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A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of the Ramakrishna Order since 1914

TheVedanta

Kesari

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Editor: Swami mahamedhananda Published by Swami Vimurtananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai - 600 004 and

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Ratha Saptami - Vasant Panchami12 February 2019 10 February 2019

COVER STORY On 6 Feb 1897, Saturday, people of Chennai gave a euphoric welcome to Swami Vivekananda on his triumphant homecoming from the West. Streets were lavishly decorated, triumphal arches were erected, mottoes were blazoned on all sides, and there was a perpetual shower of flowers at every point on the route to Castle Kernan (now Vivekananda House) where Swamiji was lodged. The whole Hindu society stood awakened and invigorated. The Cover Page recaptures that day.

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A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of The Ramakrishna Order

FEBRUARY 2019

The VedanTa Kesari106th

Year of Publication

CONTENTS Vol. 106, No. 2 ISSN 0042-2983

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The Story of a LocketDr. Hironmoy N. Mukherjee

Sister Nivedita and the Hindu SocietyDr. Purba Sengupta

Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission:Synopsis of the Governing Body Report for 2017-18

The BraahmanasLakshmi Devnath

What is Religion?

FEATURES

7 Dakäiëàmùrti Stotra 8 Yugavani

9 Editorial25 Pariprasna27 Vivekananda Way31 Special Report45 Book Reviews46 Topical Musings49 The Vedas: An Exploration52 The Order on the March

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A Message to GarciaRamakrishna- Vivekananda in ‘The Land of Five Rivers’Swami Atmashraddhananda

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Reminiscences of SargachhiSwami Suhitananda

Editor: Swami mahamedhananda Published by Swami Vimurtananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai - 600 004 and

Printed by B. Rajkumar, Chennai - 600 014 on behalf of Sri Ramakrishna Math Trust, Chennai - 600 004 and Printed at M/s. Rasi Graphics Pvt. Limited, No.40, Peters Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600014.

Website: www.chennaimath.org E-mail: thevedantakesari@chennaimath.org

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The Vedas

Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004

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Dear Readers,The Vedanta Kesari is one of the oldest cultural and spiritual magazines

in the country. Started under the guidance and support of Swami Vivekananda, the first issue of the magazine, then called Brahmavadin,

came out on 14 Sept 1895. Brahmavadin was run by one of Swamiji’s ardent followers Sri Alasinga Perumal. After his death in 1909 the

magazine publication became irregular, and stopped in 1914 whereupon the Ramakrishna Order revived it as The Vedanta

Kesari. Swami Vivekananda’s concern for the magazine is seen

in his letters to Alasinga Perumal where he writes: ‘Now I am bent upon starting the journal.’ ‘Herewith I send a hundred dollars…. Hope this will go just a little in starting your paper.’ ‘I am determined to see the paper succeed.’ ‘The Song of the Sannyasin is my first contribution for your

journal.’ ‘I learnt from your letter the bad financial state that Brahmavadin is in.’ ‘It must be supported by the Hindus if

they have any sense of virtue or gratitude left in them.’ ‘I pledge myself to maintain the paper anyhow.’ ‘The Brahmavadin

is a jewel—it must not perish. Of course, such a paper has to be kept up by private help always, and we will

do it.’For the last 105 years, without missing a single issue, the magazine has been carrying the

invigorating message of Vedanta with articles on spirituality, culture, philosophy, youth, personality development, science, holistic living, family and corporate values.

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TheVedanta Kesari

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To be continued . . .

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Dakäiëàmùrti Stotra

Verse 2

बीजस्यान्तरिवयाङ्कुिो जगरििं प्याङ्निरवविकल्ं ्ुनिःमया्याकङल््तिेशकयालकलनियावैरित््रित्ीकृ्तम् ।मया्यावीव रवजृम्भ्त्र् महया्ोगीव ्ः सवेच्छ्या्तसमै श्ीगुरुमू्तवि्े निम इिं श्ीिरषिणयामू्तवि्े ।। २ ।।

2. Obeisance to him, Árì Dakäiëàmùrti, who is the Guru, who, out of his free will, like the magician or a great yogi, manifests this world, which was, before creation, undifferentiated even as the sprout was within the seed and became variegated later, on account of its association with space and time brought forth by màyà.

This verse forms the basis for the presentation of the Advaitic view of creation. Incidentally, the other schools are brought in and refuted. Whereas most of these schools depend upon two methods of knowledge, viz. pratyakäa (direct perception) and anumàna (inference), laying great emphasis on the intellect and reasoning, the Vedànta school depends primarily on àptavàkya or áabda (verbal testimony of the scriptures), using logic also, to meet the other schools on their own grounds.

The main contention of Advaita Vedànta is that the fundamental Truth is one, without a second, Advitìya. It is Brahman or Àtman which is pure existence (sat), pure consciousness (cit) and pure bliss (ànanda). Since this world is a fact of our experience and since its creation has to be explained somehow to satisfy our curiosities, this verse is giving two examples: Firstly, this world of wonderful varieties existed in Ìávara, even as a mighty tree with its several roots, branches, leaves and fruits, existed in its seed, in an undifferentiated form. When the màyà power of Ìávara, under His direction, projected deáa (space) and kàla (time), this ‘seed’ of the world got evolved into all its varieties. Secondly, this projection of the world is not a real creation like the potter making a pot out of clay, but the illusory manifestation brought about by Ìávara just by His own will, like the magician or a yogi (like Viávàmitra) producing articles of magic. This obviates the need for a material cause outside Ìávara which would otherwise militate against the conception of Advaita.

There are plenty of references in the scriptures to this Advaitic view of creation:तस्माद्मा एतस्मादमात्मन आकमाशः संभतूः।‘From this Àtman, verily, àkàáa (ether) was produced.’ —Taittirìya Upaniäad (2.1);सदेव सोमे्ढमग्र आसीत ्‘My dear, in the beginning, Reality alone existed’ —Chàndogya Upaniäad (6.2.1);तदैक्त बहु समा ंप्रजमायेयेतत ‘It thought—“Let me become many! Let me give birth!” ’ —Chàndogya Upaniäad (6.2.3);यतो वमा इममािन भतूमािन जमायने्। ‘That from which all these beings are born.’ —Taittirìya Upaniäad (3.1).

Dakäiëàmùrti Stotra with Manasollasa. Translated and Annotated by Swami Harshananda

- Sri Shankaracharya

GURUMaya is nothing but the egotism of the embodied soul. This maya, that is to

say, the ego, is like a cloud. The sun cannot be seen on account of a thin patch of cloud; when that disappears one sees the sun. If by the grace of the guru one's ego vanishes, then one sees God. All the knots of ignorance come undone in the twinkling of an eye, through the guru's grace. Do you know what it is like? Suppose a room has been kept dark a thousand years. The moment a man brings a light into it, the darkness vanishes. Not little by little.

One needs faith—faith in the words of the guru, childlike faith. One understands the scriptures better by hearing them from the lips of the guru or of a holy man. Then one doesn't have to think about their non-essential part. One attains God by following the guru's instructions step by step. The guru is like a companion who leads you by the hand. It is like reaching an object by following the trail of a thread. There can be no fear if the guru's grace descends on one.

If a man in the form of a guru awakens spiritual consciousness in you, then know for certain that it is God the Absolute who has assumed that human form for your sake. When the disciple has the vision of the Ishta, through the guru's grace, he finds the guru merging in Him. Satchidananda alone is the guru.

Anyone and everyone cannot be a guru. It is not good to be a guru by profession. One cannot be a teacher without a command from God. But it won't do if a man only imagines that he has God's command. God does reveal Himself to man and speak. Only then may one receive His command. How forceful are the words of such a teacher! They can move mountains. But mere lectures? People will listen to them for a few days and then forget them. They will never act upon mere words.

A man who is himself ignorant starts out to teach others—like the blind leading the blind! Instead of doing good, such teaching does harm. After the realization of God one obtains an inner vision. Only then can one diagnose a person's spiritual malady and give instruction. A huge timber floats on the water and can carry animals as well. But a piece of worthless wood sinks, if a man sits on it, and drowns him. Therefore, in every age God incarnates Himself as the guru, to teach humanity.

Renunciation of the world is needful for those whom God wants to be teachers of men. One who is an acharya should give up kamini-kanchana, lust and greed. It is not enough for him to renounce only mentally; he should also renounce outwardly. Only then will his teaching bear fruit.

—Compiled from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Yugavani

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Editorial

Today, there is a growing fear that Sanatana Dharma is under threat; that it is being defamed, distorted, and weakened. Some of our ancient customs and beliefs are being swept away under the hammer blows of different forces — forces of social justice, of malice, and of ignorance. There are people clamouring to change ancient temple customs; some are out to discover the caste of Hindu gods; some are crying hoarse that Hinduism has become intolerant of other faiths; some indulge in all kinds of deceptions to wean Hindus away from their faith; and some regard animals as more sacred than fellow human beings! In short, the religion that enshrines eternal, universal truths seems to be losing its fire.

In his first write-up for Udbodhana, the Bengali monthly of the Ramakrishna Order, Swami Vivekananda makes an interesting observation. Pointing out to the fast paced changes in sentiments, manners, customs and morals that the British Raj enforced upon the Hindu society, Swamiji writes: ‘Slowly and slowly, by the strong dint of law, many of our most cherished customs are falling off day by day — we have no power to withstand that. And why is there no power? Is truth really powerless? “Truth alone conquers and not falsehood.” — Is this Divine Vedic saying false? Or who knows but that, those very customs which are being swept away by the deluge of the power of Western sovereignty or of Western education were not real acharas, but were anacharas after all.’

How are acharas corrupted? A parable explains this. Once a man was performing

the shraddha ceremony of his father. He was assisted by his two young sons. When they sat for worship with eyes closed, their pet cat ate the naivedya before it could be offered. The man arranged for new naivedya and also put the cat in a corner and covered it with a wicker basket. The cat was let out after the worship. The next year, before the worship began, the cat was confined to the same corner with the basket over it. This practice continued for many years. One day the man himself passed away. Now his two grown-up sons got ready to perform his shraddha ceremony. Just when the worship was about to begin, the elder brother exclaimed, ‘My God! We have forgotten an important ritual of our sacred tradition!’ ‘What is it?’ asked the younger brother anxiously. ‘Don’t you remember, how at every shraddha ceremony our father would keep a cat in that corner covered with a wicker basket?’ replied the elder brother. As the pet cat too had died by then, the younger brother rushed to the market and purchased a new wicker basket and a new cat in the name of the dear departed father. The worship began with a cat once again kept in the same corner covered in a basket! A ‘sacred’ tradition had been safeguarded!!

The sooner such cat-basket customs are weeded out from our faith, the better for us. But what if we in ignorance discard the very fundamentals of our religion, like throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

To avoid this danger, the first thing we have to do is to learn to distinguish between the essentials and the nonessentials of Sanata Dharma. The essentials are eternal and based upon the immortal nature of man, and are

The Task Before Us

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as recorded in the Vedas, the Upanishads. Everything else are non-essentials, are customs which have value only for a certain time; and as Swami Vivekananda points out, if after a time they are not replaced by something essential, they become positively dangerous. Swamiji reassures us, ‘This you have always to remember that because a little social custom is going to be changed you are not going to lose your religion, not at all.’ Again, he says, ‘Whatever is weak and corrupt is liable to die — what are we to do with it? If it goes, let it go, what harm does it do to us? What is strong and invigorating is immortal. Who can destroy that?’

The point is that we should have a firm grip on the immortal fundamentals of Sanatana Dharma. This is not just for our sake, but for the good of the world. Swamiji never tired of telling us that the mission of modern India is ‘to conserve, to preserve, to accumulate, as it were, into a dynamo, all the spiritual energy of the race,’ and then pour forth that concentrated energy in a deluge upon humanity to help it ‘to realise its own true, divine nature.’

The next thing is to be proud of our spiritual heritage. In his reply to the welcome at the World’s Parliament of Religions, in Chicago on 11 September 1893, Swamiji repeatedly professed his pride in being a Hindu. Then, right from his first public address on returning to India in 1897, he reminded Hindus that they were inheritors of ‘the most wonderful, convincing, broadening, and ennobling ideas found only in’ Vedanta. He declared that India still survived as a nation because it held on to God, ‘to the treasure-house of religion and spirituality.’ Therefore, he said, we should keep religion as the backbone of our national life.

Unfortunately, most of the educated Hindus are today drowned in self-preservation with all their energies and time spent in earning a livelihood and then indulging in recreations.

In the name of secularism, or just plain laziness we have failed to assimilate our cultural and spiritual knowledge into the mainstream education system. We have forgotten Swami Vivekananda’s advice that, ‘The secret of a true Hindu’s character lies in the subordination of his knowledge of European sciences and learning, of his wealth, position, and name to that one principal theme which is inborn in every Hindu child – the spirituality and purity of the race.’

Even our children are pushed into the whirlpool of competition without giving them a real opportunity to imbibe the fundamentals of our culture and spirituality. Parents and educators should give ear to Sister Nivedita who declares that the development of the child is for the good, not of himself, but of jana-desha-dharma. She writes: ‘Why are you going to school?’ says the mother to her little one, at the moment of parting. And the child answers, in some form or other, growing clearer and more eager with growing age and knowledge, ‘That I may learn to be a man, and help!’ There is no fear of weakness and selfishness for one whose whole training has been formed round this nucleus. This, the desire to serve, the longing to better conditions, to advance our fellows, to lift the whole, is the real religion of the present day. Everything else is doctrine, opinion, theory. Here is the fire of faith and action. Each day should begin with some conscious act of reference to it. A moment of silence, a hymn, a prayer, a salutation, any of these is ritual sufficient.’

These then are the sacred tasks that every Hindu has to take up today: understand the fundamental universal teachings of Vedanta; strive utmost to live up to them; and then with a missionary zeal take these life-giving truths to the ‘homes of the poorest and the lowest, as well as of the richest and the highest.’ If this is done, no power on earth or heaven can harm Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion.

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Reminiscences

Reminiscences of SargachhiSWAMI SUHITANANDA

Conversations with Swami Premeshananda (1884-1967) a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.

(Continued from prvious issue. . .)

are polluted by fate, and who are careless, malicious, and quarrelsome. There are also fellows who embrace the life of renunciation but don’t follow their vows, who are unclean, beggarly, and live family lives, who perform austerities living in villages and are greedy for money.’

10.9.60Question: Is it the sannyasi’s job to reform

society?Maharaj: Not at all. However, a sannyasi

has to keep watch from a distance and ensure that such tasks are carried out properly. He has to train suitable workers, assign them the responsibility of carrying out such work and then observe whether or not it is done properly.

In our country as yet we do not have capable leaders. Those whom you see belong to the class of ordinary workers. They want to do all the work by themselves. For example, suppose a worker has the responsibility of tilling the land and he is cultivating eggplants. The owner comes and plants two cucumber saplings, just to show that the land is under his management! He doesn’t care whether his act will improve or damage the land. Our leaders today are like that owner. A true leader keeps himself in the background and monitors from there the work done by others. Whenever anyone is in difficulty, the leader steps in, sets it right, and then withdraws. The

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9.9.60Maharaj: Can you tell me your identity

when you were just a foetus? Were you then a Hindu or a Muslim, a Bengali or a Bihari? You then had only one reality – your ‘I’ consciousness. This is what is known as awareness or consciousness.

Wherever you stay, you have to abide by the rules and customs of that place. Some sadhus have been living in Kashi for twenty years, yet they have not learnt Hindi. But the Christian missionaries learn the Santhali language and teach the Santhals. When a sadhu is posted to Kanpur, he must become a full-fledged Kanpuri. Only then he can be called a real sadhu.

A sadhu has to remain extremely alert. I have seen sadhus for whom only two things are important – pranam and pranami (receiving the devotees’ salutations and receiving their offerings). You can’t imagine how low some sadhus stoop in the name of performing duties! Do you remember those verses composed by Sridhara Swami? Recite them –

प्रममािदनो बिििर्चितमाः तिशुनमाः कलिोतु्कःसन्माससनोऽति द्दश्यने् देवसन्दूतितमाशयमाः।अव्रतमा वटवोऽशौचिमा भभक्षवर्चि कुटुम्बिनः।तिस्विनो ग्रमामवमासी न्माससनोऽत्यर्थलोलुिमाः।।‘One comes across sannyasis whose

minds are outwardly oriented, whose thoughts

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person entrusted with the task then continues to manage the work. The leader has to totally forget his ego and be one with the team members.

All activities should be performed as a unit. Suppose you worship the Lord in the shrine and by chance you are delayed. It doesn’t matter; I will go and quickly finish the worship. On another occasion you come forward to help me in my work. Onlookers will see that all are engaged in one single task. However, such a mode of work is possible only when four or five persons are involved. If there are many people, this method may be disruptive. Our sadhus are university-degree holders. Truly, they are good sadhus. They don’t have any dearth of renunciation, austerity, knowledge, or devotion. But they are unable to work together in a group through mutual consultation. Leaders cannot be made – leaders are born.

Can training be imparted through books alone? Participating in games and mixing with others in work is the right kind of education. After visiting Oxford, somebody said, ‘When do they study here? There are only competitions, sports and games, functions, dining together, and such things!’ Proper education happens when both the sensory nerves and the motor nerves function equally well.

11.9.60Question: What if we receive blows for

sticking to the path of truth?Maharaj: This is the very reason that you

have embraced sannyasa. You have joined the Order to live by high ideals. If you remain on the path of truth, nobody can harm you. You are bound to win in the end. The man who drubs you with shoes now, will perhaps later worship you and after five years even take the dust of your feet! I have seen such things with my own eyes.

Young monastics of our Order come here just to visit. Well, why shouldn’t they? This is a

brotherhood. All aspire to the same goal. Just see all the places they come from–Saradapeeth, Narendrapur, and even from far-off Madras, Madhya Pradesh, and Bombay. Here is an old man in a remote area – who holds no position, nor wields any power – yet why do they come to him? This is because love is the life of this Order. It has so happened that a young man comes here because there is nobody to sympathise with him; no one has time to look after the newly joined novitiates. I truly love people; there is not a whit of hypocrisy in this. This is the true test: whether you are moving towards God, and whether you can love all living beings सव्थभूतस्थममात्ममानं… [he beholds] the Self in all beings’ (Gita 6:29). Besides, we don’t have a wife, sons, property, or land; all we have is a little love. So, whoever comes to us, we can only give them a little love. Swamiji said that Sri Ramakrishna is ‘L-O-V-E personified’.

Indeed, we went to Sri Ramakrishna’s monastic disciples and found the same love in them. How sweet were their words! You can bind others with love. No relationship lasts unless it is based on culture. We can build a relation frivolously, but it lasts only a few days.

Question: What should we do if there is an inimical environment in the ashrama?

Maharaj: Even if the environment in an ashrama is bad, you should not put it in difficulties by leaving it. You should pray to Sri Ramakrishna day and night and watch out for an opportunity to leave it. Run away post-haste as soon as you get such an opportunity. If the new place you go to is also bad, then again seek the opportunity to leave.

Beware! Never get into a conflict. It will disturb your mind. You should not be obstinate in your dealings with those who hold power. I hope you recall Sri Ramakrishna’s instructions in this matter.

(To be continued. . .)

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Sri Ramakrishna Math(A Branch of Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math)

Puranattukara P.O., Thrissur-680 551, Kerala. Phone Office: 0487-2307719; 082817 82193; 095261 72929

E-mail: thrissur@rkmm.org; thrissur.publication@rkmm.org Web.: www.rkmthrissur.org

Appeal for Financial Help for Constructing

‘Publication & Research Centre’at Sri Ramakrishna Math, Thrissur, Kerala.

Namaste.‘Sri Ramakrishna Math’ situated at Puranattukara near Thrissur city in Kerala is a branch

of ‘Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission’. Established as early as 1927 with a Gurukulam (hostel) for educating the poor Harijan children of the locality, this branch of the Ramakrishna Movement has since been tirelessly serving the society in a number of areas including value education, healthcare, propagation of Dharma, publication of Vedantic texts and spiritual ministration.

The Publication Dept. of this Math has published 300-odd books. By its unique service of decades, this Publishing House has contributed to the material and spiritual progress of the society. Although it has developed over the years, its infrastructure has not developed in line with the increase in the volume of work and the Dept. now works under spatial constraints.

It is under these circumstances that we plan to build a 4-storeyed ‘Publication and Research Centre’, estimated to cost Rs. 6 crores. The new building will house the Publication Godown, Despatch Office, Publications Office (Books Section), Prabuddhakeralam Magazine Office, Public Library, Research Section, Living Rooms for Monks and Guests etc.

So, we request our devotees and well-wishers to make generous contributions to realize this unique project. I am fully sure that this project will contribute greatly to the welfare of society for decades to come. We will be greatly thankful to you if you could contribute even partially.

Your donations may be sent as DD/Cheque in the name of ‘Sri Ramakrishna Math’ or transferred to our bank account: A/c Name: SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATH; SB A/c Number: 6711843752; Bank Name: Kotak Mahindra Bank; Branch Name: Thrissur; IFS Code: KKBK0000596. All donations are exempt from income tax under section 80-G of the I.T. Act.

Thanking you in anticipation, Yours sincerely and affectionately,

Swami SadbhavanandaAdhyaksha

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Sri Ramakrishna Ashram, Nettayam(A Branch Centre of Ramakrishna Math, belur Math, W.B.

Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 010

Phone: 0471 - 2722125, 2722453, 2727607, 2726603, 2727393

Email: thiruvananthapuram@rkmm.org

Dear Devotees,Please accept our greetings and best wishes.The temple at Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Nettayam, Thiruvananthapuram was constructed

between 1916 and 1924. Revered Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj, the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, and the first President of Ramakrishna Math, laid the foundation stone of this Ashrama in 1916 and Revered Swami Nirmalanandaji Maharaj consecrated it in 1924. Revered Swami Vijnananandaji Maharaj, another direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna visited this Ashrama and had a vision of Sri Ramakrishna in the shrine. The Ashrama is located on a hilltop at Nettayam in Trivandrum. This hundred-year-old Ashrama is an ideal place for worship, japa and meditation and is an inspiration for sincere spiritual aspirants. Many senior monks of Ramakrishna Math have stayed and did tapasya here. Devotees visiting this serene, calm and holy place experience its spiritual current.

Due to ageing, this important shrine is in a dilapidated condition and often leaks at several places during monsoon. As such, a thorough revamping of the roof and other parts of the structure including the rubble construction has to be done immediately to preserve it for posterity. The repair & renovation project will cover civil, electrical and structural work. It is estimated to cost rupees 52 lakhs. The Ashrama has to mobilize this amount immediately for completing this noble work as early as possible so that the next all Kerala Sri Ramakrishna Devotees’ Conference in May, 2019 can be held in the renovated Ashrama.

We earnestly request you to donate generously for this holy endeavor and be blessed by Sri Ramakrishna.

Praying for the blessings of the Holy Trio, Yours in Sri Ramakrishna,5th December, 2018 Swami Mokshavratananda,

Adhyaksha. Donations may be sent in favor of “Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Thiruvananthapuram” in

the above address or deposited in any of the following bank accounts directly with an sms to (mob)8289916882.

Savings a/c Name & No.1. State Bank: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital 30549599482 IFSC:SBIN0004685 Jawaharnagar Branch2. Syndicate Bank: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital 40182200003630 IFSC:SYNB0004018 Sasthamangalam Branch3. Canara Bank: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital 0821101007005 IFSC:CNRB 0000821 Sasthamangalam Branch4. FCRA a/c: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital 0821101008404 SWIFT Code:CNRBINBBTDC

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Sri Ramakrishna Advaita AshramaAshramam Road, Kalady

Dist: Ernakulam-683574, KeralaEmail: kalady@rkmm.org Ph: 0484-2462345/2461071

An appeal to Devotees and Well-wishersKalady is the Birthplace of ADI SHANKARA, a great spiritual leader, and founder of Advaita

School of Vedanta. This Ashrama is situated on banks of river Purna. Centre began in the year 1936 and further affiliated to Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math in 1941. Swami Agamananda, a disciple of Swami Brahamananda is the founder President of this Centre. From the inception, this Ashrama is an important hub of activity for Spirituality, Social reformation and Welfare Service in Kerala. We are rendering tirelessly invaluable service to the people in the field of Welfare and Education from past 77 years.

Ashrama is conducting multifarious social activities through Educational institutes, Hostel, Community Centre, Computer and Typewriting training centres. Ashrama has a Universal Temple, Auditoriums and School with play grounds for day scholars from Kindergarten to +2 supported with School Buses & School Libraries. Since 1966 Ashrama is running Gurukulam (Hostel) for Boys for both Schedule Tribes and general section. A Computer and Typewriting training centre for Schedule Castes which helps them for seeking Government and Private Company jobs. It has a sub-centre at Muvattupuzha.

Ashrama depends largely on the contributions from devotees and well wishers like you for sustaining the above activities. Often our financial resources dries up quickly owing to meagre regular donations, insufficient corpus funds and spiraling cost of living. Hence we humbly appeal to our devotees to contribute as well as to inspire friends and relatives to participate in the noble cause for the services mentioned below.

Sl No. Activity Annual expenses

1. General - Sri Ramakrishna Puja, Jayanti Celebrations, Ashrama establishments, Nitya Annadanam & Sadhu Seva.

25 Lakhs

2 Education – School establishment expenses, Building maintenance, Up-gradation and modernization of School activities. Commute facilities maintenance etc.

10 Lakhs

3 Welfare & Social Services – Sri Ramakrishna Gurukulam (Hostel) building Maintenance. Schedule Tribe Welfare, Schedule Caste Skill Training- Computer Training, Typewriting etc. Poor and widow pecuniary aid.

15 Lakhs

4. Purchase of new Generator - For the stand-by electricity supply to Temple, Office, Gurukulam Hostel, Monks Quarters and Guest House.

6 Lakhs

You may send your kind contributions by Cheque/DD/ (In the name of “Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama”). For Electronic transfer (Canara Bank, Kalady, IFSC Code: CNRB0002921, Savings Bank Account Number: 2921101005444). Please send an E-mail after sending donations with full address and PAN number to kalady@rkmm.org. The contributions are eligible for exemption u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act. Contribution above Rs.25,000/- will be taken as endowment fund.

May Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna shower his choicest blessings in all your endeavors is our sincere prayer.

Yours in the service of the Lord,Swami Srividyananda

Adhyaksha

The word ‘Hindu’ came to be coined by the Persians. That was their way of pronouncing the river Sindhu (Indus) which marked the western frontier of the ancient Aryan settlement in Punjab. Consequently, they used the word Hindu to refer to the followers of the eternal religion who lived in the Sindhu valley. From time immemorial, Hindu religion was subject to repeated attacks by the belief systems and philosophy of the invading religions. Though wounded, the Hindu religion or Hinduism has survived all these attacks from medieval times to the present age, and held aloft its tenets. It is this very religion that a woman from a far-off land heartily embraced. Her adoration for the religion was not a mere gush of emotion, but founded on the bed-rock of rationales. According to her, Hinduism and India were synonymous. In her profound love for India there was a slice of such love for the Hindu society too. This lady was Sister Nivedita.

Source: Her GuruNivedita’s love for Hinduism and the

Hindu society originated from her guru Swami Vivekananda, whom she knew as ‘the Cyclonic Hindu Monk.’ Swamiji taught her the fundamental tenets of Hinduism. It was the time when Karl Marx, in his book Asiatic mode of Production had expressed his deep revulsion for Hinduism. The Christian missionaries too repeated his words and said that Hinduism

Sister Nivedita and the Hindu SocietyDR. PURBA SENGUPTA dwelt on mysticism

and was ful l of s u p e r s t i t i o n s . They declared that it advocated ‘strange things’ like worshipping idols and cows, and it did not treat its women with due respect. At this juncture, Nivedita made such a revolutionary presentation of Hinduism that it created a huge tumult in the western world. It was a time when the whole world was thirsting for a new meaning of life; an earnest call for discovering the Truth was knocking the doors of their hearts. Swami Vivekananda led this scorched humanity into the soothing, liberal shade of Hinduism. The world heard this Hindu saint proclaim, ‘Heirs of immortal bliss – yea, the Hindu refuses to call you sinners.’ Sister Nivedita, like his mind-borne daughter, marveled, felt encouraged, dedicated herself to fulfill her guru’s mission, and stood enlightened.

Swami Vivekananda’s Speech at ChicagoIn his Chicago addresses, Swami

Vivekananda had said on 11 September 1893, ‘I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world…..these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.1 On 19 September,

Article

The author is a sociologist working as a scholar of Indology at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata and writes regularly on Indian mythology and Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature. This article originally in Bengali is translated by Lisa Sen. senguptapurba@gmail.com

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he spoke exclusively on Hinduism. Referring to this address titled ‘Paper on Hinduism’, Nivedita later wrote, ‘Of the Swami’s address before the Parliament of Religions, it may be said that when he began to speak it was of “the religious ideas of the Hindus”, but when he ended, Hinduism had been created.’2 Nivedita formed a concrete idea about Hinduism from this speech of Swami Vivekananda and from other discussions with him; and from this idea sprang forth her conception about customs and rituals of the Hindu society.

Swamiji moulded Hinduism to make it suitable for the present age, and in his speeches he clearly depicted the history of the evolution of Hinduism. This helped Nivedita to understand that there is a religious spirit which desires not opulence but peace; religion is not meant to be an entry pass for heaven nor freedom from the fear of hell; its real purpose is moksha. Though there are various forms of religious practices, they in fact have one central fulcrum – the Vedas, the Vedanta and the Advaita philosophy. Despite belonging to the Semitic faith by birth, Nivedita understood that all the religions of the world are anchored to the theoretical base of Vedanta. As a result, India’s gods and goddesses, its rituals, religious practices, its puranas, its folklore – all had a vibrant place in her mind. Swamiji presented the ancient Vedanta philosophy as practical spirituality, and Nivedita described this as dynamic Hinduism or dynamic Vedanta. She clearly depicted how this journey from Advaita Vedanta to dynamic Vedanta brought about changes in Hinduism.

Progression of HinduismIn her book, ‘The Master as I Saw Him’

Sister Nivedita discusses Swamiji’s views on the features of Hinduism and the various courses of its progression. At the outset she writes, ‘The Swami was constantly preoccupied with the thought of Hinduism as a whole.’3 This was because when Nivedita came to

India, Hinduism was sub-divided into sects like Vaishnavism and Shaivism. Jainism and Buddhism too had their source in the founding structure of Hinduism. These divisions presented different ideas and beliefs. The need of the hour was for Indians to understand that these sects and faiths were presenting different facets of the same Truth.

Nivedita states that while Swamiji had a profound reverence for Sri Krishna as the universally accepted prophet of Hinduism, his adoration for the Buddha was no less. Swamiji believed that behind an individual’s spiritual fulfillment there had to be first some contribution from another individual. The first person initiates it and the second brings about its culmination. Nivedita recounts that Swamiji used to say, ‘Buddha had received his philosophy of the five categories – form, feeling, sensation, motion, knowledge – from Kapila. But Buddha had brought the love that made the philosophy live.’4 In this manner, Nivedita learnt from Swami Vivekananda about the gradual evolution of the fundamentals of Hinduism and the life and background of the great religious seers.

Idol Worship and the Worship of ManRecording Swami Vivekananda’s opinion

about image worship, Nivedita quotes, ‘You may always say that the image is God. The error you have to avoid, is to think God the image.’ When asked to condemn fetichism, Swamiji had replied, ‘Don’t you see that there is no fetichism? Oh, your hearts are steeled, that you cannot see that the child is right! The child sees person everywhere. Knowledge robs us of the child’s vision. But at last, through higher knowledge, we win back to it. He connects a living power with rocks, sticks, trees, and the rest. And is there not a living Power behind them? It is symbolism, not fetichism! Can you not see?’5

Sri Ramakrishna who was established in the sweet mother-child relationship through

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the image of Mother Kali, could at the same time, rise to the highest rungs of non-duality. We hear him say, ‘If God can be worshipped in an image, why can’t He be worshipped in the living image of man!’ Nivedita gives us Swami Vivekananda’s explanation of this worshipping the living image of God. She writes, ‘His mind was extraordinarily clear on the subject of what he meant by individualism. How often has he said to me, “You do not yet understand India! We Indians are MAN- worshippers, after all! Our God is man!” He meant here the great individual man, the man of self-realisation – Buddha, Krishna, the Guru, the Maha-Purusha. But on another occasion, using the same word in an entirely different sense, he said “This idea of man-worship exists in nucleus in India, but it has never been expanded. You must develop it. Make poetry, make art, of it. Establish the worship of the feet of beggars, as you had it in Medieval Europe. Make man-worshippers.”’6

Nivedita gives a glimpse of the practical spirituality evolving out of Vedanta. In her masterly introduction to The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, she writes, ‘And yet this statement that his teaching holds nothing new is not absolutely true. It must never be forgotten that it was the Swami Vivekananda who, while proclaiming the sovereignty of the Advaita Philosophy, as including that experience in which all is one, without a second, also added to Hinduism the doctrine that Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita, and Advaita are but three phases or stages in a single development, of which the last-named constitutes the goal. This is part and parcel of the still greater and more simple doctrine that the many and the One are the same Reality, perceived by the mind at different times and in different attitudes;……It is this which adds its crowning significance to our Master’s life, for here he becomes the meeting-point, not only of East and West, but also of past and future. If the many and the One be indeed the same Reality, then it is not all modes of worship alone, but equally all

modes of work, all modes of struggle, all modes of creation, which are paths of realisation. No distinction, henceforth, between sacred and secular. To labour is to pray. To conquer is to renounce. Life is itself religion.’7 Sister Nivedita truly made a close observation of even the smallest of Hindu customs and brilliantly analysed them.

Hindu Festivals and Rituals Just as she was fully versed with the

metaphysical aspect of Hinduism, Nivedita was equally interested in Hindu rituals and observances. She stayed in the orthodox precincts of Baghbazar area, and depicted Hindu rituals in minutest detail. This is the fruit of her research-oriented keen power of observation. She has given an introspective account of festivals like Doljatra, Janmashtami, Saraswati Puja, Durga Puja and Rasa-Utsav. She notes that our festivals are based on the orbit of the moon. There is one or the other festival on full moon days, and the new moon too is considered auspicious. The rituals are so planned that even the cloistered and secluded women can participate in them.

Nivedita gives a detailed description of the festival of Rasa. She depicts how three days prior to the festival, the idols of Radha and Krishna are moved from the temple to the sanctum of the festival and how the priests keep vigil. In the sublime moonlit night, the women folk, who are otherwise confined to their homes, come out to offer worship. In the Semitic religion, God is more of an authoritative entity than an object of love. One can bow down in reverence but cannot be soaked in the ambrosia of selfless love for Him. Though born into such a religion, Nivedita makes no mistake in recognizing the mental disposition of the Vaishnavas. She also has a keen understanding of the discriminative aspect of divine love. In the concluding part of her Rasa-Utsav narration she writes, ‘How foolish are those who dream that Ras-Mela comes but once a year, and ends!

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To the eyes of the wise man life itself is that forest on the banks of the Jamuna in which ever dwells the Lord, filling sweet days with mirthful labour, and calling the soul from height to height of hidden joy.’8

Just as she was interested in the metaphysical aspect of the Vaishnava cult, Nivedita also had a keen interest in all the festivals that the Bengalis organise for Sri Rama and Sri Krishna. She discusses the lives of Krishna and Radha. The first is the Doljatra Utsav. Nivedita gives a beautiful description of the festival: ‘On full-moon of the beautiful month of Phalgun—that month when the Ashoka tree and the mango are in bloom, when the foliage buds of the leaf-almond are long and slender against the blue, and when the scarlet plumes of the Palash stand out on its naked branches—occurs the Holi festival, or Dol-jatra.’9

For the Janamashtami Utsav, ‘the day of the Great Birth’, Nivedita preferred to visit the temples. The sanctum sanctorum, the tranquil ambience, the mystic chanting of the mantras by the priests and the assemblage of devotees – all had great appeal for her. She writes, ‘All the evening through the street had been full of passers up and down. And sudden bursts of singing and sounding of Shankha and gongs had disturbed the ordinary quiet in all directions. For we are early old-fashioned folk in the Hindu quarter of Calcutta. Lights are out and noises hushed, as a rule, before ten o’ clock; and by eleven o’clock, even on the Janmashtami, everything was closed except the temples. Here, by the light of his own altar, an Oriya priest still sat chanting the tale of the Holy Birth from a palm-leaf book. There, a few Brahmins chatted late round the foot of an image at which presently they would be offering worship. But the bamboo mats were all up and padlocked in front of the shops, and only the lamp lights from the open shrines streamed across the curb. It was thus that we waited for the moment of the Birth. The temple had disappeared. The

tones of the kindly old priest sounded dim and far away. Centuries had rolled back. The walls of a prison closed about us, and we waited once more with the royal victims, Devaki the mother and Vasudeva the father, for the coming of the Holy Child.’

‘A sudden chime of bells, a blaze of lights waved before an altar—while without, the watching stars and purple blackness of the midnight sky look down—such is the solemn moment of the Birth of Krishna.’ 10

In all civilizations and cults, there is a close connection between worship and the movement of the sun and moon. In the background of the Christian missionaries criticizing the Hindu worshipping God in the manifest Nature, Nivedita points out that, ‘The Western monk chants his Hours—Lauds and Prime and Matins, and Terce and Sext and Vespers and Nones—but those footfalls of the Sun that he commemorates were trodden long ago in the deserts of the Thebaid, and he sings within closed doors, holding himself snug against the chill winds without.’11 But the Christian missionaries could not see the origin of these prayer schedules. In contrast to this, Nivedita writes, we in India ‘practise the Faith in the very land, and every day we realise afresh the cosmic events that gave it birth. Who has felt the stillness that falls on lawn and river at the moment of noon? Who, watching through long hours, has heard the distant music of the flute arise by the Ganges side with the first ray of dawn? Who has wandered in field and forest at the time of cowdust, and known the sudden touch of twilight on the soul, without understanding why the village bells ring and prayers are enjoined at the stated hours? For that which in one man’s eyes is superstition, another may know to be but an added firmness of sensation. But surely of all the worships in the Hindu cycle, none has the power and force of those celebrated at midnight.’12 In India the two junctions of the night and day are given great importance. The night loses itself in the

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dawn, then the dawn matures into afternoon followed by the dim twilight hours and again back into the abyss of the dark night. Therefore, all spiritual practices enjoined in our religion have a close bearing with the rotation of the earth along the axis and the aligned movement of Nature. When at the end of the day, peace envelopes the earth, the Hindu considers the moment conducive to spiritual practices. The prayer which the Christian missionaries chant today within the four walls of the Church had its origin based on the movement of the sun across the sky in the vast desert land. Similarly, the prayers and observations of the Hindus have arisen from the womb of the poetic beauty of the river bank. This is the only difference. We being unaware of the origin of our prayer schedules become an easy victim of criticism or ourselves indulge in criticism. Nivedita’s analysis of society was profound and vibrant to such a degree!

Among all the Hindu festivals, the Saraswati Puja was very special for Nivedita. She held Mother Saraswati’s worship in her school and felt a Christmas-like joy pervading the whole atmosphere; it culminated in a solemn worshipful mood. The worship enjoined inviting the goddess onto the altar with a prayer to reside in the house for the entire year. Nivedita writes, ‘Man has had many dreams of the Divine Wisdom, but surely few so touching as this of Saraswati in Bengal. A simple woman, ascetic and poor, standing on the white lotus, surrounded by flowers, not jewels, suggestive of all things white and colourless and simple, and carrying the mystic Vina, from which the touch of her hand is bringing a secret music—this is she who has been our guest.’13

The PuranasBesides keenly observing Hindu festivals,

rituals, and rites, Nivedita also studied religious literature and the epics. The literary value of her book, Cradle Tales of Hinduism is outstanding. Time and again her writing

attains poetic heights. When she narrates the story of the great god Shiva, she describes the bow of Madana, the god of Love. This bow is decorated with flowers and is marked with a black line—a line of bees that came to suck honey from the flowers and got stuck! Their humming stopped at the very sight of Shiva. A deep silence prevailed. Again while describing the mountain on which Parvati was doing her penance, Nivedita describes the foothills immersed in magnificent greenery and the equally magnificent snow-clad summit. When she speaks about Ramayana, she gives a vivid description of Sita’s captivity in the Ashoka Vana. We are filled with awe when we read her description of Hanuman’s first meeting with Mother Sita. There is then her description of the boy Dhruva renouncing his home; at that sublime moment he prays, ‘O Lord of Lords, I leave the entire responsibility of my mother upon you.’ And the moment he steps out of the house, his prayer is that of complete self-surrender, ‘O Lord of Lords, I bequeath upon you my entire responsibility.’ Her description reaches a matchless dimension, when she speaks about Savitri, the highest ideal of Indian womanhood.

While selecting stories she takes care to present those that will give the reader a complete picture of Indian culture. During marriage the groom and the bride accept each other in the sacred presence of the fire and the ends of their cloths are tied in a knot symbolizing the permanency of the relationship. Indian women do not wear gold bangles on their feet because Mother Durga’s skin is of golden hue! In this manner, Nivedita through her grand style of story-telling elucidates the smallest of details of the Hindu culture. After going through her writings, one understands how profound is her comprehension of Hindu culture. How Mandodari revealed the highest state of determinism after Ravana’s death, how the

(Cotinued on page 41...)

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Josephine MacLeod is an important figure in the history of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. She was 35 years old when she met Swami Vivekananda. She considered 29 January 1895 – the day she met Swamiji for the first time, as her spiritual birthday. Swamiji used to call her ‘Joe’ or ‘Tantine’. She described herself as a friend, not a devotee of Swami Vivekananda. After Swamiji’s death in 1902 she went into depression. She slowly recovered, and then devoted the next four decades to help spread Vedanta as propagated by Swami Vivekananda. She always carried a few mementos with her in memory of her association with Swamiji.

Miss Macleod (henceforth ‘Joe’) had made a number of trips to India starting from 1898 when she visited India for the first time along with Mrs. Sara Bull. She left India for the last time in March, 1939. Swami Virajananda, the then President of the Order, had come to the guest house at Belur Math to bid farewell to her. She gave him some of Swamiji’s hair which she had in her possession. He was delighted and told her, ‘Once, as Swamiji’s hair lay on the floor, cut by the barber, Swamiji said to me, “In a hundred years, one lakh rupees will be given for one hair of my head.”’1

In her reminiscences, she has described as to how she came into possession of Swamiji’s hair. Swami Vivekananda during his European tour was once travelling from Paris along with Joe, Madame Emma Calve (the celebrated French opera singer and an admirer of Swami Vivekananda) and others in October 1900. On

The Story of a LocketDR. HIRONMOY N. MUKHERJEE

the way, the party stayed at Vienna for three days. On one of those days, Joe came to meet him at his place and saw him without his usual head turban. She saw his thick flowing black hair and was fascinated by it. Tempted to have it as a keepsake, she crept behind him with a scissors and cut off a lock of hair. Taken aback at this transgression, Swamiji angrily asked, ‘What are you doing?’ She boldly replied, ‘I took some of your hair; had I asked you, you would not have let me have it.’2

In one of her initial trips to India when Swamiji was still living, Joe was in Bombay when two young Indians met her. One of them had a sapphire jewel on his wrist watch chain. Joe was charmed by the beauty of the jewel and expressed her admiration for it. Next day the young man came back and offered her the jewel saying, ‘Because you love my people, will you take it?’ Though initially reluctant, Joe had to bow to the young man’s sentiment and accept it. Seven years later, by when Swamiji had attained mahasamadhi, Joe approached Monsieur Lalique, the famous French jeweller in New York and requested him to make a reliquary (a repository for a saint’s mortal remains or some belonging) for the sapphire. Monsieur Lalique took away the sapphire and after a year sent it back mounting it on a locket. The design of the finished locket was wonderful—two angels were holding the sapphire in their hands and there was a small box behind the sapphire. Joe was delighted to get the locket. She kept some of Swamiji’s hair inside the small box. Monsieur Lalique did not charge for his efforts

The author is a devotee of Ramakrishna Math, Nagpur, Maharashtra. drhmukh@gmail.com

Article

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saying that it was a gift to Joe for her love for French people. All photographs of Joe taken in her later years show this large locket hanging from a chain around her neck. She also had with her some small crystal statuettes of Swamiji made by Monsieur Lalique. This article mainly revolves around this locket and to some extent on the small crystal statuettes of Swami Vivekananda.3

Miss Maud Stumm, was a guest at Ridgely Manor where Swamiji stayed along with Swami Turiyananda and others as guests of Mr. and Mrs. Leggett during his second visit to America in the later part of 1899. She was an artist and had made a portrait of Swamiji during their stay. Now, on Joe’s request Miss Stumm made a sketch of the sapphire locket. Joe sent the sketch to Sister Nivedita on 4 July 1904. In her reply Nivedita wrote: ‘Today, Miss Stumm’s picture of your Reliquary has come. How wonderfully beautiful! How mystic! How still! Oh how I envy M. Lalique his power to think in symbols! But only, I do not think, if I were you, that I would wear it. I think, I should make a place for it on a wall, and have a …(pew?) in front and kneel to look at it. But after all, you are such a wandering bird, how could you? The only place with you, is your own heart!’4

In 1915, after nearly a 14-year gap, Joe once again visited India. She stayed at Belur Math. In December Mrs. Charlotte Sevier invited her to visit Advaita ashrama in Mayavati to see the new ashram set up at Shyamla Tal. Joe had last visited Advaita ashrama in 1902, a few months before Swamiji’s passing away. She reached Mayavati in January, 1916 and stayed for ten days. Swami Abhayananda, popularly known as Bharat Maharaj was then posted at Mayavati Ashrama as a junior monk. Her stay at Mayavati was pleasant and she delighted the ashrama inmates recounting incidents from her association with Swamiji. One day, Joe came rushing out of her room quite agitated and told Bharat Maharaj, ‘Bharat! Bharat! I am done. I have lost my

locket. That contained the locks of Swamiji. What shall I do, Bharat? I must have that locket at all costs. By whatever means it be, please search it out.’ Seeing that the lady was in tears and mental pain, Bharat Maharaj pacified her and asked all members of the ashrama to look out for the locket. A thorough search was made in and around the ashrama but the locket could not be found. In the meanwhile, Joe talked to the local higher authorities who started searching the huts of the poor villagers adjacent to the ashrama. Sensing the turn the matter was taking, Bharat Maharaj approached Joe and told her that the villagers were innocent and should not be harassed. Joe held Bharat Maharaj’s hands and said, ’Bharat, that thing is my all in all. If anyone can get back the thing so very dear to me, that certainly is you. Please search diligently for it.’ Shortly she returned to Belur Math, practically in tears. Bharat Maharaj renewed the search, but the locket could not be found. A few months later a labourer working for the Math met Bharat

Tantine, painting by Pizella22

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Maharaj with an object looking like a necklace in his hand that he had found lying on the road side. Maharaj was delighted as he realized that this was the necklace with locket which they were all searching for. The necklace would have slipped from Joe’s neck while she was taking a walk around the ashrama. At once he sent a telegram to Joe informing her of the recovery of her locket.5

Joe came to India again in the early part of the year 1922. She stayed in ‘Girish Smriti Bhavan’ which was then the Belur Math Guest house. During this stay, the locket was again almost lost. Priya Maharaj (later Swami Punnyananda) along with other brahmacharis were staying on the ground floor of the building. Joe was affectionately called Tantine by the brahmacharis as she was quite free and friendly. Once late at night a thief sneaked into Joe’s room and tried to snatch the locket with chain from her neck. Fortunately, Joe woke up and started shouting. The brahmacharis rushed out and caught the thief at the head of the stairs as he was trying to escape. Priya Maharaj gave him a sound beating and left him there after tying him with ropes. Early in the morning they brought him near Jnan Maharaj’s room and left him on the verandah there. Swami Shivananda, a direct-disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and popularly known as Mahapurush Maharaj, was then the President of the Math and Mission. Every day, he would go around the Math premises after finishing his morning prayer and meditation. On seeing him, the young brahmacharis excitedly narrated the attempted theft of Joe’s locket and pointed out the captive thief. Mahapurush Maharaj turned to the thief and said in jest, ‘Is this a place to steal? If the boys start beating you by turn you may lose your life.’ Saying this he resumed his rounds. After some time, he retired to his room and was having his breakfast when Joe came rushing in and said, ‘Maharaj, do you know that a thief had entered my room? I feel that the thief is a devotee—otherwise why would he decide to

take the locket instead of taking so many other expensive things lying around? As you know the locket contains Swamiji’s hair. I feel that the thief had planned to steal only the locket.’ The simple and child-like Mahapurush Maharaj believed Joe and gave orders to Priya Maharaj to take the thief to the Ganga river for a holy dip and also instructed that he be given new clothes to wear. While the brahmacharis were naturally dumbfounded to see the surprising turn of the event, the thief was found happily moving around the Math premises wearing new clothes. Later the thief, on his own, went to Mahapurush Maharaj’s room and touched his feet. Maharaj affectionately asked him, ‘Well, would you like to be a monk?’ We do not know what reply the thief gave or whether Maharaj’s words came to be fulfilled in any way in his later life; but a great soul’s words never go in vain.6

Once Emma Calve while travelling with her good friend Drinette Verdier predicted that the latter would have to face a difficult phase in her future. She then spoke about Swami Vivekananda and her experiences with him, and advised Drinette to seek Swamiji’s blessings to overcome her problems. She advised her to always take his name. Though she could not show Drinette a picture of Swamiji, she told her about the crystal statuettes of Swami Vivekananda which were in Joe’s possession. Soon enough, Calve’s prophecy came true and Drinette was in great distress. She sincerely prayed to Swami Vivekananda. As she put it: ‘I was thinking of him, loving him and calling him when the blows which I received were too hard.’ She tried her best to acquire either a photograph or a crystal statuette of Swamiji but none could be found. One day, while she was in New York, she chanced to meet a woman who had just returned from India. The latter coming to know about Drinette’s interest in Vivekananda suggested that she should meet Joe who was in New York. The next day, Drinette drove to

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the hotel where Joe was put up. On seeing her, Joe opened her arms and said, ‘Come in, my child.’ Drinette opened her heart to Joe and told her about meeting Calve and how that led to her devotion to Swami Vivekananda and her subsequent ordeal in finding a portrait of Swamiji. Suddenly, Joe said, ‘By the way have you seen the crystal of Vivekananda?’ Drinette was astounded and could hardly mutter a reply. Joe, without listening to her, stood up saying, ‘A very strange thing happened to me. You see I always travel with one crystal of Vivekananda and yesterday I was looking in my suitcase and found two! It is to give to you!!’ Saying so, Joe took out the crystal which, as she said, ‘no money, no efforts, nor influence could buy.’ Drinette then removed from her neck the scarf she was wearing, and with love and devotion, received the precious crystal image of Swami Vivekananda in it. She gently wrapped the crystal in the scarf, herself enwrapped in joy. The two thus became good friends. 7

It was Drinette’s earnest desire that the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda be published in French, a language so dear to him.

So in the late 1930s she contacted Jean Herbert, a friend of Joe and Swami Siddheshwarananda (Founder of Vedanta Centre, Paris which was later shifted to Gretz in 1947). They had already brought out the teachings of Ramakrishna - Vivekananda in French with the help of Joe. Drinette Verdier now requested M. Jean Herbert to carry out the necessary translations. It was a heavy task requiring several years to complete, and Drinette agreed to meet all the expenses. The result was wonderful; the French speaking people could access to the writings, letters and lectures of Swami Vivekananda. Drinette Verdier’s love for Swami Vivekananda and her faith in him (she had never met him) was a matter of wonder for all who knew her. Furthermore, she recorded and preserved many reminiscences concerning Swamiji from her friends Emma Calve and Joe, which she related to others and to Swami Vidyatmananda of Vedanta Society of Southern California; all these have now passed into literature concerning Swamiji. It was Emma Calve who told Drinette about the immensely wealthy John D Rockfeller’s meeting with Swami Vivekananda and the former’s transformation into one of the greatest philanthropists. Drinette also wrote: ‘I took many notes under Miss Macleod’s dictation, having generally a pencil or pen with me… Tantine used to tell me: “Write this down! One never knows, you might need it one day. I shall not be always there.”’ 8

Joe was nearly ninety in 1948. In the autumn of that year, she invited Drinette to her room in the Barbizon Plaza Hotel, New York for a short but significant ceremony. Drinette wrote ‘In 1948 (autumn) I was in Tantine’s room 1811, Barbizon Plaza. Tantine gave me the reliquary. I knelt down before her and she put it around my neck. My faithful maid, Anges Lamdry was with me and witnessed it. It was very solemn…. I knew then, as Tantine was giving it to me, she would not live longer after that. Joe spent her last days – six to eight months – in the Vedanta

(Continued on page 42...)

Crystal image of Swami Vivekananda by Lalique

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Question: How can I know that I am making any progress in the path of spirituality?

Maharaj: Progress in most cases is very gradual and anything very gradual will be difficult to notice, say, like the slow movement of the hand of a clock of huge circumference. Even when we study a language as infants, it is very difficult for us to observe our progress, although it is all the while taking place. The Holy Mother compares the progress of a spiritual aspirant to a man asleep who is being carried on a stretcher. He is not aware of the progress he is making, but only finds himself at the destination when he wakes up. Though unaware of it, he was all the while progressing, provided he had really been taken on the stretcher.

Our outlook in respect of spiritual life must be entirely different from that which we bring to bear on our worldly enterprises. In worldly matters our outlook is quantitative, and measurement is our technique to ascertain progress or success. But until we have given up this idea of calculation we have not entered the realm of spiritual value.

A spiritual aspirant should be one ‘committed’. He has been compared to an angler who casts his line with the hook and bait, knowing full well that some fish will swallow it, however long it might take. Sri Ramakrishna compares him to a hereditary cultivator as contrasted with a cultivator who takes to agriculture as a business. As soon as there is a drought or fall in the price of grains, the latter gives up the work and takes to some other occupation. But not so the hereditary cultivator. The genuine spiritual aspirant considers spiritual practice as the only thing worth doing and carries on without making a profit-and-loss account from time to time, firmly established in the hope that it is bound to fructify some time or other. As Sri Sarada Devi said, every genuine spiritual aspirant is making progress whether he knows it or not, like the sleeping man who is carried on a stretcher.

We can, however feel reassured in our sadhana if we find our faith and aspiration getting generally stronger and stronger. There will be periods of depression and dryness when the thin flame of aspiration seems to get very dim. But in every genuine aspirant these are passing phases, when he will have to wait patiently for the mood to move away like a gust of wind or a passing cloud. If our longing for God is becoming more and more insistent and absorbing, we are on the safe track and are going forward. More and more peace, purity and strength will become manifest in us.

GuruQuestion: What exactly is the relationship between the Guru and the Ishta

(Chosen Deity)? Can one meditate on them as one?Maharaj: The conception of Guru is that there is only

one Guru for all, namely, the Supreme Being who alone can bring spiritual enlightenment to an aspirant and that the different human Gurus of whom disciples speak

PariprasnaQ & A with Srimat Swami Tapasyananda

(1904 to 1991), Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Order.

Approach the wise sages, offer reverential salutations, repeatedly ask proper questions,

serve them and thus know the Truth. — Bhagavad Gita

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form only the human media through whom the one Guru of all speaks. Without understanding and accepting this idea, if people speak of ‘my Guru’ and ‘your Guru’ as individual human beings only, they violate the fundamental philosophy underlying the Guru doctrine. In recognition of this intimate relationship between the conceptions of the Guru and the Ishta, the practice is to meditate first on the Guru and then merge him mentally in the Ishta.

PrayerQuestion: Does God listen to the prayers of man? If He does,

what is the proof that He does? When one prays for a particular object, and the prayer is fulfilled, one considers that to be the effect of one’s prayer. But can it not also be a mere coincidence? Perhaps what the person wanted would have been fulfilled even without his prayer. Again so many persons pray, pray most piteously, with no response at all from God.

Maharaj: If every petition we make to God were answered by Him, all would have been devotees, only praising and never working for the achievement of all things, as it is the best short cut for attaining one’s ends. It is said that when wars take place, both the belligerents would make earnest prayers to God for victory for themselves. People have too naive an idea of God—an idea of Him as a mighty potentate sitting on a throne on high, granting favours and rejecting petitions according to His whims.

God is as much justice as He is love and, in regard to persons who approach Him for favours, He is mainly a judge. He functions through the law of Karma, according to which man’s merits and demerits are responsible for his enjoyments and sufferings.

Then the question would arise: is there no place for prayer at all? There are several alternatives. To adopt a stoical attitude, accepting the ultimacy of Karma, but striving one’s best for the attainment of one’s objective, is one way. Those who believe in the psychic efficacies of rituals, can resort to them for aiding the forces of favourable Karmas and counteracting those of evil ones.

But a true devotee, who puts entire reliance on the Supreme Being, can seek refuge in Him in a distressing situation. He does so not in a spirit of petitioning for advantages but of a total surrender in expectation of an upliftment, which neither his own powers nor merits can accomplish. In such a prayer there is also an attitude of submission, which consists in a willingness to abide by His will and wisdom, without any trace of that egotistic attitude of judging by the results. If he gets the Divine aid, he is thankful; if he fails to get it for reasons unknown to him, he says without the slightest dejection or scepticism: ‘May His will be done!’ In such an attitude there is no question of attributing success to chance or of becoming sceptical in case of failure. In either case, the attitude will be one of ‘Your will be done’.

Neither is there in it any semi-sceptical attitude of experimentation and of taking calculated risk, which expresses itself in the thought—there is gain if the prayer succeeds and if it fails, we lose nothing that we would not have lost otherwise. Such a worldly-wise attitude of giving a trial to prayer makes a travesty of it. In genuine prayer cent percent acceptance of the reality, power and beneficence of the Being one addresses must be there in the mind of the votary who should be fully en rapport with that Being, undeviated by the slightest trace of doubt or scepticism. It is not the piteous nature of the appeal made by the suppliant but his robust and unflinching faith and surrender that helps him in his prayer.

Selections from Spiritual Quest: Questions & Answers by Swami Tapasyananda

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ISSUE 10ISSUE 14ISSUE 13: MESSAGE 1: It is the youth who will transform this nation

ISSUE 14: MESSAGE 2: Take up an ideal and give your whole life to it

ISSUE 15: MESSAGE 3: Stand on your own feet

ISSUE 16: MESSAGE 4: Awaken the spirit of ‘rajas’ within you

ISSUE 17: MESSAGE 5: Believe in yourself

ISSUE 18: MESSAGE 6: Be bold and fearless

ISSUE 19: MESSAGE 7: Expand your heart

ISSUE 20: MESSAGE 8: Be open to learning from anyone

ISSUE 21: MESSAGE 9: Develop a gigantic will

Series 4: Swami Vivekananda's messages to the youth of India – a nine-part series

pullout for reference

In this issue:

MESSAGE 2

Take up an ideal and give your whole life to it

This is the second of the 9-part series on Swami Vivekanada's message to the youth (refer series schedule on the right).

In this issue, we explore what it means to live the life of an ideal, and how we can begin our journey of living our chosen ideal...

…it is a great thing to take up a

grand ideal in life and then give

up one's whole life to it. For what

otherwise is the value of life, this

vegetating, little, low life of man?

Subordinating it to one high ideal

is the only value that life has.

[CW. 3:168]

“

> explore further...

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Swami Vivekananda's vision – how we can take up an ideal and give our whole lives to it...

[Awakening to the ideal]

[Recognizing the importance of living the life of an ideal]

[Choosing to commit to the ideal]

[Breaking free from the boundaries of convention]

[Being able to stay steadfast to the ideal through good times and bad times]

[Staying aligned to the ideal at all times]

®

Designed & developed by

ILLUMINE Knowledge Catalysts

www.illumine.in

“What India wants is a new electric fire to stir up a fresh vigour in the national veins... Be content to work, and, above all, be true to yourself. Be pure, staunch, and sincere to the very backbone, and everything will be all right. [CW. 5:57]

6

“As the great King Bhartrihari says, "Let the sages blame or let them praise; let the goddess of fortune come or let her go wherever she likes; let death come today, or let it come in hundreds of years; he indeed is the steady man who does not move an inch from the way of truth." Have you got that steadfastness? [CW. 3: 266]

5

“There are greater works to be done than aspiring to become lawyers and picking quarrels and such things. A far greater work is this sacrifice of yourselves for the benefit of your race, for the welfare of humanity. [CW. 3: 304]

4

“This is the time to decide your future – while you possess the energy of youth, not when you are worn out and jaded,

but in the freshness and vigour of youth. [CW. 3: 304]

3

“…it is a great thing to take up a grand ideal in life and then give up one's whole life to it. For what otherwise is the value of life, this vegetating, little, low life of man? Subordinating it to one high ideal is the only value that life has. [CW. 3: 168]

2

“Rouse yourselves, therefore, or life is short. [CW. 3: 304]1

>> See this vision come alive in a 'Roadmap for Action' (on the right)

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How to live the life of an ideal – based on Swami Vivekananda's vision

LIVING AN IDEAL – A ROADMAP FOR ACTION

Recognizing the importance of living the life of an ideal

Choosing to commit to the ideal

Breaking free from the boundaries of convention

Being able to stay steadfast to the ideal

through good times and bad times

Staying aligned to the ideal at all times

1

2

34

5

6

Awakening to the ideal

©ILLUMINE KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES PVT. LTD.®

EXPLORATION EXERCISE:

Take up some examples of people who have lived great ideals...

>> See this Roadmap come alive in the life of Shivaji Maharaj (overleaf)

Jamshedji Tata

Anasuya Sarabhai

Sister Nivedita

M. Visvesvaraya

What about you?

1. Can you identify what ideal they were trying to live in their own lives?

2. Use the above Roadmap to understand how they were living the ideal. Identify incidents showing each of the points on the roadmap. (See how it unfolds in Shivaji Maharaj's story overleaf)

3. What can you learn from them to walk your own journey towards your ideal?

Find out more about their life stories on the internet:

Bhagat Singh

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Sources:

1. Wikipedia

2. Lives of Indian Saints by Swami Shivananda (E-Samskriti.com)

3. Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj - A hero for modern India (Blogspot.com)

4. Shivaji Maharaj and His Management by Hitesh Chawla (Scribd.com)

Share examples of your experiences of trying out these practices, on www.vivekanandaway.org Any questions that come up in

your mind while doing so, can also be discussed here.

Shivaji Maharaj– an example of living a grand ideal

BEGIN HERE

3 Choosing to commit to the ideal...

Right from a young age, having made up his mind to dedicate his life to building a nation, Shivaji along with his Mavala friends and soldiers took a blood oath to fight for the 'Swarajya' at Rohideshwara temple.

2 Recognizing the importance of living the life of an ideal...

To begin, Shivaji was just like thousands of other small rulers all over India.

But, even as a teenager, he had a vision of an independent nation where everyone, irrespective of their faith, could live as proud and free citizens.

5 Being able to stay steadfast to the ideal through good times and bad times...

Shivaji and his son became captives of Aurangazeb. Their confinement was extremely strict, with 6 rings of guards to keep vigil. During the many months of confinement,

Shivaji did not despair. He used this time to strategize and plan an escape. Their ingenious escape, by hiding themselves in sweet boxes, was considered nothing less than a miracle.

4 Breaking free from the boundaries of convention...

Shivaji was highly unconventional in his methods - of governance, of warfare, of leadership building. For example, his most effective attack strategy was that of 'surprise attacks' as against the convention of planned war. His army successfully used guerrilla warfare to defeat the mughals time and again.

6 Staying aligned to the ideal at all times...

Shivaji placed the sandals of his Guru (Ramdas) on the throne and acted as regent of the kingdom under the order and guidance of his Guru. This was his way of staying aligned to the vision that the kingdom did not belong to him but was entrusted to him to rule justly and well before God.

1 Awakening to the ideal...

When he was a little child his mother Jijabai used to tell Shivaji stories of heroes, of saints and sages who appear in the Ramayana, the Mahabharatha and the Puranas. As Shivaji listened to these tales of heroism and Dharmic deeds, he grew more and more eager to be like Rama or Krishna, Bheema or Arjuna.

Shivaji is well known as an ideal ruler and courgeous warrior. Here are incidents from his life which bring out how he lived his ideal...

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Special Report

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The 109th Annual General Meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur Math on Sunday, the 16th December 2018 at 3.30 p.m.

Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission Synopsis of the Governing Body Report

for 2017-18

A synopsis of the report presented in the meeting is given below.Some of the major awards received by the Ramakrishna Mission together

with its twin organization Ramakrishna Math and their branches in the year 2017-18 are as follows: (i) Divyayan Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Ranchi Morabadi Ashrama was awarded Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Puraskar at the national level by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, (ii) Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission were listed in the World Book of Records, London, as a spiritual movement working for the harmony of religions, (iii) Kamarpukur school and Narendrapur Vidyalaya received the Best School Awards from the School Education Department, Government of West Bengal, (iv) Vivekananda College of Chennai Vidyapith secured the third position under the colleges category in the all-India Swachchhata rankings.

In commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Abhedananda, four national seminars on Indian Culture and Philosophy, and a number of other programmes were held at different centres of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.

The 150th birth anniversary of Sister Nivedita was celebrated by the Headquarters and a number of branch centres in India and abroad. Nearly 55,000 people attended 115 seminars and conventions held in this connection, and about 50,000 students took part in the cultural competitions. A few new books on Sister Nivedita were also published in different languages.

New branch centres of Ramakrishna Mission were started in: (i) Goa, (ii) Lumdung, Arunachal Pradesh, (iii) Jhargram, West Bengal, (iv) New Town, Kolkata, (v) Davanagere, Karnataka, and (vi) Dibrugarh, Assam. A sub-centre of Lucknow Mission Sevashrama was started at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

In the educational field, the following new developments deserve special mention: (i) NAAC awarded A++ grade to the College of Education at Coimbatore Mission centre and A+ grade to the Vivekananda College of Chennai Vidyapith. (ii) UGC conferred autonomous status on Vivekananda Centenary College of Rahara centre for six years, (iii) Visakhapatnam centre started Vivek Institute of Excellence, which conducts life-enhancing courses and programmes mainly for the youth, (iv) Our centres in Coimbatore, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam added smart classroom facility to their schools.

In the medical field, mention may be made of the following new developments: (i) Itanagar hospital started four new departments: Oncology, Plastic Surgery, Cardiology and Ayurveda, (ii) Lucknow hospital was accredited by NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals &

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Healthcare Providers) for a period of three years, (iii) A cardiac catheterization laboratory and a cancer centre were set up at Vrindaban hospital, (iv) Varanasi Home of Service started dental and dialysis units and a pharmacy, (v) Many of our hospitals and dispensaries added new medical equipment to their diagnostic laboratories.

In the rural development field, the following new projects deserve special mention: (i) Chennai Students’ Home built a community hall at Poovalambedu village in Tiruvallur district, (ii) Ranchi Morabadi centre developed watersheds covering 6969 hectares of land and started two projects to conserve a variety of scented rice crop. The centre also undertook a Seed Village Programme in which farmers were trained in the production of paddy seeds. Under this programme, farmers from 25 villages produced 1,025 quintals of paddy seeds.

A number of our centres took forward Swachchha Bharat Abhiyan by holding cleanliness drives and awareness campaigns. Special mention may be made of Mangaluru centre which conducted the following: (i) 184 cleanliness drives in and around Mangaluru. (ii) Cleanliness drives in 332 villages of Dakshina Kannada district, (iii) 426 awareness programmes in 110 schools covering nearly 44,000 students.

Under Ramakrishna Math, the following new projects deserve special mention:(i) New dispensary buildings were constructed by Antpur and Nagpur centres, (ii) Cooch

Behar and Rajkot centres added extra floors to their medical units, (iii) Nattarampalli centre constructed an annexe to the school building, (iv) Coaching-cum-vocational training centre was started at Bagda Math.

Outside India, the following new developments deserve special mention: (i) The newly built Sri Ramakrishna Temple at Jessore (Bangladesh) centre was consecrated. (ii) Phoenix (South Africa) centre built a kitchen-and-dining-hall building at a home for terminally ill patients in Inanda, South Africa, (iii) Dhaka (Bangladesh) centre celebrated its centenary, and kindergarten of Singapore centre observed its silver jubilee.

The Mission and Math undertook several relief and rehabilitation programmes in different parts of the country involving an expenditure of Rs. 44 crore, benefiting 10.53 lakh people.

During the year, the Mission undertook welfare work in a number of ways, including providing scholarships to poor students and pecuniary help to old, sick and destitute people. Expenditure incurred was Rs. 17 crore.

Medical service was rendered to more than 72.74 lakh people through 10 hospitals, 80 dispensaries, 40 mobile medical units and 928 medical camps run by the Mission. Expenditure incurred was Rs. 227 crore.

Nearly 2.31 lakh students studied in Mission’s educational institutions ranging from kindergarten to university level and also in non-formal education centres, night schools, coaching classes, etc. A sum of Rs. 324 crore was spent on the educational work.

A number of rural and tribal development projects were undertaken by the Mission with a total expenditure of Rs. 71 crore, benefiting about 42.86 lakh people.

We take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to our members and friends for their kind cooperation and help in carrying forward the service programmes of Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math.

16 December, 2018 (Swami Suvirananda)General Secretary

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In SialkotFrom Jammu, Swamiji and his entourage

reached Sialkot on the morning of Sunday, October 31, 1898. He was warmly received and accommodated in the residence of Lala Mulchand, a pleader. That evening Swamiji spoke in English and after the lecture he gave its summary in Hindi for those who did not understand English. (That was quite novel of Swamiji!)11

Swamiji’s Sialkot lecture was titled ‘Bhakti’. Here is an excerpt from it:

‘Some persons worship God for the sake of obtaining wealth, others because they want to have a son, and they think themselves Bhagavatas (devotees). This is no Bhakti, and they are not true Bhagavatas. When a sadhu comes who professes that he can make gold, they run to him, and they still consider themselves Bhagavatas. It is not Bhakti if we worship God with the desire for a son; it is not Bhakti if we worship with the desire to be rich; it is not Bhakti even if we have a desire

for heaven; it is not Bhakti if a man worships with the desire of being saved from the tortures of hell. Bhakti is not the outcome of fear or greediness. He is the true Bhagavata who says, ‘O God, I do not want a beautiful wife, I do not want knowledge or salvation. Let me be born and die hundreds of times. What I want is that I should be ever engaged in Thy service.’ It is at this stage—and when a man sees God in everything, and everything in God—that he attains perfect Bhakti. It is then that he sees Vishnu incarnated in everything from the microbe to Brahma, and it is then that he sees God manifesting Himself in everything, it is then that he feels that there is nothing without God, and it is then and then alone that thinking himself to be the most insignificant of all beings he worships God with the true spirit of a Bhakta. He then leaves Tirthas and external forms of worship far behind him, he sees every man to be the most perfect temple.’12

During Swamiji’s Sialkot visit many women also used to come to see Swamiji;

Ramakrishna-Vivekananda in ‘The Land of Five Rivers’

An Overview of Ramakrishna Movement in Punjab and Haryana

SWAMI ATMASHRADDHANANDA

(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

Article

The author is the secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Kanpur. He gratefully acknowledges the valuable and timely help in various ways that he received from many monks, brahmacharis, devotees and volunteers in preparing this article. atmashraddha@gmail.com

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among them were two sannyasinis. On seeing them, Swamiji expressed his wish that a school for girls be started (women’s education was almost absent in those days!); it was gladly taken up and a committee was formed for this purpose. He said that the girls should be trained by women teachers only. Though short, the Sialkot visit of Swamiji was significant.

In LahoreLahore was the last and the most

magnificent sojourn of Swamiji’s visit to Punjab. Lahore finds mention in some Greek books and has been ruled by a number of dynasties including Greeks and Mughals. While there are many ways in which the term ‘Lahore’ can be derived, according to Hindu tradition, ‘Lahore’ is derived from Lavapuri or the city of Lava, founded by Lava, one of the twin sons of Sita and Rama. The city is dotted with many historical monuments particularly that of Mughal period. It was an active centre of freedom movement of both India and Pakistan.

Swamiji arrived in Lahore on 5 November 1897. He was welcomed at the station by the residents of Lahore and taken to the palace of Raja Dhyan Singh. Here he conversed with visitors, and after his meals he went to stay at the house of Shri Nagendranath Gupta, editor of the Tribune. The Arya Samajists also gave him a welcome. Lala Hamsaraj, President of the Dayananda Anglo-Vedic College (DAV College), often had talks with Swamiji. Daily, in the morning for two hours and in the afternoon for an hour and a half, about 200 Bengali and Punjabi residents of Lahore would gather at the palace of Raja Dhyan Singh to meet Swamiji and discuss religious matters.

Swamiji gave three lectures in Lahore. J. J. Goodwin, the trusted stenographer and English disciple of Swami, described these lectures thus13 :

‘On Friday evening [on November 5] he [Swamiji] lectured in the large courtyard of the old palace on ‘The Problem Before Us’

[now titled ‘the Common Bases of Hinduism’]. The numbers present were large and the space available was altogether too small to accommodate all who came to hear, and the necessity for disappointing many, at one time threatened to prevent the holding of the meeting at all. After at least two thousand had been refused admission, there still remained fully four thousand who listened to an excellent discourse.

On the following Tuesday [on November 9], another large crowd gathered in the pandal of Prof. Bose’ Bengal Circus to hear the Swami’s lecture on Bhakti in Hindi.

The third lecture on the following Friday [November 12] evening was a triumphant success. The arrangements, this time entirely made by students of the four Lahore Colleges, were exceedingly good, and the audience, without being inconveniently large was in every sense representative. The subject for the evening was Vedanta, and the Swami for over two hours gave, even for him, a masterly exposition of the monistic philosophy and religion of India. The manner in which, at the outset, he traced the psychological and cosmological ideas on which religion in India is founded, was marvellously clear, and his insistence that Advaita is alone able to meet the attacks not only of science but also of Buddhism and agnosticism against religious and transcendental ideas, was conveyed in definite language and was full of convincing power. . . The lecture created great enthusiasm . . .’

Here is an excerpt from this lecture of Swamiji:

‘The time has come when this Advaita is to be worked out practically. Let us bring it down from heaven unto the earth; this is the present dispensation . . . Ay, you may be astonished to hear that as practical Vedantists the Americans are better than we are. I used to stand on the seashore at New York and look at the emigrants coming from different countries—crushed, downtrodden, hopeless,

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unable to look a man in the face, with a little bundle of clothes as all their possession, and these all in rags; if they saw a policeman they were afraid and tried to get to the other side of the foot-path. And, mark you, in six months those very men were walking erect, well clothed, looking everybody in the face; and what made this wonderful difference? Say, this man comes from Armenia or somewhere else where he was crushed down beyond all recognition, where everybody told him he was a born slave and born to remain in a low state all his life, and where at the least move on his part he was trodden upon. There everything told him, as it were, ‘Slave! you are a slave, remain so. Hopeless you were born, hopeless you must remain.’ Even the very air murmured round him, as it were, ‘There is no hope for you; hopeless and a slave you must remain’, while the strong man crushed the life out of him. And when he landed in the streets of New York, he found a gentleman, well-dressed, shaking him by the hand; it made no difference that the one was in rags and the other well-clad. He went a step further and saw a restaurant, that there were gentlemen dining at a table, and he was asked to take a seat at the corner of the same table. He went about and found a new life, that there was a place where he was a man among men. Perhaps he went to Washington, shook hands with the President of the United States, and perhaps there he saw men coming from distant villages, peasants, and ill-clad, all shaking hands with the President. Then the veil of Maya slipped away from him. He is Brahman, he who has been hypnotised into slavery and weakness is once more awake, and he rises up and finds himself a man in a world of men.

Ay, in this country of ours, the very birth-place of the Vedanta, our masses have been hypnotised for ages into that state. . . We are to blame. Stand up, be bold, and take the blame on your own shoulders. Do not go about throwing mud at others; for all the faults you suffer from, you are the sole and only cause.

Young men of Lahore . . . Have Vairagya. Your ancestors gave up the world for doing great things. At the present time there are men who give up the world to help their own salvation. Throw away everything, even your own salvation, and go and help others. Ay you are always talking bold words, but here is practical Vedanta before you. Give up this little life of yours. What matters it if you die of starvation — you and I and thousands like us—so long as this nation lives? . . . What matters it if this little life goes? Everyone has to die, the saint or the sinner, the rich or the poor. The body never remains for anyone. Arise and awake and be perfectly sincere. Our insincerity in India is awful; what we want is character, that steadiness and character that make a man cling on to a thing like grim death.’14

Incidentally, this was the last lecture Goodwin recorded through his stenographic skills. Goodwin, who had given all his life in the service of Swamiji by way of noting down Swamiji’s lectures, editing them and making them available for publication, passed away soon after at Ooty in Tamil Nadu, where he had gone to recoup his health.

An open-air party was given in honour of Swamiji in the evening of 14 November, Sunday, on the lawns of the Lahore Town Hall. It was attended by many prominent people. Another day Swamiji was invited by the Sikhs of the Shuddhi Sabha (a reform movement preceding Singh Sabha Movement among Sikhs) and Swamiji appreciated their work. At Lahore Swamiji tried hard to bring reconciliation between Arya Samajists, who stood for a reinterpreted Hinduism and the Sanatanis, who represented orthodox Hinduism. How much success attended his efforts is difficult to assess but surely Swamiji’s message impressed everyone who heard it.

Of Swamiji’s Lahore visit, S. Puran Singh, an eminent Punjabi poet and writer, who was an eyewitness to these lectures, wrote in The Story of Swami Rama, ‘One of the causes, which

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led him (Swami Rama) to seek the role of a monk, in my opinion, was his meeting with Swami Vivekananda at Lahore.’

‘Swami Vivekananda at Lahore was quite an inspiration to the people of the Punjab; his divine eloquence, his burning renunciation, his strength, his power of personality, his gigantic intellect, all made a deep impression on the people. Perhaps his lecture on “Vedanta” at Lahore was one of the most brilliant pieces of oratory. It was in those days that Swami Vivekananda was made the admiring witness of the Amrita ceremony of Guru Gobind Singh. In his address, Swami Vivekananda spoke of the “Punjab of the lion-hearted Guru Gobind Singh”. The Swami was a great admirer of Guru Gobind Singh, his marvelous courage and strength of character.’

Puran Singh further writes:‘The Swami was put up at Dhyan Singh’s

Haveli, and I distinctly remember to this moment the huge number of turbanned masses of Lahore that had assembled in the large hall to listen to the Swami. I was then a little boy reading in the college for the intermediate examination of the Punjab University. The scene has been impressed indelibly on my memory. The hall was filled and there was an overflow of people in the courtyard. People eager to see the Swami pressed each other shoulder to shoulder, to pass into the hall. The Swami seeing these earnest unmanageable crowds announced that he would lecture in the open air. The enclosure, the courtyard of the Haveli, is a large one, and there is a temple-like structure with a raised platform in the centre. The Swami ascended the platform and there he stood—superb, a giant in his superb physique, robed in orange like a Rishi of old, with his large fiery eyes magnetizing the very air. He had a dopatta [a long piece of cloth generally worn round the neck and shoulders] swung round him and he had a large orange turban in the fashion of a Punjabi. This lion of Vedanta roared and thundered for hours, keeping the Punjabis

spellbound and lifting them up to the delectable heights of his mental eminence.

Lahore was struck by one who owed his inspiration to no less a personage than Paramahansa Ramakrishna. One could see the flame of inspiration burning before him in this great person.

I did not know Swami Rama then, but it was he who arranged all those lectures, and he was of the opinion that Swami Vivekananda was at his best while speaking on Vedanta, for that was his subject. This visit of Swami Vivekananda, no doubt, strengthened the silent ambitions of the young Swami Rama for leading the life of a monk and to go round the world, preaching Vedanta like Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda had already defined Vedanta from a practical point of view, and just as modern educated India, by the contact of the West, has discovered the greatness of Bhagavad-Gita in its gospel of duty, so did Swami Vivekananda interpret Shankaracharya’s Advaita Vedanta philosophy in terms of Bhakti, Karma, and even patriotism and humanity.’15

Swami Ram Tirth (known as Tirth Ram before he took to monastic vows), whom Puran Singh refers to, is also known as Swami Ram (1873-1906). He travelled to the United States in 1902 and lectured on ‘Practical Vedanta’. He was a professor in Lahore College and underwent a complete transformation after meeting Swamiji. Swamiji’s Life describes it thus (slightly paraphrased, pp. 291-293):

It was at Lahore that the Swami met Mr. Tirtha Ram Goswami, then a professor of mathematics at one of the Lahore colleges. Sometime later, he took sannyasa and the name Swami Ram Tirtha. He preached Vedanta in India and America and became widely known. It was under his guidance that the college students of Lahore had arranged Swamiji’s lectures. He invited Swamiji and his disciples including Goodwin, to dine at his residence. After the dinner, Swamiji sang a song [composed by Gosvami Tulasidas] which

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begins: Jahan Ram Wahan Kam Nahin, Jahan Kam Tahan Nahin Ram. Translated the song runs, “Where God-consciousness is, there no desire is: where desire is, there no God-consciousness is.” Tirtha Ram wrote: “His melodious voice made the meaning of the song thrill through the hearts of those present.” He placed his library at Swamiji’s disposal, but of the numerous volumes in it, the latter chose only Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman—whom he used to call ‘the Sannyasin of America’.

One evening Swamiji, accompanied by his brother-monks, Tirtha Ram, and a number of young men, was walking along the road. The party broke into several groups. “In the last group” Tirtha Ram later wrote in a letter, “in answer to a question, I was explaining: ‘An ideal Mahatma is one who has lost all sense of separate personality and lives as the Self of all. When the air in any region absorbs enough of the solar heat, it becomes rarefied and rises higher. The air from different regions then rushes in to occupy this vacuum, thus setting the whole atmosphere in motion. So does a Mahatma marvelously infuse life and spirit into a nation through self-reform.’ Swamiji’s group happening to be silent at the time, he overheard this part of our conversation and stopped suddenly and emphatically remarked, “Such was my guru, Paramahamsa Ramakrishna.”

As a token of his earnest love and admiration for Swamiji, Tirth Ram presented Swamiji a gold watch before he left. Swamiji took it very kindly, but put it back in Tirth Ram’s pocket, saying, ‘Very well, friend, I shall wear it here in this pocket’.

Another eye-witness account by Dr. Prabhu Dutta Shastri, who had heard Swamiji both in Chicago and Lahore, is contextually important here. He wrote in an article titled ‘Swami Vivekananda in Chicago and Lahore’, in Prabuddha Bharata, 1943 September:

‘I should refer to his [Swamiji’s] visit to Lahore in October 1897 [actually 1898], after his return from America. That was also

a unique occasion—for me more memorable than even the address at Chicago, since it was then that I actually saw the Swami and listened in pin-drop silence to his address, which left an abiding mark on my memory and hypnotized me. The spot at which he spoke in the big compound of Raja Dhyan Singh’s Haveli is visited by many admirers of the Swami who happen to visit Lahore. I have a clear picture in my mind of the vast audience that gave him a most enthusiastic ovation—people occupying every inch of ground in the spacious compound, the platform, the opposite stairs, parapets, and even clinging to the large branches of the big tree that stood there. By that one speech alone, Vivekananda had conquered the Punjab, as he had previously conquered America by his one speech alone at Chicago.’

An incident of intimate nature that took place in Lahore reveals the human side of Swamiji very well. A boyhood friend of Swamiji was Moti Bose who had now become the owner of Professor Bose’s Circus. When he heard that Swamiji was in Lahore, Moti Bose went to see him. But he was apprehensive as to how he should address Swamiji; Naren, his playmate, was now a highly revered teacher. Feeling a little embarrassed, he approached Swamiji with a question, ‘How shall I address you now, as Naren or Swamiji?’ Immediately Swamiji responded, ‘Have you gone mad, Moti? Do not you know that I am the same Naren and you are the same Moti!’ Thus the old comrades met with each other. Swamiji’s simplicity and unassuming personality found its expression everywhere, in all situations.

Another incident which speaks volumes of Swamiji’s understanding, generosity and greatness took place while Swamiji was in Lahore. One day he was praising a certain person at length. On hearing it all, one of those with him said, ‘But Swamiji, that gentleman has no respect for you!’ Swamiji at once replied, ‘Is it necessary to respect me in order to become a good man?’ The questioner was

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taken aback at these words. This is an instance of unconditional love for all, a trait natural to Swamiji.

After ten days of speaking, discussions and meeting visitors, Swamiji left Lahore and came to Dehradun (now in Uttarakhand). Thus came to a close Swami Vivekananda’s historic visit to the Undivided Punjab, sowing seeds of the future Ramakrishna Movement and inspiring people with his marvelous personality and messages.

As we conclude this discussion, let us look at Swamiji’s impression of Punjab. Of Swamiji’s love of Punjab, Sister Nivedita, his gifted and inspired Irish disciple, wrote in her immortal work, The Master As I Saw Him.Obviously she had accompanied Swamiji to Lahore in 1898 and keenly observed his thoughts and emotions as they travelled in Punjab:

‘It was as we passed into the Punjab, however, that we caught our deepest glimpse of the Master’s [Swami Vivekananda’s] love of his own land [India]. Anyone who had seen him here, would have supposed him to have been born in the province [Punjab], so intensely had he identified himself with it. It would seem that he had been deeply bound to the people there by many ties of love and reverence; had received much and given much; for there were some amongst them who urged that they found in him a rare mixture of ‘Guru Nanak and Guru Govind,’ their first teacher and their last. Even the most suspicious amongst them trusted him. And if they refused to credit his judgment, or endorse his outflowing sympathy, in regard to those Europeans whom he had made his own, he, it may have been, loved the wayward hearts all the more for their inflexible condemnation and incorruptible sternness. His American disciples were already familiar with his picture—that called to his own face a dreamy delight—of the Punjabi maiden at her spinning wheel, listening to its ‘Shivoham! Shivoham! I am He! I am He!’ Yet at the same time, I must not forget to tell that it was here, on entering the

Punjab, even as, near the end of his life, he is said to have done again at Benares, that he called to him a Mussalman vendor of sweetmeats, and bought and ate from his hand Mohammedan food [indicating that Swamiji accepted people of all religions and traditions, in contrast with orthodox sections of Hindu society who adhered to strict rules regarding food and social mixing].

As we went through some village, he would point out to us those strings of marigolds above the door that distinguished the Hindu homes. Again, he would show us the pure golden tint of skin, so different from the pink and white of the European ideal that constitutes the ‘fairness’ admired by the Indian races. Or as we drove beside him in a tonga, he would forget all, in that tale of which he never wearied, of Shiva, the Great God, silent, remote upon the mountains, asking nothing of men but solitude, and ‘lost in one eternal meditation’. 16

In these poetic words of Sister Nivedita Swami Vivekananda’s admiration and deep identity with Punjab and Punjabi traditions is indeed aptly summarized!

Visits of the Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna:

Besides Swami Vivekananda, a number of direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna visited the Undivided Punjab during their days of travel and wanderings. They visited various pilgrim centres now located in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab Province of Pakistan—and nearby regions. Not many details are available of these visits but here is some information, as far as we could gather (from God Lived with Them, Swami Chetanananda, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata):

Swami Adbhutananda, or Latu Maharaj, accompanied Swami Vivekananda during his travel to Punjab, Rajasthan and other places in north India in 1897. Swami Adbhutananda also visited the Golden Temple at Amritsar and later observed, ‘the top of the Amritsar temple, like that of Vishwanath at Banaras, was covered

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with gold and that formerly people had wealth and they knew how to spend it well too.’17

Swami Brahmananda, the ‘spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna’ and later the first President of the Ramakrishna Order, and Swami Turiyananda, known for his austere life-style and spiritual insights, came to visit holy places in Punjab, Sindh, Pathankot, Multan, Gujaranwala and other places in 1891 during their days of wandering. In Multan (now in Pakistan), both of them visited Sadhu Bela, an acclaimed Hindu temple in Sindh. It is located on an island in the river Sindhu. At the insistence of the abbot of Sadhu Bela and impressed with the natural beauty of the place, they spent some months in meditation and hard austerities in Sadhu Bela.18

Five years after he returned from America, Swami Turiyananda came again to Kurukshetra (in Haryana) to witness the Mela (religious fair) held there to mark the Surya Grahana (solar eclipse). He was joined by Swami Atulananda, a western monk initiated by Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.

Swami Shivananda, or Mahapurush Maharaj, the second President of the Ramakrishna Order, visited Kurukshetra (now in Haryana) and Jwalamukhi temple (now Himachal Pradesh) in 1892.

Swami Saradananda, or Sharat Maharaj, the first General Secretary of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, came to Rawalpindi in the Undivided Punjab in October 1898. He came by train to Rawalpindi, and then took a tonga to Srinagar. He was called by Swami Vivekananda who fell sick in Srinagar and

wanted Swami Saradananda to take his western disciples around some places in north India.

Swami Abhedananda, or Kali Maharaj, visited, along with other places in north India, Lahore and Rawalpindi in 1922.

Swami Vijnanananda, or Vijnan Maharaj, later the fourth President of the Ramakrishna Order, visited Lahore and Peshawar in 1931.

Thus, including Swami Vivekananda, seven disciples of Sri Ramakrishna have blessed the historic land of Punjab. In the Ramakrishna tradition, these direct disciples are held in great respect as, besides being disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, they are believed to have experienced God, a fact richly expressed in their noble lives and teachings.

We may also mention here that Swami Ambikananda, a disciple of Swami Brahmananda, spent a number of years in austerity in Kapurthala in the 1950s as also Swami Saradeshananda, a disciple of Holy Mother Sarada Devi, who performed austerities in Punjab. During his extended stay in Punjab, Swami Saradeshananda, or Gopesh Maharaj, developed interest in the Sikh spiritual tradition and learnt to read Punjabi as well. Later he used to often chant Sukhmani Saheb (‘The Treasure of Peace’), a composition of the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan (1563-1606), which forms a part of the Guru Granth Saheb (it is in 24 Ashtapadis or sections, discussing the nature of meditation, Japa, holy association, characteristics of a man of realization, grace of God, and so on). Gopesh Maharaj kept a copy of Sukhmani Saheb along with Durga Saptashati and Stotra book which he used during his daily devotions.

(To be continued. . .)

11) Sialkot was part of the Undivided Punjab. Its earliest mention is Madra kingdom ruled by King Shalya in the Mahabharata. It has been ruled by Greeks, Huns, Mughals and others.

12) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. [hereafter CW] 3: 363.

13) Life of Swami Vivekananda by His Eastern and Western Disciples. [hereafter Life], 288.

14) CW. 3:428-31.15) Quoted in the article ‘Swami Vivekananda in Punjab’,

by Jasbir Kaur Ahuja, Prabuddha Bharata, 1997.16) The Complete Works of Sister Nivedita. 1: 71-7217) Swami Adbhutananda As We Saw Him. Ramakrishna

Math, Chennai, p. 283.18) Swami Brahmananda Charit. (Hindi) Swami

Prabhananda. Nagpur: Ramakrishna Math, p. 102.

Referencesvvv

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King Nala felt the pangs of separation from his wife at the time of deserting her, the courteous attitude of Hindu women and the decency of men – all command a place of esteem in her penned pages.

Artistry of the HindusJust as the traditional values, the elegant

architecture of Hindu temples too had a special appeal for Nivedita. Her close knowledge of Indian artistry is revealed in her book, Notes of Some Wanderings with Swami Vivekananda where she records her observations of the architecture and sculptures of Kashmir temples. In this regard she exchanged ideas with the Tagores. Abanindranath Tagore, in his Bengali book Jorasankor Dhare, compares Nivedita with Mahasweta and writes how he was inspired by her. The Europeans stubbornly believed that no artistry could be compared to that of the Greeks; like her guru, Nivedita too disagreed with this. She had a penchant for Buddhist architecture and sculpture. From the streets to the cities – everything that was of the Buddhist tradition was analysed and elucidated from an artistic outlook. She had directly witnessed it in Ajanta, Ellora, Kanheri and Elephanta Caves. She even visited Udaygiri and Nalanda. While describing the artistic heritage of the Buddhists, she points out how a spiritually inclined mind leaves an indelible impression on the fabric of artistry. She had great attraction for folk-art. Once when she saw a clay-doll in the streets of Baghbazar, she excitedly wrote to the reputed historian Dinesh Chandra Sen how she had seen a similar doll in a British museum. She was well versed with the symbolic language of art and had used this knowledge to design the national flag for independent India. It was a golden coloured thunderbolt on a red cloth; the thunderbolt being the symbol of renunciation. During the last days of her life, she had asked from Dinesh Chandra Sen an idol of Pragya

Paramita. When told that keeping such an idol was not considered auspicious, she turned a deaf ear to it. In her school for girls, she had made stitching and tailoring a compulsory item in the course curriculum. She used to buy from weavers clothes dyed in green and yellow hues. A variety of needle-work used to be carried out. She wrote in a letter to Miss Macleod, ‘I am trying to master the design prevalent among Indian women. A highly fascinating thing!’

Practical Vedanta and Aggressive HinduismOn 20 June 1899, Nivedita sailed for

London on the Golconda, along with Swami Vivekananda and Swami Turiyananda. The party reached London on 31st July. This period of about one and half months was an invaluable learning session with her Master. Reminiscing about this period she writes, ‘From the beginning of the voyage to the end, the flow of thought and story went on. One never knew what moment would see the flash of intuition, and hear the ringing utterance of some fresh truth.’14

It was in these zealous hours that the entire gamut of the history of the world and that of India especially her religion was unveiled to Nivedita. Along with it continued the story of the great night of Shiva, the story of Prithviraj, the thirty-two stories of Vikramaditya, the story of Lord Buddha and Yashodhara and many more. Based on these conversations Nivedita presents some of Swami Vivekananda’s most significant ideas about Hinduism: ‘In India, the Swami was extremely jealous of any attempt to exclude from Hinduism any of her numerous branches and offshoots. A man was none the less a Hindu, for instance, in his eyes, for being a member of the Brahmo or the Arya Samaj. The great Sikh Khalsa was one of the finest organisations ever created within the Mother-Church, and by her genius. ...There were, he held, three different

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Sister Nivedita and the Hindu Society (Continued from page 20....)

stratifications to be recognised in the Faith. One was that of the old historic Orthodoxy. Another consisted of the reforming sects of the Mohammedan period. And third came the reforming sects of the present period. But all these were equally Hindu.15 Nivedita considered this classification of Hindu religion from the historical point of view as the pivot of her own idea and analysis of Hinduism.

A spiritual life, in its true sense, enjoins a courageous attitude. One who dares to fight against vice, is capable of establishing virtue. It was for this reason that Lord Krishna commanded Arjuna to fight. Sister Nivedita

therefore advocated the fighting spirit and brought forth the concept of aggressive Hinduism. Swami Vivekananda extended Vedanta into Practical Vedanta or Vedanta in action. It was the pragmatic aspect of this Practical Vedanta that Nivedita highlighted as Aggressive Hinduism. Nivedita was a non-Hindu and a westerner, but the extent and precision of her analysis of Hinduism and its tenets is matchless. Outstanding in contemplative power, brilliantly powerful in her spirit, Nivedita was like a beacon light who like Draupadi arose from the sacrificial pyre at the confluences of ages.

1) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. [hereafter CW] Mayavati Edition. Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 1:32) Ibid. 1:X 3) The Complete Works of Sister Nivedita. [CWSN] Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 1:141 4) Ibid., 1:141-42 5) Ibid., 1:145 6) Ibid., 1:144-45 7) CW. 1:XV 8) CWSN. 2:331 9) Ibid., p.308-09 10) Ibid., p.312-14 11) Ibid., p.312 12) Ibid., p.312 13) Ibid., p.317-18 14) CWSN. 1:122 15) Ibid., p.164

(Continued from page 24 ..)

References

References

Society, Hollywood, and passed away on 14 October 1949.9

The locket was Drinette Verdier’s most precious possession and to her it was a link with her great hero and a talisman offering protection to an aged and solitary woman. She was approaching eighty when Swami Vidyatmananda met her. Sensing that her end was near and wanting that the valuable relic, entrusted to her by Joe, should be left in safe hands, Drinette invited Swami Ritajananda (the

then President of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre at Gretz) and Swami Vidyatmananda, together with Swami Swahananda (who was visiting France at that time), to her apartment. There in her gracious manner, almost too ill to sit upright, Mme. Drinette Verdier presided over a high tea in their honour. As they finished their tea, she took off her locket and placed it in the hands of Swami Ritajananda. This was on 9 August 1972. She died on October 24. The locket is now preserved in Belur Math.10

1) Tantine: The Life of Josephine Macleod - Friend of Swami Vivekananda (henceforth Life). Pravrajika Prabuddhaprana. Kolkata: Sri Sarada Math, 1990, 267

2) Life. 136,2673) The Charm of Mayavati Ashrama. Ed. Swami

Satyapriyananda. Kolkata: Advaita ashrama (henceforth Ashrama), 2009, 215-216; Life. 135-136

4) Letters of Sister Nivedita. Vol.2. Kolkata: Nababharat Publishers, 1982, p.653

5) Ashrama. 212-2146) Shivananda- Smriti Sangraha (Bengali). Vol.2.

Compiled by Swami Apurvananda. Barasat: Ramakrishna Shivananda Ashrama, 1968, 43-44

7) Life. 238-2418) The Making of a Devotee. Swami Vidyatmananda.

Ch.6, p.7; Life. 2419) Life. 29510. The Making of a Devotee. Ch. 6, p.7

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The Story of a Locket

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Brahmasutra shankaraBhashyam Chatussutri Tr. and Commentary by Swami Shuddhabodhananda Saraswati.

Published by Sri Visweswar Trust, A-203, Parijat, Lallubhai Park Road (West) Extn., Mumbai-400 056. E-mail: sssbvt@gmail.com. 2017,

hardbound, pp.406. Donation per copy Rs.500 (India) $ 18 (overseas) postage extra. https://rubhuvasishtha.wordpress.com

It is a rare good fortune to get unasked-for a highly scholarly and at the same time mathematically precise book for review.

The translator informs us that there are as many as 150 commentaries on the Brahmasutas and many commentaries on the Chatussutri Shankara-Bhashya. The speciality of this commentary is that there are as many as 72 captions with further sub-titles which makes the difficult subject easily comprehensible. There is also a detailed table of contents and an exhaustive multiple index for quick access to topics of choice.

Apart from the chapters dealing with Adyasa Bhasya and the four chapters dealing with the first four sutras of the Brahmasutras, there is a Preface and an Introduction in the beginning and Summing up with epilogue in the end. The main text of the commentary has the Brahmasutra and the Shankarabhashya in Devanagari script, followed by English translation in bold letters and the commentary by the author in English.

The extremely informative Introduction provides a concise description of Vedanta and Brahmamimamsa. It gives the correct perspective on the authorship, significance of prasthana-trayam, the importance of chatussutri, the gamut of Vedanta with the role of Brahmasutrasas elaborated by Madhusudana Saraswati in his Vedanta-Kalpalatika, the methods of reasoning employed in Brahmasutras, and the appropriateness of the Adyasa Bhashya.

The bhashya with its translation and commentary have been classified under topic-wise captions. This enables the subject matter to be grasped easily, especially where the bhashya is too lengthy. Most of the standard scriptures on the Vedanata like the Brahmasutras, commentaries and works of Shankaracharya and other great Vedantic acharyas, do not present the matter topic-wise with captions. The commentator has set a new trend which, I am sure, will have revolutionary effect on the future works on Vedanta.

Another feather in the cap is the last chapter: Summing up. It is a brief and clear summary of all the chapters including the Introduction which helps the reader to recapitulate what he has already read. This chapter also includes Epilogue which deals specially with the scriptural texts which show the experiential nature of Brahmajnana and its essential constituents.

Many Sanskrit terms used in Vedanta have no equivalent words in English. Hence at most places the original Sanskrit terms are used along with their English equivalents or with explanations, at places even at the risk of repetition or of lengthening the sentence. Most of the vague terms of Vedanta are clearly defined.

The learned translator Swami has many other works, both books as well as MP3 audio CD, to his credit, a list of which is provided at the end of this volume. On going through this volume one is strongly tempted to listen to his scholarly audio CDs and get enriched, both spiritually and intellectually.

Once Sri Ramakrishna had commented: ‘What is the gist of Vedanta? Isn’t it “Brahman is true and the world is unreal?” Then give up the unreal world and hold on to Brahman.’ One has just to hold on to one of the many prakriyas explained in the Epilogue and get direct Brahmanubhuti. For an uttam adhikari or highly qualified aspirant, Bramajnana is so simple! The philosophical extensions are for those who find this simple process too difficult!!____________________ SWAMI BRAHMESHANANDA, VARANASI

Book Reviews

For review in The VedanTa Kesari,

publishers need to send us two copies oF their

latest publication.

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Horse SenseIf you work for a man, then work for him

with all your heart. If he pays wages that supply you your bread and butter, work for him, speak well of him, think well of him, stand by him, and stand by the institution he represents. I think if I worked for a man, I would work for him. I would not work for him a part of his time, but all of his time. I would give an undivided service or none. An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage, why don’t you resign your position? And when you are outside, speak ill of the man and his institution to your heart’s content. But, I pray you, so long as you are a part of an institution, do not condemn it. Not that you will injure the institution—not that—but when you disparage the institution of which you are a part, you disparage yourself. And don’t forget that the excuses, ‘I forgot’ or ‘I didn’t know’ won’t do in this world.

This essay, ‘A Message to Garcia’, was written one evening after supper, in a single hour. It was on the 22nd February, 1899,

A Message to Garcia(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

Washington’s Birthday, and we were just going to press with the March issue of ‘The Philistine’. The essay leaped hot from my heart, written after a really busy day, when I had been struggling to train some rather lazy villagers to come out of their sleepy, idle state and get active & productive. The immediate suggestion, though, came from a little argument while having tea, in my house. During the argument, my son Bert suggested that Rowan was the real hero of the Cuban War.1 Rowan had gone alone and done the thing – carried the message to Garcia.

It came to me like a flash! Yes, the boy is right. The hero is the man who does his work – who carries the message to Garcia. I got up from the table, and wrote the essay ‘A Message to Garcia’. I thought so little of it that we ran it in the Magazine without a heading. The edition went out, and soon orders began to come for extra copies of the March ‘Philistine’, a dozen, fifty, a hundred; and when the American News Company ordered a thousand, I asked one of my helpers which article it was that had stirred up the cosmic dust. ‘It’s the stuff about Garcia,’ he said.

Topical Musings

1) Colonel Andrews Summers ROWAN was born in Gap Mills, Virginia, in 1857. He was an American officer and graduated of West Point class of 1881. In the years before the Spanish American War, Rowan served several frontiers posts and with military intelligence in Latin America. He was interested in Cuba in particular and wrote a book about the island. With tensions between the United States and the Spanish (who then ruled Cuba) growing, President William McKinley saw value in establishing contact with the Cuban rebels who could prove a valuable ally in case of war with Spain. McKinley asked Colonel Arthur Wagner to suggest an officer to make contact with Garcia’s rebels. Wagner suggested Rowan who then travelled to Cuba via Jamaica. Rowan met Garcia in the Oriento Mountains and established a rapport. Rowan garnered information from Garcia who was eager to cooperate with Americans in fighting the Spanish. Rowan returned to the US and was given command of a force of ‘Immunes’, African-American troops assumed to be immune to tropical diseases found in Cuba. After his service in the Spanish-American War, he served in the Philippines and posts in the US Fort Riley (Kansas), West Point (Kentucky) and American Lake (Washington), retiring in 1909. More than twenty years later, Rowan was presented the ‘Distinguished Service Cross’ for his extraordinary heroism in action in connection with the operations in Cuba in May, 1898. Rowan died in San Francisco in 1943. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

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A Message to GarciaIn all this issue with the Cubans, there is one man who stands out in my memory. When war broke

out between Spain & the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba – no one knew where. Neither mail nor telegram could reach him. The President of USA must secure his cooperation, and quickly.

What to do!Someone said to the President, “There’s a fellow by the name of Rowan in our Army. He will certainly

find Garcia for you, if anybody can.”Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How ‘the fellow by the name of Rowan’

took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, & in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia, are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.

The point I wish to make is this: President McKinley gave Col Andrew Summers Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, “Where is he? Where can I find Garcia?” By God! There is a man whose form should be cast in pure bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning that young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the backbone which will make them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, to concentrate their energies: Do the thing – ‘Carry a message to Garcia!’ General Garcia is dead now, but there are other Garcias.

Every man, who has endeavored to carry out an enterprise where many hands were needed, would have certainly been shocked at the imbecility of the average man. What do I mean by imbecility? It is the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it. Slip-shod assistance, foolish inattention, indifference, & half-hearted work seem to be the rule. In the present circumstances, no man succeeds in getting work done by others, unless by hook or crook, or threat, he forces or bribes other men to assist him. Of course, in the rarest of the rare situations, God in His goodness performs a miracle, & sends him an Angel of Light as an assistant.

You, reader, put this matter to a test: You are sitting now in your office. Six clerks are working in your office and you are free to call any of them and assign them a task.

Call any one and make this request: “Please look in the encyclopedia and write a brief note for me concerning the life of Correggio.”

Will the clerk quietly say, “Yes, sir”, and go do the task?I will bet you a thousand dollars, he will not. He will look at you out of the corner of his eye and ask one

or more of the following questions:Who was Correggio? Which encyclopedia? Where is the encyclopedia? Was I hired for that? Don’t you

mean Bismarck? What’s the matter with Charlie doing it? Is he dead? Is there any hurry? Wouldn’t it be better if I bring you the book and let you look it up yourself? What do you want to know for?

And I will bet you another thousand dollars that after you have answered the questions, and explained how to find the information, and why you want it, the clerk will go off and get one of the other clerks to help him try to ‘find Garcia’ – and then come back and tell you there is no such man. Of course I may lose my bet, but according to the Law of Average, I will not.

Now if you are wise you will not bother to explain to your ‘assistant’ that Correggio is indexed under C, not under K, but you will smile sweetly and say, “Never mind”, and go look it up yourself.

This incapacity for independent action, this moral stupidity, this infirmity of the will, this unwillingness to cheerfully catch hold and lift, are the things that put pure Socialism so far into the future. If men will not act for their own good, what will they do, when the benefit of their effort, is for all? A whip-cracking supervisor seems necessary; and the fear of getting ‘fired’ by the end of the month, holds many a worker to his place. (To be continued)

What is Religion?

(Continued on page 51...)

Religion is the idea which is raising the brute unto man, and man unto God.1

What defines a brute, a man, and God? Is it language, dress, food-habits, living styles, race, learning, social systems, historical background? Or is it all these put together, which we give the generic name – Culture?

According to Swami Vivekananda, it is the degree of unselfishness. A brute is he who is utterly selfish. A man is one who has started to manifest a certain degree of unselfishness. God is perfectly unselfish.2

The soul evolves. Progressively, the soul manifests greater and greater degrees of unselfishness. The training that ensures this evolution is Religion.

Last month, we saw Swamiji define Religion as ‘realizing God’. Opening of our heart and seeing God face-to-face in the deep recesses of our heart is Religion. Here, the same Swamiji seems to be saying that, ‘realizing of God does not happen all of a sudden.3 There is a gradual unfoldment in the soul. There is a training that is imparted to the soul. And who imparts that training? Life itself! Experiences of life teach and train the soul to move towards greater and greater levels of unselfishness, until all selfishness is washed away and the soul stands alone in its true splendor.

‘None, O beloved, loves the husband for the husband’s sake, but for the Self that is in the husband; none, O beloved, ever loves the wife for the wife’s sake, but for the Self that is in the wife. None ever loves anything else, except for

the Self.’4 ‘Even this selfishness, which is so much condemned, is but a manifestation of the same love. Stand aside from this play, do not mix in it, but see this wonderful panorama, this grand drama, played scene after scene, and hear this wonderful harmony; all are the manifestation of the same love. Even in selfishness, that self will multiply, grow and grow. That one self, the one man, will become two selves when he gets married; several, when he gets children; and thus he grows until he feels the whole world as his Self, the whole universe as his Self. He expands into one mass of universal love, infinite love – the love that is God.’5

‘We always begin as dualists. God is a separate Being, and I am a separate being. Love comes between, and man begins to approach God, and God, as it were, begins to approach man. Man takes up all the various relationships of life, as father, mother, friend, or lover; and the last point is reached when he becomes one with the object of worship. ‘I am you, and you are I; and worshipping you, I worship myself; and in worshipping myself, I worship you.’ There we find the highest culmination of that with which man begins. At the beginning it was love for the self, but the claims of the little self, made love selfish; at the end came the full blaze of light, when that self had become the Infinite. That God who at first was a Being somewhere, became resolved, as it were, into Infinite Love. Man himself was also transformed. He was approaching God, he was throwing off all vain desires, of which he was full before. With desires

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reflects on the intellectual activity of a gifted and devout race.

The Sama Veda has the largest number of Braahmana texts attached to it. Pertinently, only a few amongst these can lay claim to the nomenclature of Braahmana. The others are more like appendices. The Braahmana with its name Jaiminya or Talavaakara with its 1252 sections is one of the bulkiest among Vedic texts. A fund of information is detailed regarding the techniques used by Samagas – the officiating priests of this Veda. The textual matter isolates legends and ritualistic data, making the reading of it a comparatively formidable task. Another Braahmana of this Veda called Tandya is also familiar with the name of Pancavimsa probably on account of the 25 chapters of which it is made. This has earned itself the name of Maha Braahmana. Hymns of praise, the Soma sacrifice and Sattras – sacrificial sessions, are included in its subject matter. The Sanskrit names of months like Chaitra, Vaisakha and so on also figure in this. Reference is found to two rivers Saraswati and Drisadvati that form the two boundaries of Kurukshetra. The historical and geographical information from this Braahmana deserves to be collected. Yet another Braahmana of this Veda, goes by the name of Sadvimsa, meaning 26 chapters. It is only a completion of the Tandya or Pancavimsa. It concentrates on omens and portents and earns for itself the name of Adbhuta Braahmana or Braahamana of Wonder. The Chandogya Braahmana is also attached to

The two branches of the Yajur Veda – Krishna and Shukla have their own respective Braahmanas distinct in information and content. One of the Braahmana of the Krishna Yajur Veda is called Taittriya and is a continuation of the Taittriya Samhita of the same Veda. It does not appear as a separate text but is found mingled with the Samhita portion. The Taittriya Braahmana contains a good deal of astrological and astronomical information. It is interesting that even the Yajur Vedic hymns speak of 12 months and 360 days in a year. The Sukla Yajur Veda however has its own Braahmana called Satapatha. A remarkable work in more ways than one, it is one of the most important texts in its genre. It may be recalled that the Samhita portion of this Veda came in two versions – Madhyandina and Kanva. The Braahmanas of this Veda also subscribe to the same divisions. The Madhyandina version has 100 chapters from which probably it derived its name - Satapatha or 100 parts. Its subject matter apart from the customary explanations pertaining to liturgy has interesting portions like Agnirahasya, where it unravels the mysteries of the fire altar. It also details the Upanayana or the initiation ceremony relevant to certain castes. Prayaschitta – acts of atonement for sins committed, death ceremonies, legends like those of the Manu and the fish and the story of Pururavas and Urvashi heighten the mystical aura of this Braahmana. The geographical and ethical allusions in this text almost exclusively point to the regions along the Ganga and the Jamuna. The Satapatha Braahmana

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LAKSHMI DEVNATH

(Continued from previous issue...)

The Braahmanas

The author is a researcher and writer with various books and articles to her credit on Indian music and culture. lakshmidevnath@gmail.com

The Vedas: An Exploration

the Sama Veda. In this are also given mantras pertaining to birth and marriage rites. The last three chapters of these are the Chandogya Upanishad.

The Samavidhana Braahmana, of the Sama Veda talks of the seven musical notes, last one being called Antya instead of the earlier term Atisvarya. A point to be noted is that unlike the Braahmanas of the Rig Veda, Braahmanas of the Yajur and Sama Veda, while specifying the duties of their priests—Adhvaryu and the Udgatr respectively, stick to the original order of the mantra.

There is only one extant Braahmana of the Veda of the magic – Atharva Veda. It is called the Gopatha Braahmana. It has two parts Purva Gopatha and Uttara Gopatha. This Braahmana begins with a legend that narrates as follows – the rishis saw the mantras that formed the Atharva Veda. From Atharva Veda came Om, from it the three worlds – Earth, Sky and Heaven, from them the three Gods Agni, Vayu and Sun, from them the three Vedas Rig, Yajur and Sama, from them the Sea, from them Varuna the Atharva Vedic rishi Angiras and so on. Naturally, its contents contain myths,

legends and parables that explain the various Vedic ceremonies. Angiras of the Atharvan-Angirasah fame is glorified as the ‘sage of sages’. This Braahamana also warns that Vedic sacrifice performed without the help of a priest of the Atharva Veda is bound to fail. One of the appendices of this Veda called the Caranavyuha says that the Gopatha Braahmana consisted of 100 divisions out of which today only two are present. Quite possible, when one finds that many statements, referred to in other Vedic texts, as being derived from the Gopatha Braahmana cannot be traced to the present two books available.

The Braahamanas, as a whole, represent the religious, and intellectual activity of the Vedic age. The Sanskrit is also Vedic distinct from Panini Sanskrit. There is a constant and tiresome repetition of sentences. It is quite possible that this meandering style may have subsequently led to the composition of sutras that are encapsulated forms of elaborate texts. However, the language of the Braahmanas is vivacious and graceful. The Braahmanas were further subdivided into the Aranyakas and its last chapters are the famous Upanishads. (To be continued….)

Panini the Sanskrit grammarian, refers to the Satapatha Braahmana also as Sashtipatha meaning 60 parts. The first 9 sections of this Braahmana have 60 chapters. The remaining 40 are contained in the remaining 5 sections. The famous Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is but the concluding portion of this Braahmana.

The Madhyandina version of the Satapatha is divided into 14 books while the Kanda version has 17 books.

The name of Yagnavalkya occurs frequently in the Satapatha Braahmana. Interesting dialogues of a metaphysical nature between Yagnavalkya and Janaka of Videha are narrated.

The Taittriya Braahmana talks about 14 Devanakshatras beginning with Krittika and 14 Yamanakshatras beginning with Anirudha. The

etymological application of Nakshatra is given as – na kshtra, ‘that which does not diminish in anyway’.

Mahidasa Aitareya is said to be the compiler of the Aitareya Braahmana of the Rig Veda.

The oft quoted sentence of the Braahmana is – ‘the soul of all beings, all gods is this sacrifice.’ In the Braahmanas, sacrifice is treated with the utmost respect – whether an act has to be performed towards the left or right side, whether a pot is placed at this or that point of the sacrificial place, whether a stalk of grass shall be placed with its tip pointing to the north or North East, whether the priest goes to the front or to the back of the fire, to which direction he must have his face turned, in how many parts the sacrificial cake is to be cut, whether the butter shall be

Interesting Information

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vanished selfishness, and, at the apex, he found that Love, Lover, and Beloved were One.’6

‘There are two things which guide the conduct of men: might and mercy. The exercise of might is invariably the exercise of selfishness.’7

‘It is selfishness that we must seek to eliminate. I find that whenever I have made a mistake in my life, it has always been because self entered into the calculation. Where self has not been involved, my judgment has gone straight to the mark.’8

‘But we have to begin from the beginning, to take up the works as they come to us and slowly make ourselves more unselfish every day. We must do the work and find out the motive power that prompts us; and, almost without exception, in the first years, we shall find that our motives are always selfish; but gradually this selfishness will melt by persistence, till at last will come the time when we shall be able to do really unselfish work. We may all hope that someday or other, as we struggle through the paths of life, there

poured in the Northern or in the southern half or in the middle of the fire, in which moment the recitation of some text, the singing of some song has to take place. These are thoroughly treated in the Braahmanas

The story of the Matsya Avatar is present in the satapatha Braahmana.

Eggeling in his Sacred Books of the East Vol.12 p.10 reminds that in the case of ancient Romans also, the Pontifics attained power and influence exactly by virtue of the fact that

will come a time when we shall become perfectly unselfish; and the moment we attain to that, all our powers will be concentrated, and the knowledge which is ours will be manifest.’9

‘Yet it is work through the sense of duty that leads us to work without any idea of duty; when work will become worship – nay, something higher – then will work be done for its own sake. We shall find that the philosophy of duty, whether it be in the form of ethics or of love, is the same as in every other Yoga – the object being the attenuating of the lower self, so that the real higher Self may shine forth – the lessening of the frittering away of energies on the lower plane of existence, so that the soul may manifest itself on the higher ones. This is accomplished by the continuous denial of low desires, which duty rigorously requires. The whole organization of society has thus been developed, consciously or unconsciously, in the realms of action and experience, where, by limiting selfishness, we open the way to an unlimited expansion of the real nature of man.’10

they alone understood all the details of the sacrificial ceremonial which although small, were declared to be extremely important. It happened in Rome that a sacrifice had to be repeated 30 times because some small mistake was committed in the course of a small ceremony; and in ancient Rome also a ceremony was considered null and void if a word was pronounced wrongly or an act was not performed quite right or if the playing of the music was not stopped at the right moment.

References: 1) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda [hereafter CW]: Vol-5: Sayings and Utterances 2) CW. Vol-1: Karma-Yoga: Ch-VI: Non-Attachment Is Complete Self-Abnegation 3) See for instance Swamiji’s words: ‘Religion is a long, slow process’; CW: Vol-4: Addresses on Bhakti-Yoga: The Need of Symbols 4) Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: 2.4.1-5 5) CW. Vol-2: Bhakti Or Devotion 6) Ibid 7) CW. Vol-1: Karma Yoga: Ch-III: The Secret of Work 8) CW. Vol-8: Sayings and Utterances 9) CW. Vol-1: Karma Yoga: Ch-I: Karma in Its Effect On Character 10) CW. Vol-1: Karma Yoga: Ch-IV: What Is Duty?

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News & Notes from Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission

The Order on the March

Celebrations in the OrderThe 166th Jayanti of Holy

Mother Sri Sarada Devi was celebrated in great joy with special worship, bhajans, and spiritual discourses on Friday, 28 December 2018 at Belur Math and in the branch centres. At Belur Math, thousands of devotees attended the celebration and cooked prasad was served to about 33,000 devotees.

Christmas-Eve was observed on 24 December 2018 in our centres.

Conclusion of Centenary Celebration of Karimganj Ashrama, Assam

I n s p i r e d b y S w a m i Premeshananda, a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi,

a group of local devotees started in 1917 a Seva Samiti in Karimganj, Assam of erstwhile East Bengal. In 1929 the Samiti was affiliated to Belur Math as a branch centre of Sylhet ashrama, now in Bangladesh. Following the partition of India, Karimganj became a remote corner in Assam; yet the centre continued its services and became an independent branch centre on 1 October 1947. The centre rendered tremendous relief services during Burma Evacuation at the times of World War II, East Pakistan Exodus in 1950, and Bangladesh Evacuation in 1971. Requested by the Govt. of India, the centre befittingly handled

for many years the settlement of lakhs of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan. With a students’ home, library, coaching centre, charitable dispensary and mobile medical unit, the centre now houses a beautiful temple of Sri Ramakrishna, consecrated in 1992 by Swami Bhuteshananda, the 12th President of the Order.

The centre concluded its year-long centenary celebration, which began on 10 May 2017, from 1 — 5 December 2018 with public meetings, a procession of 7000 odd people, naranarayana seva and cultural programmes. On this occasion a life-size bronze statue of Swamiji was unveiled and a souvenir was released by Srimat Swami Gautamananda Ji, one of

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the Vice-Presidents of the Order, on 1 December. Revered Maharaj also inaugurated a Durga Mandap and a multi-purpose building housing prasada distribution hall and an auditorium. Among others Swami Jyotirupananda, Minister In-Charge, Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, Moscow and Swami Tattwavidananda, one of the Asst. General Secretaries of the Order addressed the gatherings and reminisced their association with the asharma. In all, about 35,000 people attended the programmes in 5 days.

First Organic Village of Jharkhand

With the dream to produce healthy food through sustainable means, Divyayan Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Morabadi, Ranchi, initiated rigorous initiatives in organic farming since 2006. And on the occasion of World Soil Day observation on 5 December 2018, it has achieved a significant milestone with the declaration of Dhurleta village in Ranchi dist. as the “First Organic Village of Jharkhand”. The farmers of the village were awarded with certificates from National Centre

of Organic Farming (NCOF), Ghaziabad. The village along with two neighbouring villages was selected in 2016 to be developed as a Fully Certified Organic Village with marketing linkage. Currently 91 farmers of these villages are growing organic crops on their 177 acres of land.

125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda ’s Historic Chicago Addresses

A three-day national tribal youths’ convention from 18 to 20 December with 2198 registered delegates and 1000 others was held at Narainpur ashrama. Pune ashrama organized on 11 December a mega musical play on the life and teachings of Swamiji at Nagpur, attended by 7000 people. From 23 to 26 December, Bengaluru Math, Basavanagudi held an art exhibit ion, which was inaugurated by Sri Vilas Nayak, an internationally renowned speed painting artist and visited by about 3000 people. A coffee-table book on the exhibits was also released. Jagruti Cultural Competitions for students of classes IV to X was conducted in four districts of Andhra Pradesh

by Vijayawada centre, in which about 40,000 students from 350 schools took part. Chennai Students’ Home, Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya, Mangaluru and Mysuru centres organised youth conventions, cultural competitions and discourses, in which 7554 students participated.

Colombo centre, Sri Lanka held a student’s meet in Batticaloa on 10 November, attended by 5000 students. The centre also conducted cultural competitions in Maskeliya town on 19 and 24 November in which 750 students from 35 schools took part.

Conclusion of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita

The year-long celebrations of Sister Nivedita’s 150th birth anniversary was formal ly conc luded wi th a three -d a y R e s i d e n t i a l Y o u t h camp on 29 – 31 December 2018 at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur Math. Attended by about 350 youths, the camp was inaugurated by Swami Suvirananda, the General Secretary of the Order, and Swami Balabhadrananda, one of Asst. Gen. Secretaries of the Order spoke in the Valedictory Session.

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Guests of Honour Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman,

Union Minister of Defence participated in the inaugural function of the Project “BETI” (Better Education and Training Initiatives) of Rotary Club of Madras East at Ramakrishna Mission Sarada Vidyalaya, Chennai on 29 November 2018. Sri K. J. Alphons, Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism visited Belur Math on 22 December. Sri Kummanam Rajasekharan, Governor of Mizoram and Padma Vibhushan Dr. E. Sreedharan spoke in the youth programme at Thrissur Math on 29 December.

News from Branch Centres Balaram Mandir, the branch

centre functioning in the house of Sri Balaram Basu, one of the chief lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and the historic birthplace of Ramakrishna Mission association on 1 May 1897, observed the 175th birth anniversary of Sri Balaram Basu on 21 December 2018. Swami Suvirananda spoke in the public meeting held on this occasion.

Srimat Swami Gautamananda Ji laid the foundation stone for the construction of Sadhu Niwas and Prayer Hall at Ramakrishna Math, Yelagiri 24 December 2018. Srimat Swami Shivamayananda Ji, one of the vice-presidents of the Order inaugurated the new Staff Quarters and Office-cum-Book Showroom at Gourhati and Lalgarh centres on 12 and 25 December respectively.

Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya held tournaments in adapted volleyball, cricket and football, from 6 to 8 December, attended by 361 differently-abled persons from Tamil Nadu.

A sub-centre of Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad, has been started adjacent to the newly opened branch of Ramakrishna Mission in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Telangana.

Education Services Srimat Swami Gautamanandaji

dedicated two high school buildings of Narainpur centre at Akabeda and Kundla villages of Abujhmarh on 8 December.

Healthcare Services Srimat Swami Smaranananda

Ji Maharaj, the President of the Order ded ica t ed the new d i spensa ry bu i l d ing at Kankurgachhi Math on 12 December. A new six-storey building at Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata for the nursing school and college and OT Complex was dedicated on 17 December. Lucknow Sevashrama launched on 17 November a free mid-day meal scheme for the attendants of indoor patients. The Sevashrama hosted a three-day Ayurveda fair from 24 to 26 November treating about 1000 patients and held a paediatric nephrology workshop with 30 paediatricians on 16 November. Narottam Nagar centre held a medical camp by six specialists on 9 December and treated 472 patients. Kankhal Sevashrama observed World Diabetes Day on 25 November with a procession, speeches, and

exhibition to create awareness about the disease.

Values Education and Youth Programmes

C e n t r e s a t T h r i s s u r , M a d u r a i , Medinipur, N a g p u r and Rajkot c o n d u c t e d 22 Personality d e v e l o p m e n t /youth programmes in December, attended by 5661 youths/students. Delhi ashrama conducted 25 values education workshops, attended by 1291 teachers and 43 principals in seven states between 28 November and 22 December.

Relief ServicesIn continuing the Gaja Cyclone

relief in four districts of Tamil Nadu, Kanchipuram and Madurai centres distributed about 9548 kgs of groceries, 1100 packets of biscuits, 2972 shirts/lungis/ saris etc., among 780 families and Chennai Math distributed 1000 tarpaulins on 8 and 16 December.

In response to a flood in Visuvamadu village in Sri Lanka, Colombo centre distributed 2635 kgs of rice, dal, noodles etc., and biscuits, malt powder, mats/bedsheets, and other necessities among 194 families on 29 and 30 December.

The Order has distributed 8908 blankets, 18036 sweaters, jackets, etc., 1700 shawls through 25 centres in India and 340 blankets through Baliati centre in Bangladesh.

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