Volume-6 | Issue -4| February 2020 | Annual subscription Rs.

100/-

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION

 English
The mind shows different things. That is how it acts. That is its nature. It is
enough to accept the action of the mind whole heartedly. Will external problems be
solved by surrendering the responsibility to God? To surrender the responsibility to God
is to surrender our inner psychological problem only. It is not to forgo our external
actions and external efforts.
To get relieved mentally without finding a practical solution to the problem is
escaping from the problem. To escape from the problem is not the solution. We have to
concentrate on what we have to do in outer world and act accordingly. -Sri Bagavath

4 Days Special Retreat on Enlightenment at YERCAUD

By Living Master Sri Bagavath
Date: 30-4-2020 Thursday Evening 4.00 p.m to
Venue : House of Peace (Glass House), Yercaud.
3-5-2019 Sunday Evening 3.00 p.m

Book Inside
1. Clarity on Enlightenment
2. Psychological and Physical Problems
The Problem and its solution 3
3. Who am I?
Editor’s Voice 6
Topics: 4. Thought and Thinking
5. Manolaya & Manonasa
Question & Answer 7 6. Karma – Fate
Gallery 9 7. Confirmation on Enlightenment.

Sri Bagavath Cottages 10

Zen Story - A place where
there is no Horse
31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapet,
Salem - 636 003. Tamilnadu India
V.A.P. SHARAVANAN - 99942 05880
Dr. N. KAILASAM - 94432 90559
K.S. JEEVAMANI - 97891 65555
www. sribagavathmission.org
www.sribagavath.org
E-mail : sribagavathmission@gmail.com
This book Designed by
SRI ESPARI GRAPHICS, Salem-3.
Cell : 90926 46260, 98651 34075
?Yercaud is a wonderful Hill station. Participate with family in
the exclusive summer retreat and enjoy.
11 ?Separate accommodation and bedding facility for men and
women are available. Rooms are available for families only –
10 rooms (on priority basis).
?The sharing expenses for food and accommodation is Rs.5000
per person.
?It is necessary to register in advance before 31st March 2020
as we have accommodation only for 90 persons.
Methods of Registration:
1. M.O, D.D or Cheque can be drawn in the name of Sri
Bagavath Mission payable at Salem
2. Direct Payment: Do Money Transfer to: Sri Bagavath
Mission, HDFC A/c No. : 15907620000075, NEFT IFSC:
HDFC001590 and inform us.
3. Online Registration: visit www.sribagavathmission.org
and register through Credit or Debit Card.
Sri Bagavath Mission
31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapet, Salem – 3
Mobile: 9994205880, 9789165555
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION
Let us assume that we have to pay someone
Rs.10, 00,000 by tomorrow morning 10 o' clock.
Suppose we are not able to pay, we shall lose many
lakhs of rupees.
In spite of making lot of efforts, we are not able
to make arrangements for the money.
Fearing the consequences, we become
sleepless and unable to eat too.
In this situation, how does a common man face
this?
He shall consume alcohol and go into a drunken
state. Or takes pills and forgets himself and sleeps.
When in the drunken state, he is rid of the
problems. On returning to normalcy, the anxiety
returns.
He goes into drunken stupor again.
He relieves himself from the problems as far as
he is in the drunken state.
Is this the solution for the problem?
What actually is the problem here?
We are supposed to pay the money within the
specified time. Inability to pay is the problem.
Was there any solution to the problem from
drinking?
Can the money be paid by drinking liquor?
It has nothing to do with the problem.
Actually, the problem has nothing to do with the
liquor.
The liquor is just managing the effects of the
problem on the mind.
- Sri Bagavath
How does the liquor administer the mind?
Liquor drags the mind, which is now grief
stricken by thinking about the consequences,
towards the experience called intoxication.
The problem remains the same with no
performance in action but the problem is solved at
the psychological level.
To get relieved mentally without finding a
practical solution to the problem is escaping from
the problem.
To escape from the problem is not the
solution.
Assume a situation where we come out of
our house early one morning, and find a rope on the
ground.
When we go nearer, it starts writhing and
moving. Only then we realize it is a snake.
When we open the door the next day, the
same snake is lying there.
When we go into the house and come back
with a cane, the snake keeps lying still.
On seeing it in torchlight, we come to know
that it is not a snake but a rope.
We go near a real snake without fear.
But fearing a rope, we seek the help of a cane
and a torch.
Here, what is the reason for the fear – snake?
or the thought about the snake?
The real snake did not induce fear but the
thought about the snake induced fear.
February 2020 -3-
 Once a gentleman went to a Zen Master,
seeking solution to his mental problems.
He requested to the Master, “I am preoccupied
with problems and have no peace of mind. I fear
something evil might happen and I have become
sleepless for many months. You alone can solve my
problem.”
The Master said, “I shall take care of all your
problems. As it is late, go to sleep peacefully. We shall
look into your problems in the morning. You can sleep
in my bedroom tonight. Tomorrow you shall be allotted
another room.” Saying so, the Master left the room.
The gentleman locked the room and lay on the
neat bed.
The bed was very soft, clean and flexible.
He slept off peacefully on the bed after many
sleepless nights.
Every time he turned in sleep, the bed was
flexible that his sleep was not disturbed.
About 2 o'clock in the morning, there was a
knock on the door. Waking up, he opened the door and
found the Master standing there.
He said, “I left in a hurry that I forgot to take my
pet with me. Hope he did not disturb you. He normally
doesn't because he is very good.” Saying so, he lifted
the bed a little and took out a 7 foot long black cobra
from underneath the bed. He put it over his shoulder
and went out.
He said, “You can sleep peacefully now” and
left.
Do you think he would have slept on the bed
peacefully afterwards?
Every time he turned, the bed was flexible but it
seemed like a snake writhing.
He had slept on the snake till 2 o'clock. But the
sleep was peaceful. There is no snake now, but the
thought of the snake made him sleepless.
It is fair to think of the snake or to fear the snake,
when it is there. But is it necessary to be scared of the
snake, just thinking of it?
But our mind is of such nature that it keeps
sketching both necessary and unnecessary pictures.
In films, a special background music will be
played when the hero appears. A different tune will
be played for the villain.
Similarly, our psychological experiences
happen as the background music according to the
pictures we draw.
We have to pay ten lakhs by tomorrow
morning but we are unable to materialize the
money.
This is the real problem.
Our mind fails to focus on this picture alone.
Instead it keeps showing unnecessary pictures that
this might happen or that might happen.
As a consequence, unnecessary tunes get
expressed.
Once, a friend who follows our concepts told
his problems.
He is an atheist who believes in the concept
of reason.
His daughter is married and lives with her
husband.
There were frequent quarrels between the
husband and wife and this bothered the father very
much.
He was tormented by the thought of his
daughter's state.
He became anxious whenever his daughter
made a phone call.
How to find a solution to these problems?
We have already discussed the three states
in which the mind acts- the mind, the intellect and
the siddham.
The mind shows different things. That is how
it acts. That is its nature. There is no fault in this.
But if our intellect accepts all those thoughts,
we happen to draw a picture.
According to our picture, a music too will
happen.
There might be problems with the possibility
of external solutions.
It is also natural that the mind acts in such a
way.
It is enough to accept the action of the mind
February 2020 -4-
whole heartedly.
At the same time, our approach should not be a
reason for the rise of unnecessary emotions in our
mind.
Those who follow the spiritual path are able to
reduce their mental struggle by surrendering their
problems to God.
This helps them actually.
The faith in God removes the unnecessary
conclusions about bad consequences.
When our intellect believes that God will take
care of us, the unnecessary emotions are also avoided.
Will external problems be solved by
surrendering the responsibility to God?
Will we become eligible to pay the ten lakhs in
the morning by surrendering the responsibility to God?
Shall we stop all our efforts after surrendering
the responsibility to God?
To surrender the responsibility to God is to
surrender our inner psychological problem only.
It is not to forgo our external actions and
external efforts.
We have to let go the worries of what might
happen and the consequent emotions that are
unnecessary and concentrate on what we have to do.
A young man had a similar problem.
If a relative died of a heart attack, he would be
scared and then he would start feeling like a pain in
the heart.
On medical examination, nothing was found
abnormal. But the doctor prescribed some
medicines.
In spite of taking the medicine, whenever
someone died he would have a pain in the heart.
His fear would aggravate the pain.
What thoughts will appear in his mind now?
The thought that appears will be that -his
problems are beyond the medicine he is taking.
What is the result?
His problem will become more complicated.
The unnecessary fear about the future is his
problem.
The spiritual faith helped him.
It may be a superstition to believe that God
shall help him.
But to imagine unnecessarily that this or that
might happen is worse superstition than any
superstition.
When we come to the conclusion that God
shall help us we start drawing a good picture of the
future. Good music and good emotions happen to
the picture.
This produces an enthusiasm for our external
actions.

ONE DAY ENLIGHTENMENT WORKSHOP AT CHENNAI

by Sri Bagavath Mission (Program in Tamil)
Date : 05.4.2020, Sunday
Time : 9.00 am – 6.00 pm
Venue : ICSA Programme Center,
107, Jeevan Jyothi Hall, Pantheon Road,
(Opp to Egmore Museum), Egmore, Chennai.
For details, Contact :
9884348800, 8838229095, 9600029023
February 2020 -5-

Editor's Voice
Greetings to all from your co-traveller.It is
Mukti –
Liberation – that is the most supreme state
that we need to attain in life. Mukthi is very much
natural in our birth. Liberation is the natural state of
our mind. Even though it is associated closely with our
birth, the interference of intellect that came about in
between is an obstacle. The same Liberation enlivens
again when intellect understands its helplessness in
the psychological world.
We call this intellect that understands its
helplessness in its psychological functioning as
Enlightenment.
We call the understanding that provides a
psychological surrender as Enlightenment
Understanding.
Many of us that are treading the Bagavath Path
have understood the psychological helplessness and
hence are living in liberation.
The liberation that these people attained is the
same. But the Enlightenment that they attained is not
the same. It can be their understanding in different
dimensions.
We should understand that “Functioning of the
mind is natural. We do not have anything to do there”.
This is the most important understanding that we
should know.
Functioning of the mind can be understood by
distinguishing as inner psychological and the outer
worlds. It can also be understood by clearly
distinguishing thought and thinking. We can also
K.S. JEEVAMANI,
Cell: 97891 65555
understand by knowing the difference between
'Manolaya' and 'Manonaasa'. Or we can understand
by a clear explanation of “Who am I?” We should
understand the helplessness of the intellect in the
psychological world in any of these dimensions.
Whatever be its dimension, it is real that
understanding has happened. There is no hard and
fast rule that one should understand this in a
particular angle. Also there is no need that one
should understand this in all its dimensions. There is
nothing like a superior or an inferior dimension of
understanding. Whatever be the dimension of
understanding, it should provide an inner surrender.
What it means is that we should give up our effort to
regulate our psychological functioning. That is very
important.
This is why we try to make the participants of
our Enlightenment Retreats, understand the
psychological functioning in all angles. That is why
the participants of these retreats attain inner
liberation by understanding the helplessness of the
mind in some way or the other.
In that context, the Enlightenment retreat
that was conducted in Sri Bagavath Bhavan from 24th
th
to 26 January 2020 was a successful one.
Subsequently another one-day
Enlightenment Retreat has been conducted on the
16th of February in Srivilliputhur, by Mr.Saravanan
and Mr.Jeevamani. More than hundred participants
benefited from this retreat.
Let us understand Enlightenment!
Let us share the understanding with all!
February 2020 -6-
 V.A.P. SARAVANAN
Cell : 99942 05880

Question & Answer

Hunting Dog and Liberation
Question : Sir, I have crossed 82 years of age. I have not studied beyond primary school. With difficulty, I can read
Tamil to some extent. I can never be able to read Vedas and Upanishads. My daughter, who has attended your
Enlightenment Retreat, is doing well now. Bagavath Path has been reaching my home every month. I read the Zen
stories in the magazine. Otherwise I have not read any of your other books. Sometimes I undergo psychological
distress. I am struggling to come out of that. In this context, it will be of great help to me, if you explain with a simple
story, what will be the function of a Master. Please narrate the story in a way I can understand, Sir.

Answer: There was a King. He had a Crown
Hunting dog with him. The dog had been given all
special training. The dog had a sharp intelligence
to even set a war strategy and win the enemies.
The dog had extra loyalty and capability, more
than a war commander had. The King was
constructing a beautiful glass bungalow for the
Queen.
One day, suddenly, when no one was
watching, the dog out of curiosity to see what was
there inside the glass bungalow, entered inside
the bungalow. Ignorant of the dog's presence in
the bungalow, the guards locked the door of the
bungalow. The dog was caught alone inside the
bungalow. As it was a glass bungalow, the dog's
image reflected in all the glass panels, wherever it
turned.
Thinking that all those reflecting images
were real dogs, the crown dog started barking
against the images.
The aggressive barking sound of the
hunting dog reflected as if hundreds of dogs were
barking at a time. The crown dog did not stop its
barking. Imagining that all those images were real
dongs, it kept on barking and dashed near the
dog's image.
Looking at all the reflecting images coming
together in the glass, the crown dog imagined that
they were all coming together to attack him. It
gathered all its energy now and started barking
more aggressively.
But there was no use at all. It could not
control them. As the hunting dog barked, the
images also kept on barking.
The hunting dog hated itself and became
angry over itself, thinking, “I have set so many
war strategies and won many wars. But I am not
able to win over these dogs”.
As the hunting dog continuously barked
against the images, it lost its entire energy at one
point of time.
It had no energy even to bark. Its throat
dried up. In this condition, the hunting dog
thought, “I can no longer attempt defeating
these dogs. There is no way”. It failed and in this
deprived state it fell down in front of the
mirror….! All the images also fell down.
Having lost all the energy, in an unarmed
state, the hunting dog started looking at the
image in the mirror more attentively. For the
first time, it started understanding that the
mirror images did all the actions that the
hunting dog did.
It clearly understood now that the
images moved exactly the same way the hunting
dog also moved.
Now it wanted to check and barked
lightly against the mirror image. It understood
that the images barked the same way it did.

February 2020 -7-

 It understood without any doubt that all
the dogs that were seen in the mirrors were only
images and nothing else.
Now it understood that fighting against the
images was the same as fighting against itself. It
also understood that the images were not actually
fighting but the hunting dog was.
Having understood that barking was of no
use, it completely stopped barking and freed
himself from barking. Now the activity of the
hunting dog has taken up a totally different
dimension.
Due to this clarity, it got rid of the struggle
of fighting against and started thinking about what
needed to be done next. In order to get out of the
glass house, the hunting dog came near the exit
door and slept there calmly.
If we understand this story with clarity, we
can understand the total functioning of our mind
very clearly.
Let us correlate this story with the
functioning of our mind.
We are like the hunting dog that had sharp
intelligence to set war strategies and win.
With the help of our intelligence, we
function in the outer world and achieve success in
many deeds.
The Mirror house can be compared to our
psychological functioning. Similar to the image of
the hunting dog reflecting in the mirrors, our
thoughts are also the reflections of our mind.
All kinds of thoughts that occur in our mind
are like the images of the hunting dog that are
seen in the mirror.
We come to a wrong conclusion that we
can win over our psychological emotions and
worries in the same way as we won in the outer
world using our intelligence.
Even the hunting dog, that had more
intelligence and skills than the Commander, could
not win over its images seen in the mirror. It lost
its entire power thinking that it could win
anyway, by that simple miscalculation. Similarly
we also do a miscalculation thinking that we can
win our psychological emotions using our
intelligence. The hunting dog could win the
wars with the right war strategies. We also
manage all the nuances of the mental practices
such as meditation, pranayama, concentration
of the mind etc. Even then we are unable to win
over our mind.
Only when we completely understand
the failure of intelligence in the psychological
functioning – inner mind, similar to the hunting
dog understanding its failure in a completely
deprived state that the dogs seen in the mirror
were only images, we not only understand the
basic functioning of our mind , but also we
come to a different dimension – Liberation. This
understanding of the truth of psychological
functioning is what Sri Bagavath Aiya mentions
as Understanding – Enlightenment.
Only when we understand the
helplessness of intelligence in the inner state of
mind, we can understand the total functioning
of our mind. When we have understood that all
our emotions and thoughts are only the
shadows, we also understand that the struggles
against the psychological emotions are the
same as fighting against our shadows. When we
understand the functioning of our mind this
way, a transformation happens within the basic
functioning of our mind.
The hunting dog understood the images,
got rid of fighting against them and started
taking action on the next steps. Like the hunting
dog, we also completely get liberated from the
struggle against our psychological emotions
and distresses and start our work in the outer
world where there are opportunities.
We can know clear state of mind of an
Enlightened Master, through this story.
February 2020 -8-
 Gallery

Exuberant Seekers at the peak of Jarugu Mountain top...

Energetic morning walk with an Enlightened... After an energetic morning walk with an Enlightened...

th
Volunteers @ 11 Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair 2020…

February 2020 -9-

 Sri Bagavath Cottages
Greetings to all family members of Sri
Bagavath Mission.
We all know that our Sri Bagavath Mission
Ashram is situated at the scenic foothills of Jarugu
Mountains in Periyagoundapuram in Salem.
There have been Enlightenment Retreats
conducted here by Sri Bagavath Aiya every month.
Many seekers participate in these retreats
and go back with clarity of Enlightenment.
As per the advice of Sri Bagavath Aiya, we
have decided to construct 32 cottages with all the
amenities so that all can come and stay here with their
families.
The site inauguration ceremony for this
construction has been conducted on Sunday, the 24th
of November between 11:30 am and 12 noon. We
thank all, who has come and graced the function.
We have planned to mobilise 32 members for
these 32 cottages. Apart from these members utilising
these cottages for their lifetime, their family members
can also use.
Chennai Sri Bagavath Bhavan
Greetings to Sri Bagavath Mission family
members who have special involvement with Aiya!
We had already attempted to establish Sri
Bagavath Bhavan in Chennai. That had been kept on
hold due to unavoidable reasons.
Now arrangements for the same are again being
made as per Aiya's advice.
Chennai Sri Bagavath Bhavan is going to be
Aiya's home. It will also be our Bagavath Bhavan home
where we can stay and be with Aiya.
We have decided to buy a house that is
constructed already rather than going in for
constructing a new house.
We have also decided to raise necessary funds
for this through founder contributions.
The funds that had already been raised for the
This is a wonderful opportunity for the
members not only to spend their vacation during
their holidays and leisure time, but also to stay in the
close proximity of a great Master, converse with him
so that they get the clarity of Enlightenment and live
healthily enjoying the natural surroundings.
We have fixed an amount of Rs.7 lacs as a
contributing sum towards possession of these
cottages.
The construction activities will be
completed in about 8 months.
Those who want to join this initiative can
pay the contribution in six instalments.
All those who are interested in joining this
mission as members are requested to inform us. As
we have to convey more details to those who are
interested in joining as members, we request you all
to contact us.
With love,
Sri Bagavath Mission, Salem -3
99942 05880, 97891 65555
Sri Bagavath Bhavan building from the donors will
also be used for this purpose.
On behalf of all of us, we extend our whole-
hearted thanks to those who had already donated
for this purpose.
What is important is that contributions
should be there from all the Bagavath Mission Family
members towards the Chennai Sri Bagavath Bhavan.
The donation amount is not important.
A contributing mind is important.
Hence, we appeal to you all to contribute
whatever amount you can. We will be pleased to
accept all your hearty contributions.
Let us all unite! Let us establish the Bagavath
Bhavan home for ourselves through the joint effort
of all of us!!
February 2020 -10-
 "A place where there is no Horse"
There was a spiritual practitioner who
was into an intensive search for Enlightenment.
He tried all the practices, thinking, “Mind is the
source of all the problems. Hence the only way to
get spiritual liberation is to attain a mindless
state (No Mind state)”. He rigorously tried many
meditative practices day and night, to attain that
'No Mind state'. All along the day, from the time
he woke up to the time he went to bed, he
observed all the psychological thoughts very
carefully and tried his best to get rid of them. In
spite of hard work for a long time, he did not
attain the 'No-Mind state', nor any Liberation.
Due to his intensive practices, he got highly
disheartened.
He came to know that there was a
Enlightened Master living at a far off place and
many people received the Enlightenment
understanding from that Master. In order to
meet the Master, he set himself off on a journey
on his Horse.
The seeker met the Master in the
evening. He explained his problem to the Master
and sought a way to attain a 'No-Mind state'.
The Master started laughing at him after
hearing about his problem.
The seeker asked the Master, “Why are
you laughing, Master?”
The Master said, “I am laughing at your
search for Enlightenment'. The seeker asked,
“Why Master? Is there anything wrong with
the search?”
The Master replied, “Your search itself
is meaningless”.
For this the seeker responded,
“Master, I am unable to understand anything
here”.
The Master asked, “Which mode of
journey did you choose, to travel and come to
meet me?”
The seeker said, “I rode on my horse
and came”.
“You are searching for a No-Mind state
like searching for a horseless place by sitting on
a horse. This will never come to a conclusion”,
the Master said.
The seeker requested the Master to
explain so that he understands.
“Tell me who should be attaining the
No-Mind state. Explain to me in detail”, the
Master said.
“It is only me who should get the
mindless state”, the seeker said.
The Master asked, “The thought of “I”
itself has formed from the mind. The thought
February 2020 -11-
of “I” is nothing but the Psychological form of the
thought. Mind itself is the source of the thought
“I”, that occurred in the mind. This being the fact,
how can one attain a No-Mind state with the
nature of “I”? How can that be possible?”
The seeker asked the Master, “Then what
is the way out for getting freed from the
psychological problems?”
“Psychological problem is Maya-illusion.
We understand all the external events only the
way the mind reflects. The mind does not reflect
the external action as it is. It adds up all the
thoughts that we have recorded all these days
and reflects according to our nature. The
struggle against the thought which is just a
reflected image, will never come to an end”, the
Master explained.
The seeker then asked the Master, “What
is the solution for this?”
The master asked, “Is the mind
HINDU SPIRITUAL AND SERVICE FAIR 2020, CHENNAI
th
In the 11 Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair
2020, that had been organized between January
th rd
29 and February 3 , in Guru Nanak College,
Chennai, we had established a stall of our Sri
Bagavath Mission.
Thousands of spiritual seekers had visited
this Fair. Many of them visited our stall and carried
information and Sri Bagavath Aiya's books with
them. In this 6-day long Fair, many of our Bagavath
M i s s i o n v o l u n t e e r s S r i .T h i y a g a r a j a n ,
Sri.Ravichandran, Smt.Muthulakshmi,
Sri.Perumalsamy, Smt.Jhansi, Smt.Hemalatha, Sri
Surender, Smt. Nirupama, Sri.Chandrasekar,
Registration Number of the Registered News Paper TNTAM/2014/57698 | Postel Registration Number : TN/WR/SL(E)/22/2018-2020
Date of publication : First Week of Every Month | Posted at Salem HOP 636001. On 10th of every month.
Published by Shri. V.A.P. Sharavanan on behalf of the Sri Bagavath Mission, 31, Ramalingasamy Street, Ammapet, Salem-636 003. Tamilnadu. India.
Printed by Shri. R. Jayavel at Sree Jayavel Press, 08/11, Gandhi Maidanam, Ammapettai, Salem-636 003. Editor : Shri. K.S. Jeevamani Cell : 97891 65555
something that functions under your
control?”
The seeker replied, “No, the mind does
not function within my control”.
“Enlightenment is nothing but the
understanding that we do not have anything to
do with the functioning of the mind that is not
in our control and functions freely on its
own….
“All psychological problems appear
and disappear naturally. It is only the external
problem that is the real one. You need solution
only for that. It is only the outer world where
you need to act upon with your self-attempt
using your intelligence” the Master explained.
“No Mind state is something that is
unattainable. For the outer world, the right
solution is to use our intelligence and act
accordingly”. The seeker understood this
clearly and left that place.
Sri.Anand, Sri. Lakshminarayanan,
Sri.Padmanabhan and Sri.Dinesh Kumar
offered a great service of guiding the visitors
and providing them with information on Aiya's
books and the Enlightenment Retreats so that
they too attain the Enlightenment easily.
We extend our warm greetings and
thanks to the Head of Chennai center of Sri
Bagavath Mission, Sri. Ravichandran and Sri.
Thyagarajan, who successfully coordinated
with all the members.
Sri Bagavath Mission, Salem
9994205880, 9789165555