SAMSKRUTIRefining Y oung Minds

February 2017

Our Mas ter’s VoiceMental Strength

By Bhagyanathanji

Arjuna's charioteer is of course Shri Krishna, the Lord Himself, who is sitting right

there. For Karna, there is the great King Shalya. What Shalya, the great king does is, he slowly

demoralises Karna. All he does is , he starts speaking to him and starts telling him negative

things about his skills, "Karna! You think you are brave? You think you will be able to defeat

Arjuna? When Arjuna comes out roaring like a lion, you will run for cover. He's going to defeat

you. You are a coward". He goes on and on and on. He's unstoppable. Karna for some time

ignores that. "What does he know. Let me not pay attention to it, he thinks. But little by little

by little, this gets into him. He begins to have self doubts. He's wondering - what if Shalya is

true. After all he knows the Pandavas well. Maybe I'm over estimating my capabilities. Maybe

I'm not that good. Maybe I'll lose". And, once that thought process sets in, it is spiral from

By Global Organisation for Divinity India TrustNo part of this pamphlet may be reproduced, reprinted or utilised in any form without permission in writing from the editors.Views expressed in articles are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization. 1

What’s Inside?

VARKALA TEMPLE………………3

GOD YOUTH CHAPTER………..4

DIVINE PARABLES………………6

CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU….7

HEALTHY EATING………………8

BLISSFUL BLOSSOMSStagnant water devoid of exposure to sunlight, gets

contaminated by algal growth. When the penetrating rays

of the bright sun fall on stagnant water, it gets purified.

The mind is a whirlpool of thoughts. When the sunlight

called vivekam falls on it, it bestows clarity. If not, the

mind is pushed to a confused state.

~ Sri Sri Swamiji

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there - he's going down. So, from a state where he's most confident, he's going down little by little,

whereas if you look at Arjuna, he was very confused, he wanted to quit the battle field and run

away. He has Shri Krishna on his side. Bhagavan counsels him.

If we look at Bhagavad Gita from that point of view, it's the best counselling session

one can ever think of. It's so perfect. It's so beautiful! It gives Arjuna every reason to stay in the

battle, to fight, to stay focused to win and little by little by little all his doubts are cleared. He

comes to the perfect mental state. He's focused; that one pointedness is there; and we know what

happened at the end of the war. We know that the Pandavas won. Arjuna won and Karna fell. That's

what happened.

Friends! The reason why I wish to share this episode from the Mahabharata is to

answer that question - Who is God? What is Godliness? God is not this six feet figure sitting in

some distant planet, randomly blessing a few of us. God is not this all powerful super hero, who has

these special capabilities that distinguishes Him from us. What else? Friends, God, as per

Sanathana Dharma, as per the words of all the puranas, as per our scriptures, is that true strength

that lies within us - Aathma Balam - that is God. And, to be able to discover that, to be able to

identify our true nature, to be able to realise our own self, self realisation is God, is the very

purpose of Sanathana Dharma, of Hindu Dharma and of every philosophy. This is the core message

of all the great mahatmas and masters. To be able to identify that source of eternal strength within

everyone of us is the end point of spirituality itself.

In the sweet words of Sri Sri Swamiji - "To motivate is divine; to demoralise is

devilish". Very simple definition of God. Anything and everything that strengthens us is God and

that which weakens us is the very opposite of God.

Lord Nataraja at Chidambaram and Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam remain facing South. Is it not a

general belief that one should not sit or prostrate facing South?Why then do the deities in these

two important temples face South?

Yama (God of death) resides in the South. The tattva (principle) behind Yama is death. It is only to

make us realize that one who worships Him with immense faith is blessed with mukti that is far

beyond birth and death that the Lord in these two temples remain facing the South.

Which plants and animals are worthy of worship?

Peepul tree, tulsi plant, bilwa and neem trees are worthy of worship. Among animals, cows,

elephants and horses are worthy of worship. Garuda bird is worthy of worship. If we thus keep

adding to this list, it would lead us to the realize that it is God who exists within all creatures and

pervades everything else and that He is also within us.

KakithaMalargal (Excerpts from Sri Sri Swamiji’s book –

Q and A explaining Sanathana Dharma)

SAMSKRUTI Feb 2017

Know Your Temples

Janardhana Swami Temple is a 2000-year-old temple situated in Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram.

Janardhana Swami is a form of Lord Vishnu. It is a very well known temple in Kerala about 10.9 km west of Kallambalam

on NH 66 near sea, 25 km north of Thiruvananthapuram city, 13 km south of famous backwater destination Paravur

and 2 km from Varkala Sivagiri railway station, 14 km north west of biggest town Attingal. The temple is located close

to the Papanasam beach, which is considered to have medicinal properties since the waters wash the nearby medicinal

plants. It is also an important Ayurveda treatment center. The temple has an ancient bell removed from a shipwreck,

donated by the captain of the Dutch vessel which sank near Varkala without causing any casualties.

Sage Narada, after paying his respects to Lord Narayana, left Vaikuntam to see Brahma. Enraptured

by the sweet music of Narada, Narayana followed him unobserved. When Narada reached Brahmaloka, Brahma saw

Narayana following his son Narada and offered salutations to Him, at which Vishnu, realizing the awkward situation,

suddenly disappeared. Brahma found that the person whom he had revered was his own son, Narada. The 'Prajapathis'

who were laughing at this incident were cursed by Brahma that they would be born on earth and suffer the miseries of

human beings. Narada advised them to perform penance at the place he himself would select for them. Narada threw

his ‘Valkalam' (bark upper garment) into the air and at the place where it fell down, they consecrated a temple for

Janardhanaswamy (a name of Vishnu). Hence the name Varkala is a corruption of ‘Valkala', but the name came into

prominent usage.

The temple of Sri Janardhana is situated on the summit of a table-land adjoining the sea. It is located

on one of the hill-tops, which is reached by a long and wearisome flight of steps and one feels tired on arriving at the

feet of the Lord. At the entrance to the inner shrine are the idols of Hanuman and Garuda on either side and in the main

shrine is the idol of Sri. Janardhana with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. The temple of Janardhana is a fine ex maple of Kerala

art and architecture. The circular ‘Sanctum sanctorum” surmounted by a conical dome of copper sheets, the square

‘mandapa' with beautiful wooden carvings of Navagrahas on the ceiling and copper-plated roof over it, the

quadrangular enclosures (prakara) around them, a hall containing a ‘bali peetha' in front of the inner temple are the

characteristic features of Kerala style of architecture. The construction period of this temple saw the rise of highly

embellished temple. one of the inscriptions indicates that the temple was improved during the reign of Umayamma

Rani, who ruled this region during 1677-84 A.D. The main idol has a striking appearance with four arms having all the

attributes of Vishnu. It is the only shrine dedicated to Vishnu in the name of Janardhana in South India. In the south-

western corner and on the north-eastern side of the outer enclosure are the shrines of Sasta and Shiva with Nandi.

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Varkala Janardhana Swami

SAMSKRUTI Feb 2017

GOD Youth Chapter

Mass Prayer at Kamarajar Arangam, Chennai, for around 4000 students appearing for public exams, conducted as two

sessions, saw a full house of students listening in rapt attention to Dr Bhagyanathanji and Sri Ramanujam on 21st

January 2017.

Student Mass Prayer at Bangalore. Sri Abhishek and Sri Gurumurthy

motivated a house full of students appearing for board exams.5

Student Mass Prayer - 2017

SAMSKRUTI Feb 2017

GOD YOUTH CHAPTER

Puranava – Mumbai (Inter School Heritage Quiz)

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Namamrutham – Ambrosia of the Divine NameA dance ballad on the Divine Compositions of Sri Sri Swamiji

glorifying the Divine Name, 22 Jan 2017, Chennai

Chief Guest: Smt Renuka Ramnath; Winners: Vivekananda Educational Society; Jury: Sri Balaji Sharma; Quiz Master Mr Vignesh

SAMSKRUTI Feb 2017

A family went to have the darshan of Maha Periyavaa. Along with them, they took one of their family

friends who lived in the USA for some decades. The friend did not have any great faith in our religion,

system and especially the monks wearing the saffron; he went along with him with utterly non-interested to

meet Him. He was under the impression that Maha Periyavaa was an uneducated monk. This NRI had no

great respect at all for Him, and had enquired, ‘Does He know English?’

There was a big throng of devotees at the Mutt and the family was standing in a decent distance from Him.

As usual, Maha Periyavaa saw this family with His graceful eyes, and called all of them near to Him.

They all went near Him, the friend too.

After all the usual courteous enquiry towards the family, the Master looked at the NRI friend and asked

about his details, including his name, whereabouts, his predecessors, where he is working etc etc.

Then He asked, ‘you are born in India, and you know Tamil; your wife was also born in India and should

know the mother tongue. When you two converse will it be in Tamil or English?’

The friend replied ‘We never use Tamil at home, we use only English. The same goes for the kids also.’

Then Maha Periyavaa asked, ‘before speaking, you may have to think and conceive the sentence. Is the

thought process in Tamil or English?’

The friend replied, ‘That too in English only’.

Some minutes later, an old lady came to have Maha Periyavaa’s Darshan.

Maha Periyavaa looked at the NRI person and said, ‘This old lady is now very poor, but once upon a time

she was very rich. But even after she lost all the materialistic wealth her devotion towards the Mutt,

Acharya and me has never changed even a bit. Could you please tell me what is the English word which will

describe this unflinching devotion, which can’t be changed by external situations? I would like to know.’

The man was flummoxed. He thought and thought for a while but did not know that word.

Maha Periyavaa smiled and told him, ‘please take your time and let me know’.

Even after some time, he could not come up with the required word. Then Swamiji said, ‘Can I suggest one

word? Could you please confirm whether the same can convey this meaning? EQUIPOISED’.

The man was spellbound and fell on Maha Periyavaa’s Feet to Pardon him for his ego.

DivineParables

EQUIPOISED- Vignesh Sundararaman

Even though Airavata, the vehicle of Lord of Devas, is mighty and big, it is goaded by the

hook in the hands of Lord Indra and suffers constant pain. But an ant, though small moves

about freely! With humility comes Joy and freedom.” - Sant Tukkaram

Namadwaar Nibbles

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7

Healthy EatingBEETROOT · BETA VULGARIS

ABC Juice – The Miracle Drink

Although beets have the highest sugar content of all vegetables, most people can safely eat beet roots a few

times a week (and their greens in unlimited quantities), enjoying not only their sweet, earthy flavor but also

their powerhouse nutrients that may improve your health in the following ways.

1. Lower Your Blood Pressure

Drinking beet juice may help to lower blood pressure in a matter of hours. The benefit likely comes from the

naturally occurring nitrates in beets, which are converted into nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide, in turn,

helps to relax and dilate your blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.

2. Boost Your Stamina

The benefit is thought to also be related to nitrates turning into nitric oxide, which may reduce the oxygen cost

of low-intensity exercise as well as enhance tolerance to high-intensity exercise.

3. Fight Inflammation

Beets are a unique source of betaine, a nutrient that helps protects cells, proteins, and enzymes from

environmental stress. It's also known to help fight inflammation, protect internal organs, improve vascular

risk factors, enhance performance, and likely help prevent numerous chronic diseases.

4. Anti-Cancer Properties

The powerful phytonutrients that give beets their deep crimson color may help to ward off cancer.

5. Rich in Valuable Nutrients and Fiber

Beets are high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fiber, and essential minerals like potassium (essential for

healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and

pancreas). Beets also contain the B vitamin folate, which helps reduce the risk of birth defects.

6. Detoxification Support

The betalin pigments in beets support your body's Phase 2 detoxification process, which is when broken down

toxins are bound to other molecules so they can be excreted from your body. Traditionally, beets are valued

for their support in detoxification and helping to purify your blood and your liver.

Preparation Time: 5 min

Yield: 1 serving (8 to 10 ounces)

Ingredients: 2 medium beets, trimmed and

scrubbed; 1 apple, peeled and cored; 3 medium

carrots, peeled

Method: Juice, in this order, the beets, apples

and carrots, following your juicer's specific

settings for each. Serve the juice immediately

over ice, if desired.

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