will.’
It had taken Chandramani a while to ac-
cept that Gadai’s spiritual moods weren’t fits.
Still, she fretted. ‘To be frequently in this state
can’t be good for his health. Persuade him to be
regular at school, Rameshwar. That will keep
him busy in other things.’
Rameshwar laughed. ‘Gadai gave me a
nice reason for not going to school, ma. He said
he has no wish to acquire knowledge that takes
the mind away from God, for many a learned
scholar craves only worldly enjoyment. He says
this craving is the root cause of misery in life.’
Chandramani gasped. Gadai’s words had
stirred up a long-forgotten memory, of the as-
trological prediction made at his birth – ‘He’s a
great soul, he will set up an organisation for the
purpose of teaching religion.’ Fear gripped her.
Organisation? Teaching? That meant he would
leave her one day, perhaps soon.
‘Immerse yourself for evermore, O mind,
in Him who is pure knowledge and pure bliss.’
The author is a media professional and writer. The
Crown of Seven Stars is her first novel. She lives
in Mumbai. Illustrator: Smt Lalithaa Thyagarajan.
The Vedanta Kesari
Bala
K e s a ri
Gadai’s sweet voice, so filled with earnest long-
ing, stopped passers-by in their tracks and
neighbours left their chores midway to gather
in the yard, listening intently to the hymn. The
air became charged with devotion. Chandram-
ani chided herself. She mustn’t be selfish, she
told herself, her Gadai was born for the good of
the world.
When he came out sometime later, she
said, ‘Prasannamayi kaki and others waited to
meet you. They were wondering why you don’t
visit their homes as often as you used to.’
Gadai became thoughtful. He didn’t know
what had come over him. The desire to re-
nounce the world consumed him day and night.
Nothing made him happier than to be absorbed
in worship or to imagine himself as a wander-
ing monk.
‘Gadai!’ Excited shouts cut short his mus-
ings and he saw his friends racing towards
him.
‘You haven’t come to school for days,’ they
cried, ‘we miss you so much.’
‘I miss you too,’ he said, fondly embracing
them.
‘Come back with us,’ Gayavishnu pleaded,
‘we want to start a drama troupe.’
‘Yes, only you can train us for it,’ chorused
the others.
Touched by their wistful expressions, he
hastened to reassure them. ‘We’ll rehearse in
Manikraja’s orchard. Meet me there after class
36 February 2024
every day,’ and he added with a chuckle, ‘now I
needn’t attend school to see you!’
Whooping with joy, the boys left and Gadai
retraced his steps to the shrine. ‘The village folk,
my mother and friends need me,’ he prayed to
Raghuvir, ‘but I yearn to be free of this world
and return to you. What should I do lord?’
‘You’re thinking only of your salvation,’
spoke a voice from within his heart, ‘be a big
ship and carry many across the ocean of this
world. That would make me very happy.’
‘I understand lord,’ he exclaimed, ‘in serv-
ing others, I shall really be serving you.’
After school-hours that day, Gadai hur-
ried to Manikraja’s orchard. ‘Which drama are
you teaching us today?’ his friends clamoured
eagerly.
‘Tarakeshwar,’ he announced. The or-
chard soon began to resound with cries of ‘Jai
Baba Taraknath, hail Lord Shiva,’ and peasants
working in a nearby field, looked up, recogniz-
ing one clear voice above the rest. ‘Our Gadai
is here,’ they smiled, ‘now the day will pass
just fine.’

(Continued from page 33...)

Reminiscences of Sargachhi —Varanasi Series

be arranged for them; they have to be treated as
our own—To work as one man.
At Sylhet we used to till the ground and
bring manure from the market carrying it on
our head. Even boys belonging to respectable
families used to do that—all were very enthusi-
astic, and lived with supreme contentment.
Everybody thought that he himself was respon-
sible for all the work.
As for myself I couldn’t think of even a
servant as not one of us. I used to mix with and
be one of them. Why should I not be? Nobody
was different from me. I used to try so that the
concerned person would benefit. Every servant
used to look upon me as his father. One should
never hurt anybody. I have never beaten any-
body. Educated people don’t have love for their
country or their parents. The son has a lucra-
tive job, the parents die of starvation. And
what is necessary is to get their characters
built.
(To be continued …)

The Vedanta Kesari 37 February 2024

 es a
i
K Yuv
ar
Ethics, principles and values for ordinary people to become extraordinary
Insights from the Flood Relief Workers
Ramasubramanian o.b.
T
wo weeks after the massive flooding in Chen-
nai during the recent cyclone, we met several
young relief workers. They had all worked in
the northern parts of the city that primarily had the
industrial labourers and poorer communities—
overcrowded, narrow streets with poorer amenities
where the systemic relief efforts usually reach late.
It reinforced faith in the power of the youth
to see them take personal risks to reach remote
parts, often wading into chest high water and
walking more than a kilometre, with relief materi-
al over their heads, to serve people who were
stranded for days marooned in their own houses
awaiting some form of relief. It reassured oneself
of the social responsibility that the youth of this
society felt and acted upon.
On asking them, ‘What was the most insight-
ful and touching moment?’, they replied, ‘We
entered a flooded area with a small truck carrying
some necessities specifically for physically chal-
lenged people. Previously, there had been no relief
material distribution in that area and our truck at-
tracted a lot of attention. A crowd gathered soon
enough demanding that they be given the relief
material. Once we explained to them as to whom it
was meant for, the crowd disappeared. In fact, some
local youth helped us to locate the houses of the
physically challenged, and also helped carry these
materials. It was wonderful to see that the commu-
nity immediately ensured that the relief material
reached the right persons even though they were
all still in need of help.’
‘I saw this elderly person sitting in the only
high place that looked like a school, in a main road
The author is a social entrepreneur based
in Chennai, and is the Managing Director of
Samanvaya Social Ventures.
The Vedanta Kesari
Potential Unlimited
full of water. As we went in a boat and offered him
food, he pointed further down one of the lanes and
said, “This is a road, people will come and provide
us some help, please go down that narrow lane, it
is flooded and there are people who have not re-
ceived any help there, they need help more”. It was
amazing that even under that condition, he was
more concerned about others than himself,’ contin-
ued the second youth.
The third youth recalled, ‘After the first few
days, when things were slowly improving, I inter-
acted with this elderly lady who was returning
home wading through water after purchasing
vegetables. This was the first time that she was
purchasing food for her large family after many
days. When asked as to whether the small quanti-
ty of vegetables would be sufficient for her family,
she shot back saying, “I cannot buy everything that
is there in the shop, what will others be left with
then? Whatever little we have, we need to share it
all, so I only bought what is immediately required
for my family.” Her responsibility towards the rest
of the community left me speechless’.
The coordinator, an experienced relief
worker, said, ‘Televisions often repeatedly telecast
visuals of people in need behaving in an unruly
manner, giving the impression that such is the
case everywhere. But majority of our poor people
are far more responsible in a natural calamity
situation than what is portrayed. Unfortunately,
such acts that reflect the higher virtues of care for
other human beings and responsible behaviour
do not get reported’.
That the youth of Chennai see the virtues of
the poor as they voluntarily serve them at the
time of need is something that Swami Viveka­
nanda would feel proud about.
38 February 2024

The Sacred Geometry
śyenaciti
Ankit Arora
S
ince time immemorial, fire sacrifices and
ceremonies constituted an important part
of the Vedic religion. These Vedic sacrifices,
known as yajna, are instructed to be performed
on altars, called vedi or citi, built with burnt
bricks and often have intricate designs. The Ve-
dic altars are designed in accordance with the
ritual and have rich symbolic significance. For
instance, in a Vedic ritual called Agnicayana or
Atiratram, the citi is made in the shape of a fal-
con in flight, the śyenaciti (see the figure above)
which is a symbolic representation of the aspira-
tion of the spiritual seeker soaring upward. This
ritual, which finds mention in Vālmīki
Rāmāyaṇa, is still practised in Kerala. Another
such example is the citi made in the form of a
tortoise with its limbs out, called kur-
maciti (see the figure above).
Even the daily rituals known as
Shrauta karma at home require spe-
cific constructions of the vedi. The
Agnihotris or the Shrauta priests kin-
dle the ritualistic fire and perform
Vedic rituals even today. This is called
Tretagni – the three Fires, with their
vedis constructed as circular,
semi-circular and square in shape
(shown in Fig.1.). Interestingly, Fig.1. Layout of the Tretagni an American historian specialising
these vedis are to be constructed in
such a way that their areas are equal, a problem
which requires calculation of the radius of a
circle with a given area.
The Vedic tradition demands that these
constructions should be executed with perfec-
tion and meticulous accuracy. In order to meet
The author is an assistant professor in the Dept. formed, as it were, the workshop and laboratory
of Electronics Engineering at IIT BHU, Varanasi, to formulate and develop their geometry.’
and a researcher.
The Vedanta Kesari
Yu sa
K
va ri
e
Kurmaciti
this demand, one needs to have sound under-
standing of the geometrical principles and
hence our Vedic Rishis devised remarkably so-
phisticated geometric innovations for the
construction of intricate and complex alters.
The Śulbasūtras, one of the Kalpa-Vedāṅga
texts, are the engineering manuals summarizing
the geometrical results that were being used
since long time for the construction of the altars.
There are four mathematically significant Śulba
texts composed respectively by Baudhāyana,
Mānava, Āpastamba and Kātyāyana. The Baud-
hāyana Śulbasūtra is the oldest known
mathematical text (800 BCE or earlier). The
Śulbasūtras give insights on the geometric and
algebraic aspects of the properties of triangles,
squares, rectangles, parallelograms,
trapezia and circles. These texts
have dealt with nontrivial problems
like construction of a square equal
to the sum or difference of two
squares, construction of a square
equal in area to a given isosceles
triangle, construction of a square
equal in area to a given circle or a
circle equal in area to a given square.
According to Prof. Kim Plofker,
in Indian Mathematics, Śulba texts
provide what in modern mathematical terminol-
ogy would be called ‘area-preserving
transformations of plane figures’, tersely describ-
ing geometric formulae and constants. As rightly
pointed out by Prof. K. V. Sharma, ‘It would seem
that the sacrificial hall of the Vedic Indians
(To be continued ...)
39
 Series 5: Understanding India
- through Swami Vivekananda's eyes
In this series we understand India through Swami
Vivekananda's eyes, and thereby build a deeper
appreciation of the country. We explore the key
Issue 68 messages of the 'Lectures from Colombo to
Issue 10 Almora', delivered by Swami Vivekananda on his
return from the West.
This is the 5th Issue on the lecture "The Vedanta",
Focus in this issue: delivered in Lahore on 12th November 1897.

The Vedanta - part 5

Note: Swami Vivekananda shows that Advaita does not react to Buddhism or any other
system. Rather, it speaks in the affirmative and asserts its arguments, which, in their very
nature, dissolve all criticism.
In this issue, Swami Vivekananda talks about the key principles of the internally-consistent
system of Advaita :

1 Advaita teaches us that man is individual in There cannot be

being universal, and not in being particular an individuality
According to Swami Vivekananda, in this Jagat, because

–– There cannot be an individuality in this Jagat, because individuality means that

individuality means that which does not change. There cannot which does not change.
be any changeful individuality, and so it is a contradiction.
–– Thought and feeling; mind and body; men, animals and plants You are therefore,
are in a continuous state of flux. But suppose you take the an individual then
universe as a unit whole; can it change or move? Certainly not. and then alone when you
Motion is possible in comparison with something which is a are the whole of it, when
little less in motion or entirely motionless. The universe as a the realisation of "I am
whole, therefore, is motionless, unchangeable.
the universe" comes.
–– You are therefore, an individual then and then alone when
you are the whole of it, i.e., when the realisation of “I am the You are fearless
universe” comes. and deathless
–– That is why the Vedantist says that, so long as there are only when you are the
two, fear does not cease. It is only when one does not see universe.
another, does not feel another, when it is all one — then alone
fear ceases, then alone death vanishes, then alone Samsara
vanishes. Designed &
developed by

–– Advaita teaches us, therefore, that man is individual in being ILLUMINE

Knowledge Catalysts
universal, and not in being particular. You are immortal only
®
when you are the whole. www.illumine.in

The Vedanta Kesari 40 February 2024

 2 What we see as the universe depends on our state of mind
According to Swami Vivekananda,
–– It is the one undivided Existence which is taken to be the manifold That
world which we see, as also others who are in the same state of which you
mind as we. call the universe
–– People who have done a little better Karma and get a better state of is the same as
mind, when they die, look upon it as Svarga and see Indras and so that you call God,
forth. the same that you
–– People still higher will see it, the very same thing, as Brahma-Loka. call existence, the
–– And the perfect ones will neither see the earth nor the heavens, nor same that you call
any Loka at all. The universe will have vanished, and Brahman will the whole.
be in its stead.
3 This Brahman cannot be known through knowledge
–– Swami Vivekananda refers first to the painting of
the Infinite in the Samhita (mentioned earlier in the
Can you thus limit Him who is the
lecture), where we see the Infinite of the muscles.
substance of all knowledge, Him
Then, he refers to another side which is the infinite
who is the Sâkshi, the witness,
internal, where we see the Infinite of thought.
without whom you cannot have
–– In the former, the Infinite was attempted to be
any knowledge, Him who has no
painted in language positive. In the latter, the
qualities, who is the Witness of
attempt has been made to paint it in language
the whole universe, the Witness
negative.
in our own souls? How can you
know Him? By what means can –– If the Infinite of thought is Brahman, how can we
you bind Him up? Everything, the
know it? How can the knower be known? Can the
eyes see themselves? They cannot.
whole universe, is such a false
attempt. This infinite Atman is, as –– Thus, the very fact of knowledge is a degradation.
it were, trying to see His own face, –– We must remember that all the Western
and all, from the lowest animals temptations that come to us have their metaphysical
to the highest of gods, are like so basis on the premise that there is nothing higher
many mirrors to reflect Himself than sense knowledge.
in, and He is taking up still others, –– In the East, on the other hand, the Vedas say
finding them insufficient, until in that knowledge is lower than the thing itself.
the human body He comes to know This happens because there is a limitation that
that it is the finite of the finite, when you want to know a thing, it immediately
all is finite, there cannot be any becomes limited by your mind. The example of an
expression of the Infinite oyster making a pearl illustrates how knowledge
in the finite. is limitation, gathering a thing, bringing it into
consciousness, and not knowing it whole.

The Vedanta Kesari 41 February 2024

 4 The idea of Moksha (liberation) You must remember
that with us the
–– Swami Vivekananda says that after recognizing the
limits of knowledge comes the retrograde march − universe begins in Tapasyâ,
renunciation, vairagya. in renunciation, and as you
go back and back, all the
–– Vairagya says, “Do not go to the senses”. This is the
forms are being manifested
watchword of all morality, all well-being.
before you, and they are left
–– The universe begins in Tapasya, in renunciation, and as
aside one after the other
you go back and back, all the forms are manifested before
until you remain what you
you, and they are left aside one after the other until you
really are. This is Moksha
remain what you really are. This is Moksha or liberation.
or liberation.
5 How to know the knower (The witness)

The more and more According to Swami Vivekananda,

you are the witness of
anything in life, the more you
enjoy it. And this is Ânanda; and, ––
therefore, infinite bliss can only
be yours when you have become
the witness of this universe; then
alone you are a Mukta Purusha.
It is the witness alone
that can work without
any desire, without any idea of
going to heaven, without any
idea of blame, without any idea
of praise. The witness alone
enjoys, and none else.
–– The knower cannot be known, because if it were known it
will not be the knower.
If this Soul, this Universal, Infinite Being which you are,
is only a witness, what good is it?
–– It cannot live and move about, and enjoy the world as we
do.
–– People cannot understand how the witness can enjoy.
First of all it is only the witness that can enjoy. (If there is
a wrestling match, who enjoys it, those who take part in
it, or those who are looking on — the outsiders?).
–– The more and more you are the witness of anything in
life, the more you enjoy it. This is Ananda.
–– Infinite bliss can be yours only when you have become the
witness of the universe. Then alone you are a Mukta Purusha.

6 The Theory of Maya

According to Swami Vivekananda,
–– The theory of Maya is very difficult to
understand. It is the one thing between the
metaphysical and moral aspect of Advaita.
–– It is not a theory. It is the combination of
Desha-Kâla-Nimitta — space, time, and
causation; and this time and space and
causation has been further reduced into Nama-
Rupa (i.e. Name and Form).
Example of the wave
Suppose there is a wave in the ocean. The
wave is distinct from the ocean only in its
form and name, and this form and this name
cannot have any separate existence from
the wave; they exist only with the wave. The
wave may subside, but the same amount of
water remains, even if the name and form
that were on the wave vanish for ever.

The Vedanta Kesari 42 February 2024

Example of the table
When the realist states that this table
exists, what he means is, that this table
has an independent existence of its own,
that it does not depend on the existence
of anything else in the universe, and if
this whole universe be destroyed and
annihilated, this table will remain just as it
is now. A little thought will show you that
it cannot be so.
–– This Maya is what makes the difference
between me and you, between all animals
and men, between gods and men.
–– It is Maya which cause the Atman to be
caught as it were in so many millions of
beings, and these are distinguishable only
through name and form.
–– If you let name and form go, the variety
vanishes forever, and you are what you
really are. This is Maya.

Everything here in the sense-world is dependent and interdependent,

relative and correlative, the existence of one depending on the other.

According to Swami Vivekananda, there are three steps in our knowledge of things:

3 The third step is that there is only

one thing which we see as many

2 The next step is to find that there is a

relation and correlation between all things

1 The first step is that each thing is individual

and separate from every other

Step 1:
The first idea of God with the ignorant is that this God is somewhere
outside the universe, that is to say, the conception of God is extremely
human; He does just what a man does, only on a bigger and higher scale.

Step 2:
The next idea is the idea of a power we see manifested everywhere. This is
the real Personal God we get in the Chandi, but, mark me, not a God that
you make the reservoir of all good qualities only. You cannot have two Gods,
God and Satan; you must have only one and dare to call Him good and bad.

Step 3:
And the third is that God is neither outside nature nor inside nature, but
God and nature and soul and universe are all convertible terms.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Vedanta Kesari 43 February 2024

 Book Review
Kendra Unfolds—Selected Letters
of Mananeeya Shri Eknath Ranade
Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan Trust,
No.5, Singarachari Street, Triplicane,
Chennai - 600 005. 2016; paperback;
pp.370; Rs.160.
Letters, it is said, are the reflections of the
writer’s mind and deeds, his personality and
character, his vision and philosophy of life and
their practical applications. ‘Kendra Unfolds’ is
a collection of more than 240 letters, selected
out of more than 22,000, personally written by
Mananeeya Eknath Ranade over a period of
nearly 20 years (1963–1982), i.e. during the
period of his close association, first with build-
ing of the magnificent mid-sea Vivekananda
Rock Memorial and later with the establish-
ment of the more important ‘living and
dynamic’ service mission, Vivekananda Kendra.
The book ‘Learning for a Manager’ states that
these two are outstanding instances of total
dedication and the practical vision of Eknathji,
exemplifying in his own life Swami Viveka­
The Vedanta Kesari
nanda’s exhortation ‘to take up one idea and
make that one idea the mission of one’s life.’
These letters are varied and diverse. As
stated in the ‘Preface’, ‘these letters are ad-
dressed to people who literally represent every
strata of society’ and ‘reflect the need, the na-
ture and the exigencies of the situation,
wherein they were written.’ The unifying thread
of the imperative need of the ‘man-making and
nation-building’ mission, however, runs
through all these letters.
These letters, each of which is unique in
itself, are precise, coherent and are couched in
appropriate language (‘the language we use
should not give a distorted picture of what we
have in our mind’, he advises in one letter) and
so help express exactly the writer’s deeply felt
thoughts and convictions, which cannot but
evoke positive response from the recipients.
‘Your stereotyped letters addressed uniformly
to different categories of persons betray your
lack of correct understanding of men and mat-
ters’, he admonishes in another letter.
No wonder, these served as effective tools
for his ‘man-making and nation-building’ pur-
pose—to collect funds, to train and mould
workers, to inspire and motivate the reluctant,
to persuade and convince the hostile, to console
and encourage those in distress and in rare
cases reprimand those who are incorrigible.
These letters reveal the sterling qualities of
both the mind and the heart of the writer, his
uncanny insight into human nature, his perse-
verance, the sheer immensity of the task he has
undertaken joyfully and the sacrifices he has
made to translate the grand vision of Swamiji
44 February 2024
into reality besides his all frequent sojourns in
different parts of the country in total disregard
to his health, to spread the message of his noble
mission. ‘These tours far from proving a health
hazard serve as an effective tonic for my aging
body.’ In fact he writes, These letters give us a
clear indication about how he has conceived
Vivekananda Kendra as a cadre based non-san-
nyasi organisation consisting of both men and
women to dedicate their lives in the service of
the nation and how meticulously he visualised
even the minutest details of each piece of work,
including training and deployment of workers,
and how painstakingly he has monitored and
ensured its execution. As stated in the Preface,
‘every letter was like a missile which never
missed its target’. He demanded of the workers
‘simple living and high thinking’ and he himself
led the way with his self-effacement and total
involvement. When someone praised him for
his achievements, he writes back, ‘to pick up
one individual member and to credit him with
the work of the whole committee is neither
right nor fair’.
With ‘fatherly care and firmness’, he in-
sisted on everyone to not only be ‘honest,
conscientious, frugal, non-arbitrary or dictato-
rial, but should also appear to be so’. It is
refreshing to read how he insisted on utmost
financial discipline and economy in personal
expenditure. He encouraged team spirit among
the workers and made them realise that the
society, whom they chose to serve, was to be
treated as their extended family. These letters
also show his love and firm faith in the destiny
of our country, his hard rationalism coupled
with strong idealism and firm resolve.
There are also nuggets of wisdom, borne
out of his own experiences, abound in many
letters. Here are just a few instances: ‘Human
life is verily a sport which can be enjoyed well
only if the reverses suffered while playing it do
The Vedanta Kesari
not make one downhearted and the gains pock-
eted do not make him swollen headed’; ‘Hold
fast to one’s assigned place in the ship, unper-
turbed by occasional severe rolling and tossing
that one may get while passing through occa-
sional stormy weather on the way. No serious
traveller or pilgrim ever jumps out’; ‘The great
mission that you have chosen for yourself de-
manded that you become as potent as a high
tension wire, capable of carrying and transmit-
ting powerful current without itself being burnt
into ash or vaporised by its contact’.
The Preface by Sri P. Parameshwaran,
President, Vivekananda Kendra is an in-depth
analytical study of these letters and the bio-
graphical sketch, ‘Eknathji’ at the end helps us
to know more about the man, the circumstanc-
es and the influences that shaped him.
A reading of these letters undoubtedly
gives us the gift of a lifetime – the gift of hope
and confidence, ‘the hope that sees the invisi-
ble, feels the intangible and achieves the
impossible’.
Though minor, some information of the
persons to whom these letters were addressed
could have been included.
_______________________ Prof. S. Radhakrishnan, Trichur
Book Received
100 Love Stories That
Will Touch Your Heart
by J.P.Vaswani
Gita Publishing House,
Sadhu Vaswani Mission, 10
Sadhu Vaswani Path, Pune -
411 001; 2018; paperback;
pp.329; Rs.300.
45 February 2024
 The Order on the March
News & Notes from Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission
Commemoration of the 125th Order, and other senior monks took part in these programmes.
Anniversary of the chaired the different sessions v  Nabadwip centre hosted an
Ramakrishna Mission of the convention. In all, 1,512 intrafaith conference on 9 and
An All-India Youth Conven-
tion was held at Belur Math on
25 and 26 December. Swami
Suhitanandaji, Vice President
of the Ramakrishna Order, in-
augurated the convention. In
all, 765 residential and 620
non-residential delegates took
part in the convention. Swami
Bhajananandaji, Vice President
of the Ramakrishna Order, the
General Secretary Swami Suvi-
ranandaji, and several monks
and renowned speakers ad-
dressed the youths. v Sri Arjun
Ram Meghwal, Minister of State
(Independent Charge) for Law
& Justice, and Minister of State
for Parliamentary Affairs and
Culture, Government of India,
released a commemorative
postage stamp (of 5 rupees)
along with a brochure and first
day cover, and a coin (of 125
rupees) in a simple function
held at Belur Math on 27 De-
cember. v An All-India
Convention of Ramakrishna-­
Vivekananda Bhava Prachar
Parishads was conducted at
Belur Math on 29 and 30 De-
cember. Swami Suhitanandaji,
Swami Bhajana­nandaji, Swami
Girisha­nandaji, the Vice Presi-
dents of the Ramakrishna
The Vedanta Kesari
delegates (all being residential) 10 December in which Swami
representing 36 Bhava Prachar Bhajananandaji and other
Parishads and about 900 Mem- monks and scholars spoke.
ber-Ashramas, and 98 monks of About 850 people attended the
our order who are serving as conference on both days.
Presidents or Vice Presidents of News of Branch Centres
Bhava Prachar Parishads, at-
Swami Suviranandaji, General
tended the two-day convention.
Secretary, Ramakrishna Math
v At D e l h i c e n t re , S r i
and Ramakrishna Mission, in-
Harivansh, Deputy Chairman of
augurated an archway and laid
Rajya Sabha, released a com-
the foundation stone for the
memorative volume on 24
staff quarters at Jhargram cen-
D e c e m b e r. v D e o g h a r
tre on 13 December. v At
Vidyapith held a special pro-
Garbeta centre, Swami Suvi-
gramme on 1 December for the
ranandaji dedicated a new
promotion of the Sanskrit lan-
building for the English-medi-
guage. It was attended by 600
um primary school on 14
students and teachers. A docu-
December. v  Swami Gautama-
mentary on the vidyarthi vrata
nandaji, Vice President of the
produced by the Vidyapith was
Ramakrishna Order, inaugurat-
also screened. v  Jalpaiguri: A
ed a synthetic football field
Ratha Yatra was conducted in 6
with a running track at Narain-
districts of West
Bengal and As-
sam from 6 to 20
December. Pro-
grammes were
held at 30 ashra-
mas and
educational in-
stitutions along
a distance of 791
km traversed by
the Ratha. About
10,000 people All-India Youth Convention, Belur Math
46 February 2024
pur centre on 15 December. awarded at a healthcare sum- Ponnampet, Raipur, Rajamahen-
v  Our Jhargram school se- mit held in Kolkata on 27 dravaram, Thanjavur, Vrindavan,
cured 25 gold, 3 silver and 1 December. v  Narainpur Ashra- Yadadri Bhuvanagiri.
bronze medals and won the ma conducted a football
Eye Camps and other
champion title in the In- tournament from 1 to 9 Decem-
Healthcare Services
ter-EMRS (Ekalavya Model ber in which five teams from
The following centres conduct-
Residential School) state-level Delhi, Kerala, Kolkata, Manipur
ed medical camps: India:
sports meet held in Jhargram and Narainpur participated.
Bankura, Coimbatore Mission,
on 15 and 16 December. v  A
statue of Swami Vivekananda
Values Education and Youth Cooch Behar, Delhi, Guwahati,
was unveiled at Kalpathar Programmes Hyderabad, Jammu, Jamshed-
sub-centre of Bankura ashra- The following centres held pur, Khetri, Lucknow, Madurai,
ma on 24 December. v  News18 Values Education and Youth Pro- Mumbai, Nagpur, Naora, Nat-
Bangla and Rotary Club of Cal- grammes: Bagda, Basavanagudi, tarampalli, Rahara, Raja­
cutta jointly felicitated Seva Bengaluru, Chennai Math (at mahendravaram, Salem, Than-
Pratishthan hospital for excel- Vivekananda Cultural Centre), javur, Viveknagar, Agartala,
lence in providing community Cooch Behar, Gurugram, Hata- Vrindavan, Batticaloa. Sri Lan-
healthcare. A trophy and a cer- muniguda, Hyderabad, Jammu, ka: Kiran, Kudumimalai and
tificate of appreciation were Kathamrita Bhavan, Kolkata, Vaharai.

RELIEF WORK In the wake of recent disasters, centres carried out relief operations
by distributing items such as: List of items: rice, wheat flour, pulses,
cooking oil, assorted spices, salt, biscuits, baby food, tea powder, infant milk, sugar, soya chunks,
plates of food, tinned food, bread, mosquito nets, breakfast cereal sachets, cakes, cans of jam, as-
sorted fruits, assorted vegetables, cereals, flour, gram, Horlicks, maize meal, milk powder, pasta,
porridge, pulses, semolina, snacks, tamarind, flavoured milk, fruit juice, hand wash, milk, peanut
butter, dhotis, saris, assorted bedding items, assorted garments, lungis, children’s garments, cutlery
items, toiletries, stationery kits and so on:
Cyclone Relief Chennai Students’ Home
Tamil Nadu: Cyclone Michaung served meals and necessary
lashed Tamil Nadu on 5 Decem- items among 591 families in
ber causing floods. In the wake Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kan-
of the calamity, the following chipuram districts from 9 to 25
centres conducted relief opera- December. Also, the centre set
tions: Chennai Math served up a two-wheeler service camp
meals and various necessary on its campus in which 220 ve-
items among 5000 families in hicles were repaired from 13 to
and around Chennai and Thiru- 18 December.
vallur districts. Cyclone relief: Chennai

47 February 2024
 Flood Relief
Himachal Pradesh: In contin-
uation of its relief operations
among the people affected by
floods and landslides in July,
Shimla centre distributed var-
ious necessary items among
120 families in Kangra district
on 5 October.
Tamil Nadu: Following heavy
rains in the southern parts of
the state in December, Coim-
batore Mission centre
distributed necessary items
among 390 families in
Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi
districts on 27 December.
Distress Relief
The following centres distribut-
ed essential items to needy
people: India: Aalo, Almora,
Antpur, Bajepratappur, Bardha-
man, Baranagar Math, Bara
nagar Mission, Belgharia, Bolpur,
Contai, Cooch Behar, Dibrugarh,
Garbeta, Hatamuniguda, Indore,
Jalpaiguri, Jamshedpur, Jamtara,
Jhargram, Kamarpukur, Kankhal,
Kasundia, Lalgarh, Medinipur,
Narendrapur, Rahara, Raiganj,
Rajarhat, Bishnupur, Viveknagar
and Agartala; Bangladesh: Dha-
ka; South Africa: Durban and
Phoenix; Zambia: Lusaka.
Winter Relief
The following centres distribut-
ed blankets and winter
garments to needy people: In-
dia: Aalo, Almora, Antpur,
Asansol, Bajepratappur, Bardha-
The Vedanta Kesari
man, Bamunmura,
Baranagar Math, Bara-
sat, Belgharia,
Bhubaneswar, Bilaspur,
Bolpur, Chandipur,
Chapra, Chhatrapati
Sambhajinagar (Au-
rangabad), Contai,
Cuttack, Deoghar, Di-
brugarh, Garbeta,
Ghatshila, Guwahati, Distress Relief: Baganchra
Hatamuniguda, Head-
q u a r te r s , I n d o re ,
Jaipur, Jalpaiguri, Jam-
mu, Jamtara, Jhargram,
Kankhal, Kasundia,
Howrah, Khetri,
Lalgarh, Manasadwip,
Nagpur, Naora, Narain-
pur, Narottam Nagar,
Puri Mission, Rahara, Distribution of Blankets: Narainpur
Raiganj, Raipur, Rajarhat
Bishnupur, Rajkot, Ram- financial aid from the Head-
haripur, Tamluk, Thanjavur, quarters. The huts and the hall
Visakhapatnam and Viveknagar; were handed over to the fami-
Bangladesh: Bagerhat. lies on 17 December; West
Disturbance Relief Bengal: (a) The Belur Math
Manipur: Continuing its relief Headquarters provided con-
operations among the victims struction materials to a poor
of ethnic clashes which began family in Purba Medinipur dis-
in May, Imphal centre distrib- trict to build their house; (b)
uted necessary items from 1 to Naora centre built a house for
28 December among 775 fami- a poor family in the neighbour-
lies in Imphal East, Imphal hood with financial assistance
West and Bishnupur districts. from the Headquarters. The
Distress Rehabilitation house was handed over to the
India: Tamil Nadu: Chennai family on 12 December.
Students’ Home built 40 huts Economic Rehabilitation
and a community hall for tribal Tamil Nadu: Thanjavur
families in Alapakkam village Math; West Bengal: Bajeprat-
of Chengalpattu district with appur
48 February 2024
 An Appeal
Dear Devotees and Friends,
Please accept our loving Nam-
askaras and best wishes.
In the innermost sanctuary of
the Himalayas there is a centre of
the Ramakrishna Order at the holy
town of Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand.
The Ashrama was started in 1963,
during the birth centenary of Swami
Vivekananda, for the sadhus of the
Order, who wish to perform intense
Tapasya in the Tapobhumi Himala-
yas. Over the years, hundreds of
sadhus performed austerities here
for spiritual upliftment. Monks and
brahmacharins of the Order contin-
ue to visit here in large numbers for
Tapasya and pilgrimage to Ke-
dar-Badri-Gangotri-Yamnotri as well.
In view of expanding the pop- RAMAKRISHNA MATH
ular Retreat Centre, we have Ganganagar, P.O. Uttarkashi
recently acquired a parcel of land Uttarakhand - 249193
measuring 1.5 acres at village Sukhi
near Harshil valley on the Rishi- Mob: 9447051231
kesh-Gangotri National Highway. email: uttarkashi@rkmm.org
We have drawn a master plan
to make the place a spiritual hub for the monks and devotees. Two separate residential quarters, one
each for monks and devotees, and a common meditation hall are proposed to be built in phases.
It is decided to construct a Sadhan Kutir for monks at present for which a building plan is
approved by the Headquarters at Belur Math, with an estimated cost of Rs.56 Lakhs only. We
earnestly request you to come forward with your liberal offerings to materialize the project at the
earliest.
Donations can be made by NEFT/RTGS to the Ramakrishna Math, Union Bank of India,
Uttarkashi Branch; IFSC: UBIN0560189, A/c No. 601802010006696. Kindly mention the pur-
pose- “Donation for Land & Building Fund,” the PAN and Full Address of the donor by email to
uttarkashi@rkmm.org or SMS /WhatsApp to 8630487274.
Donations towards our Math is exempt from IT under 80G Act.
May Sri Ramakrishna, Ma Sarada, and Swami Vivekananda bless you all.
Yours in the Lord,
Swami Amaleshananda
Adhyaksha

The Vedanta Kesari 49 February 2024

 In the service of God &
in the service of the poor
we invite you to join us!
Dear Devotees and Friends, Namaskar. We pray for your well-being.
We are sure you would like to use some portion of your hard-earned money for some meritorious work.
Here is an opportunity for you to spend money for a noble cause and gain Punyam. Ramakrishna Math,
Thanjavur has been doing various religious and social services continuously.
v Daily worship of the Holy Trio, Arathi, special puja and spreading the divine message of the Holy Trio
v Spiritual retreat for devotees, Japa Yagna, Discourses and online spiritual classes
v Health and medical services and necessary help to the economicaly weak and needy
v Programmes for students and teachers’ well-being, Cultural and educational training for Children
v Motivational lectures and youth camps are organized to spread Swami Vivekananda’s messages
v Educational guidance and cultural service through free tuition centres for the poor children

To continue these services an auditorium and monks quarters are to be built in our Village Centre.
To construct a prayer hall which can accommodate about 225 people, and to construct
11 rooms for the monks to stay we require Rs. 3 crore.
The Bhoomi puja for the project was done on 25.12.23 by the Most Revered Srimath Swami Gautamanandaji
Maharaj. We request the devotees to help us by giving whatever donation possible for this project. Plaques with
their name will be placed in each room for devotees who are donating Rs. 5 Lakhs and above.
We pray that Sri Ramakrishna blesses you with all good things in life.
In the service of Sri Ramakrishna
Bank details to offer donation Swami Vimurtananda
Bank Name : City Union Bank Adhyaksha
Ac Number : 500101012902446
Account Holder : Ramakrishna Math Donations are exempted
IFSC code : CIUB0000002 from income tax as per 80G.

Ramakrishna Math
4A, Shivaji Nagar, Thanjavur - 613 001.
Phone : 90434 48963
E-mail: thanjavur@rkmm.org
Web: https://thanjavur.rkmm.org
@ Ramakrishna Math, Thanjavur
50
51
Vol.111. No.2. The Vedanta Kesari (English Monthly) February 2024. Regd. with the Registrar of
Newspapers for India under No.1084 / 1957. Postal registration number: TN / CH (C) / 190 / 2024-2026.
Licensed to Post without prepayment tn/pmg(ccr)/wpp-259 / 2024-2026. Date of Publication:
24th of every month. Posted on 27.01.2024 at Egmore RMS/1 (Patrika Channel), Chennai - 8.

52

The year 2024 is the centenary year of the consecration of

Swami Vivekananda Temple at Belur Math, Howrah, that was
opened on 28th January 1924.

With Best Compliments

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