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MAY 2006YUVA BHARATI

YUVA BHARATIVOICE OF YOUTH

Vol. 33 No.10A Vivekananda Kendra Publication

--Swami Vivekananda

Editorial Office:5, Singarachari Street

Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005

MANANEEYA EKNATHJI RANADE

Ph:(044) 28440042Emai l :vkchennai@vsnl .net

www.vkendra.org

Founder Editor

(Plus Rs. 30/- foroutstation Cheques)

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P. PARAMESWARANEditor:

Keep the motto before you –‘Elevation of themasses without injuring their religion.’

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INVOCATIONàawRnaDifferent are the paths laid down in theVedas, Sankhya, Yoga, and Saiva andVaisnava scriptures. Of these, somepeople take to one and some to another asthe best. Devotees follow these diversepaths, straight or crooked, according totheir different tendencies. Yet, O Lord,Thou alone art the ultimate goal of allmen, as is the ocean of all rivers.

- Sivamahimnah Stotra

Editorial

Address to the Nation

Whose Dream Was It?

The Scare of Epidemics

We Want Men With Capital ‘M’

Divine Trait

Shiva As Ecologist

Religion in India’s Army

Gita for the Youth

V.K.Samachar

The Ignited Team

The Nature of Inspiration

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P.Parameswaran

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Interview Part II

Maneka Gandhi

Guruji

Dr.K.Subrahmanyam

Nanditha Krishna

Lt.Col.N.C.Guha, Retd.

Ch. Satyanarayana Murthy

P.Sumitra

Swami Ramatirtha


EDITORIAL

Every culture is characterized by certainfundamental concepts which distinguishthat culture from others and which lend

it its identity and individuality. They can becompared to certain symbols that evoke a“cosmos of ideas”. They have a living anddynamic reality about them. They grow andevolve with time, adapt themselves to thechanging situations and thereby keep thecultural flow vibrant and uninterrupted. ‘Yajna’is one such fundamental concept, basic to theHindu culture. Satya, Rita,Tapas, etc. are someother concepts of that kind unique to HinduDharma. These are terms with a profoundsignificance, which cannot be conveyed throughtranslation into any other language. Right fromthe beginning of our history this term has beencontinuously in vogue. In course of time, itassumed added significance and acquired newshades of meaning, adapting itself to thechanging situations and thus enriching ourculture. There has been a regular growth andenhancement in its significance; even today itarouses the noblest of sentiments in thecollective psyche of the people of this country.The word Yajna brings to our mind the idea of‘a sacrificial fire’ around which people sit andoffer various oblations like ghee and othervaluable items while chanting Vedic Mantras.This is a symbolic aspect of Yajna, a symbolismthat conveys a profound Truth. The underlyingtruth is that everything in the world belongs toGod and must go back to Him. We are only

temporary custodians entitled to its limited use.With this understanding the Vedic Rishis taughtus to first make an offering to the Divine andthen enjoy whatever remains as ‘Prasad’. InVedic tradition, the Mantras used during theYajna expressly state that “This belongs to theDeity, it is not mine, I offer it to the deity”. Thepurpose of the symbolism is to make usunderstand that we are not the owners, God isthe only owner. So without laying any claim ofownership, we must utilize everything thatcomes in our way for the betterment of thesociety and not for our selfish ends. Yajna hasa still deeper mystic significance. The entirecreation is an act of Yajna by the Divine himself.Creation is the projection of the Divine in timeand space. The infinite divinity consents himselfto become finite through an enormous act ofsacrifice. The omniscient God puts on the cloakof ignorance in creation. Similarly God that isall bliss accepts the agonies of world existence,which is again a great sacrifice. Without theDivine voluntarily undergoing this colossalsacrifice there would have been no creation atall. And since we are a part of this creation, weowe a duty to offer Yajna to the Divine. Duringthe period of the Dharmashastras,‘Panchamahayajnas’ were prescribed for everyhouseholder. These are social obligations,which everyone was expected to discharge. Itis on the fulfilment of this that the harmonioussocial life could proceed without disturbanceor dislocation. The uninterrupted existence ofour society from time immemorial to this daywas largely dependent on the performance ofthese obligatory functions or Yajnas that oursociety adhered to. Of course, changingcircumstances demand changing responses.What might be relevant at one time becomeirrelevant at another point of time. But theattitude of Yajna is a value that never becomesirrelevant. It is an eternal value, in spite ofchanging social situations. The radicaltransformation that is overtaking humanityrequires a corresponding attitude of Yajna tobe adopted and implemented.

YAJNA

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MAY 2006YUVA BHARATIAccording to Bhagavat Gita, Yajna is theprinciple of existence. As Lord Krishna puts it:“The Prajapati created mankind along withYajna and told them ‘You prosper by Yajnawhich is your Kaamadhenu. By Yajna youpropitiate the Gods, and being thus propitiated,they will nourish you in return. And bynourishing each other, you attain the highestprosperity’.” What is of immense significancein the Gita is the slight shift in emphasis it givesto the term by providing a new perspectiveabout Yajna. In the Gita Lord Krishna says thatthere are innumerable types of Yajna like,“Evam Bahuvidhayajna”. Here in the place ofpouring oblations in to the sacrificial fire, LordKrishna suggests that actions like Tapas,teaching, learning, etc. are also to be sublimatedinto Yajnas. They have to be done with the samespirit underlying the Vedic Yajna. If we glancethrough various slokas dealing with Yajna inthe Bhagavat Gita, we will come to understandthat Yajna has to be understood in terms of threemain criteria: 1.An act performed without anyselfish motive is Yajna 2.An act done as anoffering to the Divine is Yajna 3.An act donewith a collective consciousness and aspirationis Yajna. Yajna should in fact combine all thesedimensions. So, Yajna according to the Gitameans selfless action collectively undertakenoffering the fruit thereof as an offering to theDivine. Bhagavan says that he himself is therecipient and the master of all the Yajnas. Whatmakes the difference between an ordinary actand a Yajna is not the act itself, but the motiveand the attitude behind it. According to LordKrishna even fighting the battle of Kurukshetra,however fierce and inhuman it may appear, isto be transformed into a sacred Yajna. For that,all that Arjuna has to do, is to give up the claimof doership and the hankering after the result

and fight considering himself an instrument inthe hands of the Divine. The teaching of theGita is that the performance of one’sSwadharma in this spirit makes it a Yajna.Swadharma may be anything from worship in ashrine to scavenging in the street. There is nohigh and low, no sacred and secular. Theattitude of Yajna makes everything sacredbecause it is an offering to the Divine. Theworkers of Vivekananda Kendra alwaysconsider Yajna as part of their daily life. It maybe more appropriate to say that for a Kendraworker life itself becomes Yajna. Whatever hedoes in any situation, anywhere as assigned bythe Kendra becomes his Swadharma.Performing it without any selfish elemententering into it, with total Shraddha anddedication irrespective of likes or dislikes,pleasure or pain, with full understanding that itis an offering to the Divine becomes an act ofYajna. There is another important considerationin this regard; it is the collective thinking, thecollective will and aspiration that makes the acttruly a Yajna. The individual ego has to be firstthrown into the sacrificial fire. The selfish egohas to be annihilated. For all the Kendraworkers, the object of their worship beforewhom the offering or the Yajna is done, is thesacred Motherland. As Swami Vivekananda hadput it, “Let this alone be the object of yourworship. Let all other vain Gods disappear”.With this sublime sentiment and with the mantra“ Rashtraya Swaha Idam Na Mama”,let everyKendra worker offer himself and all his actionsas Yajna at the altar of service to our BharatMata. When all the workers are fully imbuedwith this spirit, the entire organization willbecome a mightyYajna for national regenerationand world upliftment through pure spiritualpower.

--P.Parameswaran

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At Peda Amiram near Bhimavaram, Ihave visited an International CancerCentre with all modern facilities for

treatment of cancer patients. At Parumala inKerala, the International Centre for CardioThoracic and Vascular Diseases is providingspecialized treatment to heart patients in ruralareas. I also met 1000 physically challengedchildren wearing the light weight calipers atNalgonda in Andhra Pradesh and mostimportantly the first and the 10,000th childbenefited from the Defence Technology spin off.All these results indicate that the developmenthas started reaching certain parts of our ruralareas. What does it all symbolize? The 5000years old civilization is awakening to newtechnology and towards development. I can seethat developed India is on the rise.In order to strengthen this process, scientists,technologists and healthcare specialists have aspecial role to play.Mission for Scientists and Technologists: Forthe scientists and technologists of the nation, I

have five immediate national missions: (a).Increasing the Solar Photo Voltaic Cellefficiency from 14% to 45% using nanotechnology; (b). Research in proteomics toidentify the disease causing mechanism and todevelop new methods to treat diseases; (c).Earthquake forecasting using multipleparameter pre-cursors such as pre-shockconditions and electromagnetic phenomena,prior to the final rupture; (d). Building avalidated mathematical model for predicting thequantum of rain for a particular cloudconditions in a particular region in a prescribedtime using the new type of Polarimetric radarand; (e). Developing the products in the

healthcare, electronics and materials to meetthe national requirements using the convergenceof nano, bio and info technologies.Healthcare: Healthcare community should givehighest priority for treatment of HIV/AIDS andaccelerate the development of effective anti-vaccine for certain types of HIV before 2007,by networking with national and internationalinstitutions working in this area. They shouldintegrate research efforts of malaria, typhoid,and diarrhoeal disorders for facilitatingdevelopment of combination vaccine by 2007.Healthcare personnel, doctors, psychologists,researchers, pharmacologists, economists andenvironmentalists should all work together

Excerpts from the

ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, DR. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM

ON THE EVE OF 57TH REPUBLIC DAY - 2006

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coherently towards the mission of providinggood health to all citizens of India and makethe nation near disease free.Bharat Nirman Programme: TheGovernment has already launched the BharatNirman Programme with an outlay of Rs.1,74,000 Crore for providing ruralinfrastructure within the next four years. Thiswill facilitate the rural programme like PURAto progress faster in an integrated way.Awakening and ChangeThese actions from multiple agencies spreadacross the country gives me the confidence thatwe are well on our way on the path ofdevelopment and transforming India into adeveloped nation before 2020... Now I wouldlike to discuss the need for important changesrequired in our mind-set.Transparency starts from Home: ... A 10thclass student Bhavani, studying inAdichunchanagiri Composite High School,Shimoga, asked me the following question:Dear Sir, “What is the role of students to stopcorruption which is deeply rooted in ourcountry just like cancer?”The agony of the young mind is reflected inthis question. For me it was an importantquestion, since it comes from a young mind. Iwas thinking what type of solutions we couldgive.I said there are one billion people in the countryand nearly 200 million homes. In general mostof them are good people. However, if we findthat people in a few million houses are nottransparent and not amenable to the laws of thecountry, what can we do? These houses apartfrom parents have one daughter or one son orboth. If the parents in these houses are deviatingfrom the transparent path the children can usethe tool of love and affection and correct theparents to come back to the right path. I askedall the children assembled in that gathering, ifparents of a few children get deviated fromtransparency, will you children boldly tell yourparents, father or mother, you are not doing

the right thing. That is what we are taught byyou and in the school. Most of the childrenspontaneously responded, ‘we will do it.’ Theconfidence comes from them that they have loveas a tool. Similarly I have also asked the parentsin some other meeting, initially there was asilence, later, many of them hesitantly agreedthat they would abide by the children’ssuggestion since it is driven by love. Thechildren took an oath. The oath was: “I willlead an honest life free from all corruption andwill set an example for others to adopt atransparent way of life.” Finally I told thestudents that they should start a movementstarting from their home.Gift Extinguishes The Dignity of Human LifeIt was around 1940 and the Second World Warwas in progress. At that time Panchayat boardelections took place in Rameswaram. My fatherwas elected as Panchayat Board member andon the same day he was also elected as thePresident of Rameswaram Panchayat Board..He was elected only on the basis of his being agood human being. I would like to narrate oneincident that took place on the day he waselected as President of Panchayat board.I was a school boy at that time studying infourth class in Rameswaram Panchayat School.Those days we did not have electricity and weused to study in kerosene lamp. I was readingthe lessons loudly and I heard a knock on mydoor. We never used to lock the door inRameswaram in those years. Somebody openedthe door, came in and asked me where my fatherwas? I told him that father had gone for Namazfor evening prayers. Then he said, I havebrought something for him, can I keep it there.Then since my father had gone for Namaz, Ishouted for my mother to get her permissionto receive the items. Since she was also on theNamaz there was no response. I asked theperson to leave the items on the cot. After thatI went for my studies.I used to learn by reading aloud in my youngerdays. I was reading loud and fully concentratingon my studies. At that time my father landed

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and saw a tambalum kept on the cot. He askedme what is this? Who has given that? I told himsomebody came and has kept this for you. Heopened the cover of the tambalum and foundthere was a costly dhoti, angawastram, somefruits and some sweets and he could see theslip that the person had left behind. I was thelast son of my father, he really loved me and Ialso loved him a lot. This was the first time Isaw him very angry and also this was the firsttime I had a beating by him. I got frightenedand I was weeping. Then he touched myshoulder lovingly with affection and advised menot to receive any gift without his permission.It is not a good habit. Receiving gift with apurpose is a very dangerous thing in life. Hequoted a verse from Hadith which means: Giftsaccompany poisonous intentions. This lessonstands out prominently in my mind. Thisexperience taught me a valuable lesson for mylife.I would like to mention the writings in ManuSmriti which warns every individual againstaccepting gifts given with the motive since itplaces the acceptor under an obligation infavour of the person who gave the gift... I amsharing this, with all of you particularly theyoung ones, to emphasize that, not to be carriedaway by any gift with a motive through whichone loses his personality greatly. I will be veryhappy if you can practice this sincerely.Mother Gives Principle of TruthNow, I will narrate to you a story surroundingthe life of a great saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Gelani which happened about one thousandyears ago. One day child Abdul Qadir heard acow saying, “What are you doing here in thegrazing fields? It is not for this you have beencreated.” He ran back to his house feelingutterly terrified and climbed on to the roof ofhis house. From there he saw a large group ofpeople returning from Arafat Mountain,thousands of miles away from his place in theneighbourhood of Mecca after performing Haj.Bewildered Abdul Qadir went to his mother and

asked her permission to make a journey toBaghdad in order to pursue a career forknowledge. The mother understood the divinecall and promptly gave the permission for himto go. She gave him 40 gold coins which washis share he inherited from his father. Shestitched these 40 gold coins inside the lining ofhis coat and gave him permission to leave. Whenshe stepped out of the door to bid him farewell,she said, “Oh, my son! You are going! I havedetached myself from you for the sake of Allahknowing that I shall not see your face againuntil the day of last judgement. But take oneadvice from me. My son, you always feel thetruth, speak the truth and propagate the trutheven when your life is at stake.”Abdul Qadir travelled with a small caravanheading for Baghdad. During the journey, whenthe caravan was passing through the toughterrains, a group of robbers on horses suddenlyattacked the caravan and started looting. Noneof them however took the slightest notice ofAbdul Qadir, until one of the looters turned tohim and said. “You are here poor boy! Do youhave anything with you?” Abdul Qadir replied,“I have got 40 gold coins which are stitched bymy mother in the lining of my coat underneathmy armpit.” The looter smiled and thought thatAbdul Qadir was just joking. He left him aloneand moved elsewhere. When their leader cameand the looters took this boy to their leaderand said to him, “A poor boy claims that he isin possession of 40 gold coins. We lootedeverybody but we have not touched himbecause we hardly believed that he has got goldcoins with him.” Then the leader put the samequestion but Abdul Qadir replied the same.Then the leader ripped through his coat anddiscovered that he indeed had 40 gold coinsinside the lining of his coat.The astonished leader asked Abdul Qadir, whatprompted him to make this confession. AbdulQadir replied, “My mother made me promiseher to be always truthful even at the cost ofmy life. Here, it was a matter of only 40 gold

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coins. I promised her and never betrayed hertrust, so I told the truth.” The looters startedweeping and said, you have adhered to theadvice of your great mother but we have beenbetraying the trust of our parents and thecovenant of our Creator for many years. Fromnow onwards, you would become our leader inour repentance and they all decided to give uprobbery and from that day, became righteouspersons. Here the world saw the birth of a greatsaint, Shiek Abdul Qadir Al-Gilani out of amessage of truth a mother gave to her child. Atthis juncture, let me recall a Thirukkuralcomposed by Poet Saint Thiruvalluvar, 2200years ago.

This means that Truth in thinking and actionwill have a power higher than enduringTapas and generous Charity.Influence of Teacher: Mission of my lifeI have talked to you many times about myprimary school teacher Shri SivasubramanyaIyer. He was a great teacher and he imbibed inmany of his students a vision for future. Forexample, once he explained about bird flightand asked whether we understood or not.Seeing our response, he took us to the seashoreand showed the birds actually flying andexplained the flight mechanism. Above all, theway he explained it injected into me, whatshould be the goal of my life. He is an excellentrole model for all the teachers...Our 540 million youth, who are below 25 yearsof age, should see an imprint of great leaders.They can become their role models to bring adynamic change in politics and thedevelopmental missions. Here, I am remindedof the famous statement by SwamiVivekananda. “The basis of all systems socialor political rests upon the goodness of men.No nation is great or good because parliament

enacts this or that, but its men are great andgood.”The Story of the Lost SheepDear Friends, when I am talking to you, I amreminded of the Biblical story of the Lost Sheep,as said by the Jesus Christ. If anyone of youhas a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost,what will you do? Won’t you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go and look for the lostsheep until you find it, and when you find it,you will be so glad that you will put it on yourshoulder and carry it home. Then you will callin your friends and neighbours and say, let ushave a feast, I have found my lost sheep.As the Lost Sheep is most important for theShepherd, the message for every citizen of ourcountry from this story is that you may findaround you a house which is not lit. Please helpto light that house. Similarly, teachers in theclass room may find hundreds of bright studentsbut a few may need knowledge with kindness.All teachers must locate such students andimpart the knowledge...There are many such examples, which can becited. Dear Citizens, if all of us do this, Godwill be with us and I am sure the whole nationwill be happy, prosperous and safe. This is fullycorroborated by the advice given to MahatmaGandhi by his mother. Gandhiji says, “Mymother had given an advice ‘Son, in your entirelife time if you can save or better someone’slife, your birth as a human being and your lifeis a success. You have the blessing of theAlmighty God’.”ConclusionInfallibility is divinity. We are not divine. Weare fallible. To err is human. Divinity woulddemand that we realize this irrefutable truth andcorrect ourselves when we become fallible. Thespirit of life and thirst for success and rectitudeshould propel ourselves to correct our mistakeson our way instead of ruing over mistakes andslips that have been committed eveninadvertently. The need of the hour is

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disciplined action by all citizens. This will leadto the creation of enlightened citizens. Anycountry is as good as its citizens. Their ethos,their values and their character will be reflectedin the country’s make up. They are crucialfactors that will determine whether the countrywill move forward on a progressive path orstagnate. Hence, there is a need to cultivate asense of eternal values in each of its citizens,instill in him or her a sense of discipline. Theeducation system right from the primary levelhas to concentrate on this aspect. Forinculcating discipline among citizens, I visualizethe necessity for providing compulsory NCCtraining for a minimum period of 18 months toall our youth either during the senior secondarystage and or during graduation in all educationalinstitutions, both Government and private. Thiswill ensure disciplined politics, business,judiciary, bureaucracy, scientific pursuits andsports and games. All of us have to practicethe values of honesty, sincerity and tolerance

in our day-to-day living. This will elevate ourpolitics to statesmanship. We have tocollectively inculcate a positive attitude of whatwe can do for our country so that we togetherwill be able to benefit ourselves. We haveimmensely benefited from what our ancestorsdid and left for us. We have a right andresponsibility to leave a positive legacy to theposterity for which we all will be rememberedfor. The land, water and sky of this nation arethe witnesses.Our righteous toil is our guiding light,If we work hard, we all can prosper.Nurture great thoughts, rise up in actions,May righteous methods be our guide;May the nation prosper ever withAlmighty’s grace.Allow me again, my dear citizens, to wish youa very purposeful and happy Republic Day.May God bless you.Jai Hind.

THE SACRED CONFLAGRATIONDevotion to motherland of the intense,dynamic, uncompromising, and fierytype is the l i fe-breath of a f ree ,prosperous, and glorious nationalexistence on face of the earth. And we,the Hindus, are the inheritors of themost subl ime devot ion for themotherland. Let those ancient embersof devotion lying dormant in everyHindu heart be fanned and joined in asacred conf lagrat ion which shal lconsume all the past aggressions onour motherland and bring to life thedream of Bharat Mata reinstated in herpristine undivided form.

—Sri Guruji Golwalkar

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How was the co-operation from thegovernment of Tamilnadu during theconstruction of the Vivekananda RockMemorial?

When the permission was obtainedfrom the State Government for theconstruction of the Memorial, Shri

Bhaktavatsalam was the Chief Minister. Whenthe actual construction was in progress, ArignarAnna was the Chief Minister. Next cameKalaignar Karunanidhi as the Chief Minister.Initially though there were some setbacks inobtaining permission for the Memorialconstruction, the fact remains that fromBhaktavatsalam to Karunanidhi everyoneextended good cooperation.Kalaignar Karunanidhi presided over theinaugural function of the Memorial and sawthrough the programme. At the function ChiefMinister Karunanidhi delivered his first everaddress in English before a mammoth crowdof thousands. Then for about 20 minutes hespoke in beautiful, chaste Tamil. That was thetime when the Assembly was in session. Still,Karunanidhi graced the occasion with hisparticipation right through.During M.G.R.’s rule also, there was goodcooperation. It was Eknathji’s way of approachthat won him such camaraderie from all.What kind of service activities has VivekanandaKendra taken up?Right from the inception of VivekanandaKendra, it was the intention of Eknathji that

the service of the Kendra should be madeavailable in those regions where no otherorganization had ever ventured. He trainedyoung men and women and prepared them togo and work in such remote regions. Todaythere are more than 150 Life Workers in theKendra engaged in various service activities indifferent parts of the country.In accordance with Eknathji’s wish, theactivities of Vivekananda Kendra were firststarted in Arunachal Pradesh. The Kendracontinues to serve the tribals in that State. Thestate of affairs was such that the people thereremained cut off from the national mainstream.Therefore it was felt necessary to start theservice activities among the people there.Through the Kendra’s schools, the people thereare being served, in addition to instilling in themlove for the country — Deshabhakti. TheKendra is running 22 schools there. The pupilsstudying in those schools are taken to differentparts of India in order to familiarise them withour country, and enable them to know abouther wealth and glory. In short, the Kendra isnurturing in their minds the awareness that theyare also people of this country.Likewise, in the Andamans too the Kendra isgoing on with its services. Nine schools arebeing run there. Yoga training classes are partof the Kendra’s activities.On an average, 12 lakh people visit theVivekananda Rock Memorial in a year.Vivekananda Kendra facilitates their visit andcaters to their requirements. The Kendra alsobrings out many publications in variouslanguages, spreading the message of Swamiji.

Published and printed by N Viswanath on behalf of Vivekananda Kendra from 5, SingarachariStreet, Triplicane, Chennai-5. at M/s. RNR Printers and Publishers, 8, Thandavarayan Street,Triplicane, Chennai-5. Editor: P Parameswaran.

WHOSE DREAM WAS ITTHAT MATERIALISEED?

Part- II

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(Interview with R.N.Venkataramanjicontinued)


What personal qualities in Eknathji impressedyou most as unforgettable?All his qualities were astonishing and awe-inspiring. To mention one particular quality,under no circumstances would he let downanyone in his company. During my 18 yearsassociation with him, whenever he went to meetanyone in Chennai, he would invariably takeme with him. I can say with firm confidencethat I was with him, whomsoever he went tomeet, in Chennai. That experience wasrewarding to me in several dealings.

Once Eknathji hada meeting with theGovernor of TamilNadu, ShriK.K.Shah. I alsoaccompanied him.Shri Shah who hadbeen informallychatting withEknathji, expressedthat he would liketo talk to himsomething inperson. To this,Eknathji said,“Whatever youspeak to me in thepresence ofVenkataraman is as

good as speaking to me in private.”Then both of them freely exchanged their viewson several matters right in my presence. Thisincident is a typical example of the confidenceEknathji had in his colleagues. I recall anotherincident. The Late Shri V Mahalingam, whowas the Manager of Vijayabharatam (a Tamilmagazine), had been earlier the AdministrativeOfficer of Vivekananda Kendra inKanyakumari. I was in charge of the Kendra inChennai.Once in Kanyakumari there was a small meetingin which seven or eight members were there.The former Governor of Pondicherry, Shri

Cheddilal, was also one among them. After hisretirement he joined Vivekananda Kendra andhe was designated as Vice-President. Eknathjiwas the President.In that meeting Eknathji aired his views on aparticular project. Shri Mahalingam expressedhis view which was diametrically opposite toEknathji’s. There ensued a heated argument.Both Eknathji and Mahalingam stubbornlystood their grounds with no chance of let up.After the meeting was over, Shri Cheddilalreproachfully told Eknathji: “That Mahalingamshould be dismissedfrom serviceforthwith. How darehe opposes you sovehemently! Who gavehim such authority?”Eknathji was quick toreply. He said, “I onlygave him thatauthority. When itcomes to work,everyone has the fullfreedom to express hisviews freely andfrankly.” Eknathji whotold me about thisincident, added, “See,those coming fromoutside, cannot easilyunderstand ourmethod of working.”These two are most unforgettable incidents inmy life. They bear testimony to Eknathji’sgeniality and noble approach to men andmatters.What is the people’s participation in theconstruction of the Vivekananda RockMemorial?As I had mentioned earlier, the total cost ofconstruction of the Memorial touched Rupeesone crore and thirtyfive lakhs. Of this, Rupeeseighty lakhs were from the common people.One Rupee, Two Rupee and Five Rupee

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coupons were issued so as to enable as manycommoners as possible to contribute towardsthe cause, and in order that whenever they visitKanyakumari it will be a joyous recollectionfor them that their share of money has also goneinto the monumental work. The task ofmobilising such funds from the public was takenup by the Sangha Swayamsevaks. The Centraland the State Governments also donatedtowards the cause. Our army Jhawans have alsocontributed. Yet, the lion’s share of thecontribution came from the general public.Any other speciality about Eknathji?One can go on talking about his qualities.During his days of service in the Kendra, hehad written about 20,000 letters. Copies ofthose letters are available in the Chennai Kendraand in Kanyakumari Office. He has expressedhis views on several matters through thoseletters addressed to senior government officials,industrialists and co-workers.In those days when the Memorial constructionwas in progress, to me alone he would havewritten about 1000 letters. I was 34 years oldthen. When I joined the service I was 28.Vivekananda Kendra has recently brought outa book titled Kendra Unfolds. The bookcontains a selection 300 letters of Eknathji’s.Some of his letters addressed to me have alsofound place in the book. I can say that the

We quote below the subscription numbers, renewal of which is due.Readers are requested to take note of it and act at the earliest.

YB/12879,910,912,913,915,16406-408,411-18,456,59-65,68-80,82-87,91-94,96,97,99,500-504

(Ends with May ’06)

YUVA BHARATI Subscription Renewal - An AppealDear Subscribers /Readers,

golden period of my life was the period when Iworked with him. When Shri Venkataramanjiheaves with pride while saying that, our mindsget a glimpse of that Himalayan personalitycalled Eknathji whose name will continue to beuttered as long as the world remains.Yea! It is true that great achievers continue tolive even after they are gone in the worldlysense. Concluded

—Translated by K.P.Shivakumar

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Perhaps some Congressional committeemight look into the entire subject ofplausible conflicts of interest regarding

Secretary Rumsfeld. This is not the first time thatRumsfeld has been involved in pharmaceuticalscams. It was after all Rumsfeld, as chairman ofG.D. Searle, who pressured theFDA to get Aspartame approved.The FDA blocked its approvalfor ten years, stating it was toxic,before Rumsfeld twisted arms atthe FDA.Now that the Bush governmenthas bought all these vials, howmany people have beenvaccinated. None. According toPresident Bush’s nationalstrategy he is protecting theAmerican people by stockpilingvaccines in case there is anoutbreak! What does the AmericanCentre for Disease Control say?“A specific vaccine for humans thatis effective against avian influenza has not yet beenapproved. Based upon LIMITED data, theCenters for Disease Control have suggested thatthe anti-viral medication Oseltamavir (brandname-Tamiflu) MAY be effective in treating avianinfluenza.”What does Bush say on this replacement of theOsama bin Laden bogey?“If left unchallenged, this virus could become thefirst pandemic of the 21st century. We must notallow that to happen. It is essential we worktogether, and as we do so, we will fulfil a moralduty to protect our citizens, and heal the sick,and comfort the afflicted.” He announces theInternational Partnership on Avian and PandemicInfluenza during the UN General Assembly inSeptember 2005. and the first meeting of the

Partnership takes place October 6-7 inWashington, DC, hosted by the U.S. Departmentof State attended by officials from 88 countries,the World Health Organization, the Food andAgricultural Organization and the WorldOrganization for Animal Health.

The goals of theInternational Partnershipconceived by Bush are toElevate the avian influenzaissue on national agendas;Coordinate efforts amongdonor and affected nations;Mobilize and leverageresources; Build localcapacity to identify, containand respond to an influenzapandemic.

After Bush announces that he isgoing to give funds to any countrythat has any signs of Avian flu($251million to detect and containoutbreaks before they spread

around the world) and starts off by giving 25million dollars for prevent the spread of Avian Fluin “affected” South Asian countries and $ 13million for “technical assistance promising millionsmore, suddenly each country that has a low GDPdiscovers strains of Avian Flu. Not in poultrybecause then people will stop buying and eatingchicken, but in wild migratory birds!Everyone wants a piece of the money. TheSecretary-General of the World MeteorologicalOrganization (WMO), Mt Jerraud has suggestedthat his organization be given more money toexpand its studies to the correlation betweenclimate the spread of avian flu!Where is the Avian flu?Simple- 53 people have died of it. However theyhave not died of this virus as it cannot spread to

BIRD FLU?

THE SCARE OF EPIDEMICSWhat is the reality of the avian flu?

MANEKA GANDHI

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MAY 2006YUVA BHARATIhumans - which every scientist has admitted. Sowhat have they died of? Look at the poultries inthese and any country. The chickens areovercrowded, kept in filthy conditions and killedin the most filthy manner possible. They regularlysuffer from cholera and most all of them getsalmonella related bacterial diseases. The victimsare poultry workers - people who live amongstfilth and disease and work in the killing fields withtheir bare hands. How many people who work inthe poultries in any Asian country die of salmonellapoisoning . Thousands - including in India.Look at the words used by the media:“A bird flu virus may mutate to a human formthat becomes as deadly as the ones that killedmillions during three influenza pandemics of the20th century.” Bird flu could become epidemic -2/22/2005“Hundreds of thousands of people may die andone quarter of the work force could be absent ifBritain were hit by a bird flu pandemic...” Bird fluepidemic could kill as many as 750,000 - March 22“The European Union’s health commissionercalled on Europe to protect itself from a possibleepidemic of bird flu.” EU warned to protectagainst bird flu epidemic - May 27“The virus that killed hundreds of thousands ofbirds and dozens of people in recent years is aboutto mutate and cause a worldwide epidemic.”WHO warns of worldwide deadly flu epidemic -June 12, 2005“International experts fear that bird flu is mutatinginto a strain that will cause a worldwidepandemic.” Fears that new strain of bird flu willkill millions - 12 June 2005“A flu pandemic would be triggered if the lethalH5N1 strain mutated into a form that could jumpfrom human to human. “China to shut borders ifstruck by bird flu” - October 28“If, could, may, fear that bird flu is mutating, aboutto mutate, may mutate, could become epidemic”.Just “shock-n-awe” material to grab yourattention. Our neighbours have it, say the Indianpapers, regularly. Which neighbour? Duh... Whichis the one paper that has taken this the most

seriously? The one newspaper that sells every inchof its space - including the “news”. Mostnewspapers ignore this nonsense - occasionallyputting it in as a space filler. Why does India whichsells the largest amount of eggs in Asia and exportsthe largest number of chickens all of which arekept in the same conditions as anywhere in Asianot have it? Because we don’t have the money toimport the vaccines. Once they are locally madeby Ranbaxy, no doubt we will suddenly developAvian Flu as well ! It is to the credit of India thatwe have not fallen prey to this scamming as yet.Here is the actual truth.On October 28th the Chinese Ministry of Healthand Ministry of Agriculture reiterated that Chinahas experienced no human bird flu infection. Thetwo children that fell sick with on Oct. 17 withsymptoms of fever and cough of which one died(and this led to the killing of millions of birds)were later diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia.On January 24, 2005, newspapers in Vietnamreported that “three brothers in northern Vietnamwho MAY have contracted bird flu all drank rawduck blood at a family feast”. Raw duck bloodcould give any disease - try it.One human bird flu victim reported in Siberia.“We cannot say now if something out of theordinary has occurred. The reason behind theaccident could be bad water, feed poisoning,Newcastle disease or bird flu. More investigationis needed,” ~ The Moscow NewsEven WHO Director-General Dr. Jong Woo Lee,urging the world to prepare itself for the outbreak,betrays himself “The burning question is, will therebe a human influenza pandemic. I believe, onbehalf of WHO, that there will be. And right nowthe only one condition missing is the virus that israpidly transmitted from human to human,” saidDr. Lee.WHO warns of human flu pandemic. How manycases reported in Europe so far by WHO? Notone. The only thing that is mutating is thepropaganda line, and the resulting fear factorLet us presume that flu which has been inpandemic form for about several hundred years

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(how many times a year do you get it ? does therounds again. Big deal. Flu ( influenza ) is a viralinfection that has a relatively short lifespan andcauses problems for its victim in the form ofseveral minor effects (chills, high fever, aches andpains, headaches, sore throat, mucosal irritation).35,000 people get flu daily. Some die anyway ifthey have other complications. The great GlobalThreat is closer to what Spain’s AgricultureMinister describes it as - “science fiction”Scientists in America are increasingly airing theiropinions about this “vaccine”. A prominent radioshow, The Diane Rehm show, was entirely aboutthe “U.S. Strategy for Flu Pandemic.”Some excerpts: “This whole ‘bird flu’ issue is atotal fraud. These tests are not for the virus butfor the anti-bodies to the virus. This is a totallydifferent thing. If an animal or person hasantibodies to a virus it means that that animal orperson has successively fought off the virus atsome earlier time. If they are healthy they willstill show the antibodies in future tests. Thatcertainly does not mean they have the flu.If avian flu becomes more than a threatenedpandemic, it will have done so by political andeconomic design. This thesis is supported bycurrent massive media misrepresentations,profiteering on risky and valueless vaccines, grossneglect of data showing earlier similar man-madeplagues including SARS, West Nile Virus, AIDSand more; continuance of genetic studies breedingmore mutant flu viruses , inside trading scandalsinvolving pandemic savvy White House and drugindustry officials, curious immunity of thesepharmaceutical entities over the past century tolaw enforcement and mainstream media scrutiny.If Avian Flu is that serious and Tamiflu is theanswer, why is Tamiflu only being sold togovernments and not to the public? The answerlies here: About the time that President Bush wasbuying the “vaccine” he also announced that theUnited States must approve liability protectionfor the makers of lifesaving vaccines as Americanvaccine manufacturers had been hit with a floodof lawsuits.

So government not only buy the drugs but protectthe manufacturers when the drugs are found tobe useless ! Is there any other clue that this scamis mainly designed for pharmaceutical companiesat the taxpayers’ expense. . Bush and Rumsfeld,the people who led America into the Iraqdecimation based on those mythical “weapons ofmass destruction” have found another WMD asmythical - Avian flu. Bush outraged Americanson both sides of the political spectrum when heannounced his intention to have the U.S. militarytake over American cities hit by the avian flu! Bushhas said no one knows when or where a deadlystrain of flu will strike but “at some point we arelikely to face another pandemic.” Avian Flu hasbecome the new “terrorism” in place of Osamabin Laden and as usual bemused scientists and aneasily led media will carry on with the game tillthe next bogey.Why have research scientists in the Westernbiogenetic field welcomed this fiction of AvianFlu. The Microular Virology at CambridgeUniversity and the Roslin Institute in Scotland areinvolved in developing ‘transgenic chickens’which would have small pieces of genetic materialinserted into chicken eggs to allegedly make thechickens H5N1 resistant. This is what they say:“Once we have regulatory approval, we believeit will only take between four and five years tobreed enough chickens to replace the entire world(chicken) population. We will have the patentson these chickens and control their products.” Itis increasingly clear that the entire saga of AvianFlu is one whose dimensions are only slowlycoming to light.By the time you discover this fraud, taxpayerbillions will have gone Indictments being handeddown to Scooter Libby, the Chief of Staff of theVice President of the United States for lies andcover-up of information used deliberately tosuppress the fact the Bush Administration had no‘smoking gun’ to prove Saddam Hussein wasbuilding a nuclear arsenal. This new scandal is asoutrageously criminal.

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One more and the final notable exampleI shall tell you. Many of you must haveheard of Swami Rama Tirtha, a very

famous man, a very great man. He was asannyasin. Some may think that he might havetaken to that life for want of livelihood. No, not atall! He was a professor of Mathematics. Heresigned the job and then became a sadhu. In earlydays he was extremely poor. He was married, aswas the custom, in his early age. After theS.S.L.C. standard his father wanted him to taketo Government service and maintain the family.A conflict came. There was a quarrel between thefather and the son, not like that of the presentstudents who quarrel with their parents fornothing. The conflict with him (Swami RamaTirtha) was that of an ideology. He had decidedto prosecute education as far as possible. Hisfather was adamant — as in the case of many ofour fathers — and did not budge an inch. RamaTirtha was also equally adamant. Father toldhim “If you do not obey me, quit my house.” Swami Rama Tirtha did shashtanga namaskar tohis father and prepared to quit the house. Thefather said: “Look here. This is your wife. Take her away also.” At that time Rama Tirthawas only 15 years of age and that girl might havebeen 8 years of age. At once Rama Tirtha askedher to follow him. She also readily and faithfullyfollowed him. She in her early days must haveheard the story of Ramachandra and witnessedthe dramas of Ramayana and Mahabharata. In itshe must have seen how Sita and Draupadi hadfollowed their husbands. The wife is called the saha-dharmacharini. Now-a-days after going tocinemas, they learn something else! With thelittle cloth she wore, she followed her husband,Rama Tirtha. Then what next? He found a placeto lodge, i.e., a room 3 cubits in length and 1.5cubits in width! A nominal rent of 4 annas permonth was fixed. He asked his wife to stay there.He went out and found an educational institutionin which he could be a tutor and earn something. He had passed the S.S.L.C. examination in 1st

class. In those days very few people would get1st class. Even much later when I was studying,out of 33 students who appeared for theMatriculation examination only 7 passed. Withtuition money he joined college. One more thingwas there. In our Shastras it is said that a studentis a Brahmacharin. And he should not take foodprepared by any woman other than his mother orelse he should cook his own food. So RamaTirtha cooked the food for his wife and for himselfand taught her also. He joined college andultimately passed the B.A. examination. Whenhe entered M.A. he took Sanskrit. Until that timehe had not studied Sanskrit at all. But by dintof hard labour and strength of mind he passedM.A. in 1st class. All these years he did not allowhis wife to go to her father’s house. He told herthat people would talk to her as the wife of a manwho goes begging from door to door. The girlalso refused to go to her parents’ house when theparents came to take her. Such are toweringpersonalities! And when he gave up the worldlylife, he told her: “Look here, these two children Iam leaving in your care. Look after them. I amgoing.” “Oh yes,” she also said.Such people, with that spirit, that determination,can alone cut their way through all the difficulties.The attitude of a beggar we need not have.Secondly, the attitude of swollen-headedness mustalso be eradicated. We must be idealists andrealists too. Realists in the sense of understandingour own capabilities and limitations. We shouldhave a happy confluence of both idealism andrealism. Each one should examine himself andunderstand his capabilities. He should know whatshould be his standard of understanding, hisqualities, and above all his character. Charactershould be developed both individually and fromthe national point of view. What is that characterwhich is sound from both the national andindividual points of view? I don’t know whetherone in a thousand knows this.

WE WANT MEN WITH CAPITAL ‘M’Speech by Shri Guruji before students, Bangalore, Nov. 30, 1957

...

On the eve of Guruji’s birth centenary celebrations.22


God’s love is pure as the unadulteratedraindrop. The rays of the sun arecolourless. But the colourless light

acquires colours when reflected and refractedby a prism. The rain drop has no taste, no colourand no odour. But it acquires taste, colour andodour due to its contact with the earth. Similarlythe divine love of purity becomes lust, greed,anger, pride, conceit and possessiveness whenit passes through the prism of egoism in humanbeings. The more the ego is erased, the morethe innate love gets purified. The more the loveis purified, the more the person becomes divine.The difference between God and man is in thenature of love. God’s love is uncontaminated,unselfish, spontaneous and impartial. The loveof ordinary people is ego-centric, possessive,selfish, jealous, body-bound and calculative.The more the egoism is erased, the more thedivinity shines through the spontaneous flowof unselfish love. Love’s brightness is eitherconcealed or distorted by one’s egoism. All ourefforts are therefore to annihilate selfishness andbecome transparent so that the divine torch oflove shines, freely and fully, impartially andjustly showing the way to all. When the love ispure and spontaneously overflowing on all, fullyoffering solace and protection, it is calledcompassion. The love of God is not onlyabundant, but available to all, at all times. It isbut a law of love that it is always seen in serviceand worship, in self - surrender and self- denialwhen it moves from mankind to God. The samelove is also seen in the offer of solace andprotection, fearlessness and peace when it flowsfrom God to humanity. It is compassion andgrace when it is divine. It is devotion andservice when it is human.As and when this divine trait of kindness is onthe decline, people feel insecure and tension-ridden. Selfish people, then, rise to power and

torment the meek ones. There will be, then, nopeace or progress. Devils dance in merrimentat the cost of innocent folks. The only way leftto God is to manifest divinity and shower gracefor overall peacefulness and safety, fearlessnessand prosperity. In every age, God comes onearth to display the divine trait of love andcompassion. When Ravana is terrorizing themeek mankind, God arrives as Sri Rama to saveall from the clutches of fear.Sri Rama with all his vanara warriors hasreached the island of Ravana to release Sitafrom the prison-grove. All the preparations forthe righteous war against terrorism are almostover. Ravana, however, has not reduced histerrorist activities. Anybody disobedient to himis being subjected to humiliation and torture.Hanuman’s valiant expedition too does notseem to have any worthwhile impact on him.Ravana continues to be haughty and aggressive,lustful and conceited. The wise counsel of hisyounger brother Vibhishana falls on the deafears of defiance. At the height of his arrogance,he makes fun of Vibhishana’s advice and kickshim out. Rolling down the steps of Ravana’scourt hall, Vibhishana, undeterred, holds on tohis righteousness and devotion to Truth. Unableto set right Ravana of his follies and crimes,Vibhishana decides to turn his steps towardsSri Rama, the compassionate Lord ofrighteousness. Soon, he arrives in the

DIVINE TRAITDr. K.SUBRAHMANYAM

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MAY 2006YUVA BHARATIimprovised cantonment of Sri Rama’s soldiers.Arrested by the Vanaras, he is produced beforeSugreeva, their chief. Vibhishana’s surrenderis suspected by almost everyone includingSugreeva. The purpose of his visit is dulycommunicated to Sri Rama. As an idealadministrator, Sri Rama convenes a meeting ofall his well wishers and seeks their opinionabout Vibhishana’s self-surrender. Nobody,except Hanuman, is in favour of offeringprotection to the foe’s brother. It is almost theopinion of everybody that Vibhishana hasarrived at an inappropriate time at aninappropriate place, for an inappropriatepurpose. Therefore it is not appropriate toadmit him into the fold of Sri Rama. Hanuman,then, is asked to express hisviews. And Hanuman speakswith all sincerity what is in themind of Sri Rama. He says,“Whoever seeks protection isto be offered fearlessness first.That is the noble quality of adivine person. It is only whenwe are in distress anddifficulties that we seek solaceand protection. If not at theabode of pure love, where elsecan anyone expect genuineaffection? How else can oneexpress one’s devotion, if notby total self-surrender? Vibhishana, therefore,is right and righteous in every respect. Hedeserves to be protected”. And Sri Rama isimmensely pleased with Hanuman’s decisivedisplay of whole-hearted devotion. Only a truedevotee understands the deity’s feelings fully.Sri Rama declares: “It is in tune with the lawof true love that Hanuman has spoken. I havea principle in my life and that is to offerfearlessness to all. Abhayam dadami sarvabhuteshu. Ye tat vratam mama”. And thensomeone in the council gathering somecourage, gently asked “Sir, then will you offerprotection to Ravana as well, if he seeks it?”Sri Rama emphatically proclaims without anyhesitation: “Yes, if he submits and surrenders.”

And that is a divine trait. Only people ofnobility and affection can declare and do so.Sri Rama is God on account of his love whichis unselfish, pure and spontaneous showeringon all always and in full.Vibhishana is clear and decisive about his courseof action. Therefore he leaves Lanka andchooses to fight against his own brother withthe blessings of Sri Rama. Although Arjunahas always been under the protection of SriKrishna, he has not been able to be clear abouthis course of action: to fight or not to fightagainst his cousins, teachers, elders andrelatives. He is in a dilemma unable to decidewhat dharma is and what adharma is. Is it nota crime to kill someone? How can a heart of

kindness turn cruel enoughto kill somebody? Is it notinhuman to be unkind?Question after question,many a question springs upin Arjuna’s mind disturbinghis poise. And he thereforesubmits himself to the lovingwill of Sri Krishna for a wayout. Almost every person atone point or another faces asimilar situation.Vibhishana’s state of mind isstable and clear. He is

decisive and knows what is to be done. Arjunais in a confused state of mind. He is unable todecide what is to be done. Even when we areon the right path, we need God’s grace. Andthat is why Vibhishna goes to Sri Rama. Arjunahas sought Sri Krishna’s guidance to choosethe path itself. The compassionate lord hasdecisively said “Be thou an instrument in myhands. Be thou thus a yogi. Perform everyaction as an offering to me. And receive everyreaction as but a blessing of mine. Andremember I shall look after you and the welfareof all. It is more so, when the devotees worshipme without any distraction. No action isabsolutely good or absolutely bad. And at everymoment everybody is engaged in some action

25

MAY 2006YUVA BHARATIor another. No action is without reaction. Thebest way to be poised and to be tranquil is toperform all actions as an offering to the lordand receive the reactions or fruits as but theblessings of the same Lord. Be thou a devotee”.If Sri Rama’s principle is to offer fearlessness,it is Sri Krishna’s vow to look after our welfare;“Yoga kshemam vahamyaham”. And we areonly to submit ourselves to them for theperfection and progress, peace and prosperity.Narendranath is unlike both Vibhishna andArjuna. He is unable to decide before whomhe should express his confused state of mindand quest for God. Vibhishna is aware of SriRama’s abilities; Arjuna knows about SriKrishna’s divinity. But Narendranath does notknow whether Sri Ramakrishna is capable ofoffering proper guidance. In his search for adivine person, he has met the great master SriRamakrishna and has sought to be sure of hisbonafides. Therefore, in clear terms hequestions him about his (the master’s) proximityto divinity. Sri Ramakrishna categorically

declares that he is very much divine, since hehas seen God, experienced God.Sri Ramakrishna not only offers protection anddirection but proclaims his divine traits. Both,Sri Rama’s offer of fearlessness, and SriKrishna’s promise of welfare are available inSri Ramakrishna. In addition, he draws thedevotees by a proclamation of his divinity. Noless an intellectual and sceptical person thanNarendranath is drawn towards SriRamakrishna’s divinity. Neither Vibhishana norArjuna is doubtful of the divine traits of SriRama and Sri Krishna respectively. But Narenis very much in doubt about the master’sdivinity. Sri Ramakrishna dispels all doubtsabout his divinity, offers fearlessness to everydevotee and looks after the welfare of all hisvotaries in addition to guiding them all onrighteous lines.Whoever gives his or her power of attorney toSri Ramakrishna is sure to be saved, lookedafter, guided, and led to Self-realization.

Shibir Calendar for 2006

Names period Age group Camp DonationYoga Shiksha Shibir (English & Hindi) 1 - 15 May 20-25 years Rs.1000/-Spiritual Retreat (English & Hindi) 5 - 11 October 40-70 years Rs.700/-Yoga Shiksha Shibir (English & Hindi) 1 - 15 December 20-55 yrs Rs.1000/-

“Then only will India awake, when hundreds of large-heartedmen and women, giving up all desire of enjoying the luxuries

of life, will long and exert themselves to their utmost, for the well-being of the millions of their countrymen”.

Are you among those whom Swamiji had in mind? Come, dedicate yourself forthe service of the nation as a fulltime worker of Vivekananda Kendra,Kanyakumari - a spiritually oriented service mission.It is not a career - but a mission. Your Yogakshema would be taken care of by theKendra.

Send e-mail for details at:[email protected] OR

Contact at the following address with full biodata and a postal order of Rs. 10/-General Secretary, Vivekananda Kendra, Vivekanandapuram,

Kanyakumari - 629702For detailed information, visit us at www.vivekanandakendrakanyakumari.org

Do you hear Swami Vivekananda saying:

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Rudra-Shiva is the ultimate symbol of theenvironment. He combines in himselfthe forces of nature and the five

elements or panchabhutas that represent theIndian commitment to conserving nature: air,water, earth, fire and space. During the monthof Shivaratri, when the devout fast and stayawake, meditating on Shiva as the giver of life,is meditating on creation itself. The worship ofShiva was an important method of veneratingthe environment.Many natural forces are imprisoned in Shiva’sperson: his flowing tresses represent the foreststhemselves, trapping within them the mightyriver Ganga, the source of perennial water andlife. His vibhuti or sacred ash is the symbol offertility, a gift of the earth. He is invariablypainted or sculpted beneath one or several trees,generally the bilva. He is accompanied by Nandithe bull and, often, different wildlife, for he isPashupati, lord of animals.Shiva is also Bhupati, Bhuteshvara orBhutanatha, lord of the earth. Bhu means earthand the suffix ta means give in Tamil, so bhutameans “given by” or “formed” or “created”from the earth. Bhuta is the spirit of the earthwho is worshipped in rural India. Thebhutagavana of Udupi in Karnataka andtheyyam of Kerala are bhuta rituals thatcontinue to be popular.As the ascetic rishi meditating on a hill, themountains become the sacred home of Shiva.The Himalayas, even visually, look like theabode of the gods’. Several Shiva temples arefound on hills. From Kailasa in the Himalayasto Tiruvannamalai in the south, the country isstrewn with hill and mountain homes of Shiva.

By sanctifying them, important watershedswere conserved, preserving forests andproviding water for existence. So sacred arethe hills that no tree on them could be cut.However, this ban is hardly observed anylonger, and Tiruvannamalai is a classic case ofdeforestation, as are the Himalayan foothills,that were once rich with forests and wildlife.Shiva holds Agni or fire on the palm of his hand.It symbolizes the energy released duringcreation. The drum represents the sound Om,the origin of creation. The trishula or tridentin his hand represents the feminine half ofcreation. There is no aspect of this deity thatdoes not invoke nature.The five elements or panchabhootas—earth,air, water, fire and space—are represented bythe five Shivalingas, which are famous templesand pilgrimage centres. Earth is represented bythe prithvi linga made of mud at theEkamreshwara temple in Kanchipuram, TamilNadu. Due to its fragile composition, the ritualwashing (abhisheka) is done with the oil on the

The Hindu religion celebrates nature. Shivais a shining example. Unfortunately, manytraditions are forgotten today. The loser isthe environment, as well as humanity.

SHIVA AS ECOLOGISTNANDITHA KRISHNA

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MAY 2006YUVA BHARATIchampaka flower, not water on milk orsandalwood. The linga at Sri Kalahasti, nearTirupati in Andhra Pradesh, houses the vayulinga. The oil lamps flicker away in the wind,so pooja is offered to the utsavamurti (festivalidol in bronze) alone. At Tiruvanaikaval(Jambukeshwara) near Trichy in Tamil Nadu,the lingalinga stands inside a small shrinebeneath ground level, submerged under aperennial underground spring. This is the lingaof water.The fourth linga—offire—is situated on top ofTiruvannamalai hill. Shivaappears as the jyoti orlight on Kartika Poornimaday, when 1,00,000 lampsare lit on the hill. For therest, the hill i tself isregarded as Shiva’s linga,making it a sacred naturalfeature. The fifth linga isthe akasha linga of Chidambaram. Space isrepresented as the vast emptiness in whichShiva danced his ananda tandava of creation.There is nothing to be seen in the small shrine.While the lingas within are mentioned in earlyTamil literature, dating back 2,000 years, thepresent temples are magnificent structures thatwere rebuilt in the Chola. Vijayanagara andNayaka periods, and are important centres ofpilgrimage. However, one wonders how manyknow the unique symbolism of the temples.There are twelve jyotirlingas dedicated to Shivawhich celebrate various aspects of nature.Kedarnath (Garhwal, UP) has a natural linga,an irregular-shaped rock, in a templesurrounded by the five sacred peaks of RudraHimalaya. Vishwanath at Kashi is washed bythe sacred river Ganga. At Nageswar nearDwaraka, the snake is celebrated as a protector.Mahakala at Ujjain represents the unrelentingmarch of time, the Destroyer. Omkareswar issituated on an island in the river Narmada. Thetemple of Somnath in Saurashtra is a dyke alongthe Arabian sea. The linga of Tryambakeshwar

in Nasik has a crack from which there is acontinuous drip of water, the occasional flashesof fire and sound. Ghrishmeshwar inAurangabad is the Lord of the torrid summer.Bhimashankar in the Sahyadri hills is rituallywashed by an exquisite lotus pond. Vaidyanathain Parli, Maharashtra, was once surrounded byforests of medicinal plants. Mallikarjuna atSrisailam in Andhra Pradesh was situated in agarden of white jasmine plants. The twelfthjyotirlinga at Rameshwaram is sacred for the

22 fresh water springs situatedwithin the sea.Other temples of Shiva areequally representative of nature.The linga at Amarnath is made ofice, and waxes and wanes with themoon. The ancient Mauryan-Sunga temple at Gudimallam nearTirupati contains a linga with anemerging Shiva carved in relief.The God stands on a yaksha, a

spirit of nature, surrounded by a stone fence.Most importantly, the statue once stood beneatha tree, out in the open, as did most ancientfigurines.The forms of Shiva are also eco-friendly.Dakshinamurti is the teacher seated beneath thepipal tree. Bhairava is always followed by hiscompanion the dog. Bhikshatanar is the freespirit l iving in the wild open spaces.Lingodbhava comes out of the linga of fire.Ardhanarishvara combines the male and femalein a single figure, like the simplest formscreation where male and female are not distinct.Shiva is also the doctor, Vaidyanatha,symbolized by the sacred bilva tree which hasmultitudinous medicinal properties.The Hindu religion, like all ancient religions,celebrated nature and used religion as a meansof protecting the environment. Unfortunately,many of these symbols are forgotten today. Wehave discarded old traditions without replacingthem with anything equally good or better. Theloser is the environment, as well as humanity.-- First published in The New Indian Express.

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It is well known that our troops mostly comefrom rural backgrounds and are religiousby nature. Even India’s troops from urban

backgrounds and educated families have deep-rooted faith in their religions. As a result,religion forms an important part of a soldier’slife. His faith inclines him to uphold his religiousideology, including his moral and ethical duties.Daily practice of his faith makes him a betterhuman being. It helps in promoting self-discipline, reduces the stress factor of a soldierand overcomes thefeeling of loneliness.Besides, religion is alsoconsidered as the singlemost important battle-winning factor. As withother modern armies,the Indian army hasstriven to meet thereligious needs of allsoldiers of all faiths ina harmonious spirit.In2002, there were980,000 active troopsand 800,000 reservistsin our army.The routine religiousactivities of a unittemple—that is, atemple attached to anarmy unit—is just the same as we find in civilianlife. Hindu soldiers celebrate Mangala Arati,Nitya Puja, Sandhya Aratrikam, etc. Havans(fire worship), special pujas and other servicesare performed according to the soldier’s faithon holidays such as Dussehra, Deepavali,Janmashtami, Holi, Guruparab (Birthday ofGuru Nanak), Christmas Eve, etc. For troopsbelonging to the Christian community, Churchservices are held on Sundays and holidays.

Similarly, kirtan or bhajanas (devotional songs)are conducted on a regular basis in the templefor the Hindus as are Sabadh Kirtan andGurbani in the Gurudwara of the Sikh regiment.It may come as a surprise that in Mathura andother cantonments of the pre-partition days,masjids (mosques) constructed for the troopsof Muslim units of the undivided British IndianArmy still continue to be maintained, often bythe Hindu or non-Muslim troops [Muslimscomprise just two percent of the Indian army].

Id and other majorMuslim celebrations areheld regularly in thesemosques under thesupervision of a maulvi(Muslim priest). As aresult, an atmosphere ofperfect religiousharmony and espirit decorps have existed inIndia’s Armed Forcessince the beginning.The army includesreligious teachers whoare qualified priests inuniform with badges ofrank in war, butpermitted to put oncivilian wear like anyother civilian priest in

normal circumstances. Their duties includereligious discourses and lectures on values tothe troops. Traditionally, these religiousteachers come from brahmin families or priestlycastes. They are adept in ritualistic worship. Itis customary in most army units for a religiousteacher to read out the horoscope of the uniton the Raising Day of the unit (anniversary ofthe unit’s founding), to which the troops listenwith rapt attention as it gives them an indication

RELIGION IN INDIA’S ARMYLT. COL., RETD., N. C. GUHA, DELHI

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of the unit’s likely performance during the restof the year. Tying of the sacred thread on thewrists and applying vermilion tilak on theforehead of the soldiers by the religious teachergives them a sense of purity and happiness. Italso inculcates a sense of belonging to the unit.Attendance or roll call is taken of the soldiersfor the Mandir (temple) parade every Sundayand at important religious functions. This is howspiritual discipline is instilled in the soldiers. Ina noncombat location, even the women and thechildren of our soldiers attend these functions.As the children of the soldiers grow up in sucha close-knit family environment, many of themlater join the Armed Forces. Even in the remoteand high altitude mountainous terrain in theoperational combat areas, a religious teachervisits the troops regularly, which enhances themorale of the troops greatly. In any case, areligious institution is also the place whereexhausted, broken and desperate souls takerefuge to recover their lost strength. Post-Korean War psychological research has shownthat strong religious faith builds up mentalresistance to brainwashing. Therefore, areligious institution such as a temple,gurudwara or church is authorised to every unitof our Armed Forces and preserved andmaintained as such.In this connection, the inspiring words ofSwami Vivekananda uttered a century ago aremost appropriate and still hold good: “Yourforefathers underwent everything boldly, evendeath itself, but preserved their religion. Templeafter temple was broken down by the foreignconquerors, but no sooner had the wave passedthan the spire of the temple rose up again. Someof these old temples of Southern India and thoselike Somnath of Gujarat will teach you volumesof wisdom, will give you a keener insight intothe history of the race than any amount ofbooks. Mark how these temples bear the marksof a hundred attacks and a hundredregenerations, continually destroyed andcontinually springing up out of the ruins,rejuvenated and strong as ever! That is the

national mind, that is the national life-current.Follow it, and it leads to glory.”Hindu Observances: Some of the older andmost famed Army regiments remain caste,religion or region based, with the religiousobservances of the regiment following itstradition. For example, the icon of Lord Vishnu,popularly known as Badri Vishal, installed atBadrinath in Garhwal, Uttar Pradesh, by AdiShankaracharya, is the presiding deity of theGarhwal Rifles, an Infantry regiment of theIndian Army drawn from this area. Badri Vishalis worshipped in all the Battalions of theGarhwal Rifles. For the Garhwal Riflespersonnel, Badrinath is of supreme significance.The name of Lord Badri even embellishes theGarhwal Rifles’ war cry and is their ultimatemotivating force.The typical person from Garhwal is animatedwith intense religious fervor. As perMarkandeya Purana, Goddess Durga is thepowerful Deity who killed the demon kingMahishasura in a fierce battle and restoredpeace and tranquillity in heaven. The GoddessDurga is represented as a golden-colored Deitywith ten hands having a gentle countenance,but according to other accounts the Goddessis having eight hands. Being the embodimentof Shakti (strength), troops get a lot ofhappiness and derive inner strength byworshipping Her image. In all the battalions ofthe Garhwal Rifles, Goddess Durga with eighthands is worshipped. Within the Garhwal Rifles,Vijay Dashami or Dussehra in the month ofSeptember/October is the religious event of theyear.Garhwal Rifles units fully observe the festivalfor ten days, beginning with the ghatasthapanaceremony at the unit temple in which nine grainsare set in a pot to germinate during thefollowing days. On the ninth day is shastrapuja,during which all the weapons of the unit armoryare decorated with flowers and displayed in asquare fashion in the center of the paradeground or an open space. Similar ritualistic

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celebrations with minor changes are performedduring the Dussehra and Durga Puja days in allthe battalions of Gorkha Regiments, KumaonRegiment and other army units.Another vital aspect which needs deliberationis the performance of various religious rites asdescribed in our Holy Scriptures. These ritesusually take the form of worshipping of arms,equipments, vehicles and musical instruments.Religious rites are also performed beforeundertaking expeditions or going into the battle.It is equally important that mortal remains areproperly laid to rest by organizing befittingfunerals in the highest traditions of the army.In fact, this is the least that any army or a nationcan do to pay their last respect to a martyr.Battle Cries: The battle cries of the variousregiments in the Army can be traced to deep-rooted faith of the troops in their presidingDeity or in their pride of belonging to theircommunity. It is from a soldier ’s strongconviction in his religious faith or classcomposition that he gets the last ounce of hisinner strength in battle. The deafening battlecries by the troops is the last act of final assaulton the enemy with fixed bayonets. It is a do-or-die situation. While the battle cry revitalizesthe inner strength and spirit of our own troops,it is also intended to totally demoralize theenemy and shatter his hopes of surviving.For example, the battle cry of the GarhwalRifles is “Badri Vishal lal ki ji, “ “Victory tothe Great Lord Badrinath.” That of the Gorkharegiments is “Ayo Gorkhali, “ “Here come theGorkhas.” The Sikh cry is “Bole so Nihal, SatSri Akal, “ “He who cries ‘God is Truth,’ isever victorious.” The Jat regiment, whooriginate from Rajasthan, shout, “Jat balwan,Jai Bhagwan, “ “The Jat (clan) is powerful,victory be to God.” And the Dogra Regiment,raised from Jammu/Kashmir, cry, Jawala Mataki jai, “ “Victory to Goddess Jawala “—apopular form of Shakti in their area.Religious Harmony: It is said that if onereligion is true, then all the other religions also

must be true. As such, every man should followhis own religion. A Christian should followChristianity, a Muslim should follow Islam, andso on. Therefore, the true meaning of religiousharmony is to allow every one the equal libertyto stand by his own religious faith and belief. Atruly religious man should think that otherreligions, too, have so many paths leading tothe Truth and maintain an attitude of respectand tolerance towards them. In fact, the spiritof religious tolerance in Hinduism is rooted inthe Rig Veda statement, “Ekam sad viprahbahudha vadanti, “ “One alone exists. Sages callthat by different names.” The idea that God canbe realized through different spiritual paths hasbeen taught through the ages by many saints.But Sri Ramakrishna, the great Indian teacherof the 19th century, is regarded as the prophetof religious harmony all over the world. It isthrough the fine cord of religious harmony thatwe come closer to each other and project aunited front as a nation. Like all the centers ofthe Ramakrishna Order where importantreligious ceremonies of other religious faithssuch as Guruparab (the birthday celebrationsof Guru Nanak), Christmas Eve and New YearDay, etc., are celebrated in the true spirit ofuniversality, such events are also held in theArmed Forces for promoting integrity andreligious harmony amongst the troopsbelonging to various compositions.Religious Integration: It may be noted thatthe organization and composition of the Indianarmy is highly secular and apolitical. Allreligious practices are observed without anydiscrimination. After Partition, the Indian Armyunits, i.e., Battalion/Regiment (a compositefighting unit), inherited from the British IndianArmy was based on caste and religion.However, during the pre-Partition days it wassufficient to have one religious teacher of theclass composition in the unit. The religiouspractices were also restricted to that religion.After Independence, in keeping with thenational policy, the class composition hasundergone changes. While no changes have

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been made in the basic fighting regiments, theunits of Technical and Supporting Arms andothers of the Armed Services have beenremodelled on a mixed-class basis. In order tomaintain the religious sentiments of the troops,facilities have been provided to the religiousinstitutions of all such units under the guidanceof a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian priest.Troops of all religions are allowed leave ofabsence to practice their religions. Where thenumber exceeds more than a hundred of aparticular faith, a religious teacher is provided.Discourses are held followed by communitymeals. Inside the cantonment area, thesefacilities are centralized as the Station ReligiousInstitution and the functions are also managedas Military Station Functions.In the Regimental and Training Centres, wherebasic training is imparted to the troops, thesefacilities are also centralized. It is compulsoryfor the recruits to attend. These occasions areused to inculcate in the young soldiers thefeelings of religious integration, harmony andtolerance.Training of the religious teacher is done in theRegimental and Training Centres. Althoughenrollment of religious teachers is made fromthe same background as the Regiment,grooming is done at the Centre so they fit in amulti-religious organization. Teaching includesall religious observances from birth to death.Teachings from the religious books areinterpreted to inculcate moral values, socialvalues and cultural values. The teachings arepracticed and the required knowledge isascertained through examinations. Customs andunwritten traditions of a religion are passedalong as teachings. Also, trained religiousteachers from the units are sent periodically forfurther education, freshening of knowledge and

integration with other religions at the Instituteof National Integration.As a nation is composed of different states,religions, culture, caste and creed, so is the casewith the Armed Forces. It is a nation withinIndia. Religious integration is made aninstrument to inculcate the feeling of nationalintegration. During their service tenure, thetroops, though having varied religiousbackground, live together, fight together andeat together—sometimes even from the sameplate. An Indian soldier is fully trained to takehis rightful place as a citizen in the countrywithout any bias towards any religion. He shunsreligious groups preaching religious dichotomyas he understands the true value of an individualand his religion.Conclusion: It is observed that most of us tendto overlook the broader aspects of a religionand generally look at it from a narrow anglelike a selfish man. We must not forget that astrue Indians and responsible citizens we shouldtreat all persons in the society alike irrespectiveof caste, creed or religion. Like a militarycommander or a true leader, we should leadfrom the front and take the masses along, orelse, the country is bound to disintegrate.Therefore, we in the Armed Forces can ill affordto lose sight of this vital aspect and must alwayskeep a close watch for any secessionist elementsor divisive forces that may have crept in withinthe forces. Even though we in India pursuemultiple religious faiths and at times fight witheach other on petty issues, yet in times ofnational crisis or in the event of any foreignaggression, the people of our country havealways displayed great solidarity and stood bythe Armed Forces like a totally galvanizednation in the true spirit of national integration.

Courtesy : The Vedanta Kesari, October, 2004.

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Be patriots, love the race which has done such great thingsfor us in the past. - Swami Vivekananda


Desires run riot in the human mind. Manstrives hard to satisfy these desires andattain happiness. His notion is that

happiness will be his if he is able to obtain theobject he desires. But happiness eludes him aslong as he runs after the objects he desires. Ifby chance, he secures the object he desires, hewill have a semblance of happiness for amoment as the mind which has been all the whileon the object, returns to the original state orplace which is Atman. The next moment thefickle mind rushes to some other object and thepoor man begins his chase again. This processis endless as desires grow without any limit orstop. The ever-growing desires distract themind from its original Brahmi state and makethe man indulge in wild-goose chase.A dog runs with a dry bone and bites itmistaking it for some edible. As a result of hard-biting blood oozes from the teeth of the dog.The dog imagines that blood comes from thedry bone and licks its own blood with relish.Similarly man on attaining the object of hisearthly desire feels sham happiness for a briefmoment. This happiness does not lie in theobject attained. It is in the return of the mindfrom the object to Atman for a moment beforeit again runs to some other object. All happinessinheres in Atman and man mistakenly imaginesthat it lies in the objects desired by the mind orsenses. “So if you want to make man happy,add not to his possessions, but take away fromhis desires”.

GITA FOR THE YOUTHDESIRES VERSUS DISCIPLINE

CH.SATYANARAYANA MURTHY

Suppose a person wants to put a sacred markon the forehead of his image in the mirror infront of him. If he tries to put the mark on themirror he will never succeed in his mission. Thecorrect thing he has to do is to put the sacredmark on his forehead himself. Then heautomatically sees the mark on the forehead ofthe image. Similarly if a person wants to havereal happiness, he has to put his mind on hisAtman or God but not on the visible objects ofdesire.A striver who wishes to attain ‘Moksha’(Salvation) ought to discipline his mind. Heshould not give reins to his ever-increasingdesires and inflamed passions. Without curbingthe mind and without exercising spiritualdiscipline, salvation will be a cry in wilderness.When Hiranyakasipu boasts of his valour andconquest, his five-year old boy, Prahlada pointsout to him his folly in not conquering his internalenemies. If man conquers his internal enemies,lust (Kama) anger (Krodha) convetousness(Lobha) infatuation (Moha) pride (Madh) envy(Mathsarya) he will have no enemy to conquer.Conquest worth the name is the conquest ofthe internal enemies. Man’s disquietude,unhappiness and worry are traceable to thehavoc done by these internal enemies. The socalled enemies cease to be enemies when oncea person subdues his internal enemies . How aperson feels restless, miserable and unhinged,with the internal enemies gaining upper hand iswell-pictured in the thirtyseventh sloka of thethird chapter of the Gita.In reply to Arjuna’s query why a man commitssin in spite of himself, Lord Krishna says thus.Lust (Kama) and anger (Krodha) born of ‘Rajas’impel a man to commit sin. Hence lust (Kama)is the greatest enemy of man and it drags himdown. When a man strongly desires a particularthing and when that desire is thwarted, he gives

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into anger. Wings and no eyes figure the blindrashness of wrath. In this blindness mancommits sin after sin the root cause of all thismoral crisis is lust and wrath. Hence man hasto cultivate spiritual discipline in order to keepthe six enemies, lust, wrath, covetousness,infatuation, pride andenvy at bay. According toSri RamakrishnaParamahamsa, just as apatch of cloud concealsthe blazing sun ‘Maya’ inthe form of desire veilsEswara and just as withthe disappearance ofcloud the sun becomesvisible so also with thedisappearance of desire,Eswara reveals Himself.Hence blessed are thosewho by their disciplinedrive desire from theirheart. Lust or desirewrath and their brood,instead of running after the objects of sensesor the unreal and the passing, run after Eswarathe Real and the enduring, when once they aresublimated through spiritual discipline. Adevotee’s desires centre round God and hedesires God and God alone and nothing else.The Gopies have dedicted their ‘Kama’ toChakri (Lord Krishna). Their Kama ceases tobe ‘Kama’ as it is for the Real (or God) whichknows no decay. Spiritual discipline consists insublimating the desires and turning them toothe Real and the enduring (to God). Knowledge(Jnana) tells us that we should not give reins toour rash desires. Devotion to God makes usturn all desires to God and have nothing else todesire.Those who are endowed with good sense or inother words who have in them divine traitsnaturally fight with the eternal enemies andmake rapid strides to liberation. Lord Krishnain the fifth sloka of the sixteenth chapter makes

it abundantly clear that Arjuna was born withdivine traits and his mental make-up is fit forliberation (Moksha). He is far above thedemoniacal who are slaves of the six internalenemies ‘Kama’ and the rest of the brood. LordKrishna explains to Arjuna how those withdivine traits conquer the internal enemies and

attain liberation while thedemonic, being the slaves ofKama and their brood, pavethe way to perdition. Hedescribes at length thedemonic (Asuric) traits sothat one may know them tobe enemies. If a thiefunderstands that he isobserved he tries to flee lesthe should be caught andpunished. Similarly if onenotices the evil traits andrecognizes them as thievesand enemies, they may loseface and run away. So it isimportant that the strivers on

the spiritual path should know the demoniactraits with a view to keeping them at bay.The demoniac do not care to know what is goodto do. They do not refrain from evil. Purity,right conduct and truth have no meaning forthem. Pride rules their will. Pleasure propelstheir activities which deprave them. Sense ofjustice, decency and good sense cannot stopthem as they pursue their pleasures. To themlust is God and pleasure is reality. Denial ofGodliness and goodness is their religion. Theirbeing’s end and aim being sensual enjoymentthey are out to amass by means fair or foulabundant wealth to be sure of uninterruptedindulgence. A person with demoniac traits hasa bloated ego. He is ever engaged in fulfillinghis desires. He is after wealth and power. He isself-centered and he has an axe to grind in everydeal with fellow-beings. If at all they peformany yoga or sacrifice, they do so for ostentationand selfish gain.

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VIVEKANANDAKENDRA SAMACHAR

DELHI1. One workshop was organizedfor the various Samskar Vargaparticipants. 93 childrenparticipated in it.

2. On 16th Feb. 30 people attended oneBhajan Sandhya organized at ‘Dwaraka’.3. “Arise, Awake” youth meet was organizedin South Delhi on 26th Feb. 30 youths werepresent and Prof. P. L. Dhar addressed thegathering.

TEJPUR1. Veteran Sarvodaya leader Acharya

Rammurthyji gave a talk on “The Role of anIndividual in Shaping Society and NationBuilding” – in an interactive workshoporganized on 9th March 06. 26 citizensparticipated in this 90 minute long interactivesession.

2. On 19th March 06, 24 Karyakartas fromSwarna Bhumi and Deva Bhumi Vibhagattended the choumasik baithak. Reports oflast 4 months activities and next 4 monthsplanning were presented and then Su.Rekhadidi addressed them.

3. “Yoga Varga Prashikshan Shibir” wasorganized from 19th to 24th March 06. 16Karyakartas attended the Shibir.Su. Meeradidi was the Shibir Pramukh.

DOMBIVILI17 participants were there in the OmkarDhyan Varga from 13th to 20th

March. Two karyakartas attended the PrantiyaBaithak held on 4th and 5th March at Pune.

RDP THOOTHUKUDI1. 75 balwadis 1959 children2. Thro 14 Rural Medical Centres 3264 patients

were treated.3. 59 destitute old persons were provided with

provisions under adopt a Granny Scheme.

4. Eye-screening camps were organized at 4place in which 108 patients were screened and196 operated for cataract. The needy wereprovided with medicines and spectacles.

5. Two mass level Deepa Poojas were organizedat Ottapidaram and Thiruppullani in which1931 women participated from 92 villages.Village level Deepa Poojas were organizedin 232 temples in which 9311 womenparticipated.

6. Total 494 kgs of rice was contributed throAmrita Surabhi from 5 districts.

7. Book sales Totalled Rs.51,217/-.8. Subscription – Vivekavani 99,

Yuva Bharati-029. 123 economically weaker girl students were

trained in tailoring thro 7 residential and non-residential camps.

10. Swadhyaya Varg was organized for 90participants in Ramnad dist.

11. 4 Yoga Vargas were organized in Thoothukudiand Aruppukottai in which 96 people werepresent.

12. Swami Vivekananda Jayanti celebration wereobserved in 7 Balvadis.Relief to the victims of fire accident

On 4th March Vivekananda Kendra RDPdistributed relief material worth Rs.1500/- toeach of 21 families whose huts were destroyed

in the fireaccident atPoopandiapuramin KumudhiBlock ofR a m a n a t h a -puram district.

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Jaipur, the Pink City of India, welcomedus warmly on the slightly chill dawn of 4th

February. A group of us: ten delegatesfrom Vivekananda Kendra got down. A longtrain journey of 3 days, preceded by a 2-daytravel from Arunachal to Guwahati was finallyover. Smt. Yajum Ngumle, Mahila ManchPramukh from Daporijo, Arunachal wastravelling for the first time in train. They camefrom far north eastern state of Bharat – the landof the Rising Sun – Arunachal Prdesh – to thefar western state of Rajasthan, to participate inWorld Council of Elders of Ancient Traditions.The entire atmosphere wasnew for five Arunachaleeparticipants. We were dividedinto groups of two or three andtaken to our local host’sresidences; so we couldinteract with Rajasthanifamilies. The warm welcomeof the Rajasthani people erasedquestions if any, in our minds.Soon we became a part of thatfamily.Smt. Yajum Ngumle and Smt. Jumre Makcha,Vivekananda Kendra Karyakartas said, “Thefamily where we were taken welcomed us withTilak and Aarati. This was a totally newexperience for us. At first we felt a bit uneasy -as we didn’t know anyone there but after sometime they made us feel part of the family. Eventhe child in that home made us his friend! TheBhabijis applied elegant Mehendi on ourhands. They took us to different places inJaipur. And soon the evening came and werealised that we have to go to the place ofconference. But the departing was not so easy;we often say that Bharat is like a big familybut this we experienced in Rajasthan.” Similar

was the experience of all. When we met ourhosts again in the course of the conference wehad so many things to share! We met manyparticipants from different countries but talkingthe same language, the language of the Heart.At night five more members of our team whocame by air also joined us.The organisers, International Centre forCultural Studies, told us that in the inauguralfunction every tradition will present theirprayers in just one minute. Now this was achallenge for us as normally our prayers arevery long. But Shri Lardik Kare, an Engineer

by profession, accepted it.Overnight he prepared abeautiful prayer invoking theGoddesses of all the fourdirections. Sri. BatchowKhabisow of the Akacommunity also prepared aprayer. By the time train journeywas through we had learnt toaddress him as Akhi (paternaluncle], Shri Johar Dususow as

Ao (father) and Shri Miali Sidisow as Aya(brother) respectively.5th February was the Inaugural day. A beautifuland colourful procession saw Shri MialiSidisow sit astride an elephant. We were all intraditional attire and another commonaltysurfaced: every community has its uniquetraditional designs and clothes. We gathered inthe Sawai Mansing Sabhagriha. The functionstarted, and delegates from different traditionspresented their prayers.And so when the academic sessions started,though not so fluent in English, all attended thesessions and tried to know something aboutother traditions. Our women’s team from

THE IGNITED TEAM– Arunachal Pradesh Delegates’ Experience

at the International ConferenceP. SUMITRA

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Daporijo had come prepared to present aTraditional Dance ‘Ponung’ and to presentpapers and the Akas, to perform rituals. Butwhen there was an opportunity to perform Pujaas well as presenting some folkdance, we alsogot inspired. Our Tagin Sisters performed Pujaand the Akas presented a song also. Dr. AshanRiddi presented a well-written paper on ‘Si-Donyi’.Smt. Yade Nasi, Smt. Yapa Timba, Smt. ZemiUli, Smt. Yajum and Smt. Jumre presented thebeautiful ‘Ponung’ dance and everyoneexperienced Arunachal on the land of Rajasthan.The next morning Joharji,Mialiji and Akhi were toperform a puja. They hadcarried along all the materialincluding those made ofbamboo but had lost it in thetrain! We were worried but notMialiji. He said “No problem!We had made those ourselvesand so we can make themagain.” What about thematerials? Said Akhi: “Onecan’t expect to find the samematerials here: Its equivalent will definitely bethere. We will make do with what is available!”So Rishikesh Athalye, one of the ever-helpfulorganisers, was contacted and everything wasset. Mialiji had a brainwave: Everyone hadphotographs, idols of their deities, temples. Sowithout much ado he set about: persuaded acomputer graphics person to scan, edit andbring out a beautiful, one-foot picture of theNyezino temple used during the performanceof the Puja Demonstration: Thikincheo. Our70-year old Akhi must have found it difficultto adjust to the entirely new atmosphere, buthe was always smiling and enthusiastic.Similarly was Smt Yanga Nasi: her motherlycare, smile and organisational exposure wereevident as she enthused her team mates to putin their best. In fact when the organisers

requested for some additional items for theevening cultural programmes, they wouldcheerfully practice even till 1 a.m.!Another memorable event was our Presentationin the Academic sessions. Three presentationson the Kendra work were made, each uniquein itself. For example: the paper on HolisticModel for Development Through Culture,Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari’s Work inArunachal Pradesh – A Study. What was uniqueabout it ? We wanted our presentation to reflectthe theme and the nature of our work. So allthe team members participated in the

presentation! How? Oneintroduced the theme, sevenmembers sang a prayer in Taginlanguage addressed to AnneDonyi, [Mother Sun – theSupreme Being]; three membersspoke on the work aspect.Whenever we got leisure timewe used to talk to our relativesfrom other traditions. We foundmany commonalities, but wewere very happy when we cameto know that like us the

Lithuanians and the Latvians also consideredDonyi [Sun] as Mother. We saw the AmerPalace of Jaipur on the last day we went toschools and interacted with children. Thechildren asked us many questions aboutArunachal, our people, our life style, etc.Meeting Shri Stephen Knapp and Shri SDYoungwolf again was a delight. They hadceaselessly interacted with people on their visitto Arunachal Pradesh in 2002 whenVivekananda Kendra had organised their lecturetour. They were full of concern and promisedto visit again much to our happiness.On the 10th evening we bade farewell to Jaipurthe historic city with its warm people who hadgiven us a feeling of a home away from homeand made us feel that while we are all unique,we are one, manifestations of the same Divinity.

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In the Hindu Scriptures there is a magnificentstory told about three persons called Asuras.These three persons had wonderful powers.

They were warriors, nobody could get the betterof them, they were wonderful, wonderful people.People came, fought with them, and were defeatedimmediately; hosts of enemies came and weredefeated. The men who fought with them camein thousands but were defeated by these threepersons. The enemies being defeated so frequentlywent to a great saint and asked how they couldwin these three fellows; and the saint told themthey must enquire into the cause of theirinvincibility, how these three Asuras wereinvincible. With great effort and trouble it wasfound that the secret of their invincibility lay inthe fact that these persons, never, never didentertain the thought that they were workers orenjoyers. When the victory was gained, theythought nothing of it. They did not stoop downto enjoy the victory. When they were fighting,the idea that “I as this body am fighting” wasentirely absent. Such are the heroes in this world.You know every hero in war, while engaged inaction, as people say “I am all ears,” so the herois all action. There is no room left for the idea “Iam doing.” There his body gets mechanical, so tosay. He is all action, there head and feet aresaturated with the Divinity. So these peoplewhenever they fought, became all action, theynever for a moment allowed the idea, “I amacting.” Just as a machine worked, their bodiesworked; like machines of God, machines ofDivinity, their bodies worked. This was the secretof their success, nobody could win them.Now the secret of their invincibility being foundout, the great sage told the enemies of these threewarriors the means of conquering them. He toldthose enemies to engage in action with them andthen run away from them. Go to them and call

them out into action, and just when they begin toattack you, leave those warriors as conquerors.Just draw them out and flee away from them. Theenemies of those warriors drew them out and fledfrom them. Thus a few times more were theenemies of those warriors defeated. By and bythose three invincible warriors were drawn outof their true position, were drawn out of theirreal invincibility and were brought down into theirbodies, they were made to believe that they wereconquerors. They were made to believe that theywere great, that they were victorious. Thosecontinued victories engendered in them the ideathat they were victorious, they were conquerors.Here were the three men brought down into thecage of the body; here the three men put into theprison house of the body. The idea of “I am doing”or the thought of “I am great” got hold of themand held them in prison. There the God in themwas replaced by the small ego; and then it was nohard task to win them and catch them and imprisonthem. It was not a hard task, they were defeatedimmediately, immediately were they caught.Now mark the application of this story. So longas you are doing a work, your body being amachine in the hands of God, as it were, yourpersonality being merged in Divinity, so long asyou are in that position, you are invincible, youare like those three Asuras above the idea of “Iam enjoying or I am doing.” You are invincible;but when people come to you and begin to praiseyou, to puff you up, flatter you, favourably reviewyou from all sides, you are made to believe thatyou are a conqueror, you are a hero, you arevictorious, others are defeated, your rivals aredowntrodden. You are like those three Asuras.The idea of “I am doing it”, “I must enjoy thedeed”, and “I am the enjoyer”—that very thoughtimprisons you, brings you down into the cage ofthe body. You are undone, the power is lost.

THE NATURE OF INSPIRATIONOn the eve of Swami Ramatirtha’s Mahasamadhi Centenary

SWAMI RAMATIRTHA

Continued from last issue

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Do you not see even in the Bible, when Christcame fresh from the mountains, he was possessedof the great power. He lived in the midst of hisfriends; he talked a great deal, and Christ had tosay, “Who is it that touched me? I find my powergoing out of me.” We see that in the Bible. Thereyou see the same thing. When you are above this“I am doing, I am enjoying,” God is workingthrough you and you are inspired; but as soon asyou do a thing and accept people’s reviews andfavourable criticisms, people’s applause, andpeople’s flattery, the power goes out immediately.Immediately it goes out; you are brought into thecage again. Go out of the cage and you areinspired, go into the cage again and you are nomore.Here is a beautiful watch, suppose. It is in workingorder and running day and night. It getsmagnetized, it comes close to a strong magnet,the iron springs are magnetized. The watch cannotrun, it is useless now, it gives us no time. Whatshall we do with it? Let the watch be buriedunderground, keep it away from the magneticinfluences, keep it away from those influences, itwill be de-magnetized, it will regain its originalworking power, and you can use it again. Beneathyour minds, your inner Self is heavenly, is godly.Every child is by nature an inspired child; everychild is by nature a poet, and if you live, live inaccordance with divine laws, if you live inharmony with Divinity, you are always inspired.If you live in unison with your true Atman orSpirit, if you always keep yourself in touch withGod in you, with your own Self or Atman, youare inspired all the time. What is wrong with youis that your mind comes in contact with earthlymagnets on all sides, worldly attachments whichmagnetize you and put you out of order, you areno longer in running order, deranged. If you arenot inspired today, the sole reason is that you donot keep yourself isolated, or insulated enough.You allow worldly objects to magnetize, to

hypnotize you, you allow them to play foul andfast with you. If you want to regain your originalpowers and inspiration, keep yourself insulated,isolated for a while. Bury yourself in the Reality,in Divinity, in God, in the true Atman. Keepyourself buried in the Spirit, in the Truth. Livealone for a time, set apart some time of your dayfor keeping in touch with the Reality; mergeyourself, bury yourself in God. Do that and thespoiling magnetism and wrong hypnotism that youhave got from these worldly objects will leaveyou, your mind will be running in order again.You will be again inspired.Ships, when they keep sailing in the sea for sometime, become a little deranged, are put out oforder. They require to be placed in the dock forsome time to be repaired. Similarly by keepingyourself too long in worldly affairs, in worldlymatters, in the company of hypnotizingcircumstances, in the midst of spoiling andwearing and tearing surroundings, you are put outof order, you are fallen, you get your inner naturalpowers of inspiration lost. Just as you do withyour ships, so should you do with your bodies.Keep your bodies, for some time at least, in thedocks, away from those influences; keep yourbodies, for some time at least, in Spirit. Readbooks which will inspire you, live in the companyof people who will inspire you, live alone byyourself. Devote some time to meditation and youwill regain your power of inspiration. Does notyour body require to be washed every day? Doesnot your house require to be rubbed and scrubbedeveryday? Similarly, does not your mind requireto be cleansed and purified, washed and bathedevery day? So long as worldly ideas, worldlyattachments or thoughts of worldly enjoyment,or the idea of “I am doing this” etc., is present, solong as you are not entirely crucified, there is nohope for you. The way to inspiration is nothingless than crucifixion.

(Extracted from a lecture deliveredon 21-2-1903, in the Golden GateHall, San Francisco, U.S.A.)

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