Oct 2020 – Nov 2020

Volume 9 Issue 4
Bulletin of Vivekananda Kendra Vedic Vision Foundation

In this Issue

• Editorial
• Gandhi Jayanthi
• Swadhyaya On Swami Vivekananda
• Vijaya Dashami Celebration
• Deepavali And Sishudinam
• Sadhana Divas
• Regular Activities
• Other Activities
• Article By Ma. Lakshmi Didi
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -2- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

EDITORIAL
The Wheel of Dharma

Makarasankranti- the auspicious day when the all-illuminating Sun, in utmost

obedience to the Universal Law of celestial movements, true to his inherent rhythm and
dharma, retraces his steps from the southern solstice and starts his journey northward.
For Indians, it denotes the holy half of the year, a time for celebrations, a time for doing
auspicious things and the time to die too. For India, that Holy Day 1863, was marked by
a special event. It saw the birth of her brilliant son Narendranath Datta whose eventful
life was to open a new chapter in her history by once again setting ablaze her centuries’
old hopes and aspirations. It was to mark India’s re-emergence from a period of darkness
to light. Presently, how do we recapture the glory of his life and inherit the Kingdom he
has left behind? Today what remains with us are the powerful vibrations of his thought
currents and the vibrant, energizing, inspiring, transforming words he spoke with the
authority of a realised soul, resplendent with his enduring faith in the values and
traditions of his country’s philosophy and culture and imbued with his burning passion for
the redemption of his Motherland and his suffering brethren. Unfortunately, the fire in his
words lies today covered with ashes – of our ignorance, neglect and deliberate
indifference. The only way to blow off those ashes and bring back the lustre is to again
relive the strength and power inherent in his words by making them part of our dharma,
the law of being! For this, the Dharmachakra pravartana which he envisaged should
become once again operative in all of us and should also form the ideal of the Nation.
What is the dharma chakra pravarthana – the wheel of dharma that Swami
Vivekananda wanted to set in motion?
Onward progress is possible only when the wheels move in unison, in harmony,
purposefully, co-ordinately.Just as the mighty celestial bodies in the cosmic space, by their
movement mark Universal TIME, as the tiny wheels in the smallest of watches rotating in
perfect coordination, obeying their law of movement denote the passage of time in our
daily lives, so does a man’s life evolve and progress when all his movements big and small
are harmonized through the law of dharma .Dharma divorced from life or pravartana is
only book knowledge , best left in libraries fit only for scholastic discussions. That is,
wisdom or knowledge of dharma, if not reflected in one’s action, is not worth its name.
Vain indeed is such a knowledge .Similarly also, a man of dynamic action, full of power,
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -3- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

energy and strength, but without the backing of a proper philosophy of action, ignorant of
his dharma, lives like a moth fluttering for a while and then gone forever, leaving nothing
positive behind. On the contrary, if action and knowledge be combined through the wheel
of dharma, whose spokes are intellectual conviction, dedication to the ideal, integrity of
character, honesty and selflessness in action, attitude of service and surrender- then life
acquires a special dynamic glow and each of its movement marks an onward thrust
towards self-unfoldment and fulfilment.This is dharma –cakra pravartana that Swamiji
envisaged when he used the expressive term of Buddha to emphasise the meaning and
purpose of human life.
How to combine dharma with pravartana- adherence to Eternal Truth and everlasting
values with day to day working systems- therein lies man’s genius and ingenuity. The first
step is to convince oneself of the power and potency that lie behind the great life
principle, the divinity within one and all. This awareness should energize one’s life currents
and inspire him to work out his ideals through the multifarious activities of his life. That
was what Sanatana Dharma was, a unique way of life, in consonance with the dharma, in
harmony with universal laws, before it got dubbed into an ‘ism’ and a religion.
Unfortunately, when that happened, dharma got delinked from pravartana and
disappeared from our lives. Today, the dharma cakras found fluttering in flags on rooftops
only.
Swamiji asks us to correct this grave mistake first in our own individual lives and then
in National life. He proclaimed in no uncertain terms the universal relevance and eternal
validity of the Dharmic principles and gave his call to one and all, irrespective of caste,
creed or religion, to acquire the strength and dynamism that such a life can offer so that
the dharma cakra pravartana would again manifest itself in Nation’s life and guide her
towards her rightful destiny.
From being just a religion satisfying a few, the eternal principles of Sanatana Dharma
should again become a universal way of life. Adopting the Universal Principles as one’s life
principles would mean elevating and merging this small self into Universal Self. Dharma
and pravartana exists harmoniously synthesized in such a life – knowledge and action
become united.Conflicts disappear. Harmony and peace prevail. When dharma cakra
pravartana starts operating, the unique Indian national character would be re-established
.When with the knowledge of life’s true values, works gets transformed into worship, when
renunciation and service become a way of life, man would discover his innate divinity and
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -4- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

the Nation would regain her lost identity. This was the man-making, nation building
programme Swami Vivekananda inaugurated before he was snatched away at the young
age of 39.The seeds he sowed are today sprouting up in thousands of places in different
parts of the world. To inherit the great legacy that Swamiji has left behind, each one of us
must make ourselves mini centres of dharma chakra pravartana. Millions of small wheels
working in unison would soon create the momentum necessary to move the giant wheel of
our Sanatana Dharma, to transform this punyabhoomi into a karmabhoomi, a
tyagabhoomi and above all a DHARMA BHOOMI where not only Indians but the whole
world would discover their haven of Peace and Salvation.

Gandhi Jayanthi
Gandhi Jayanti was enthusiastically celebrated online, by the teachers and tiny tots of Sishuvihar. Little

Abhijit of UKG dressed as Gandhiji gave his message to all others. 13 students and their family members

attended. Ex-

students too

participated along

with their families.

Smt Jaya

Radhakrishnan,

favorite teacher of

the tiny tots

conducted the

programme.

Children either

sang songs or

talked about

Gandhiji. Lastly Ma. Didi talked to all the children and their parents.

All the tiny tots seemed so much at home with the virtual ways of the present situation!
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -5- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

Swadhyaya On Swami Vivekananda

Online Swadhaya on every Saturday from 5pm to 6pm on Swamiji, titled 'Meditation on Swamiji' started
with the inaugural session on 10th October. 145 participants from All over India and abroad have
registered. Ma. Didi laid the foundation by taking three consecutive classes. In her three classes starting
from 17th October, the second class on 24th October and the third on 31st October, Ma. Didi spoke on
Swamiji as 'Vishwa Bhanu’, the one who enlightens the world, 'Vishwamitra' the friend of all and ' Vishwa
Guru', the Universal teacher.

Vijaya Dashami Celebration

On 26th October, 30 children, mostly Sandeepani Sishuvihar's LKG and UKG tiny tots, ex-students and
other local children from the neighbourhood came by 6.30 a.m., at Anandadham to take back their
books they had kept before Mother Sarasvati on Asthami day for Her blessings.

After completing the ritual of writing 'Hari Shri Ganapataye Namaha ' on raw rice either with the help of
Ma. Didi or their parents, the tiny tots got their books form their teacher, enjoyed Devi's prasadam and
then went back by 7.30 a.m.

Of course, mask and social distancing were strictly followed during the ritual, by the tiny tots and their
parents.
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -6- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

14th November: Sishudinam And Deepawali Celebration

On Deepawali day, Saturday, November 14th, early morning after Yoga Varga, Mananeeya Didi
addressed the yogavarga members on the occasion of Deepawali. The significance of the day was
explained by Didi. This day marked the victory of Sri Krishna over Narakasura, the asura ruler of
Pragjyotishpur now Assam and the second significance is that on this day Lord Sri Rama returned to
Ayodhya after his victory over Ravana the King of Lanka. In both cases it symbolises the victory of good
over evil.There was distribution of sweets after the programme.

Saturday was also celebrated as Sishudinam by the children of Sishuvihar who were motivated by
their teachers. At 10. a.m n the morning through a Zoom meet of 2 hours, all the students with their
family members met. Around 30 families with their children mostly Sishuvihar children and alumni took
part. There were songs and poems, short speeches on 'Chacha Nehru' by kids dressed like Chacha Nehru.
All the tiny tots entertained the audience through Zoom Meet . Their Jaya teacher patiently anchored the
programme. The programme was marked by the inauguration of the weekly story telling class ’Unnikale
Oru Katha parayam’ Ma. Didi told the children the first story, that of ‘Dhruvan’. Now onwards every
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -7- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

Wednesday morning 5 children will be telling stories through Google meet. At 6.30 p.m. on the same

day, to celebrate Deepavali there was a unique online Bhajan Sandhya in Google-Meet , by the little
ones of LKG to Class VI were the
singers Little ones of VKV Kallubalu
and the Ex-students of Sishuvihar
sang very well and sanctified the
atmosphere. Mananeeya Didi and
Sushree Radha Didi delivered their
messages of Deepavali. To start
start the bhajan , the Shanti mantra
and Aikya mantra were chanted by
Kum. Vijayalakshmi of LKG of VKV
Kallubalu and concluding the
bhajan Sandhya the Kendra prarthana was chanted by Kum Avyaya of class V. About 35 families were
online to watch the bhajan session.
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -8- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

Sadhana Divas
Sadhana Divas was celebrated on 19th November, through a Webinar in Zoom in the morning from
10.30 a.m .It was a one and a half hour’s program, kept for the contestant students of the All India online
Quiz competition held in the the first week of November . Mananeeya Nivedita Didi, All India Vice
president of Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari was the Chief Guest. 130 students and teachers and
guardians attended the webinar from all over India. To take a given task seriously and with all conviction
was what Mananeeya Nivedita Didi stressed while talking to the students. Ma. Lakshmi Didi, Director
VKVVF, in her benedictory address spoke about the glory of India and why Swamiji loved India. A short
video snippet on quotes of Mananeeya Eknathji by the tiny tots of Sishuvihar Kodungallur was shown.
Prize winners of the Quiz were announced. Kum. Kritika Barman of VKV Vivek Vihar Arunachal Pradesh
secured the first position followed by Kum.Sreya Sam of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Elamakkara- Kochi in the
second position and 2 consolation prizes for students of VKV NEPCO Yazali Master Arnav Saika and Kum.
Sanchali Deb of VKV Vivek Vihar. Programme ended with Kendra Prarthana.

In the evening from 3 .30 pm to 5 p.m there was a gathering of about 20 members consisting of the first
and second batches of YCC and YIC students and other local Karyakartas at Anandadham VKVVF. On the
auspicious occasion of Sadhana Divas Ma. Didi spoke on the importance of the day. Certificates were
given to the 6 YCC students who successfully concluded their course and had submitted their project
works to Headquarters at Kanyakumari. As they would be regarded as eligible teachers from now on they
were honoured with a ponnada or shawl and as they would be spreading the enlightening messages of
Swamiji and
Eknathji, they
were also
presented with a
lighted lamp
each. New
students for non-
residential course
of YCC and YIC
were also
registered .5
students have
come forward to
take up yoga
course. The programme ended with Kendra Prarthana.
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -9- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

REGUL AR ACTIVITIES
Yoga Satra: 2 yoga Satras which included one online class for one person in Dubai. Total 10 participants

Kendra Varga: Every Sunday with minimum 20 participants. Last Sunday of every month being campus cleaning
day with sponsored breakfast.

Yoga Varga: Total 7 Yoga Vargas. Yoga Varga with proper maintenance of social distancing etc. are being
conducted daily at Anandadham in the early morning hours from 6a.m to 7 a.m. with an average of 19

6 yoga Vargas with a total involvement of 12 families and 4 student members go on regularly and daily in Thrissur,
Kara, Edavilangu, Valsalayam, Pallinada and Edavilangu Govt School. These were conducted daily by Varga
Sikshaks and under the guidance of our Yoga Varga Pramukh Smt Suja who takes a review and guides them
through Google Meet once a month.

A weeklong pranayama session was conducted for 10 senior members of Yoga varga in the first week of
September.

A fortnight session (3rd October to 18th October 2020) from 5.30am to 6am at Anandadham, on Pranayama
and Omkar dhyana was conducted by Sri Sudhakarji .Total attendance 20.

Samskar Varga: Online Samskara Varga is being conducted by Smt Suja once in two weeks through Google Meet
for 13 children of her Yoga varga groups.

Swadhyaya: Weekly Online swadhaya on every Saturday from 5pm to 6pm on Swamiji, titled 'Meditation on
Swamiji' is being conducted without break. From 7th November onwards for the coming month of December the
speaker will be Srimad Swami Veerabhadranandaji head of Haripad Ramakrishna Math.

’Unnikkale Oru Katha parayam’: A weekly online programme of storytelling by the small children especially from
Sishuvihar present and previous batches which started from 14th November is continuing every week. Su Bindu
and Smt Suja together take care of the programme. Minimum 10 children and their families attend the pro-
gramme. Stories are mostly value based from the Puranas and other Indian cultural texts. Apart from this there is a
question answer session for the story teller after each story session, three children are selected each week for
narrating a story each . A new subhashita is introduced in every class.

Online Bhajan Sandhya: Every alternate full moon day an online bhajan Sandhya is conducted with minimum 20
participants with their families..
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -10- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

PAIRS OF OPPOSITES
Dr. M. Lakshmi Kumari
(In this issue we are bringing Ma. Lakshmi Didi’s interesting articles on Bhagavad Gita which she had penned in ‘Yuva Bharati’
as it’s editor in the eighties of last century )
All efforts and all movements are ultimately steps in the evolution of the finite into the 'Infinite', or
the material into the 'spiritual'. Just as a rock undergoes weathering through ages and gets transformed
into fine particles of soil, so must the human soul encrusted with matter as it were, undergo 'weathering'
and get transformed through its experiences in life, tossed between the 'pairs of opposites'. To make
man aware of this subtle truth, two forms of awareness have been implanted in him, of death, of all the
'material' around him and of deathlessness, of the 'spirit' in him, exemplified by his own SELF. One who
has developed this awareness discovers life anew and sees it manifested afresh even amidst the dying.
Life for him ceases to be a struggle, but a pilgrimage, each experience taking him forward, onward and
Godward.

In this journey from the finite to the Infinite, long and narrow is the path man has to traverse.
Standing on either side, alluring and tempting man at every step are the pairs of opposites, the dualistic
interplay of which adds to the sum total of man's experiences. Varied are the masks they wear to
captivate the mind of man - life and death, mine and thine, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, love and
hate, victory and defeat, heat and cold, like and dislike, so on and so forth. Essentially they are one, their
duality being only apparent. But man, ignorant of this reality, reacts to them differently and suffers in
consequence untold miseries.

How to steer clear of these dualities - the devil and the deep sea - and guide this ship of our life to
its right destination? Therein lies the 'art of living' which Sri Krishna so lovingly imparts to Arjuna as the
'yoga of equipoise'.

Without acquiring mental poise we cannot hope to find true happiness, fulfillment and peace in life.
For this, the mind should be trained not to run after these alluring pairs. In order to acquire the
necessary wisdom we must analyse the real nature of these dualistic experiences and discover ways and
means of converting them into 'aids' in our journey and not as obstacles. A contemplative mind which
has nurtured the awareness of the SELF and understood its unity and universality alone would be able to
discover that these opposing factors which so confuse and confound the human mind are in essence
part of the cosmic scheme to channelize and polarize human efforts, to straighten out man's life, lift his
mind from the lower to the higher Self, just as the two banks of a river guide its even flow.

The pairs of opposites are really the two sides of the same coin. Probably, ours is the only
philosophy which has realised this and teaches man to rise above both, whereas in all other systems of
thought man is asked to choose the good, happy and the pleasant, leaving the contrary ones. But, we in
India, have always held that these pairs and their values are not absolute but relative and they always co-
exist. Scientifically also it is true as we can easily understand from the nature of 'light' which is just a
 Volume 9 Issue 4 -11- Oct 2020 - Nov 2020

small part of the infinite electro-magnetic spectrum visible to the human eyes the rest of which, invisible
to our eyes, being 'dark', as far as our perception is concerned. For one who is blind, even our light,
remains as darkness. Even in the very source of light, the sun, they say, there are dark spots. Every cloud
has its silver lining too. A poetical expressio0n of it we read in the famous lines of Shelley.

'When winter comes can spring be far behind' - words filled with hope for a man of faith.

Armed with this knowledge, backed with the faith rooted in self-awareness, when we look at the
dualistic phenomena around, we find that really there is no need to be cowed down by them. A sort of
detachment can easily be cultivated by which we are neither overjoyed at happiness nor overwhelmed by
sorrow. This could be the first step to self-development. A mind detached from the influence of these
pairs of opposing forces acquires more and more poise and becomes a fit instrument for the
contemplation of the Higher Self.

Out of detachment can come real freedom. So long as we are attached to, or expect good rewards
and results from our work, to that extent our efficiency in work is lost, joy is reduced and its effectiveness
to take us to our ultimate goal is minimized. Before teaching Arjuna the secret of action, therefore,
Krishna rightfully tutors his mind in the art of detachment.

Another great lesson it would do well for all of us to learn is that, hidden deep in each of our
experiences, good or bad, there is a divine plan helping us take a step forward. Detachment is necessary
to discover this deep hidden meaning. To derive 'joy' not only from happy moments but also from
unhappy experiences which are really valuable gifts, making us introspective and God-oriented, is indeed
a rare capacity. The great Queen Mother Kunti is one of those rare few renowned for their prayer to
Krishna for more and more 'difficult' times so that their mind would be turned towards His Lotus Feet at
all times!

Of what advantage is all this!

In times of storm, anger, impatience and great grief, one who is not molested by these things,
becomes like a rock; others cling to him and find their consolation. One who is serene in the midst of all
dual conditions, heat and cold, pleasure and pain, noise and stillness, under all circumstances, will carry
with him, wherever he goes, the constant realisation of the Supreme Self.

When individuals are struggling not having known what mental equipoise is, when antihuman
relationships are cracking down for no reason whatsoever, when social norms are crumbling and national
ethos are getting eroded, from where shall we import this essential commodity - equipoise? 'From
within', proclaims the Gita and shows us the ways and means to achieve it.