V edanta

`15 1

T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

The

Kesari
Santa Barbara Temple,
Vedanta Society of
Southern California

N ovember A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly

of the Ramakrishna Order
2017 since 1914
 2

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True is the Lord, true is His name,
If uttered with endless love;
Unceasingly men ask from Him,
And from His hands, receive rich gifts.
What shall we offer in return
That we may in His Presence stand?
Guru Nanak
4 Nov 2017
548th Birth Anniversary
What shall we utter with our lips
Which, hearing, He may love us well?...
O Nanak, He is realized
Only through His own Grace divine
Who boast of other ways and means
They idle prattlers are and false.
from Japji
(a long poem written by Guru Nanak)

Sri Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple, Amritsar)

Santa Barbara Temple

Cover Quietly nestled against a scenic mountain range and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Santa
Story Barbara Temple is a branch of the Vedanta Society of Southern California. The temple was
dedicated in 1956 and is managed by a convent of nuns. The temple has received several awards
for its design, and is a special point of interest for architects from around the world. Daily worship
and vesper service, Sunday talks, scriptural classes, special pujas as well as the societys annual Durga
Puja celebration are held in the temple.
 For PDF download link, refer to page no. 06 in this issue
104
th
3

T he V edanta K esari
Year of Publication

A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of The Ramakrishna Order

Vol. 104, No. 11. ISSN 0042-2983

NOVEMBER 2017
CONTENTS

Reminiscences of Sargachhi
Swami Suhitananda 10 Wisdom of the Navayogis
32 L. Hariharan Dhani

Defining God
Swami Sarvapriyananda 15 Shankha and Chakra
35 Gokul Muthu

Dimensions of Realities
Swami Sunirmalananda 24
Thoughts on the Yin-Yang Symbol
37 William Page

7 Hastamalakiyam
8 Editorial
Universal Liberation, 22 Heritage ~ Heroes
Salvation, and Restoration in 30 Pariprasna
Indian and Western Thought 38 New Find
Gopal Stavig 27 40 The Order on the March
44 Book Reviews
Editor:
Swami Mahamedhananda
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Sri Ramakrishna Printing Press, No.31, Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, Chennai - 4. Ph: 044 - 24621110
 4

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 7

Hastamalakiyam
Also,

10
Meaning: The foolish man whose vision is obstructed by clouds, thinks that the sun is not
bright. In the same way, for a man whose intellect is clouded, the Atman seems to be bound. I am
that Atman, which is of the nature of Eternal Knowledge.
Sri Sankara Bhashyam: A man whose vision is obstructed by clouds thinks that the sun is not
bright. Though it is very bright, he considers it to be dark. So he is a great fool. In the same way,
a person whose intellect is covered by Avidya, considers the intellect to be the Atman. And, he
superimposes the miseries related to the intellect on the Atman. To him the Atman seems to be
bound. I am that Atman, which is of the nature of Eternal Knowledge, which seems to be bound to
that person whose intellect is clouded by Avidya.
Swami Vivekananda explains: A god and a demon went to learn about the Self from a great sage.
The sage told them, You yourselves are the Being you are seeking. Both of them thought that their
bodies were the Self. They went back to their people quite satisfied. The nature of the demon was
ignorant, clouded; so he never inquired any further... The god had a purer nature. In a few days, he
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , C H E N N A I

realised that it could not be the meaning of the sage; there must be something higher. So he came
back and asked, Sir, did you teach me that this body was the Self? If so, I see all bodies die; the
Self cannot die. The sage replied, Find it out; thou art That. Then the god thought that the vital
forces were what the sage meant. But after a time, he found that if he ate, these vital forces remained
strong, but, if he starved, they became weak. The god then went back to the sage and said, Sir, do
you mean that the vital forces are the Self? The sage replied, Find out for yourself; thou art That.
The god returned home, thinking that it was the mind, perhaps, that was the Self. But he saw that
thoughts were so various, now good, again bad; the mind was too unstable to be the Self. He went
back to the sage and said, Sir, I do not think that the mind is the Self; did you mean that? No,
replied the sage, thou art That; find out for yourself. The god went home, and at last found that he
was the Self, beyond all thought, one without birth or death, whom the sword cannot pierce or the
fire burn, whom the air cannot dry or the water melt, the beginningless and endless, the immovable,
the intangible, the omniscient, the omnipotent Being; that It was neither the body nor the mind,
but beyond them all. So he was satisfied; but the poor demon did not get the truth, owing to his
fondness for the body. (CW: 1.138-139)
Know that thou art He; thou art the God of this universe, Tat Tvam Asi (That thou art). All
these various ideas that I am a man or a woman, or sick or healthy, or strong or weak, or that I hate
or I love, or have a little power, are but hallucinations. Away with them. Say I am Existence
Absolute, Bliss Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, I am He, and like a lion breaking its cage, break
your chain and be free for ever. You are the Pure One, the Ever-blessed. (CW: 2.232)
Translated and explained by Swami Suprajnananda.
Hastamalakiyam is the gist of Advaita philosophy given in 12 verses by Sri Shankaracharyas disciple Hastamalakacharya.

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 414


Editorial
Restless Patience
Progress in spiritual life depends upon
the intensity of our longing to see God. Sri
Ramakrishna again and again encouraged
devotees to cultivate this vyakulata or spiritual
yearning.
What is such yearning? Two striking
examples from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
explain it: This yearning is like the state of
mind of a man who has someone ill in the
family. His mind is in a state of perpetual
restlessness, thinking how the sick person may
be cured. Or again, (it is) like the yearning
of a man who has lost his job and is wandering
from one office to another in search of work. If
he is rejected at a certain place which has no
vacancy, he goes there again the next day and
inquires, Is there any vacancy today?
An intense yearning was experienced by
Sri Ramakrishna in his own life. Speaking of
his restlessness to see the Divine Mother, he
says, There was then an intolerable anguish
in my heart because I could not have Her
vision. Just as a man wrings a towel forcibly
to squeeze out all the water from it, I felt as
if somebody caught hold of my heart and
mind and was doing so with them. Greatly
afflicted with the thought that I might never
have Mothers vision, I was dying of despair.
After his first vision of the Divine Mother, Sri
Ramakrishna again cried incessantly for Her
constant vision. Sometimes overwhelmed by
this hankering he would roll on the ground
in pain and implore, Bestow Thy grace on
me Mother, show Thyself to me! When
people gathered around him seeing his
distress, they appeared to him like shadows
or pictures.
415 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
8
How blessed would it be if we could
have even a little of such longing for God!
But the toys of the worldwealth, fame,
sense objects, relations, and the likeconsume
our heart, mind, and time; and we remain
content with a dry understanding of vyakulata.
Truly, without real earnestness, a sadhaka
stagnates in his sadhana and may even entirely
fall away from spiritual ideals.
What is the remedy? Sri Ramakrishna
answers with a striking analogy. He says
that so long as the child remains engrossed
with its toys, the mother lets him be. After
experiencing the joys and sorrows of playing
with the toyssome toys break, some are
snatched away, and some over time become
uninterestingthe child begins to lose interest
in them. It then throws aside the toys and calls
for its mother. The mother then takes the rice-
pot down from the hearth, runs in haste and
takes the child in her arms.
The task, then, is first to deliberately lose
interest in the toys of this world by developing
an intense dissatisfaction with them. This
should be accompanied with calling out to
God in the form of intense spiritual practices.
Vyakulata is the intensity of this calling. It is the
test of ones purushakar. Swami Brahmananda
advises, He in whom a longing for God has
awakened, let him rise and struggle. While
sitting, or lying down, or eating, let him pray
piteously to His blessed feet: O Lord, have
mercy on me! Allow me to understand your
grace!
Is it possible to know if we are deve-
loping true longing for God? Yes, we can by
recognising the manifestation of the glories
November 2017
 9
of longing, which Sri Ramakrishna says are
discrimination, dispassion, compassion for
living beings, serving holy men, loving their
company, chanting the name and glories of
God, telling the truth, and the like. These signs
of longing indicate that the vision of God is not
far to seek.
But paradoxically, even while urging
us to be restless for God-realisation, Sri
Ramakrishna also encourages us to practice
patience! In The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, we
come across statements like: Nothing happens
except at the proper time, The mother bird
does not break the shell of the egg until the
right time arrives.
Then what is the point in telling us
to renounce attachment to this world and
develop vyakulata to see God? Sri Ramakrishna
answers, It is not possible to acquire
renunciation all at once. The time factor must
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I M O H A N R . , T H A N J AV U R
be taken into account. But it is also true that
a man should hear about it. When the right
time comes, he will say to himself, Oh yes,
I heard about this. The fetters that bind us
to the mundane world cannot be stricken
off with one blow. We need to patiently and
persistently apply a series of successive blows
with undiminishing vigour and hope.
The challenge, then, is to combine intense
longing with immense patience.
Swami Brahmananda advises, The
man of true devotion yearns for God without
becoming impatient. Even if he sees no light he
will not give up his devotions. Only those who
love God like shopkeepers looking for profit
will give up if their prayers are not answered
immediately.
Sabari of Ramayana is the epitome of one
who has both boundless longing and endless
Success is speedy for the extremely energetic. Yoga Sutras, 1.21
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
patience. Sabari, a tribal woman, devotedly
served Matanga rishi for a long time. She lived
in the rishis hermitage practicing spiritual
disciplines. After the rishis passing away,
she continued to serve the hermitage. In her
old age when even the disciples of Matanga
rishi were about to leave this world, she
wanted to follow them into the higher realms.
But those rishis advised her to stay back and
serve Sri Rama who then was living in the
Chitrakoot forest and was destined to visit
their hermitage. This opportunity to meet the
Lord, they told her, was the fruit of her life-
long tapasya.
From then on, Sabari began waiting
to receive Sri Rama. Every day with great
care she picked the sweetest fruits and
the choicest flowers and arranged
everything to honour the Lord. She sat waiting
patiently and faithfully for the coming of
Sri Rama. But when the day ended without
his coming, she would retire to bed with the
joyful hope that Sri Rama would come the
next day. Thus, days passed into months, and
months dragged into years. But old Sabaris
preparations to receive the Lord remained the
same. Her eagerness to see Sri Rama remained
undiminished.
One fine day, accompanied by
Lakshmana, Sri Rama entered Matanga rishiss
hermitage. Sabari had eagerly waited for this
day for 12 years! Truly, Earnestness is the
path of immortality, as Bhagavan Buddha
declares.
May we have unflinching faith in these
words of Sri Ramakrishna: You will attain
God if you sing His name and glories and pray
to Him with a longing heart. There is not the
least doubt about it.
416
 10
Reminiscences

Reminiscences of Sargachhi
SWAMI SUHITANANDA

(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

Swami Premeshananda (18841967) was a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. For over two
decades, he lived at Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachhi, first as its monastic-in-charge and later
as a retired sannyasi. He inspired countless people to lead a life of spirituality and service. Influenced
by him many young men and women entered into monastic life. His conversations and teachings were
noted by his attendant novitiate who is now Swami Suhitananda, Vice-President, Ramakrishna Math
and Ramakrishna Mission. Published in Bengali as Sargachhir Smriti, these reminiscences have been
translated into English by Sri Shoutir Kishore Chatterjee.

22
1.7.60
A discussion was taking place on topics
like initiation, liberation, etc.
Maharaj: Whatever you desire, you will
get at the time of death. There is no certainty
that you will attain liberation just because you
have been initiated. Our God is not a despotic,
whimsical God Who will liberate someone
forcibly. If, at the moment of death, you seek
liberation from the core of your heart, then
surely it will happen. Why should He give
it, unless you want it? However, it is certain
that sucha devoteewill belong to one of these
four categories: jivanmukta (free while living),
anagami (not having another birth), sakrdagami
(having only one more birth), and srotapanna
(entering into the stream to be carried forward
towards liberation)
Question: Swamiji has said, Sri
Ramakrishna did full sixteen parts; we will
do one part; those who come after us will do
one-sixteenth of that one part. This last group
comprises people like you. Again, we will do
one-sixteenth of that one-sixteenth part which
you do.
Maharaj: Why do you draw a distinction
between you and us? We belong to the
same grade rather, you are better than
us. However, one must have favourable
circumstances. Nowadays, as soon as one joins
the ashrama, one becomes involved in big
tasks. As a result, all of ones mind, intellect,
and working power are exhausted in the
course of doing that work. It would be proper
if one is kept under the tutelage of someone (a
senior monk) for the first ten years, and then
gradually assigned to tasks of responsibility.
Nowadays top-quality boys are coming.
We should have trust in them. There are some
who see evil in everything. You will see that
those who are over forty will say, In our time it
was not as b-a-d a-s t-h-is. At that time milk
was available at ten seers a rupee, only five
per cent of people got any education hence,
everything was good! But the farmer could
not get one full meal a day and was forced to
sell his rice at one rupee four annas a maund,
the labourers wage was two annas, the
milkman got ten annas after selling ten seers of
milk. And they say those days were very good!

417 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 11
Now, dont ask about immorality. A
handful of people used to exploit the entire
society. The almanacs were full of obscene
pictures advertisements invariably depicted
lasciviousness. They didnt have any sense of
discipline. A schoolteacher was considered
to be a good teacher if he beat his students.
Sadism was rampant. If someone uttered Vande
Mataram, the old fellows would say, Bind
him and thrash him; living in the kings land,
eating his rice, and speaking ill of him! The
freedom fighters were tortured by pricking
their fingers with needles the old fellows
would narrate these incidents, laughing loudly
in joy.
Maharaj was being bathed in the
veranda. A worm was crawling near the
drain. After his bath, the attendant emptied the
bucket of water into the drain and the worm
got washed away.
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I N A G E S H M . , C H E N N A I
Maharaj: Had you poured the water with
a little care, that worm could have been saved.
This has terminated its Evolution of Growth.
The gradual development that would have
taken place if it could have led its present
life, has been stopped abruptly. There is no
certainty when and where it will be born again
after this. That is why the killing of living
beings is prohibited.
In the afternoon Maharaj was walking
with some people and talking about
clairvoyance, etc. At this time a fellow came
and said that he had just listened to the
commentary of the football match between
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal on the radio.
When someone asked about the result of the
match, Maharaj quoted a proverb and said,
Ravana died in Lanka and Behula became
distraught with weeping! The game takes
place in one place and these fellows laugh
and cry in another and that too after mere
listening! Ordinary people those who dont
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
have any thinking capacity want something
exciting. But a wise man sees no difference
between a football match and some dogs
playing together. The ordinary mind always
wants some external sensation; it does not
want to think about anything. Had I not read
the literature of Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji,
then seeing these worldly activities I too would
have vilified people.
Question: Clairvoyance, clairaudience,
thought-reading are these occult powers?
Maharaj: No, these cannot rightly be
called occult powers these are milestones
of spiritual progress. But if someone remains
stuck after getting these powers, they turn into
occult powers in his case. Girija and Chandra
possessed occult powers [two aspirants
who were freed by Sri Ramakrishna of their
spiritually hindering occult powers]. So their
progress stopped there. But Sri Ramakrishnas
goal was much higher than that.
What actually happens is this: By
continuously contemplating finer things,
the spiritual aspirants mind also becomes
finer and finer; he then can grasp finer things
without any effort. This does not seem
unnatural to him it comes quite naturally.
Question: Is it possible to observe rules
like taking only self-cooked food? Must one
become a vegetarian?
Maharaj: Dont consume anything that
excites your body. And rules like not taking
food rendered impure by others touch
no longer hold good for you. However,
contamination through contact is certainly a
fact.
Question: Can ordinary people figure out
by tasting that Sri Ramakrishna has cast his
glance on the prasada?
Maharaj: No, no.
Never stay alone. If you stay alone, there
is no telling what you will do in a moment of
418
 12
weakness. If two persons stay together, each
protects the other. It is for this reason that
arrangements have been made for people to
live together. Mahapurush Maharaj would not
allow people to go alone even for tapasya. He
would say, At least two of you go together. A
sannyasi has to be so much on his guard!
A certain brahmachari was not in the
habit of chewing any digestive refresher after
his meals. Today, after a heavy meal, he said,
Let me chew a betel-leaf today. There was an
arrangement for betel-rolls after the meal on
that day.
Maharaj: You see, you are again
multiplying your requirements. If you eat one
day, you will desire to have it again. All these
desires are the result of bad company.
Question: Sri Ramakrishna did not have
any ego. So we find him using phrases like
Mother told me this, and Mother showed this
to me. But did he have to consciously think
about maintaining this attitude?
Maharaj: If we see this as play-acting,
then we must say he was being hypocritical.
But we have to keep in mind that he was
enacting a divine play as an incarnation;
it wont do simply to call him Brahman.
Shankara caused confusion by using the words
Jata iva (as if he was born). If you say that he
was acting, then the entire creation will also
have to be regarded as a play. You can see
his divine play as acting only when you rise
beyond your body-mind-intellect. Until then,
his divine play is all real.
Attendant: We are like small containers
dualism is more suitable for us.
Maharaj: Then you cant become a
sannyasi.
Attendant: Why not? The Order is there;
and monastic life is there!
Maharaj: Call it the Order or call it
anything else you cannot call it sannyasa.
419 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
However, there is Abhyasayoga, the yoga of
practice. A dualist is calmly absorbed in the
thought of his own Chosen Deity; he doesnt
harbour any hostility or grievance against
other religions. Doing japa and other spiritual
practices, as his mind goes more and more
inward, he will progress in his spiritual
life. However, you cannot overcome body-
consciousness through the path of dualism.
Even in the path of monism, it is not possible to
overcome the bondage of body-mind-intellect.
But you have to make a continuous effort.
4.7.60
Question: If I cannot meditate, wont it
do if I practice the paths of knowledge, work
and devotion?
Answer: Knowledge, work and devo-
tion these three are easy to practice, but
meditation is difficult. And this alone is the
yardstick for judging whether or not your
other three practices are going along the
right path. These three practices can be done
to impress others. If you have intelligence,
you can recite the scriptures very well.
Seeing all this, Sri Chaitanya desisted from
giving sannyasa. A sannyasi should be
highly principled. Being principled does not
indicate scholarship; it means being virtuous,
truthful, fearless, full of shraddha or active
faith, philanthropic, and self-controlled.
By practicing in this manner, spiritual
consciousness is awakened.
5.7.60
Maharaj: Generally, people dont even
know that behind this body-mind-intellect there
is an I- consciousness. Spirituality means fully
understanding this body-mind-intellect, and
also knowing the I that exists behind it. This
alone is religion proper. Religion is merely the
stepping stone to spirituality.
November 2017
 13
It is surprising that this type of spiritu-
ality doesnt exist in the other religions of
the world. It is a matter of regret that even
in India it was on the point of extinction.
All these Vedantic movements that we see
are superficial, like mere book-learning
in universities. People are becoming only
scholars bereft of renunciation.
Because of the printing press, this time
ideas will be preserved. Later on, people will
come who will put it into practice.
Just imagine what great fun it will be
when I will be able to watch clearly, keeping
myself separate, the play of the vital force-
mind-intellect inside the body! After a month,
we find that our hair has grown an inch. Did
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I G U R R A M R A G H AVA R A O, V I J AYAWA D A
it grow that long in a single day? It grows bit
by bit every day. As soon as a little food enters
the stomach, immediately what a commotion
ensues there! The vital energy sweats out,
trying to extract the nutritive essence.
The mind runs around the whole day
to gather and deliver news; and it seeks
direction from the intellect. The intellect, like
a blind fellow, sits in one place and gets all
the work done by the mind. There is another
chapthe chittawho checks with the
samskaras (impressions) and gives directions
accordingly. At the time of sleep, the mind
remains quiescent in the intellect, just as,
during the daytime, electricity remains in the
power house and gets activated only at night.
One can sit and watch such play for hours
together.
Attendant: It is better to live in a small
ashrama.
Maharaj: Instead of trying to choose a
suitable ashrama, it is better to depend on the
will of Sri Ramakrishna. Whatever work you
doin any place, at any timeperform it as a
spiritual discipline. First study the Gita, and
then work.
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
A devotee: The religion of Sri Chaitanya
stirred up the entire nation. But it appears
that Sri Ramakrishnas path is only for the
intellectuals; the masses have no entry here.
While reading The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna,
we wonder if anyone can reach up to Sri
Ramakrishnas expectations.
Maharaj: Who told you that Sri Rama-
krishna is only for the intellectuals? Didnt
he do hari nama sankirtana (chanting the
name of Hari) along with the devotees?
Didnt he ask Trailokya Babu to arrange for a
theatre performance? And has Sri Chaitanya
instructed us only to sing kirtan, hold holy
feasts, and eat consecrated food? Can anyone
but an intelligent person grasp the significance
of his life?
Actually, Sri Chaitanya and Sri Rama-
krishna have left behind an ideal. Did Sri
Ramakrishna ask you to do social service or
philanthropy? We are using the mould that
he gave us to serve society. Do you think that
only those who deliberate on the philosophy
of Sri Ramakrishna follow him, and not those
who do his service-oriented work, partake of
consecrated food, and perform his ritualistic
worship? The crux of the matter is: you follow
whatever suits you.
The life of an incarnation is understood
by different people in different ways; and they
begin their journey with that understanding.
A university teaches different branches
of knowledge from all over the world. A
professor with a M.A degree can be taken as a
representative of the university. Again, when a
student who has just passed his matriculation
examination enters the university, wont
you call him a university student? He too is
travelling on the same path.
Similarly, all people are travelling on
the same path some through singing, some
through lecturing, some through meditation,
420
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some through japa, and some through study.
By doing these things, our lives become great.
Do you think the followers of Sri Chaitanya
could practice pure devotion from the
beginning? Their lives became ennobled in the
process of practicing devotion. Like them, we
have all started along the same path some
through music, some through lecturing, some
through meditation, some through japa, and
some again through study. We are making an
t t
attempt to reach his ideal, so that in the course
of our efforts our lives become ennobled.
It is Swami Vivekanandas wish that
this time the labouring class should rise. They
definitely will rise, and with them India will
rise. Look, without anyones effort, boys of all
castes are studying in the schools on their own.
The Brahmana, the Kshatriya, and the Vaishya
all three are now about to move out. Now the
Shudra will rise and will awaken the country.
(To be continued. . .)

Subodh Chandra Ghosh and His Guru

One day 18 year old Subodh along with his friend Kshirod came
to meet to Sri Ramakrishna.
Subodh thought that a paramahamsa was some sort of
magician. He had never before spoken to a sadhu or monk,
so he said to Kshirod: You must go first and talk to the holy
man. I don't know the proper etiquette. Kshirod agreed.
They entered the room and saluted Sri Ramakrishna with
folded hands. Kshirod went to the Master, who was seated on his bed. Subodh remained
at the threshold. Where do you come from? asked Sri Ramakrishna. From Calcutta,
Kshirod replied. Pointing to Subodh the Master said: Why is that gentleman standing so
far away? Come nearer. This encouraged Subodh to move closer. Do you not belong to
the family of Shankar Ghosh? asked the Master. Subodh was surprised and said, Yes, sir,
but how did you know it? When I was staying at Jhamapukur, said the Master, I often
visited your home as well as your Kali Temple at Thanthania. That was before you were
born. I knew you would come. Well, the Divine Mother sends here those who will attain
spirituality. You belong to this place. Sir, if I belong to this place, why did you not call me
earlier? asked Subodh. The Master replied, Look, everything happens at the right time.
Sri Ramakrishna held Subodh's hand and closed his eyes for a few minutes. At last he
said: You will attain the goal. Mother says so. He asked Subodh to sit on his bed. No, sir,
said Subodh, I can't sit on your bed. This is my school clothing; it is not fresh. Moreover,
I have touched people on the way and my feet are dusty. The Master forced him to sit on
his bed, saying: You are my very own. What does it matter whether your cloth is clean
or not?
After a while the Master said to Subodh: Mother sends here those who will receive Her
grace. Come here on Tuesdays or Saturdays.
Subodh Chandra Ghosh was later known as Swami Subodhananda.

God Lived With Them, pp.531-532

421 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 15

Defining God
SWAMI SARVAPRIYANANDA

Irrespective of whether we believe in of all definitions of God

God or not, or how we understand God and
by what name we call God, most of us have
at some point faced the question What is
God? The usual responses to this question are
shrouded either in the rhetoric of blind faith
or in sheer vagueness. But Vedanta gives a
precise answer and this article is an attempt to
follow this systematic Vedantic understanding
and connotation of God.
The term that Vedanta uses for God
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I R AV I K U M A R B . , B E N G A LU R U
across Eastern and Western
religions and philosophies. It also exemplifies
a fine balance, in philosophical knowledge, of
profundity and clarity, of abstract logic and
immediate spiritual experience.
We do have to go through a long and
sustained argument. However, this journey is
not mere hair-splitting argumentation. Just as
it demands a close attention to the details of
the argument, it equally involves a constant

is Brahman. Brahman, through primordial recognition of what we most habitually

nescience (Maya), is regarded as the cause
of the universethis is Saguna Brahman
(Brahman with attributes), which is a close
equivalent to the term God used in theistic
religions. But, a higher and more profound
conception of Brahman, is Nirguna Brahman,
the Absolute, Brahman without attributes. In
what follows, we will take up the challenging
task of defining the Absolute, Nirguna
Brahman.
In Vedanta, the perfect definition of
Brahman would be silence. the accomplish this. Second, we should try to
teaching in silence is the evocative phrase
used by Shankaracharya in his Dakshinamurty
stotram. However, for most of us who are less
proficient in the knowledge of Vedanta, such
an approach can appear a little evasive, if not
entirely inscrutable.
The definition that we consider here is
not only far from vague but has also survived
as one of the finest and most systematic
experience. In other words, we are invited not
only to intellectually understand what is said
but also to experientially satisfy ourselves that
it is true.
The best way to approach such a unique
definition is to set for ourselves three steps
for its comprehension. First, we should be
able to repeat to ourselves whatever is being
taught, thus ensuring a close familiarity
with the text itself. Memorization of the
original Upanishadic texts is a good way to
intellectually grasp it and strive for clarity
and comprehension. Third and this requires
intense focus we should be able to feel its
actuality and see it as a living reality. In short,
it involves our faculty of understanding (step-
by-step through reason and logic) and feeling.
But can one experience God in reality and not
just in faith or conceptualisation? Vedanta
declares that this is possible because the self is,

The author is a sannyasi of the Ramakrishna Order and Minister-in-Charge of Vedanta Society, New York.

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 422


in essence, identical with God. The definition
of God in Vedanta is actually a definition of
our true nature (which is always experienced
within ourselves).
The definition of Brahman selected
here, is from the Taittiriya Upanishad and the
commentary is of Adi Shankaracharya. The
Taittiriya Upanishad, one of the ten principal
Upanishads, is found in the Krishna Yajur
Veda. We can begin with the crucial passage
from the second chapter called Brahmananda
Valli: . (II.1.1) Translated, it Sunyam (No limits in terms of space, or
means that the knower of Brahman attains the
highest. This short sentence can be thought of
as an encapsulation of the whole of Vedanta.
When broken down, it implies that,
1. There is something called Brahman
2. It is possible to know Brahman
3. By knowing Brahman, we attain the
highest.
To know Brahman and attain the highest,
we must first define Brahman. The Taittiriya
Upanishad answers the question What is
Brahman? with this statement: cutting. So, the way we normally perceive
(Taittiriya Upanishad, II.i.1) Brahman is
Reality-Knowledge-Infinity.
In Sanskrit, the word Brahman comes
from the root Brh meaning to swell,
expand, grow, or enlarge. It is also a
neutral noun. It simply means that which
is vast. It is not a qualifying word, that is,
it does not qualify something else as vast.
When we just say vast without qualifying it or
without it qualifying anything else, we are
referring not to something which is vast
but to vastness or infinity itself. Therefore, as
we have derived it from its literal meaning,
Brahman means infinity or anantam. Anantam
can be broken up as na antam. Antam
means limit. Na antam would, therefore,
refer to the state of limitlessness. Brahman is
limitlessness.
423 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
16
Anantam: The Limitless
In order to understand the full signi-
ficance of limitlessness, we need to understand
what limit means. In Vedanta, there are three
kinds of limits. Something is limited or finite
if it is bound by Space (desa), Time (kala), and
Object-ness (vastu).
If Brahman is truly infinite, Brahman has
no limits or is not bound by space (desa), time
(kala) and object-ness (vastu). In Vedantic
terms, this is expressed as: Desa Pariccheda
Omnipresent), Kala Pariccheda Sunyam (No
limits in terms of time, or Eternal), and Vastu
Pariccheda Sunyam (No limits in terms of object-
ness, or in terms of its relation to other objects,
hence, Non-dual).
This requires some careful thinking.
All objects, as we perceive them, are located
in space and bound by the limits of their
own spatial dimensions. So, everything has
a limit in terms of space. This is called Desha
Pariccheda. Pariccheda means limiting or
things is as if they are cut apart from each
other, separate from one another in their
precise locations in space. It is by virtue
of this locatedness that we perceive their
individuality and this individuality is not
only defined by their own attributes but
also determined by their interrelatedness
with other objects surrounding them. Now,
logically, if Brahman is not limited in space,
it means that there is no space (or location)
where Brahman is not. In other words,
Brahman is sarvavyapi or omnipresent. If there
are no limits in space for Brahman, it is all-
pervading.
Similarly, Kala Pariccheda means limits
in time or temporal limits of the existence of
something. Every object we know of, every
entity, has a beginning and end in time.
November 2017
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There is a time when it is created and there
is a time when it is destroyed. That is simply
creation and destruction, birth and death. The
Bhagavad Gita (2.27) says, itself, and nothing else. This is called Vastu
meaning death is certain of that is which is
born. In between birth and death, the entity
exists. Before birth it did not exist, and after
death it will not exist. Every entity we know,
from a little ant crawling on the ground to the
stars and galaxies, have a beginning and an
end.
Now let us suppose something does not
have a beginning and an end. It will mean that
it does not have any limitation in time. Then
what does it mean? It means that that entity
always remains. If Brahman is unlimited in
time, then there was no time that Brahman was
not, and there will be no time when Brahman
will not be. So, in all three periods of time
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I S A B T H A G I R I S . K . , C H E N N A I
past, present and futureBrahman exists.
Brahman has no beginning and no end. One
may say that a non-existent entity also has
neither a beginning nor an end. But, here we
are speaking of Brahman as a positive entity,
which has no limitation in time. What would
that imply? No time limit or kala would imply
that it is Eternal or Nityam.
The third and final kind of limitation is
vastu. Vastu means object. All the things we
see in front of us or around us are objects or
vastu. A bottle of water, a table, the body, the
walls of the room we are sitting in, and all
things outside, all these are vastu. One may
even extend it to abstract entities such as
numbers, which are also vastu of some sort.
But how is vastu a limitation? If we have a
book in our hand, then there are many things
that it is not. Because it is a book, it is not a
table, it is not a human being, it is not a room
or a clock or a birdit is only a book. The
moment we say it is a book, it is a book and
whatever comes under the connotation of a
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
book will be included, and whatever is not a
book is excluded from the identity of a book.
It is another way of saying that a thing is only
Pariccheda. Every entity has this, for without
this there is no identity.
The definition claims that Brahman,
being anantam, must be Vastu Pariccheda
Sunyam, i.e. not limited to being any particular
entity. What does such a claim entail?
If something is not limited to being any
particular vastu, it means that there is no vastu
or entity separate from it. No entity separate
from Brahman would mean that there is no
second entity apart from Brahman. There is no
second thing apart from Brahman. Whatever
is, cannot be apart from Brahman. No second
translates directly as non-dual. Non-duality
is called advaitam in Sanskrit. Hence, Brahman
is advaitam.
So, this small term Anantam, packs so
much meaning! Brahman or God, which we
are defining, is omnipresent, eternal and non-
dual (sarvavyapi, nityam, advaitam). There is no
space where Brahman is not, there is no time
when it does not exist, and there is nothing
apart from it.
Satyam: Existence Absolute
So far we have uncovered the meaning
of the term anantam. We can now go to satyam
(reality/existence/truth).
There can be an objection that we have
only defined a concept, but is there really
such an infinite entity? Is this not just a
philosophical abstraction? Moreover, we have
put ourselves in a trap because if we say that
Brahman is all pervasive or sarvavyapi then it
must be everywhere. If it is everywhere, then
it must be here. But, when we look around,
we do not find Brahman. So, how can we find
Brahman right here? We have said Brahman is
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 18
nityam, not limited in time. If it is in all periods
of time, then it should be here right now. So,
how can we find Brahman right now? We have
also said that Brahman is advaitam, non-dual,
and there is no entity apart from Brahman.
If Brahman is not different from any object,
then we should be able to find Brahman in any
object. How do we find this out?
Let us consider this carefully. What we
see in front of us appears to be real or satyam
it exists. So, a piece of paper exists, a table
exists, a human being exists, the planet exists,
and so on. The term satyam applies to all these
entities. So, the question is, are these ordinary
objects, Brahman?
The problem is that none of the objects
mentioned above are anantam. Lets take a
piece of paper. Is it limitless in space? No. Is
it limitless in time? Not at all, it has a point
of creation and a point in destruction. Is it
limitless in terms of vastu? Again, not at all!
There are millions of entities that are different
from it. It is not at all non-dual. Yet the
Upanishads say that satyam is Brahman. Now
we have a contradiction. What we normally
consider as satyam has limitations. But the
Upanishads insist that Brahman is both satyam
and anantam. How do we resolve this glaring
contradiction?
When faced with such language, where
two terms are used, whose meaning mutually
contradict each other, Vedanta resorts to the
use of lakshana or implied meaning. What is
meant by implied meaning?
Let us assume that one purchases a
mango and then proceeds to eat the mango.
Notice the two different senses in which the
word mango is used. First, when we say the
person purchased the mango, we mean he
purchased the whole mango, but, next, when
we say he ate the mango, we immediately
understand that he ate the edible portion of the
425 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
mango. He obviously did not eat the seed and
the skin of the mango. The primary meaning of
the word mango is the whole fruit, and then,
depending on the context, we use a secondary
or implied meaning, whereby by mango we
mean only the edible portion of the fruit. We
often use language in this way in our daily
usage.
So, we all understand that when we
mention something, depending upon the
situation we sometimes mean the whole entity
and sometimes a part of that entity.
There are different types of lakshana,
different types of implied meaning. What can
we do with the contradictory terms satyam
and anantam? What we need here is something
that is satyam and at the same time anantam
something that is real and at the same time
limitless. It has to be all-pervading, it must
be eternal, and there should be nothing that
exists apart from it. Let us take a close look at
the entities we call satyam, real. Whichever
entity we regard as satyam, we acknowledge
that it definitely exists. Now, Existence is
common to all of them. So we take existence
or is-ness. Where do we find this existence?
From each and every experience we have.
Everything is experienced as existing. Paper
is. Do we feel the paper is not? Then we will
not see the paper. When we say, paper is
there is a sense of astitva or existence.
Lets take an example of a room where
we may have two hundred chairs made
of plastic. If we count the chairs, there are
200 entities. But, if we count the plastic, the
material from which these two hundred chairs
have been made there is only one entity which
is plastic. So, we take the common entity
which is plastic. In the same way, whenever
we have an experience of anything that exists,
that is real, we have two experiences the
thing itself and its existence. The entities are
November 2017
 19
differentbook, microphone, glass, bottle,
man, woman, etc, are different entitiesbut
existence is common to them all. Can we not
regard existence as the reality with the name
and form of a book, microphone, glass, man or
a woman and so on?
We can think of it as one ocean of
existence in which the laptop, the book,
the bottle, are all waves. The waves are
different, with different forms, but there is
one continuous mass of water where these
individual waves exist. Would it be correct to
say that water is in the wave or the wave is in
the water? All waves are nothing but water.
Whenever we see the waves, we see waves and
water, but more precisely, it is water which
appears as the wave. The wave is in the water.
According to the Vedantic way of thinking
existence is the only reality. Instead of saying
entities have existence, Vedanta would say
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , N E W J E R S E Y
Existence appears as various entities with
different names and forms.
Like water appearing as waves, Existence
is appearing as every existing object in the
universe. Now this Existence has no limit.
Is there any time, is there any space that
Existence is not? If we say that space and time
are real, then it is Existence which lends them
reality. Existence must be there for any reality
to be predicated.
Thus Existence is not limited to any
vastu. Anything that is, must have Existence. Is
there any vastu apart from Existence? Is there
any entity apart from Existence? Logically
speaking, anything that is separated from
Existence immediately becomes non-existent.
If we separate Existence from a book, the book
will immediately disappear. If we remove the
water from a wave, the wave will immediately
disappear. Nothing will be left. We need to
extend that understanding to the abstract
concept of Existence. If we change our way
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
of thinking, we can see that instead of things
having existence, it is Existence, that appears
as different things.
Existence can be appreciated only with
a name and a form. So all these names and
forms that religions have come up with are all
true as manifestations of Existence, or Sat. So,
Existence Itself has no limitation in time, space
and object.
We normally think of Existence as
a property. But, Existence cannot be a
property. Properties distinguish objects
from one another. For example, the property
of a white flower distinguishes it from a
red flower. But Existence does not
differentiate between objects like this.
Each and every one of the objects in the
world exists. If we add a supposed property
of existence to the description of an object,
it does not change anything except to add a
redundancy.
Brahman is pure Existence. According to
the Bhagavad Gita:
(2:16)
The unreal has no existence; the real
never ceases to be. The truth about both has
been realized by the seers.
The Gita affirms, that that which is unreal,
never comes into existence and that which is real,
never goes out of existence. In his commentary
on this verse, Shankaracharya says that in all
our perceptions, we experience two things as
one. We experience the thing (as name and
form) and its existence. But, we mistake it as one
experience. Actually, there are two experiences.
When we say, I see a book, Vedanta says, No,
you are seeing Book is. There is the experience
of the name and form of book and also the
experience of existence, is-ness.
If we deeply contemplate on existence
everywhere, we will feel that we are in an
426
 20
ocean of existence. All the objects around
us will appear to be waves in an ocean of
existence; chair, table, man, woman, the sky
and the earththese are waves in the ocean
of existence. If we contemplate in this manner,
we will intuitively feel this ocean of Existence
to be our own Existence. Sat or pure Existence
is our own existence; the object seems to be out
there, but its existence is actually borrowed
from us. I exist. The whole world is imbued
with existence borrowed from me.
In Sanskrit, the name for this pure
Existence, the is-ness is Sat or pure Existence.
All the things we see are names and forms. The
book we see is the book name and form plus
existence. So, these are compound entities.
This Sat has no limitation in time, space
and vastu. It is anantam, limitless.
Jnanam: Knowledge Absolute
We can now consider Jnanam, the
next term in the definition of Brahman. The
Upanishad insists Jnanam Brahma, Knowledge
is Brahman. What is meant by knowledge?
Any knowledge that we have, any kind of
conscious experience that we have is jnanam.
Now, is this jnanam, Brahman? It cannot
be Brahman because all these experiences
are definitely not anantam. None of them are
all-pervasive. None of these experiences are
eternal, none are unlimited in time; these
are fleeting experiences that come and go.
Every experience is different from every
other experience. One sees something and
one hears something. These two experiences
are distinct from one another. There is Vastu
Pariccheda, there is Kala Pariccheda and there
is Desa Pariccheda in each and every jnanam
so jnanam is not anantam. Yet, the Upanishad
insists jnanam is Brahman, which means it
has to be anantam. Again, we have a
contradiction.
427 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
To resolve this contradiction, we need
something in jnanam which is anantam. So,
we will have to take recourse to an implied
meaning, lakshana. What is common to all
experiences, all jnanam?
First, we must understand what happens
when we experience anything. Let us take the
example of hearing a sound. Sound travels
in waves to our ears, where vibrations are
converted into nervous impulses which
then travel to the brain. In the brain, the
nervous impulses are somehow converted
into mental vrittis which are then illumined
by consciousness. This gives us the first
person experience of sound. So, any jnanam
is actually a vritti, a mental modification plus
consciousness.
Jnanam (experience) = vritti (mental
modification) + chaitanyam (consciousness)
Different experiences (jnanam) can be
represented as follows:
Jnanam of a chair = vritti about the chair
+ consciousness
Jnanam of a book = vritti about the book
+ consciousness
Jnanam of the body = vritti about the
body + consciousness
Jnanam of a thought = vritti about the
thought + consciousness
In Vidyaranya Swamis Panchadasi, we
find
The objects of sense knowledge (sound,
sight, taste, touch, and smell) that are
perceived in the waking state differ from each
other, but the consciousness of these is one.
What we see, what we touch, what we
smell, and what we hear, are all different from
each other. The objects are different from each
other, experiences are different from each other,
and the vrittis too differ from each other; but
November 2017
 21
the consciousness which illumines them all
is not different. It is one and the same. That
consciousness is unlimitedit is anantam. In what
sense is consciousness not limited in space? In all
experiences, consciousness must be there. Without
consciousness, there can be no experience. With
respect to kala or time, consciousness is present
at all times and is unlimited in time. In all our
waking life, dream life, and even in deep sleep,
consciousness alone enables all experience. There
must be consciousness even in deep sleep, which
experiences the blankness and restfulness of deep
sleep.
How is consciousness not limited by
vastu? No vastu, or object, can be experienced
apart from consciousness. As far as experience
is concerned, consciousness is non-dual.
PA G E S P O N S O R : P R O F. R A D H A K R I S H N A N S . , T H R I S S U R
Consciousness itself is unlimited in time,
unlimited in space and unlimited by any
particular experience of any particular object.
So, it is Desha-Kala-Vastu Pariccheda Sunyam.
Hence, it is anantam and fits with the definition
of anantam Brahma. In Vedanta, this unlimited
consciousness is known as Chit.
Thus, Sat and Chit, pure Existence and pure
Consciousness, is Brahman. It is also intimately
felt as our own inner reality. It is what we are.
Satyam Jnanam Anantam is Brahman, and we are
in reality, this very same Brahman.
Brahman as Infinite Existence
Consciousness
We come to the understanding that
the definition of Brahman according to the
Upanishads is Sat Chit Anantam unlimited
Existence and unlimited Consciousness. At this
point, one must also consider, ananda, bliss. It
is common to speak of Brahman as Sat-Chit-
AnandaExistence-Consciousness-Bliss. The
Taittiriya Upanishad has separately considered
the question of Brahman as ananda in some
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
detail, so ananda is not explicitly mentioned
in this definition. However, we may note
that anantam is itself anandalimitlessness,
infinitude, beyond suffering, is real bliss.
Swami Vivekananda defined Brahman
as Existence-Absolute, Knowledge-Absolute,
and Bliss-Absolute. Not that God or Brahman
exists, It is Existence Itself. Not that Brahman
knows something, It is Knowledge Itself. Not
that Brahman is happy, It is Bliss Itself.
Where is Brahman? The question should
actually bewhere is it not? The question is
not, How can I experience it?, the question
should be, How can I not experience it?
Swami Ashokananda once said, If someone
asks what is proof of the existence of God? The
answer would be that it is a foolish question.
Every experience proves the existence of
this God. If we learn to see experiences
through the lens of this definition, then every
experience is God-experience!
The Isha Upanishad proclaims:_
6
One who perceives in the Atman
everything, and in the same way Atman in
everything, does not hate.
7
When to the man of realization all beings
become the very Self, then what delusion and
what sorrow can there be for that seer of oneness?
I see myself in all beings and I see
all beings in me. If I am Existence and
Consciousness, I must be there in everything. It
has to be true otherwise these things would not
exist. I am there in every experience. I become
one with the universe. This is the fulfillment
of all human goals and aspirations. This is the
attainment of supreme bliss and transcendence
of suffering.
428
 22
14

Heritage Heroes
BR. LOKAHITACHAITANYA

Tokhu Emong
Nagaland has sixteen tribes and sub- NOVEMBER 2017
tribesAngami, Konayak, Zeliang, Kuki, SOME SPECIAL DAYS
Ao, Phom, Khiamniungam, Yimchungru, 1 Swami Subodhananda Jayanti
Sangtam, Lotha, Sumi, Chang, Pochury, 3 Swami Vijnanananda Jayanti
Chakhesang, Kachari and Rengema. These tribes 4 Guru Nanak Jayanti
have their own distinct customs, language and attire. 7 Tokhu Emong
28 Swami Premananda Jayanti
Wokha, a district headquarters in Nagaland, is the home to the
Lothas. It is situated in the mid-western part of Nagaland, surrounded by beautiful hills, waterfalls, green
valleys and lakes.
The Lothas celebrate their post-harvest festival Tokhu Emong in the month of
November. Every year it begins on 7 November and lasts for 9 days. Tokhu means moving
from house to house, rejoicing and taking food and drinks, and Emong means pause at
the appointed time. The village priest proclaims the date of Tokhu Emong and during the
festival period the Lothas above 12 years of age move in respective age groups from house
to house, eating, drinking, and performing folk dances. The folk songs form an integral
part of the celebration and they eulogise the brave deeds of their ancestors, traditional heroes and
warriors. Tokhu Emong is an excellent example of bringing the fraternity together through mutual love and
forging strong bonds within.

Swami Vijnanananda
Hari Prasanna strongly pinned Sri Ramakrishna to the wall when the latter
challenged him for a wrestling bout. Declaring Hari as the winner, a smiling Sri
Ramakrishna infused into him a spiritual current which lifted his mind into a state
of ecstasy. This power worked wonders and the strong lad became a close disciple of
Sri Ramakrishna, and later an ideal sannyasi.
Hari was born to Taraknath Chattopadhyay and Nakuleswari Devi on
30 October 1868 in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. He saw Sri Ramakrishna for the first time
at Belgharia when he was only seven. In 1883, he entered St. Xaviers College in Calcutta
and began to visit Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar frequently. He received abundant love and blessings from
Sri Ramakrishna which transformed him completely. In 1887, he obtained his B.A. degree from Patna College,
and in 1892, graduated as a civil engineer from Poona College of Science. He served as a district engineer at

429 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 23

Gazipur in Uttar Pradesh and during this period was in constant touch with his brother disciples and served
them in various ways.
When Swami Vivekananda returned from the West he discussed the architectural plan for the future
Ramakrishna Temple with Peshan (abbreviation of Prasanna as addressed by Swamiji). Hari drew up the
plan, and Swamiji finalised it after some revisions. Hari supervised the construction activities at the newly
purchased grounds at Belur Math. On 9 May 1899, he took formal monastic vows and became known as
Swami Vijnanananda. At Swamijis behest, Vijnanananda started a centre at Allahabad. He also supervised
the construction activities of various centres of Ramakrishna Mission. In 1937, he became the fourth president
of the Ramakrishna Order. After four years of construction activity, the new temple of Sri Ramakrishna as
envisaged by Swami Vivekananda was finally built and consecrated by Swami Vijnanananda on 14 January
1938. After the consecration, he remarked, Now my work is over. Today I am relieved of the responsibility that
Swamiji entrusted to me. Swami Vijnananandas efforts and his contribution towards the spiritual welfare of
mankind will ever shine in the annals of the Ramakrishna Order. He attained Mahasamadhi on 25 April 1938.

Swami Premananda
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I G . N . M U R T H Y, C O I M B AT O R E

He is pure, pure to the very marrow of his bonesthis is how Sri Ramakrishna
described a young lad of twenty named Baburam Ghosh. He was a nityasiddha, an
ishwarakoti who played a pivotal role in the divine play of Sri Ramakrishna. Baburam
Ghosh was born to Taraprasanna Ghosh and Matangini Devi on 10 December 1861
in Antpur, a village thirty miles from Calcutta. He showed monastic disposition
from his childhood and when he moved to Calcutta for higher studies, he came in
touch with Rakhal (later Swami Brahmananda) who took him to Sri Ramakrishna.
Sri Ramakrishna examined this young lad, and in a vision perceived him as a partial
manifestation of Sri Radha. Sri Ramakrishna allowed Baburam to stay with him and the
lad served his guru with great devotion.
He received the ochre robe from Sri Ramakrishna at Cossipore. Later, after Sri Ramakrishnas
mahasamadhi, he along with other brother disciples took the formal vows of sannyasa and assumed the
nameSwami Premananda. He visited Puri, Varanasi, Vrindaban and other places and practiced intense
spiritual disciplines. After returning from the West, Swami Vivekananda tasked Premananda Maharaj with
the responsibility of managing the daily affairs of the Belur Math. In this role, he endeared himself to one
and all by his loving disposition, self-surrender and devotion and came to be known as the Mother of the
Math. He became one of the trustees of the Math and trained novices who joined the order in the ways of
renunciation and service. He undertook extensive preaching tour in East Bengal from 1913 to 1917 and attracted
a huge following for the growing movement. His love and service remains unparalleled in the history of the
Ramakrishna Order. He attained Mahasamadhi on 30 July 1918.

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 430

 24

Dimensions of Realities
SWAMI SUNIRMALANANDA

In the Net of Everything
Though the internet of sorts was there
since about 1975, it grew globally during the
90s. Jaron Lanier coined the term Virtual Reality
(VR) in 1981. A decade later, in 1990, we had
the World Wide Web, first made for CERN and
then quickly exploding over the globe. In the
same year, the term Augmented Reality (AR)
came into existence. Reality, Virtual Reality,
Augmented Reality and Ubiquitous Realityall
arriving in quick succession.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a simulation.
Whether it is on the computer or mobile, its
a simulated universe. It is all technological
creation. Nothing is real, so to say. Augmented
Reality (AR) is enhancing the experience of real
and virtual worlds using data and information.
AR blends virtual reality and physical reality;
it helps us to interact with the universe around
in a better way and guides disciplines like
medicine towards better knowledge, work,
and efficient results. Ubiquitous Reality is
the computation of our world; it is somewhat
related to AR but does not concern many.
Augmented Reality has come to stay and
grow, and is for our experiencing the world in
an enhanced (or sometimes diminished) way.
Augmented Reality has a twin sister. It is the
Internet of Things. Internet of Things (IoT)
connects everything possible to the Internet,
thus paving the way for augmenting reality in
which we live.
Till recently, our computers and mobile
phones were connected to the internet. Then,
The author, a sannyasi of the Ramakrishna Order is the President of Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, Netherlands.
our cars got connected, thanks to GPS. And
then, our refrigerators. Now, everything is
connected to everything else. When we are
driving, our car is in touch with other cars, and
so on.
Initially, our gateway to Virtual Reality
was our computer or mobile phone. To
experience Augmented Reality, we now, for
instance, use google glasses. This helps us to see
more than what we would see, our earphones
help us hear more than what we would hear,
and thus our experiences are more virtual than
real. However, these accessories may not be
needed in the near future. Why? Because we
will by then be completely inside the world of
technological creation. Let us enjoy!
So, VR, AR, and IoT are the names given
to the building blocks of a new universe we
have started living in since the last two decades.
We are living in a world within a worlda
universe within a universe. We are inside a
WWWworldwide web, literally. Everything
will be connected to the net; which means we
shall be living in a huge net, a web.
Just imagine our world becoming
completely internetizedeverything linked
to the internet! The time is soon to come when
we return home from the office to find unseen
slaves ready to serve us. If we are tired, our
room will sense it. The room will cool itself, our
dress will internetically advise us that we need
to change, our fridge will internetically prepare
our food or inform the supermarket that our
bread is getting exhausted. Suitable music will

431 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 25
begin to play and the TV will show movies to
our liking. The printer will sense that we are
hungry and print a beautiful pizza for us. Harry
Potter like situations are soon to come when
hanging photos become alive. The Ds will
increase, so to say3D, 4D, 5D. If we wish,
we can experience a jungle in our own room.
Thus, we will soon live like an emperor. We do
nothing; everything is done internetically. In
the past, emperors had hundreds of servants.
But here, the very walls of our house act as our
servants, and our travels, purchases, workplace,
treatmenteverything is going to change. So
they say.
And we shall be a lazy subject of the
internet, living inside the net of everything or
the IoT. We will be left confused about which
world is real, which is augmented or fake,
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I G O P I N AT H K . S . , B E N G A LU R U
which one to believe in. Whether we like this or
not, we have no escape. However, the question
will haunt us.
Which world is real?
The Reality of the Real Universe
In one of his stories to the BBC, considered
one of the Best of BBC in 2016, Philip Ball
wrote: Several physicists, cosmologists, and
technologists are now happy to entertain the idea
that we are all living inside a gigantic computer
simulation, experiencing aMatrix-style virtual
world that we mistakenly think is real.1
If this is true, our situation is precarious.
There is no real world at all. So where is the
real world or universe? We have already had
a virtual world and we have been creating for
ourselves another world within a worlda
labyrinthto live in.
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
Creating such worlds for ourselves is not
something new for us. We have been doing
this since the beginning of time, if ever there
was one. While we assume that the present
generation is the pioneer in creating the Virtual
Universe or Augmented Reality, such things
have been going on since ages.
Since ancient times, our rishis have
told us that we have several universes.
They informed us about the real and unreal
worlds. In Sanskrit, the root as (to be) creates
the word sat (being) and thence come satta
(existence) or satya (truth). So, the reality is
called satta. Vedanta uses this word to explain
the different worlds we live in. Vedanta has
given the clearest indications about how we
idealize the universe around us. It calls our
awareness of the universe in the waking
state Vyavaharika Satta. The world which we
consider so real is where we live and
interact during our waking state. Suddenly
we fall asleep. When we are asleep, we have
dreams. During dreams, we are aware of a
different universe. In a day, almost 40% of
our time is spent in a different universe in
sleep. That universe is called Pratibhasika
Satta (apparent universe). Pratibhasa means
appearance. Until our ego disconnects from
that apparent universe, it is as real for us as it
is when we experience the everyday world in
the waking state. So we have two universes to
live in. When we wake up, our apparent world
disappears, as it were, but its memory lingers.
There is, however, one extraordinary difference
between the Pratibhasika Satta (imagined)
universe of dreams and the Vyavaharika
Satta (actual) universe of the waking state.
While there is no surety that we shall return
to the same universe every night in sleep,
while waking, we are certain to return to the
same universeof our own family, friends,
workplace, etc.
432
 26
This makes us think that this waking
universe, though pundits and scientists may
call it fake, is absolutely real. Unfortunately,
however, we forget some factors of this waking
universe. First, this too is a memory only.
Second, we are constantly changing and so is
the so-called real universe. Third, what we
think is solid and firm ground is not so solid,
after all. We wish it was real and want it to be
permanent and real.
So, the question arises againIs this
universe of the waking state real? It is not real
because when we sleep we are unaware of it
and when we wake-up things keep changing;
when we are happy it appears joyful and when
we are sad it appears miserable. It is all in the
mind. So nothing is as real as we want it to be.
This is the plain fact.
Vedanta pointed this out ages ago. The
Buddhists went a step further when Nagarjuna
said that the universe we think to be real
is virtualshunya. Several Indian thinkers
gave several viewpoints about the universe.
Edmund Husserl and his followers recently
gave phenomenology to the world and said that
the external universe is the suggestion and the
ideation happens within.
The Story of the Sattas
We began by saying that technology
is creating the illusory Virtual Reality and
the semi-real Augmented Reality. We also
noted that the real universe we live in is not
as solid as we think it to be. Furthermore, we
recognised the fact that every day we live in
two universesthe so-called real, and the
dream universe.
Vedanta too speaks of other universes.
Extending the scope of the apparent universe
(pratibhasika) to be more than the dream
universe, we can divide it into Pratibhasika Satta
and Swapna Satta. That is, in dream we live
433 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
in the swapna universe. But while someone is
drunk or drugged or mentally ill, he apparently
enters into another universe. Even normal
persons seem to live in imaginary worlds. And
at that moment, that universe is absolutely real
for them.
What does all this mean? It means we
must be alert and awake. We should not get
confused. Vedanta comes to our rescue here.
Vedanta does not try to force us to become
religious. All it wants to do is tell us certain
simple facts of the universe.
So what is real and what is not real
according to Vedanta?
According to Vedanta, there is the
Paramarthika Satta or the Paramarthika Reality
(PR). This alone is real. Paramarthika means the
absolute or spiritual. That plane of Reality is
the only Reality. It is the ground, the base, the
foundation for everything else. This ground of
everything is what is called Consciousness. The
rest is superimposition or creation. So, through
the maze or labyrinth of universes, Vedanta
wishes to lead us to the Real universe, the
Paramarthika Satta.
Starting from Virtual Reality through
Augmented Reality to pratibhasika reality, all
fake universes are creations of the processor
internal and external. The processor may be
an external device or the internal brain itself.
So, these processors are creating universes
and holding on to them. Until this moment,
the gateway to information technology is
the mobile and the computer. Soon, we shall
eliminate all gateways and gadgets. We shall be
experiencing the universe without the help of
instruments. And as we get accustomed to the
new universe, it will become inseparable from
our system. Which means our brain shall tease
us into believing in a universe which is created.
And this created universe is within another
(Continued on page 34)
November 2017
 27
Article

Universal Liberation, Salvation, and

Restoration in Indian and Western Thought
GOPAL STAVIG

(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

Universal Restoration the world, since all bodies will be revolved

According to the Doctrine of Universal
Restoration, the earth or possibly the entire
universe will be spiritualized in the future
and all of its inhabitants will reach a state of
perfection at the same time.
The Neoplatonic Irish religious
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I V E N K ATA R A O G . , H Y D E R A B A D
into spirit, all place into a non-extended
simplicity, all time into eternity. supported
by the Holy Scriptures which clearly state that
all human bodies shall share the same glory
and power in the same spiritual and immortal
and eternal state. For this comes to all men

philosopher Johannes Scotus Erigena (c. 810-
77) of the Dark Ages in Europe supported the
Doctrine Universal Restoration (Apokatastasis),
that everyone will be purified and the entire
world will become perfect. In the life to come
when they return into their former glory of
the Divine Image to which they were created,
raised above all things they shall see their God
face to face, in so far as it is given to the
comprehensible and intelligible creature to
behold the incomprehensible and unintelligible
Cause of the Universe. evil and death
and unhappiness are contrary to the nature
which has been created by God, nothing
contrary to the Divine Goodness and Life and
Blessedness can be coeternal herewith. For the
Divine goodness shall consume evil, eternal
life shall swallow up death, Blessedness shall
absorb unhappiness. when the world comes
to an end, there will be neither corporeal nor
sensible entities nor space nor time in which
we could conceive those torments taking place.
For all these things will come to an end with
The author is a member of Vedanta Society of Southern California, USA.
generally without discrimination from nature
and from grace.33 Next, there is a unification
of the whole sensible creature, followed by a
transformation into the intelligible [spiritual],
so that the universal creature becomes
intelligible. Finally, the universal creature
shall be unified with its Creator, and shall be
in Him and with Him One. And this is the
end of all things visible and invisible, for all
visible things shall pass into intelligibles, and
all intelligibles into God Himself.34 One will
pass beyond all the laws and limitations of
nature and on that superessential plane be
transformed into God Himself, and shall be
in Him and with Him One. and lastly, the
supernatural merging of the perfectly purified
souls into God Himself.35
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)
points out that, All individuals are destined
to gain eternal life, for as a Hindu text says, we
are the children of immortality. The destiny
of the human soul is to realize its oneness with
the supreme.36 The end of human existence

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 434

 28
is perfection, which is not ascent to a heaven
above but is ascent to the spirit within. The
new birth for which humanity awaits is not
a post-mortem salvation but is spiritualized
humanity. When the incarnation of God is
realized, not only in a few individuals but in
the whole of humanity, we will have the new
creation, the new race of men and women,
mankind transformed, redeemed, and reborn,
and a world created anew. This is the destiny
of the world, the supreme spiritual ideal.37 At
the end of the world process, humanity will
be spiritualized and all people will attain to
eternal life. To transform people into prophets
and to establish a state of cosmic unity is
the goal of evolutionary history. There will
be a universal redemption where all people
will realize their Divinity. Humanity will be
liberated at the end of the cosmic process when
the world drama has been played out. When
the world process reaches its consummation
point, the historical process will cease, and
time will come to an end.38
Some Discussion
There are three views concerning the
universal liberation and salvation process.
First, the ultra-Universalists hold that all
people no matter what kind of life they lived
are saved at the moment of death. This idea
is subject to the criticism that if this were
so, there would be little need for religion or
for living a moral or spiritual life. For that
reason, many Christians who believe that
a person lives only one life on earth cannot
accept universal salvation. Second, according
to the Restorationists, the wicked enter a
purgatory of punishment at death, which
purifies them and makes them virtuous.
Critics might reply that in this world suffering
often does not make a person virtuous and
can cause a person to be resentful. Third,
435 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
Hindu and Buddhist reincarnationists teach
a long, natural and positive progress of
personal evolutionary development, through
innumerable incarnations on earth and other
worlds until the person attains an eternal
Divine state of existence. All people will
eventually discover their innate Divinity
and attain to a state of perfection. If one
accepts this view, then the objections raised
by the traditional Christians against the
ultra-Universalists and Restorationists are
nullified. A Reincarnationist acknowledges
the transforming power of Brahman-Gods
grace, Divine justice, justification by faith,
the atonement of the Divine Incarnation,
redemption, the responsibility of people to live
a good moral life, and realizes the importance
of religion in realizing these goals.39 All people
at different paces are gradually working
toward eventual liberation and salvation, but
an exemplary standard must first be reached.
Brahman-God does not save all people in the
universe at one point in time, since the Lord
desires to perpetuate the creation. If Gods
antecedent will is for all people to be saved
(1 Tim. 2:3-4) and His consequent will is that
some should be damned, then God is not
immutable since there is a change in His will.
About being liberated or saved there are
two views. One is of gradual salvation (Krama
Mukti) that at death, all liberated people
proceed to a higher world where they undergo
a period of ongoing progressive sanctification
leading to final liberation and salvation. For
example, the Nondualist Sri Shankaracharya
affirmed that devotees who correctly worship
the Personal God (Ishvara) proceed to the
third order of heaven (Brahmaloka) at death,
and undergo a process of gradual purification
and illumination. Those who proceed along
this path of the gods do not return to this
human cycle of birth and death. But non-
November 2017
 29
return stands as an accomplished fact for
those from whom the darkness (of ignorance)
has been completely removed as a result of
their full illumination.40 Moreover having
transcended both hunger and thirst and
having crossed over sorrowbeing free
from mental unhappiness, one rejoices; in the
Divine heavenly world.41 They see Ishvara
(Personal God) face to face and experience
His bliss in the emancipated state, though
there remains a sense of separateness. In the
joyful beatified state, the released soul gets
all the Divine powers except that of running
the universe (with its creation, continuance,
and dissolution).42 First, there is the vision of
God, then participation in God, and ultimately
absolute identity with God. After living with
God until the end of the cosmic cycle, the
soul ultimately attains to oneness with God
by merging with the transpersonal nondual
Brahman. In this state, there is neither subject
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , C H E N N A I
nor object, self or the world.43
The second idea is that the liberated or
saved soul immediately or quickly attains to
the highest and final state. The Doctrine of
References
33. Johannes Scotus Erigena, Periphyseon, V, ed. I. P.
Sheldon-Williams and John OMeara (Montreal:
Bellarmin, 1987), V, pp. 602, 615, 673 (926C-27A,
938D, 988A-B).
34 Erigena (1987), V, p. 563, (893D-94A).
35 Erigena (1987), V, pp. 712-13, (1020A-21A).
36. S. Radhakrishnan, An Idealist View of Life (New
York: Barnes & Noble (1932, 1964), p. 244; Lal
(1989), p. 283.
37 Troy Organ, Radhakrishnan and the Ways of Oneness
of East and West (Athens: Ohio University Press,
1989), pp. 115-17.
38 Lal (1989), pp. 285-86.
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
Final Cause (telos) states that events are best
explained in reference to some end, purpose,
or goal to which they are moving toward.
We can think of liberation and salvation
as a final cause, that which like a magnet
naturally attracts or draws us to it. In the
evolutionary development of humans, there
is a gradual unfolding of consciousness in
successive stages. Eventually, the last stage
is reached when all humans have Brahman-
God consciousness. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
mentioned that all things strive for their own
perfection where all of the potentialities within
their nature are realized. The final cause and
ultimate object of desire is Brahman-God and
our innate divinity. The weaker version of the
Doctrine of Final Cause is a form of functional
causality, where our present activity functions
in the direction of our desired goals. In the
stronger version, the future actually exerts
a pull on our activity in that direction. The
Hidden Plan of Nature, the basic teleological
principle is that all life is slowly evolving and
will eventually be liberated and reach a state
of perfection.
(Concluded.)
39. Joseph Bettis, Is Karl Barth a Universalists?,
Scottish Journal of Theology 20 (1967), pp. 425-428,
436, discusses arguments used against universal
salvation.
40. Shankara, Brahma Sutra Bhasya, tr. Swami
Gambhirananda (Hereafter BSB)(Calcutta:
Advaita Ashrama, 1996), IV:4.22.
41. Shankara, Commentary on Katha Upanishads, ed.
Swami Gambhirananda, (Calcutta; Advaita
Ashrama, 1987), I:1.12.
42 BSB, IV:4.17.
43 Radhakrishnan, II, pp. 643-48; BSB, IV:3.10-11; 4:3,
17, 21-22.
436
 30

Approach the wise sages, offer reverential salutations, repeatedly ask proper
questions, serve them and thus know the Truth. Bhagavad Gita

Pariprasna
Q & A with Srimat Swami Vireswarananda Maharaj
(1892 to 1985), 10th President of the Ramakrishna Order.

Readers can mail us their questions on religious and spiritual matters.

Question: Maharaj, is thinking about the details of work a sadhana too?

Maharaj: Since all work is associated with Thakur, thinking about the details of work with
a view to attaining perfection is also good. The whole days work should be examined at the end
of the day before we go to sleep. Such introspection will help us to detect the defects in our work
and also to know the attitude with which we have worked. We can thus rectify our defects.

Question: Which one should be given prioritywork or meditation?

Maharaj: Both are equally important. In the Gita, you get the answer:
(5.4)
Childlike or immature people, not the wise, speak of Self- knowledge and Yoga of action,
as distinct; he, who is truly established in One, gains the fruits of both. If a conflict between work
and meditation comes, go for work in the spirit of service.

Question: But Maharaj, will not emphasis on a particular Yoga, depend on individual
temperament?
Maharaj: No, there is no place for individual temperament or lifestyle here. Mould
your character combining all the four Yogas with more emphasis on Karma Yoga. Swami
Shuddhanandaji complained to Swamiji that he was exhorting them to work and discouraging
their desire for intense spiritual practices though he and his other brothers had practised rigorous
sadhana. Swamiji replied: If you desire to do intense spiritual practices, you should have come
earlier. Now, it is already late. It is now the time for work. You must work. Swamiji knew that
the coming generation would not be able to exclusively undertake an all-absorbing sadhana. So,
he introduced this service aspect.

Question: Where is the place of the guru in a spiritual life?

Maharaj: What is the role of the teachers in your education? Where is the place of the
professor under whom you do some research work or write a thesis for a Ph.D? The same
answer is applicable here too. You are given certain directions along which you shall
have to proceed and the rest of it, you shall have to do yourself. The guru
will help now and then when you are going wrong or when you are
stuck up in your endeavours. Just as you work in a laboratory under a

437 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 31

professor for your research, here too, you are guided by a person and according
to his instructions, you move ahead. Swami Brahmanandaji once answered the
question Is there any need for a guru? by saying, Even a pickpocket needs a
guru to learn the art of picking someones pocket and for Brahma-Vidya (Self
Knowledge) do you think that no guru is necessary? So, for any subject, you
cannot progress without the learned help from outside.

Question: How long should I meditate?

Maharaj: You may do meditation as long as you can, but be careful that you do not strain
yourself too much. Though you may feel joy at the beginning, you may tax your nerves and a
reaction may set in after some time. You must have sufficient rest and sleep at night so that you
feel refreshed when you sit for meditation in the early hours of the morning. You must take rest
and sleep for six hours at least. If, for any reason, that is not possible at night and your habit is to
get up very early in the morning, then make up the deficiency by taking a little nap after lunch.
Often at the beginning, when our health is good and nerves are strong, we may not feel the
deficiency in rest and sleep, but the accumulated strain will affect us in the long run.

Question: Beginners are not always able to meditate for long. What is the remedy?
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I A N A N D VA S U D E VA N , C H E N N A I

Maharaj: Do not feel depressed as you are not able to meditate for long or see the form of
your deity in the heart. It will come by practice. But do not meditate between the eyebrows. That
is risky. You may be able to keep the mind fixed there for some time while you cannot do it in
the heart, but later, it may result in physical or mental disorders. It may strain your nerves and
you may get a nervous breakdown or constant pain in the head etc. Practise meditation and japa
regularly and everything will be set right through the grace of Sri Ramakrishna.

Question: But, Maharaj, the point is why do we get distracted and lose our concentration
when we sit for our spiritual practice? Is there no remedy?
Maharaj: You see, at the beginning, for some time the mind remains restless and gets
disturbed by small things. So, concentration is difficult at the initial stage. But do not be depressed
at that. It is common experience with all beginners. Keep to the practice with determination
and bring the mind back again and again to the object of worship and meditation, if you find
it has wandered away. These are but desires that make the mind restless and concentration,
difficult. Renounce these desires through discrimination (vichara) and purify your mind; then
you shall have concentration. Practice and vairagya (dispassion) are the only two means to get
concentration of mind. By vairagya I mean discrimination and weeding out all desires (vasanas)
from the mind, thus making the mind purer and purer. When the mind becomes pure, you shall
be able to meditate well and derive great joy. The struggle will be there for one or two years at
least. So, stick to spiritual practices daily and routinely and all your difficulties will go
away. Concentration does not come so easily; you go on with your practice regularly and
in course of time, you shall have good concentration.

Selections from Swami Vireswarananda: A Divine Life

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 438

 32
Wisdom of the Navayogis
L. HARIHARAN DHANI
In the Srimad Bhagavata there is an
interesting interaction between King Nimi
and the Navayogis or nine YogisKavi,
Hari, Antariksha, Prabuddha, Pippalayana,
Avirhotra, Drumila, Chamasa, Karabhajana
who roamed over the world being established
in the experience of the whole world as the
form of the Lord. King Nimi asks the Yogis
some fundamental questions. What follows
below is a condensation of the answers
given by three NavayogisAntariksha,
Prabuddha and Pippalayana.
King Nimi desires to know of
the nature of Maya, the deluding
potency of the Lord, which
bewilders even those who a r e
adept in conjuring tricks.
Antariksha answers:
Maya is that power by
which the Supreme Being, the
soul of all and the first cause, formed, out
of the primordial categories which He himself
had projected, the bodies of beings high and
low, so that with these bodies they might have
the enjoyments and sufferings due to them
by virtue of their Karma, and also that those
who are devoted to Him might attain release
from Samsara. Having entered all forms of life
evolved by means of the five gross elements,
the Supreme Person diversifies Himself as
one (Mind) and further into ten (Indriyas),
and makes the Jivas enjoy pleasure and pain
through them.
The author resides in Mumbai.
439 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
The Jiva enjoys the sense objects with
the senses manifested by the Inner Ruler (the
Lord as the pervader), and in the course of
it, comes to think of the body as his self, and
gets irrevocably attached to it and suffers the
travails of Samsara. As a result the embodied
being performs work with the organs of action
generating new tendencies and wanders in
the transmigratory existence assuming body
after body to enjoy pleasant and unpleasant
fruits of its actions.
When the dissolution of the
five gross elements is due, Time
the limitless withdraws the whole
universe, both in its gross and subtle
aspects from the manifested to
the unmanifested state just as
fire enters its unmanifest state
when divested of fuel. In short,
during dissolution, the earth is
reconverted into the state of water, which in
turn is reduced to the state of fire, which in
turn merges into air, which in turn merges into
ether, which in turn merges into ego, which
in turn merges into the Mahattattva, which
in turn merges into Prakrti or the elemental
Nature, which in turn merges into Brahman.
King Nimi then desires to know how
even men of gross intellect, who have no
control over the senses can easily get over the
divine Maya.
Now Prabuddha answers: Learning
the ways of life of the Lords devotees and
November 2017
 33
devoted to Him, his devotion developing into
divine love, the devotee easily crosses the
unfathomable Maya. One desirous of knowing
the highest good should resort to a preceptor
who is versed in the Vedas, has realised
the ultimate Reality and who is free from
attachment and hatred. Under the preceptor,
whom one should love as ones own self and
render devoted service, one should learn the
ways of life of the Lords devotees; this will
please Sri Hari and He will give Himself away
to His devotees.
One must observe how human beings
striving to gain happiness and remove misery,
obtain only contrary results. What happiness
can be derived from wealth, which is difficult
to obtain and can be earned only by means
of constant painful effort and which leads to
ones death? What joy can one get from the
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I S A D A G O PA N C . , C H E N N A I
possession of houses, children, friends or
relations and cattle, transient as they are, and
the fruit of ones actions? Similarly, what real
joy can one expect from the heavenly regions
which are also transient, which are attained
by the fruits of ones actions and where, as in
this world, is seen rivalry with ones superiors,
discord with ones equals, and hatred towards
those inferior to oneself.
Therefore, one who wishes to get out of
the clutches of Maya should learn to:
a) detach his mind from all objects (body,
children, etc.) and develop attachment to the
Lords devotees,
b) s i n c e r e l y c h e r i s h c o m p a s s i o n ,
friendliness and humility towards ones
inferiors, equals and superiors respectively,
c) a c q u i r e p u r i t y ( e x t e r n a l a n d
internal), devotion to his religious duties,
endurance, control over speech, sincerity,
continence, non-violence, study scriptures, and
maintain evenness of mind under the stress of
dualities,
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
d) see the Atman pervading all, live in
solitude, wear pure clothes or rags stitched
together and feel satisfied with whatever
comes as food,
e) have faith in the scriptures celebrating
the Lord, without disparaging other scriptures,
curb his mind, speech and actions through
control of breath, tongue and activity
respectively.
f) hear, sing and dwell on the story of
the advent, pastimes and excellences of the
Lord of wonderful deeds and do everything
for pleasing Him.
g) offer to the Lord all his sacrificial
activities, gifts, austerities, Japa, righteous
conduct and all that he likes for himself his
wife, children, house and his very life.
h) love devotedly those persons who
have realised the Lord as the soul and master
of all, and
i) expound and discuss among the
devotees the sacred glory of the Lord.
The king next asks the yogis to explain
the real nature of Paramatman or Brahman.
This question is answered by Pippalayana:
That is the Supreme Reality, which is
responsible for the creation, sustenance and
dissolution of this universe, and Itself has no
cause of Its own. It exists in all the three states
of consciousness waking, dream and deep
sleep, as well as in the Supra-conscious state
which is beyond these three states. It enlivens
and activises the body, senses, breath and the
mind.
Just as sparks coming from a fire do not
illumine or burn that fire, the entities born
of Him like the mind, speech, eye, intellect,
life-breath and senses cannot grasp or reveal
the ultimate Reality. It is incomprehensible
and it alone shines as the Devatas, the senses,
their objects and the experiences of pain and
pleasure. Thus, It is the cause of both the
440
 34

gross effect and the subtle cause. It is never
born and will never die, neither grows nor
undergoes decay, because It is the witness of
the different states of those objects which come
into existence and die away. It is omnipresent
and eternally abiding pure consciousness, yet
like Prana (life-breath) It appears as many
under the influence of the senses. When the
senses and the ego are dissolved in deep sleep,
It remains as Pure Consciousness, changeless
and without any adjunct. It continues even in
the state of deep sleep, which is proved by the
fact that on waking we remember the Brahman
as the witness of the enjoyment of sound sleep.
Reference: Srimad Bhagavata, 11:3:1-40
When the heart is purified, the truth of
the Atman shines in it, just as the light of the
sun shines to the clear eyes, so too the truth
of the Self is revealed to the pure heart of the
man who is earnestly devoted to the Lord and
intensely desires to obtain His holy feet, and
has thus freed his mind from the impurities
born of qualities and actions.
Serving the Lord with deep devotion,
destroys the impurities of the heart created by
the life of the body and the senses. And such
a purified heart perceives the truth of the Self,
just as eyes, cured of cataract or other diseases,
clearly perceives the light of the sun.

Dimensions of Realities Continued from page 26

created universe, which is within another. in the desert and taking it for real, and then
Goodness, gracious! again seeing it with the awareness that it is
The Uddhava Gita (23.21) says: only a mirage. In both cases, the mirage is still
there. We were deluded when we were not
aware that it was a mirage. But the moment we
Listen, O human being! That which is not recognised it as a mirage, we were freed from
before you in the future or was there before, will that delusion.
not be there now also. So hold on to the Real So, let us wake up and study
alone. Vedanta. Let us be wise enough to
We have already reached a point of no know what is real and what is not real.
return. The IoT is sucking and throwing us Knowledge is power. Let us pray with the
into a huge net. It seems useful, of course. But glorious Vedic sage, From the unreal, lead me
let us be watchful. It is like seeing a mirage to the Real.

Reference: 1. Philip Ball, We might live in a computer program, but it may not matter in BBC Earth 5 September
2016

Great men who see into the heart of things and understand their good sides look upon
the age of Kali with greater favour than the other ages. For in this age, man attains
to his goal merely by extolling His names and excellences. For Jivas entangled in the
transmigratory cycle, there is no better means than taking the Lords name and singing
His praise for the attainment of peace, enlightenment and liberation.
Srimad Bhagavata, 11.5, 36-37

441 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 35

Shankha and Chakra

GOKUL MUTHU

This is an interesting imaginary The world will always be imperfect. Work

conversation between a devotee of
Ramakrishna Math, Ulsuru, Bengaluru and a
visitor to that ashrama.
Visitor: I saw shankha (conch) and chakra
(discus) depicted on the wall in front of the
temple. Is this a Vishnu temple?
Devotee: We believe that Shiva, Vishnu,
Devi, Ganesha, Hanuman, and other gods
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I G O PA L A K R I S H N A B . M . , B E N G A LU R U
done is only a means for our own inner
development.
Shankha represents Jnana. Shankha is an
indication of sound. Knowledge is transmitted
from the guru to the disciple through
teaching in the form of sound. The sound of
a shankha resembles the sound of Om, which
is interpreted as Atmajnana or knowledge of

are all different ways to approach the
same Supreme Lord. We also worship Sri
Ramakrishna as an incarnation of Lord
Vishnu. Independent of that, the shankha and
chakra represent the motto of the Ramakrishna
Math and Ramakrishna Mission that Swami
Vivekananda coined as the other two?
, which means For ones own
salvation, and for the welfare of the world.
Visitor: Yes. I have heard of that motto.
But how is that motto related to shankha and
chakra?
Devotee: The chakra represents Karma
Yoga, which is Jagat hitaya ca. The shankha
represents Jnana Yoga, which is Aatmano
mokshartam. The cakra is constantly turning.
It is an indication of activity. It is called
Sudarshana Chakra. It is the auspicious
wheel of righteousness. It indicates that for
an activity to be Karma Yoga, it should be
performed with the right attitude. The right
attitude towards work is to perform it as an
offering to God. The constant turning also
indicates that there will be no end to work.
the Self. This is also symbolically presented in
the Bhagavata where Lord Vishnu touches the
cheeks of young Dhruva with his shankha and
Dhruva instantly has Atmajnana.
Visitor: Oh, that is very nice. Swami
Vivekananda talks of four Yogas. What about
Devotee: Yes. They are represented by
the other two things in the hands of Lord
Vishnu. Gada or mace is a symbol of Raja
Yoga, which is mind control. Padma or lotus is
a symbol of Bhakti Yoga.
The mace is heavy and is used to smite
and control. It is an indication of mind control.
When we want to lift something heavy, we
usually hold our breath. Thus the heavy mace
indicates pranayama, one of the important
techniques to control the mind.
The Padma is in the shape of the heart,
the seat of all emotions, particularly love.
When the devotee feels love for God, it is
felt in the heart as an inner ethereal glow.
God is meditated as seated in the heart. Gita
says, (18:61)

Sri Gokulmuthu N. works as a software engineer in Bengaluru.

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 442

 36

God is seated in the heart region of all
living beings. Lotus has its origin in the
mud below the water. Bhakti Yoga has the
capacity to elevate a sinner into a saint.
Gita says, mokshartham indicates moksha.
(9:30) If even a very wicked Visitor: What does Swami Vivekananda
person worships Me with unwavering faith
and devotion, he should be regarded as
righteous.
Visitor: But only shanka and charka are
depicted on the wall. Why not depict the other
two Yogas as well?
Devotee: Raja Yoga is also represented
by the chakra. Mental activity is also an
activity, though internal. Bhakti Yoga is also
represented by shankha. Shankha is also in
the shape of the heart. Like the lotus, shankha
also has its origin in the mud below the water.
You can see that in many depictions of Lord
Vishnu, the lotus and mace are skipped for
brevity. Only shankha and chakra are always
shown.
Visitor: That is a wonderful explanation.
What else do the shankha and chakra depict?
Devotee: Cakra also depicts dharma.
Shankha depicts moksha. These two are
the higher of the four goals of life called
purusharthas. When Swami Vivekananda
coined the motto, these two are indicated.
jagat hitaya indicates dharma. atmano
say about the other two goals: artha and kama?
Devotee: Swami Vivekananda does
not talk much about them. However, Sri
Ramakrishna repeatedly refers to them.
renunciation of lust and greed
is an expression that can be found again and
again in The Gospelof Sri Ramakrishna.
Visitor: Oh, I have read the Gospel and
have known the motto of the Ramakrishna
Math and Mission. However, I never mapped
them to the four goals of life as mentioned in
the Vedas and other scriptures.
Devotee: Yes. What Sri Ramakrishna has
talked about in the Gospel is nothing but the
teachings of the Vedas and the Gita in words
that are more suitable to contemporary times.
Visitor: Yes. That is true. Thanks for the
wonderful explanations.
Devotee: Jai Ramakrishna !!!
Visitor: Jai Ramakrishna !!!

Emblem of Holistic Spirituality

The official emblem of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission
conceptualized by Swami Vivekananda in 1901
Harmony of Four Yogas
The wavy waters in the picture are symbolic of
Karma; the lotus of Bhakti; and the rising-sun, of
Jnana. The encircling serpent is indicative of Yoga and
the awakened Kundalini Shakti, while the swan in the
picture stands for the Paramatman (Supreme Self).
Therefore the idea of the picture is that by the union
of Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, and Yoga, the vision of the
Paramatman is obtained.
Swami Vivekananda, (CW, 7:204)

443 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017


Thoughts on the Yin-Yang Symbol
WILLIAM PAGE
The yin-yang symbol of Taoism is a
mandala consisting of two interlocking curlicues
that resemble tadpoles, one black and one white.
The black one has a white eye and the white
one has a black eye. They are joined at the
stomach, with the backs forming a circle.
This charming Yin-yang symbol,
which has become a popular New Age icon,
contains may levels of meaning. The more we
study it, the more meaning we find. The yin-yang
symbol is dualistic. The white tadpole, yang,
represents the bright, active, male principle. The
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I R A M A S U B B A R A O V. , K A K I N A D A
black one, yin, represents the dark, passive, female
principle. Put them together, and their interaction
produces our phenomenal universe.
Now, the interesting thing about the
two tadpoles is that each contains an eye
that is the color of its opposite. The eye can
be thought of as a seed. This means that each
contains the seed of the other: each has the
potential to morph into its opposite. So light
can become darkness, darkness can become
light; activity can become passive, passivity
can become active; the male can become
feminine, the female can become masculine.
Neither tadpole is an absolute; both are
relative; and they are constantly interacting.
The yin-yang icon is an ideal symbol
for the phenomenal world of interacting,
ever-changing relativities. For that reason, in
Vedantic terms, it might easily be taken as a
symbol of maya. But in Taoism it is usually
considered to be a symbol of the Tao, the
ultimate reality in Taoist philosophy.
The author has been associated with the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of Massachusetts since 1960 and is
a member of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Association of Thailand.
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
37
The Tao (pronounced Dow, and
meaning literally a road or a way) has much
in common with Brahman, the ultimate reality
in Vedanta. The first chapter of the primary
Taoist text, the Tao Te Ching, describes it
as the origin of heaven and earth, the
mother of the ten thousand things, the
cosmic mystery, the gate to the root of
the world. Chapter four calls it a preface to
God. For Taoists, it functions much like an
absolute.
The Tao may sound a lot like Brahman,
but there are some differences in emphasis.
The Tao is mysterious; it has a nurturing
aspect; its immanence is stressed more than
its transcendence; it is strongly identified
with nature and the natural order of things.
The Taoist aspirant is not urged to realise
the Tao, as the Vedantist is urged to realise
Brahman. His goal is more modest: to lead a
simple, natural life; to attune himself with the
Tao, to blend in with it and try to reflect its
nature.
Well, the Vedantist will say, all of this
is very fine. The yin-yang symbol may be
intended to represent an absolute, but in fact it
is dualistic, and does a better job of representing
maya. Where is Brahman in all this?
To answer this question, we have to
step back and view everything from a much
broader perspective. Then we will see that
Brahman is not the yin; Brahman is not the
yang; Brahman is not the yin and yang in
combination. Brahman is the background.
444
 38
New Find

Unpublished Letters of
Swami Saradananda1
The Ramkrishna Mission
(Calcutta Centre)
1, Mukherji Lane, Baghbazar,
Calcutta.
7.6.1923.
My dear daughter B.,
I thank you for your kind letter of the 3rd June. No rains yet, so it is sweltering hot here. I
am glad you are away and out of it.
So the little Bengalli babies have already found you out! There is a beautiful passage in
the Vedas relating the glory of the Divine Motherin one part of which She says about Her
own powers thus: I make surs and prophets of men by bringing realizations higher higher
to them!so who knows what She is going to make of you?
I am glad Sankarada has sent you a copy of the Narada Sutras. That book will suit you
better than the Viveka-Chudamani. Dont you find it to be so?
Jogin Ma & Golap Ma are about the same in health. They desire to send their blessings &
love to you & the children.
Gonen and the rest are well. Gonen is going to a pilgrimage in Assam in about ten days.
The Swami Sivananda & the rest including Tantine are well at the Belur Math.
With my blessings & best wishes to you & Jaggy & Enid,
Always yours affectionately
Saradananda
P.S. The other letter is for Rebecca.
vvv
1, Mukherji Lane,
Baghbazar, Calcutta.
19.6.23.
My dear Mokshananda,
Glad to receive yr. letter of the 15th instant. But regret to learn that you are suffering from
rheumatic troubles. It is therefore not proper that you should live near Pathal Maidan, for the
places there are very damp. Summer heat in Calcutta also this year has exceeded all previous
records. We had scarcely one or two showers during the whole summer. I am doing well. My
blessings to yourself, Ram maharaj, Khagen maharaj & others.
Yours affly.
Saradananda

445 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 39

THE RAMKRISHNA MISSION

(CALCUTTA CENTRE)
1, Mukherji Lane, Baghbazar,
CALCUTTA.
25th June, 1923.
My dear daughter,
All your letters have reached us duly. I thank you very much for them. Golap Maa is very
glad to get your letter and said, it was indeed very clever of you to write so well. Jogin Maa
is still suffering and has not improved at all. We are trying Kaviraji medicines at present,
which helped her so much last time. Both Golap Ma and Jogin Ma, are sending their love
and blessings to you.
I am so sorry to learn you fainted nearly, the other day by overdoing. I hope you have
become careful now and have recovered by this time, from the ill-effect of the attack. I hope
the children (Jaggy & Enid) are well. My blessings and love to them. I am so sorry I could
not see them on the day you started from here.
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I S R I N I VA S A N PA L A N I M U T H U, S A L E M

The Swamis Sivananda, Sankarada, Ambikada (Nirode), Bijoy and others are well at the
Belur Math. Miss MacLeod is still at the Math guest house, feeling quite well and busy with
her Commissioners duties.
I am well with the tea-swami (Satu) and the rest. Gonen has not returned yet from his trip
to Assam. He and his party will come here on the 29th inst.
All your friends here would like to send you and the children their kind wishes, had they
known I am writing. With my blessings and best wishes to you always,
Yours in the Lord
Saradananda.
P.S.
The enclosed letter is for Deben.
S.
vvv

Reference: 1. A direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the first General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Order.
Courtesy: Ramakrishna Museum, Belur Math

If you practice japa and meditation regularly without break for some years, you will
see for yourself what result comes to pass... There will come an inner tranquility which
will fill your heart with joy.
Swami Saradananda

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 446

 40 14
15

The Order
on the March

News & Notes from Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission

Headquarters
Durga Puja was celebrated at Belur Math from 27 to 30 September with due solemnity and joy. In
spite of the occasional rain on all the four days, about two lakh devotees attended the Puja to receive the
blessings of the Divine Mother. The Kumari Puja performed on 28 September drew huge crowds, and
the Sandhi Puja on that night was also attended by many devotees. Cooked Prasad was served to nearly
48,000 devotees on Ashtami day and, in total, to about 1,25,000 devotees during the four days.
Revered President Maharaj inaugurated Vivekananda Atithi Nivas, the devotees guesthouse located
adjacent to Belur Telephone Exchange, on 14 September. On 19 September, Revered Maharaj inaugurated
three giant LED display screens installed on Belur Math campus.

Celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita

Bankura centre conducted a special lecture on 26 August which was attended by 120 students.
Baranagar Math held a students convention on 10 September which was attended by 100 students.
Chennai Students Home hosted a district-level science exhibition on 31 August. The centre also
conducted a four-day workshop on robotics for polytechnic students in which 100 students from 11
polytechnics took part. Participants exhibited their models on 16 September.
Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya conducted quiz competitions and lectures at three villages near
Coimbatore on 3 and 9 September. In all, 328 people took part in the programmes.
Kadapa centre held a teachers workshop on 8, 9 and 10 September in which nearly 100 teachers
participated.
Madurai Math conducted a personality development camp for girls on 16 September in which 155
girls from a college took part.
Medinipur centre held a students convention for school girls on 16 September which was attended
by about 350 girls.
Narottam Nagar centre conducted quiz competitions in 11 schools of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in
July and August. In all, 717 students took part in the competitions. The centre also held a public meeting
on 2 September which was attended by 750 people.
Pune Math held two youths conventions on 16 and 17 September in which about 700 students took
part.
Ramanathapuram centre conducted a public meeting at a college in Ramanathapuram on 11 September
in which 80 students and teachers participated.
Salem Ashrama held cultural competitions from 17 to 24 August in which about 1700 students from
30 schools in and around Salem participated. Prizes were given away to the winners on 3 September.

447 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 41

Silchar centre conducted a Devotees Convention on 16 September which was attended by 570
devotees.
Swamijis Ancestral House held four lectures between 29 August and 6 September at the centre; they
were attended altogether by 1680 people. Further, on the centres initiative, a lecture was conducted at
a place in Kolkata on 20 August which was attended by about 300 people.
Visakhapatnam Ashrama conducted an educational conclave from 20 to 23 September which was
inaugurated by Swami Gautamanandaji. About 1500 students and 350 teachers attended the different
conventions held as a part of the conclave.

News of Branch Centres (in India)

Durga Puja (in image) was celebrated at the following 26 centres: Antpur, Asansol, Barasat, Contai,
Cooch Behar, Dhaleswar (under Agartala), Ghatshila, Guwahati, Gwalior, Jalpaiguri, Jamshedpur,
Jayrambati, Kailashahar, Kamarpukur, Karimganj, Lucknow, Malda, Medinipur, Mumbai, Patna, Port
Blair, Rahara, Shella (under Cherrapunjee), Shillong, Silchar and Varanasi Advaita Ashrama.
Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Prof Jagdish Mukhi, attended Durga Puja
celebration at Port Blair centre on 28 October, Mahashtami day.
The General Secretary released the first volume of the complete works of Swami Akhandananda
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I C H A N D R A S E K A R A N P. , C H E N N A I

in Bengali, titled Swami Akhandanander Rachana Sankalan, at the Institute of Culture, Kolkata, on 5
September. The book is published by Sargachhi centre.
The Multipurpose School of Kamarpukur centre and the Narendrapur Vidyalaya have bagged the
Best School Award from the School Education Department, Government of West Bengal. Narendrapur
Vidyalaya also received Excellent Missionary School in India award from CMAI (Communication
Multimedia And Infrastructure) Association of India at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi,
on 5 September.
Allahabad, Chennai Math and Khetri centres held special programmes on 11 September in
commemoration of Swamijis address at the Worlds Parliament of Religions in Chicago.
Swami Gautamanandaji inaugurated the new monks quarters at Puri Math on 11 September.
On 15 September, Revered President
Maharaj released, at Belur Math, the new
edition of Letters of Sister Nivedita (in two
volumes) published by Advaita Ashrama,
Kolkata.
NAAC (National Assessment and
Accreditation Council) awarded A+ grade to
Vivekananda College of Chennai Vidyapith for
five years in the third cycle, and A++ grade
to the College of Education of Coimbatore
Mission Vidyalaya for five years in the second
cycle.
On the occasion of 18th Foundation Day of
Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence, a
three day Youth festival was conducted from

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 448

 42

9th to 12th September 2017 in Ramakrishna

Math, Hyderabad. A total of 3200 youths took
part. Interactive talks, Cultural Programmes
and a procession to commemorate the Swami
Vivekanananda's Chicago speech on 11th
September were held."
Visakhapatnam: Srimat Swami
Gautamanandaji inaugurated the thoroughly
renovated permanent miniature doll exhibition
of 75 cubicles of the Holy Trio on 18th
September 2017 Visakhapatnam
The exhibition was first established in 1997. The same has been thoroughly renovated by the original
artists from Krishna Nagar, West Bengal and made the whole exhibition again new.

Values Education and Youth Programmes

Delhi centre held 4 values education workshops at Kathmandu (Nepal), Pushkar, Lucknow and Ranchi
from 1 to 13 September which were attended by 276 teachers and principals.
Jalpaiguri Ashrama held a convention for drivers of public transport vehicles on 27 August in which
168 drivers took part.
Mangaluru centre conducted three values education seminars on 7, 8 and 9 September, for college
lecturers, postgraduate students and teacher trainees respectively. In all, about 1300 people participated
in the seminars.
Mekhliganj centre conducted a youths convention on 3 September; nearly 100 students took part.
Silchar centre held two students conventions on 14 and 15 September in which altogether 709 students
and 69 teachers from 47 schools and colleges took part.
Tamluk Ashrama held a youths convention on 1 September which was attended by about 400 people.
Vijayawada centre held a symposium on personality development on 15 September in which 400
students from four colleges took part.

Swachchha Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign)

Vivekananda College of Chennai Vidyapith secured third position under the colleges category in the
all-India Swachchhata rankings for higher educational institutions released by the Ministry of Human
Resource Development, Government of India.
Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya conducted four cleaning drives between 9 and 19 September.

Chittaganj, Bangladesh Raiganj, West Bengal Darjeeling, West Bengal

449 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i November 2017

 43 43

Darjeeling, West Bengal Narendrapur, West Bengal Vrindaban, Uttar Pradesh

Kamarpukur centre carried out a cleanliness drive on 24 September.

Ramharipur centre held a cleanliness drive on 2 September.
News of Branch Centres (Outside India)
Durga Puja (in image) was performed at Durban (South Africa) centre and its sub-centres at
Chatsworth and Pietermaritzburg, Lusaka (Zambia) centre, Mauritius Ashrama, and 14 centres in
Bangladesh, namely Baliati, Barisal, Chandpur, Chittagong, Comilla, Dhaka, Dinajpur, Faridpur,
Habiganj, Jessore, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Rangpur and Sylhet, and at the Narail sub-centre of
Jessore Ashrama.
The newly installed statue of Swamiji at the Newcastle sub-centre of Durban (South Africa) centre
was unveiled on 30 July.
Relief Work
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I D E B A S H I S H M A J U M D A R , P U N E

1. Flood Relief: India: (i) Assam: In the wake of devastating floods in Dhemaji district, Itanagar
centre distributed 600 ration kits to 600 affected families on 14 September.
(ii) West Bengal:
(a) The Headquarters (Belur Math) served cooked food to 10,000 people and distributed food and
other items among 1275 flood-affected families of 14 villages in Uttar Dinajpur district from 31 August
to 16 September. Medical help was provided to 364 patients.
(b) Cooch Behar centre served cooked food and distributed food itmes among 1252 families of 22
villages in Cooch Behar district from 13 to 16 August.
(c) Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling centres distributed food items in North Dinajpur district from 20 to 26
August.
(d) Malda centre distributed food items among
1568 flood-affected families in Malda district from 19
August to 6 September.
(e) Narendrapur centre distributed food
items and tarpaulins among 773 families in South
24-Parganas and Paschim Medinipur districts.
Bangladesh: Dhaka centre provided relief material
to 250 flood-affected families in Dinajpur district on
5 and 6 September.
2. Distress Relief: The following centres
Bagda, West Bengal
distributed food items and garments to needy people:
India: Antpur, Bagda, Dehradun, Gadadhar Ashrama, Kolkata, Gurap, Kankurgachhi, Vrindaban
Bangladesh: Mymensingh
3. Winter Relief: Antpur centre distributed winter clothes from 23 August to 9 September.

November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i 450

 44
Book Reviews
publishers need to send us two copies of their latest publication.
From Religion to Spirituality
by Vedula VLN Murthy
Published by Author, 2-22-2/1,
Srinagar, Kakinada - 533 003.
Andhra Pradesh. 2016, paperback,
pp.145, Rs180
What certainty is there that
I will live up to a ripe old age, observed a
disciple of Sri Ramakrishna when asked why he
opted for spiritual life so early. (V.K. March 1965
Edit.) Religious life is not a post-retirement benefit.
We have abundant resources and avenues for
seekers of spiritual life. VLN Murthy identifies the
activities of Sri Ramakrishna Math and some others
in this context.
However, as noted in the Preface of this book,
the spirit of Indian culture, values and heritage
has not adequately reached the youth. This book is
intended to bridge the gap.
Through twelve chapters beginning with a
historical background and primitive concepts of the
Supreme, the topics include religion, mythology,
happiness, sorrow, renunciation, meditation and
related areas.
Preoccupation with the body and mind,
attachment to the finite and, lately, pressures of
the consumerist life-style are well known. The
author points out the Strengths and Weaknesses
of Religion, unique features of Hinduism and how
religious freedom has degenerated to religious
entertainment.
Discrimination based on caste and
gender continues in religious practices and the
responsibility for this lies with politics and not
religion. The younger generation, vulnerable to
pressure groups, should be careful in this matter.
While the author has discussed several
important topics, the contents require further
proofreading and editing for clarity.
________________________________ P.S. SUNDARAM, MUMBAI
451 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
For review in The Vedanta Kesari,
A Handbook for the Gita
by Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao,
Trans. by Dr.S. Ramaswamy.
Published by Gandhi Centre
of Science and Human Values,
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 43/1, Race
Course Road, Bengaluru-560 001,
Email:gandhicentre.bvd@gmail.com. 2016.
paperback, pp.122. Rs.120.
Admired by Aldous Huxley as The Perennial
Philosophy, Gita is a treasure house which reveals
treasures of increasing value as one goes deeper
into it. Any topic like karma or truth can serve
as a catalyst for such a deeper study. Again, as Sri
Ramakrishna elegantly puts it, the core message of
the Gita is tyaga or renunciation.
Authored by Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao
in Kannada, A Handbook for the Gita has been
translated into English by Dr. S. Ramaswamy.
The translator is understandably anxious to
preserve the sanctity of the original in his sensitive
assignment. Gita, chanted on all occasions,
auspicious or inauspicious, is the philosophy
of the Upanishad. The author has offered his own
commentaries on topics like the metaphor of the
Chariot, and the influence of the gunas. The views
of the acharyas, textual variations in the texts in
different languages, and whether the Gita originally
contained eighteen chapters or only twelve or
fifteen, etc. are open for debate.
Appendices offer useful information. They
include Gita in the island of Bali, and the
Muktamala with selected verses one each from
Chapters 2 to 17 and 2 from Chapter 18 of the
Gita, by Vishnuthirtha, a saint from Karnataka.
Apparently, two additional verses were composed
by the saint, making a total of 20. The Appendix,
however contains 18.
Spiritual in its most exalted sense, Gita
guides humans towards a divine life. Swami
November 2017
 45
Ranganathananda observed that Gita is not a book
on war but on human development. A Handbook for
the Gita is a valuable source for research scholars;
it may not help beginners. Prof. Ramachandra Rao
and Dr. S. Ramaswamy, both scholars, deserve
approbation for their efforts.
To make the book more reader-friendly, the
font size could be increased.
________________________________ P.S. SUNDARAM, MUMBAI
Living The Life
by S.P. Chockalingam.
Published by First Edition De-
sign Publishing Inc., P.O Box No.
34276-3217. www.firstedition-
designpublishing.com Paperback,
pp.171. Price not mentioned
Living The Life by Chockalingam
PA G E S P O N S O R : S R I S H A R AT K U M A R VA R I YA R , B E N G A LU R U
examines circumstances that influence human
life. These are discussed through twelve chapters.
The impact of environmental destruction, fast
growing technology and search for the Soul are
among important topics. There is also an attempt
to identify factors that enabled a few families
to live happily for over a hundred years. While
the discussions with affluent families are not
inspiring, the potato farmer articulates his views
better; e.g. his remarks on age (page 47). Certain
characteristics of spiritual life and the Chinese story
(Chapter 9) are interesting. The Epilogue mentions
certain experiments on mind reading techniques.
These are best avoided by those keen on leading a
spiritual life.
The author quotes mostly the thoughts of
Western philosophers including Shakespeares
seven stages of human life.
To those seeking lessons on spiritual life, the
book has little to add to what are generally known.
What should be the motivation for Living
The Life? Scriptures say it is God realization. The
wisdom of Swami Vivekananda, viz., aatmano
mokshartam jagat hitaya ca offers the ideal lesson for
spiritual life.
________________________________ P.S. SUNDARAM, MUMBAI
Philosophy of Science
by B.V. Sreekantan
Published by Gandhi Centre of Science and
Human Values, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 43/1,
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
Race Course Road, Bengaluru-560
001,Email:gandhicentre.bvd@gmail.
com. 2016. paperback, pp.106.
Rs.120.
Science and religion will
meet and shake hands, prophesied
Swami Vivekananda. Science
without religion is lame, religion
without science is blind, observed Einstein.
Philosophy of Science authored by a distinguished
scientist and former head of TIFR, and with particular
interest in Scientific and Philosophical Studies on
Consciousness, has a huge store of information, packed
in hundred pages. Intended to serve as an initiation
book for college students, its contents will be a source
book for aspiring scientists and philosophers. An
exposure to science, physics in particular, will help the
reader.
Scientific research in the last century came
closer to the Vedantic view of interconnectedness
in the universe and the eternal existence beyond
space time relativity.
The opening chapter deals with the early
philosophical and scientific thoughts in the East and
West and developments over time. The pioneering
work and dialectics of philosophers and scientists
referred to in the book include Socrates and Plato,
Descartes, the God-intoxicated Jew Spinoza,
Newton, Kant, Einstein and J.C. Bose. Einstein,
the author points out, erred in his finding that the
universe as a whole was static, not expanding
(page 20). The need for God and the creation/
sustenance of the universe, the mystery of the
mind, analyzed by early Western thinkers, make
interesting reading. Newton was too deeply sold
on the necessity of God (p. 15).
Philosophy is said to be the theoretical wing
of religion. The Chapter on Oriental Philosophies
mentions that philosophy has a close relation to
religion. Unlike the Oriental culture, early Western
philosophers faced stiff resistance and cruel
treatment from orthodoxy that was confined to
arcane rites. Their works, therefore, needed a hard
sell. On the other hand, Hinduism accommodated
even charvakas.
Research on the composition of matter,
sub-atomic particles, protons, neutrons and electrons,
and more significantly, the presence of a supreme
intelligence that manages creation, suggest the
complimentary roles of science and philosophy.
452
 46
The final Chapter examines the development
of science and philosophy towards the end of the
last century. Says the author: The fact (that) science
creates new knowledge and also new ignorance
does not detract the merit of scienceIt only
highlights its limitations. Science will continue
to serve society; currently, climate science has
assumed significance.
The Appendix has the authors paper
on Scientific Approaches to Consciousness
Studies. Philosophy of Science is the work of a scholar.
________________________________ P.S. SUNDARAM, MUMBAI
The Simple Way
by J.P.Vaswani
Published by Gita Publishing House,
Sadhu Vaswani Mission, 10, Sadhu
Vaswani Path, Pune 411001,
E-mail: gph@sadhuvasawani.org,
paperback, pp.120, Rs.150.
About 300 aged citizens suffering from
loneliness are reported to have met in Mumbai for
remarriage-Swayamvar- for company/attention.
However, their remedy is elsewhere according to
this interesting book by Dada Vaswani.
As a revered spiritual leader Dada Vaswani
has several lessons to convey. Under fifteen titles
these lessons (Rules of Transforming Life) are
narrated through as many chapters, all of them
equally important.
Recalling his guru Sadhu Vaswanis words
simplicity is a mark of true civilization while
luxury and ostentation are its death warrant,
the revered author underlines three ideals,
simplicity, silence and humility. Some of these
Rules randomly selected are worth mentioning:
Addiction is ruinous. Passion for lucre or gambling
is one of them. A one-time indiscretion to join
a game of cards under pressure cost the author
dearly. He had to miss a scheduled satsang. The
mind, overbearing and most complex, should be
filled with God-thoughts to restrain its potential
for damage. The Universe is conspiring
with your thoughts to make them come true
Never isolate yourself from God. Welcome any
adversity as it will end as a blessing. The attire and
appearance are not the standards to assess people.
Lord Siva had to camouflage His looks as His
mother-in-law wept in anger and disappointment
453 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
seeing the bridegroom covered with ashes. To make
Himself presentable, Siva had to appear as Kalyana
Sundaram! One must manage time wisely. Failure
to provide time for interaction among family
members leads to broken homes. The chapter
Silence is Golden is perhaps the best and it deals
with Buddhas message through silence and the
origin of Zen. The chapter Conquer Attachment
refers to some of Sri Ramakrishnas teachings.
________________________________ P.S. SUNDARAM, MUMBAI
Amazing Secrets of the Bhagavad
Gita
by E.D. Viswanathan
Published by Rupa Publications
India Pvt. Ltd. 7/16, Ansari Road,
Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002.
Email: rupache@rupapublications.
com. 2016, paperback, pp.300. Price: 295.
The book under review consisting of 63 short
chapters is a refreshingly different and novel way
of exposition of the Gitas doctrines. Its uniqueness
lies in adopting the methods of dialogue between
the grandson and grandfather to expound the
Gita philosophy and of topicwise treatment,
as against the usual chapter-wise treatment, of
the Gitas themes. The modus operandi of the
grandson raising pertinent questions and triggering
explanations by the grandfather is quite effective
in unveiling and clarifying the varied doctrines
embedded in the Gita. The vast gamut of topics
such as karma yoga, the issue of importance of
material things, incarnation, theory of creation
and annihilation, sin, Atman, salvation, the caste
system, the enlightened person, birth, death
and reincarnation, the doctrine of the illusion of
the universe, mind-control, sense-control, God,
AUM, idol worship, the food we take, the fate
of seekers straying from their pursuits, non-
conversion in Hinduism, Raja Yoga, the doctrine of
surrender, prayer and meditation, bhakti, varnas
and ashramas, the preceptor, the meaning of the
topsy-turvy Aswattha tree, Bhagavan Krishnas
all-pervasiveness and sole reality, the core of Gitas
message etc. figures in the dialogue and is clearly
explained from the Gitas perspective.
There are interesting brief digressions on such
subjects as Sankhya Philosophy as the basis of the
Gita, the divinity of Krishna, the issue of the father
November 2017

of the atom bomb quoting from the Gita, the subject
of gambling, the status of women, homosexuality,
sati, abortion, heaven and hell, removal of stress
from our lives, yoga and balanced life and the
sensitive issue of bar on women visiting temples
during menstruation. There are a few instances of
comparative studies of certain issues and practices
in other faiths like Islam, Judaism and Christianity as
contrasted with Hinduism. The initial few chapters
give a synoptic view of various aspects of Hinduism.
For ones gaining familiarisation of Gitas
complex philosophy with ease and facility, the book
is an ideal one.
_________________________________N. HARIHARAN, MADURAI
The Bhagavad Gita
by Dr.K.B. Ramakrishna Rao
Published by Prism Books Pvt.
ltd,#1865, 32nd Cross, 10th Main,
BSK. II Stage, Bengaluru, 560 070.
Email:info@prismbooks.com, 2016,
paperback, pp.184, Rs. 225.
The expression loka-samgraha or cosmic
consolidation as the author puts it, forms the core
PA G E S P O N S O R : A D E V O T E E , C H E N N A I
of this book. The purpose of the Lords incarnation,
points out the author, was not confined to restraining
forces of irreligion and immorality. The incarnation
was also for consolidating the more fundamental
truth, viz. universal order, harmony and growth
The concepts Loka-samgraha and Reality
have been examined in a number of chapters from
various angles. Human beings are participants
in the dynamics of Reality. As the Lord Himself
explains, it is Reality explaining to us what Reality
is. Reality projects all elements, all beings
and as revealed to Arjuna a future already
accomplished by the dynamics of Timeless Infinity.
The significance of the Chakra, the Cosmic
Wheel, in the cosmic evolution, has been explained
in Chapter 7 of the book. The author examines the
essence of the Bhagavad Gita in a refreshing style.
His work will appeal to research scholars and
encourage debate.
________________________________ P.S. SUNDARAM, MUMBAI
Sri P.S.Sundaram, a regular book-reviewer for The Vedanta Kesari passed away on 10 Sept 2017. He
was 85 years old. After retirement, he and his late wife Smt Sulochana Sundaram, served as volunteers in
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai. As a volunteer of The Vedanta Kesari, Sri Sundaram helped
in proof-reading and reviewing books. Even after shifting to Mumbai, he continued to review books and
in all contributed over 160 book-reviews to The Vedanta Kesari.
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
47
Rudraksha
by Dr. Kethu Ramachandrasekhar.
Published by Giri Trading Agency
Pvt. Ltd, 372/1, Mangadu Pattur
Koot Road, Mangadu, Chennai-600
122 E-mail: sales@giri.in, 2016,
paperback, pp127, Rs.150.
Rudraksha attempts to bring
to light the sacred importance of Rudraksha,
Shaligrama and five other precious stones, revered
as manifestations of (the) Lord.
Gemmology, a discipline related to
geoscience, has been a fascinating subject for
study. There is also belief in the curative powers
of precious stones/beads, for stress and other
ailments and for peace and material benefits.
States the author: sphatika is known to fulfill
ones desires in life and Mahavishnu Shaligrama
is extremely good for bestowing fortune and
worldly comforts. Consumerism further promotes
their possession. A sloka in Rudraksha Upanishad
mentions that the merits of performing six
thousand lakhs of Gayatri will be one of the
benefits from the recitation.
Colourful pictures of varieties of stones
and of deities, their features, physical properties,
rules for wearing them, and other guidelines,
and legends associated with some of them are
mentioned in the book. Precious stones such
as Rudraksha beads, Shaligrama and Linga
are considered sacred. They are not curios for
showcases. The chapter on Shivalinga, for instance,
exalts the status of Bana Linga, and of River
Narmada.
Additionally, stotras connected with
some of the stones have been included,
with the text in English transliteration and
meaning. They include Shaligrama Shila
stotram, and Lingashtakam. While this is to be
welcomed, in the absence of Sanskrit text, an audio
CD rendered by experts would ensure error free
pronunciation.
_______________________________ P. S. SUDARAM, MUMBAI
454
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56 Vol.104-11 The Vedanta Kesari (English Monthly) November 2017. Regd.
with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under No.1084 / 1957. POSTAL
November 2017 T h e Ve d a n t a K e s a r i
REGISTRATION NUMBER:TN / CH (C) /190 / 15-17. LICENSED TO POST
WITHOUT PREPAYMENT TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-259 / 2015-2017.
Date of Publication: 24th of every month

What is education? Is it book

- learning? No. Is it diverse
knowledge? Not even that. The
training by which the current and
expression of will are brought
under control and become
fruitful is called education.
Swami Vivekananda

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