S A M A R P A N 2 0 1 3 - 1 4

V I V E K A N A N D A K E N D R A V E D I C V I S I O N F O U N D A T G I O N

Viveka Sopana, Swamiji's gift to humanity, a

ladder of light for self unfoldment and upliftment

of humans from the finite self to the Infinite Uni-

versal Self.

Swamiji's immortal words: "Each soul

is potentially divine. The goal in life is to mani-

fest this divinity by controlling nature external

and internal. Do it by work or worship, psychic

control of philosophy, one or more or all of

them, and be free. This is the whole of religion.

Doctrines or dogmas, or rituals or books, or

temples or forms are but secondary details".

These words capture the vision of the rishis in a

most meaningful and practical way and there-

fore, this year's activities are being summarized

to fall in line with Swamiji's ideals.

KARYAPADDHATHI

1) Karma Yoga:

The first step of Viveka Sopana is the

most practical Vedantic formula, Work is Wor-

ship. Easier to read but very difficult to under-

stand, these simple but elegant words summarise

the science of Karma yoga. When properly un-

derstood and practised this ideal can open up

vistas of freedom and push us onward and God-

ward. From the finite to the Infinite Self leads

the path of Karma yoga which is also one of the

best outlets to manifest the divinity within us.

Every act of man, however mundane or mediocre

it be, has the potential of cosmic yajna hidden in

it, hence is capable of yielding the 'soma' of ful-

Vivekasopana The Ladder of Light for the

Ascent of man to Divinity

In this year of the consummation of the

150th birthday celebration of Swami Vivekanan-

da, Vivekananda Vedic Vision foundation most

humbly dedicate our annual report to Swamiji

under the title Viveka Sopana- the ladder of light

for the ascent of man to Divinity. Viveka Sopana

integrates vedic vision with Swamiji's vision for

the spiritual upliftment of humanity at large, to

whichever country, religion, race or creed they

belong to.

When humanity as a whole is slipping

into an abyss of immorality, lawlessness and vio-

lence here comes Swami Vivekananda carrying

his unique ladder of Eternal Light (reminiscent

of the old village street lighter) to pull man out

of the morass of worldliness and haul him up to

ascend the steps to the Infinite, to reclaim his

rightful identity as the Immortal Divine Self. The

uniqueness of Swamij's ladder of light lies in the

fact that it is meant for the upliftment of the en-

tire humanity, sans religion, culture, race or sex

and hence is universally applicable for all times

to come.

The light Swamiji brings is the ever

bright inextinguishable light of Eternal Truth and

the ladder he provides is the time tested ladder of

human endeavor, with its four steps of karma,

bhakti, raja and jnana yogas, made universally

practical in his own inimitable style. This is the

ANNUAL REPORT

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 3

fillment and liberation. When the doership and

enjoyership along with our likes and dislikes are

eliminated from the scope of the work we do, it

turns out into worship, into yajna, creating all-

round benefits leading to the transformation of

the individual and the society.

The most important lesson to be learned

in this man making character building pro-

gramme is to get rid of the self, likes and dislikes

and the yearning after rewards. Karma Yoga

helps us to catch man/woman where they are and

through guided work making them participate in

the great yagna of Vivekananda Kendra and thus

instill in them a taste for freedom through unself-

ishness and dedicated works. Unselfishness and

freedom are the key words in karma yoga. To

make one understand that work is not to earn

money, name or fame but to manifest one's in-

nate divinity and positively connect oneself with

the Whole, is indeed a very difficult job.

Karma Yoga helps us to incorporate a

societal dimension which will lead an individual

to a three dimension of expansion, elevation and

enrichment, that one would not gain, if one is

confined to one's household alone.

The Karma Yoga step of Viveka Sopana

deals with our everyday life and is meant to puri-

fy ourselves through 'Nishkama Karma' so as to

build up enough strength of mind and character

and thus become true participants in the Cosmic

Yajna and thereby open ourselves to evolution-

ary progress. To make these ideals part of every-

day life, Swamiji provides two simple prescrip-

tions. The first one is the ideal of

"renunciation and service" for the individual

and the second one "atmano mokshartam

jagadhitaya ca" for those serving the society.

Both these ideals are meant for the expansion

and elevation of the human consciousness

through discovery of the sanctity and purpose of

work and using it for 'lokasangraha' - welfare

of the society. This step in self purification and

self emancipation definitely steadys the sadhaka

in his journey towards his spiritual destination.

Karma Yoga is the fulcrum of our activities, gen-

erating zeal and energy and it forms the very first

step in the ascent of man to divinity. Karma Yo-

ga is the basis of Swamiji's man making, charac-

ter building and nation building ideal and hence

karma yoga brings the all important thrust in all

our activities.

Different activities, ceremonies and pro-

grams were planned with active participation of

the society where emphasis was on work and not

on reward. Through these participating activities

the great principle of Nishkama karma was made

to percolates into the society.

Man making nation building

1) Programmes for the total development of

children

Our Sandeepani Sishuvihar is the start-

ing point for putting the man making - nation

building ideals of Swamiji into practice. There

were 18 children this year. In a variety of ways

children and teachers imbibe the ideals of karma

yoga. Prayers, games, individual and collective

activities, partaking food in a disciplined way

with prayers etc help them to unfold the divinity

slowly but steadily and there is total change in

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 4

their behavior even within the first three months.

As the children expanded their vision results

flowed into the family and influenced parents,

specially mothers, who became overwhelmingly

attuned to the ideals of total development. There

was no regular fee for children nor was there any

regular salary for teachers. Children pay what

little they can afford as dakshina and teachers

accept a humble honorarium as Swamiji's grace.

In the midst of institutions which charge and re-

charge students and parents, our Sishuvihar

stands as a beacon light of karma yoga.

2) Bala Samaskara Varga

The second phase of this programme

was our bala samaskara varga - Saturday - Sun-

day classes for children from the neighborhood,

conducted at four different places. Ten to twenty

children regularly participated in these pro-

grammes .

3) Atmavikas Camps

Third step in this programme of man -

making - nation building is our Atmavikas sum-

mer camps for school going children.

From 1st April to 10th April, a non resi-

dential 'Atmavikas Camp' ( PDC:- Personality

Development Camp) for students of classes VII

to X, was conducted with 26 students. Didi inau-

gurated the camp. Resource persons were Dr

T.P. Sashikumar, Sri Harishankar Master, Sri

Murali Master of Hindi Prachar Sabha, Smt Re-

ma teacher Principal of B.Ed College-Poyya, Sri

Vishwanath, Smt Ajitha, Sri M.N. Haridas, Sri

Gireesh well-known painter, Sri Sudhakarji,

Mananiya Lakshmi Didi and Susri Sutapa. The

theme of the Shibir was 'Manifestation of Divini-

ty'. Living together, working together and grow-

ing together in a team was fun, that was what the

children came to learn from the Shibir. Apart

from several workshops there were creativity

classes as well as congregational songs, skits

based on moral values, yoga practice and Krida

Yoga.

Smt Jyothi Unniraman, a well-wisher of

Kendra was the Chief Guest for the valedictory

function held on the evening of 10th April. A

parents' meeting was kept before the function

where Sri Harisankar Master talked to the par-

ents as to how they should bring up their chil-

dren. To instill in the children Swamiji's ideals of

'Tyaga and Seva,' each child was presented with

a small piggy bank to keep their pocket money

throughout the year. On their birthday they were

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 5

to use the money for a deserving cause of charity

taking care that no return was expected.

We were lucky to have with us Manani-

ya Balakrishnanji on 21st April, for the conclud-

ing function of the second 'Atmavikas Camp' for

children of Class I to Class VI. The camp started

on 15th April. 53 children participated. 18 stu-

dents from class I to III formed one group and

the rest from Class IV to VI formed the second

group. All sessions were separately conducted

for the two groups. More emphasis was laid on

storytelling rather than lectures. Workshop on

Mathematics and puzzles were conducted and

children enjoyed the same. Vedic prayer, Skits,

Yoga and Games were a regular part of the seven

days Shibir.

On Ramnavami Day which fell during

the camp there was an interesting quiz competi-

tion for both the groups to test their knowledge

of Ramayana. Resource persons of the camp

were all our local workers. Ten volunteers from

the previous camp guided the groups of the se-

cond camp, throughout, for seven days. The

prayer and song sessions for the primary group

were also taught by the volunteers. Sri Rajan, a

well known social worker was invited as the Chief

Guest for the valedictory function on the last day,

21st April. A parents'meeting was also conducted

before the function.

4) Vivekananda Club

Extending this ideal to the high school

level we have instituted a Vivekananda club at

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan , Irinjanalakuda.

First session of students of Vivekananda

Club in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Irinjalakuda,

was held on 20th July. Sixty students were present

in the class. Kendra workers of Kodungallur Vi-

vekananda centre conducted the two hour session.

Two teachers of the school were also allotted to

assist the Kendra workers. Some parents were

also present as spectators. Mediocre students of

the VIth, VIIth and VIIIth classes who required

special attention, were the target groups of such

sessions in every school, so that their progress in

their academic field as well as behavioral fields in

the long run, could be monitored by the workers,

teachers and their parents.

5) Karyakartha Meeting

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 6

For the first time, a two day meeting of

Karyakartas was held on the 18th and 19th May

Sri Suresh Kumarji from Ernakulam and Sri

Ashokan from Thiruvananthapuram, both Spir-

itual Retreat participants in Kanyakumari, Kum.

Soorya also from Thiruvanthapuram, Smt Jyothi

Unniraman and Kum. Radhika from Kodungal-

lur, participated. Sessions included Study of Kar-

ma Yoga guided by Didi and a brainstorming

session on methods of taking Swamiji's message

to the children and youth of their respective are-

as of work.

Celebrations

Celebrations provide an opportunity to

interact with the public at large, enlist their phys-

ical and mental participation and thus extend to

them the feeling of "vasudhaiva kudumba-

kam".

1) U.B.Day Celebration (U.B:- Universal

Brotherhood)

On 3rd September forenoon, there was a

Painting competition for the students of classes

V to VII. The lamp was lighted by Sri Balakrish-

nan, one of the judges for Painting competi-

tion.Students from 6 different schools took part.

On the same day, in the afternoon was

arranged a narration competition for the VIth and

VII th classes. Topic was 'narration of any inci-

dent' from Swamiji's life. Students from 9

schools took part.

On 7th September there was an Elocu-

tion competition, both in Malayalam and English

for classes VIII to X. 10 schools participated. On

the same day in the afternoon a quiz programme

on Indian Culture for the Higher Secondary stu-

dents was conducted.

c) Programmes for youth, competitions, etc

As part of Universal Brotherhood Day

celebration this year we organized oratorical

competition in Malayalam and English on the

8th October, at SNM College. Malyankara. The

topic for the competition was Swami Vivekanan-

da and Youth. Ten students participated in the

Speech. Smt Jyoti Unniraman coordinator for

college competitions and Sudhakarji were the

judges. Sri Mukundan, HOD of Biology depart-

ment of the college co-ordinated the programme.

Kum. Rakhi.K.R was adjudged the best speaker.

The prize winning students were asked to partici-

pate one day camp at Ananda Dham, where in-

tercollegiate competition was to be conducted to

all the students and wherein they would be ex-

posed to the teachings of Swamiji. On 5th

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 7

November another speech competition was orga-

nized, this time in KKTM College, Pullut. Only

five students took part in the competition. Smt

Jyothi Unniraman and two lecturers from the

Malayalam and English departments were the

judges. Sri James.P.O was adjudged as the best

speaker.

On 6th November, a one day seminar at

Bharatiya Vidaya Bhavan Vidya Mandir,

Irinjalakuda, was organized by Kendra, spon-

sored by Sports & Youth Affairs Govt. of Kerala

and Ramakrishna Mission. The seminar was

meant for higher secondary school students. In

all 175 students participated. Resource persons

were Sri Hareendran Master, Sri Vinod Kumar

and Mananeeya Lakshmi Didi. All the speakers

emphasized why they should make Swamiji as

their hero, so that their lives run on the right

track. Lakshmi Didi in her own unique way pre-

sented Swamiji through power point presentation

of Vishwa Bhanu Exhibition and asked the stu-

dents to imbibe the spirit of Swamiji in their

lives. Sri Mukundan, Chairman of the Managing

committee of Bharatiya Vidya Mandir, inaugu-

rated the seminar. Children of Vivekananda club

sang 'Bhuvana mandale' which was followed by

all the children. A book on Swamiji's life and

message was given to all students and a set of

Swamiji's complete works was presented to the

school library.

On 27th November a similar seminar

was conducted at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Ko-

dungallur for the higher secondary students. Sri

Vinod Kumar, the coordinater of the seminars

on behalf of Ramakrishna Mission gave a brief

idea about the 150th birth anniversary celebra-

tions of Swamiji and the significance of such

seminars. Later Man. Lakshmi didi inaugurated

the seminar and presented a set of Complete

Works of Swamiji to the Principal for the school

library. In her inaugural address, she recalled

how Swamiji released the exclusive religions

from their cages into the freedom of the Infinity

of Truth. Sri Suresh Babu, greatly devoted to

Swamiji, from Durga school of Peramangalam

was the main speaker. Sri Suresh Babu elaborat-

ed the life and message of Swamiji point by

point and encouraged the children to take up the

study of Swamiji with earnest interest so that

they would be able to attain their goal in life.

Sharing the experience Kum. Ameena said that

the seminar made her aware of the immense po-

tentialities within them and they felt confident

to rise to greater heights by reading and under-

standing Swamiji's life better. The programme

concluded with national anthem.

Vivekananda Jayanthi

Pushparchana, at the feet of Swamiji was

kept for people throughout the day since the

prize distribution ceremony and public function

of Swamiji’s Jayanthi were kept on 12th Janu-

ary. All the yoga satra and yoga varga partici-

pants, Samskarvarga children and all those who

attended the function performed pusparchana.

More than two hundred people partici-

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 8

pated. The programme started at 10.30 am. Sri

Chandrasekharan an educationist was the Chief

Guest. The first prize winner groups of patriotic

and folk songs performed on tne stage. Apart

from prize distribution, five needy and meritori-

ous students of the XIth class of G.G.H.S.S. Ko-

dungallur were awarded scholarships by Didi. In

the end there was a beautiful Thiruvathira dance

by Smt Padmaja’s troup. The song of this dance

was the most popular Sanskrit song on Swamiji -

’Bhuvana Mandale’. Programme ended by

12.30. All the members had the prasad.

Interschool group song competition.

Come January and all the branch and

project centres of Kendra bear a festive mood as

it is the month in which Swamiji was born. On

the 9th of January nine schools took part in patri-

otic group song and 12 schools in folk group

song competitions.

It was a real sight to watch the spirit of

the children. Four judges, one from Kodungallur

and three from Paravur were there to judge the

children's' performance. The Folk songs were

soul stirring. Students dressed in colorful attires

playing folk instruments and rhythmically danc-

ing to the tune of their songs kept the audience

including the judges spellbound.

Announcement of the results was tough

for the judges , hence we had more than one

group for the second and consolation prizes in

both patriotic and folk songs.The trophies for

patriotic song, was won by S.N.Vidya Bhavan,

Chentrapinni and that for folk song was bagged

by Seethi Sahib High School,Azhikode.

On the 10th of January a Thiruvathira

group dance competition was kept for students of

classesXI and XII. Only two schools participated

viz- H.S.School, Panangad and Bharat Vidya

Mandir, Valappad. Three judges were present.

Both the schools performed excellently, hence

both were declared first prize winners. Smt

Padmaja, one of the judges explained the signifi-

cance of this traditional dance.

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 9

Other celebrations

1) Independence Day

The 67th Independence day was cele-

brated at Anandadham, Kodungallur with the

hoisting of the National flag by Mananiya Lak-

shmi Didi. Sandeepani Sishuvihar children, their

parents, samskar varg children and the inmates

of Anandadham were present. Singing of the

National anthem and followed by singing of pat-

riotic songs by the children formed part of the

programme. Ladoos were distributed at the end

of the programme.

2) Onam Day

Onam was celebrated in Sandeepani

Sishuviahr just the day before their Onam vaca-

tion. Children themselves with the help of their

mothers and teachers made a beautiful floral de-

sign with flowers brought by each of them. One

of them -Ritupoorna of LKG was dressed as Va-

mana and Akshara of UKG as Mahabali. This

year, 45 needy people were given Onam kits

worth Rs 250/- each on the occasion of Onam

3) Children's Day

Like previous years this year also the

children of Sandeepani Sishuvihar celebrated

Children's Day with pomp and show. The theme

for this year was national heroes of Mother In-

dia'. All the children from this year and also

from previous years were invited to participate in

the programme dressing up befitting the theme.

Master Vishnu dressed as Chacha Nehru, gave

the inaugural speech. Others dressed as Viveka-

nanda, Sri Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Shivaji,

Jhansi Rani, Unniarcha, Dr Palpu, Ayyappa

Swami, Chattambi Swamigal and so on. One by

one the heroes presented themselves on the stage

and also spoke a few lines about 'themselves' and

their mission. Children had a wonderful time

together. Every one of them was given an oppor-

tunity to speak or sing.

4) Matrupuja

On the auspicious day of the Holy Moth-

er's tithi Puja on 24th December , grandmothers

from the neighborhood as well as the mothers of

our Sishuvihar students were invited for 'Matru

puja'. Thirtyfive

mothers were

present for the

puja. To imbibe

the samskara '

Matru devo bha-

va' or to see the

mother as God is

what our scrip-

tures teach. Thus

this day every

year is dedicated

for worshipping

their mothers by the little children. Puja was

started by the oldest granny. After puja all the

mothers and children enjoyed the prasad.

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 1 0

5) Republic Day

After flag hoisting by Didi, Shri Tushar

Ghosh, our guest from Switzerland inaugurated

the Kutumba Sammelan. Samskarvarga children,

Sandeepani children and their parents, yoga Var-

ga pstudents and their families took part in this

jolly get together. There were games for all age

groups followed by a samuha bhojanam- sharing

of the varieties of delicacies brought by each

family.

Bhakti Yoga:

Bhakti Yoga which forms the second

step of Viveka Sopana is meant to purify the

emotions, turning them away from purely wordly

and selfish actions towards God and Ultimate

Truth.

Our great Rishis with their rare insight

could penetrate into the subtlest realm of human

mind through absolute self control and power of

concentration and could realize that their inner

most Being is centered in the purest form of Infi-

nite Divine love. This awareness when projected

outside resulted in the discovery that this whole

universe is permeated with the subtle energy of

Divine Love, in one form or other. The wide va-

riety of positive human emotions is nothing but

the varied expressions of the same divine energy

of Love. Bhakti yoga teaches us to spiritualize

the mundane love we feel by centering it in our

own Inner Self. How to purify, refine and make

our love vibrate in tune with the Divine Love,

form the essence of Bhakti yoga. Only when

love turns into Bhakti can it fulfill itself and lead

man in his ascent to divinity or perfection and

help him in his evolutionary transformation and

through him/her bring solace and benediction to

the whole of mankind.

To channelize human emotions into the

path of Divine Love or Bakthi, a number of pro-

grammes were organized centered round the

worship of various deities.

Gurupurnima

The Sanskrit root "Gu" means darkness

or ignorance. "Ru" denotes the remover of that

darkness. Therefore one who removes darkness

of our ignorance is a Guru. Hindus celebrate it

in honour of the great sage Vyasa, who is one of

the greatest Gurus in ancient Hindu traditions

and a symbol of the Guru-shishya tradition. This

was the day, when Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa -

author of the Mahabharata - was born to sage

Parashara and a fisherman's daughter Satyavati.

Thus this day is also celebrated as Vyasa Purni-

ma .This festival has great importance for Indian

academics and scholars. Indian academics cele-

brate this day by thanking their teachers as well

as remembering past teachers and scholars.

Gurupurnima was celebrated in Anan-

dadham on 20th July. Dr Karumatra Vijayan a

well-known Tantra Sadhaka and having a num-

ber of students studying Tantra Shastra under

him, was invited as the Guest speaker. He elabo-

rated the qualities of a guru and also explained

about the importance of Gurupurnima. Not only

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 1 1

how a guru ought to be but a deserving student

or his qualities were also mentioned.

On 22ndJuly early morning there was

Ganapathi Homam by students of Gurupadam

and chanting of Guru strotam by the inamates of

Anandadham.

Vaishnava Sankirtana - a new experience

Renowned scholar, Sri Gopal Iyengar

and a group of Vaishnava devotees from Karna-

taka, visited Kodungallur on 4th May, on a three

day pilgrimage. They stayed at our campus -

Anandadham . Apart from temple visits they

spent the rest of their time chanting the Vedas in

Tamil, 'Divya Prabandham'. The whole campus

was vibrating with their chants. They left on 7th

May to conclude their chanting at the famous

Thrikkakara Vamana temple.

Ramayana Parayanam

17th July marked the beginning of the

Karkatakam month. On the very first day of the

month Susri Bindu and her team conducted Ra-

mayana parayanam in the premises of a nearby

Devi temple in the early morning and in a house

near the Kodungallur Bhagavathi Amman temple

in the evening. The programme included daily

one house visit in the evening on working days

and both morning and evening on weekend holi-

days There was good response and demand for

parayanam from many houses. She was accom-

panied by one or two lady students staying in

Anandadham and a few well-wishers. Group

reading of the Adhyatma Ramayana by Guru

Ezhuttachan was the main aim besides sam-

parka.

Ramayana in day to day life

On the occasion of Ramayana Masacha-

ran Samapanam, Rev.Swamini Samhitanandaji

from Chinmaya Mission Thiruvananthapuram,

was invited for prabhasanam on 4th August,

Sunday. She talked on the practical application

of the epic Ramayana in ones daily life.

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 1 2

Month long Ramayana satsangh

About 30 houses were visited by Kum.

Bindu and her companions during the Ramayana

month. Almost all those family members were

present for the Ramayana Masacharan

Samapanam.

15th of August was also the end of the

Karkatakam or Ramayana month. A colourful

demonstration by the Sishuvihar children and the

samskar varga children, who dressed up as dif-

ferent characters in the Ramayana, was one of

the interesting items for celebrating the

Samapanam of Ramayana month. Recital of

some of the portions of the Adhyatma Ramayana

by children and elders followed by a Ramayana

Quiz for the children were the other items of the

programme. Uniqueness of the demonstration

programme was that, starting from the writer of

Ramayana Sri Tunchathu Ezhuttachan to Pat-

tabhisheka of Lord Rama, almost all the major

incidents were enacted by the children.

Shri Krishna Jayanthi

Sri Krishna Jayanthi was celebrated at

Anandadham on 28thAugust. For Keralites it is

'Asthami Rohini Day'. Throughout Kerala this

day is celebrated with Sobha Yatras of small

children dressed as Sri Krishnas. All the parents

like to see their wards dressed as Sri Krishna or

Gopikas or various characters of the Bhagavata

Anandadham was vibrating with the presence of

little Krishnas on the happy occasion of Ashtami

Rohini. It was an opportunity for all the Mothers

to feel the Motherhood of Yashoda while dress-

ing up their children as little Sri Krishna. All the

children from Sandeepani Sishuvihar and other

children from neighborhood participated in the

programme. There were 40 children on the

stage dressed up as Sri Krishna,gopikas, gopalas

and Yashodas Children with best performance

were presented with tokens of appreciation.

Singing of Krishna bhajans and dancing were

also part of the programme. After exhibiting

their talents all the children and parents together

went to ''Brindavan'' to pay their respects to the

Sri Krishna Statue there. Lastly came the

'Uriyadi' or breaking the po whicht was the most

interesting part of the programme. Anandham

was transformed into a mini Brindavan on that

day.

Navaratri Pooja:

This year Navaratri began on 4th October.

Daily bhajans and prayers for ten days in front of

the "Bomma Kolu" were conducted by the in-

mates of Anada Dham and children from the

neighbourhood. In the mornings Devi Mahath-

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 1 3

myam was chanted every day. Ashtami, Navami

and Vijayadasmi are of utmost importance and

are considered most auspicious to initiate chil-

dren into learning. Children placed books, musi-

cal instruments, implements, etc. In front of

Goddess Saraswathi's idol, and on ashtami day,

the books were worshipped and children prayed

to the Goddess for granting them wisdom and

knowledge. On Dhasami day books were taken

out for reading after puja and prayers. On Vi-

jaydasmi day a good number of children got ini-

tiated into learning, marking Vidyarambham. On

the tongue of the child the letters "Harishree Ga-

napataye Namah" were written with a gold ring.

The child was made to write the same letters on

rice spread in plate. Usually an eminent person-

ality of the locality initiated the child. This has

caught the imagination of even Christians and

Muslims and they have also started imitating this

ritual in their places of worship. Lakshmi Didi

initiated many tiny tots here in Ananda Dham at

a nearby Sasta temple and at the Sai Vidya

Niketan school.

Gita Jayathi

On the evening of 13th December , Gita

Jayanthi was celebrated in Anandadham coin-

ciding it with the inauguration of the Viveka-

nanda Study Circle in the campus by Didi. Aim

of the study circle is to guide interested seekers

in the chanting and also acquaint them with the

meaning of the slokas of Sreemad Bhagavat

Gita. On the first and third Sunday evening of

each month this class will be held for an hour.

Didi will be monitoring the class. About fifty

seekers attended the class on Gita Jayanthi Day.

Narayaneeya Sapthaha

This year's sapthah 5th to 11th May was

based on Shri Melpathur's Narayaneeyam which

is a condensed version of Bhagavata. Those sev-

en days our campus reverberated with chantings

and bhajans and of course readings from Naraya-

neeyam and prabhashanas based on that. Adding

to the atmosphere of Bhakti were dances and

cultural shows by children. More than 100 per-

sons attended the highly elevating spiritual dis-

courses of Brahmashri Peringara Keshavan

Namboothiri and his devoted partner Smt. Re-

nuka Thampuratti. There was annadana every-

day.

Raja yoga

The goal in life is to manifest the Divin-

ity by controlling nature external and internal.

This important observation of Swamiji

holds the key to unlock the doors of Rajayoga,

the very important third step of Viveka Sopana.

Just as the mountain climbers need to carry oxy-

gen as they ascend the heights, so also the seek-

ers of Truth need to conserve and control their

'Pranic Energy' to delve deeper into the secrets of

their very being. Without the Rajayoga of con-

trol of the workings of mind the ascent becomes

almost impossible. Our great Rishis fully real-

ised this and have perfected this superfine tech-

nology of Rajayoga, acclaimed all over the

world today as the most scientific technique for

self enlightenment, thanks to the light thrown on

it by Swami Vivekananda, as the surest scien-

tific way to claim the health, wealth and happi-

ness that lie deep within us.

Bringing the message of health and well

being, yoga scaled new heights as more and

more of our lady participants have taken to yoga

seriously. Many of them were eager to qualify

more in the subject and enrolled themselves in

the distant education classes of Swami Viveka-

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 1 4

nanda Yoga University, Bengaluru. They reaped

a double harvest - learned more about ancient

India's great heritage and could also get em-

ployed as yoga teachers.

On 27th May, there was an interaction

session of the teachers, trained in Kendra, work-

ing in different schools of Kodungallur as Yoga

teachers or regular teachers, with Smt Jyothi Un-

niraman, a counsellor and retired Management

trainer. Topic was how the teachers could excel

in their respective fields.

This year we have extended our yoga for

school children to two more government schools

run by Muslim management, one at Konathukun-

nu GUPS and another SSMHS at Azhikode. Two

of our newly trained Yoga participants were de-

ployed to take the classes on regular basis. The

former was for upper primary children and the

latter is was for tenth class children with the aim

to bring about an all round development in their

progress. Sri Sudhakar visited the Govt Upper

primary school and addressed all the children in

the school at the request of the PTA President

who was also a social worker from that area, Smt

Padmaja and Smt Shakeena visited these

schools on weekly basis and conducted the clas-

ses. Apart from yoga, they will be teaching them

certain meditation and concentration techniques

through games and stories.

One notable achievement this year was

many of the children trained by our teachers got

prizes in district level competition conducted by

the Trissur District yoga association. They would

now be competing at the state level. All the

winning children were felicitated by the school

management and PTA association of the respec-

tive schools.

Yoga Satra & Yoga Varga

Yoga Varga for men continued in the

early morning from 5:45 to 7a.m. Around 10

participants attended the varga regularly. Sri

Dharmanji and Sri Unniji monitered the varga.

On an average 7 ladies regularly attended the

varga separatesly under the guidance of Susri

Sutapa Das. In all 15 satras took place in the year

under report in which about 100 people partici-

pated.

Bala Yoga

10 children regularly attended Bala

Yoga class every Saturday 7:30 to 8:30 am.

Samskar Varga

Samskar Varga classes went on at two

places, every Sunday morning at Anandadham

and every 2nd Sunday at Vinayakapuram. On an

average 15 students attended.

Suryakiran

On 19 th January , 15 different schools

participated in the ' Surya Kiran ' Samuhika

Surya Namaskar programme held at the Gu-

rushree Public ground, Pullut . 600 students par-

ticipated in the programme which started by

7.30 and ended by 9 a.m. This time student

groups were arranged in circles and the for-

mations at each step of Suryanamaskar were

very attractive . Students performed in groups of

twenty to twenty five. Groups from Amrita

Vidyalayam, Phoenix Public School and Gu-

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 1 5

rushree Public School were adjudged as best per-

formers and received awards on the spot.

Gurushree Public school was also

awarded for the largest participation with 6

groups totalling to 150 students. Chief Guest for

the programme was Sri K.G Sivanandan, MD of

Cooperative Bank, Kodungallur.

Sri Sai Vidya Bhavan performed yoga

Pyramid on the stage after Samuhika Surya Na-

maskar was over. As usual all the children,

teachers and parents were provided sumptuous

breakfast after the programme.

Jnana Yoga

The ultimate step of Viveka Sopana is

the reliasation of the SELF within. The Self is the

essence of this universe, the essence of all souls;

He is the essence of your own life, nay, "Thou art

That". You are one with this universe.

"He who says he is different from others

even by a hair's breadth, immediately becomes

miserable".Happiness belongs to him who

knows this Oneness, who knows he is one with

the universe. This is the essence, the Crest Jewel

of Knowledge - the Eternal Inextinguishable

Light which enlightens and enlivens the entire

universe and sustains it.

To make people acquainted with the ulti-

mate Truth the best way is through enlightening

satsangs with eminent personalities. One im-

portant step in this direction has been the month-

ly study classes on Lalithasahasranama by the

learned scholar Shri. Girishkumar. Every month

the last weekend is kept for his classes. Great

insight is provided by Shri. Girishji into the intri-

cate meanings hidden in the thousand names of

Goddess . The lecture is preceded and followed

by meditation on Divine Mother.

Sreemad Swami Jitatmanandaji of Chin-

maya Mission -Ottapalam, visited Anandadham

on 9thJuly, for a week long programme in a

nearby temple. As his stay was in Anandadham,

the inmates of Anandadham took the opportunity

to attend his swadhyaya classes. He also took a

session for the yoga varga members many of

whom have been appointed as yoga teachers in

different schools in and around Kodungallur. He

spoke to them on the 16 samskaras and their rel-

evance in the life of a person. There was a ques-

tion answer session too.

On 25 th Novembe r , Swami

Chidanandapuri Maharaj, of Adwaita ashramam,

Kolathur, well known for his inspiring exposi-

tion of Vedanta, delivered a talk on the message

of Upanishads. Though it was a working day, a

good number of well wishers were present to

listen to Swamiji. Swamiji was visiting Aananda

Dham after a gap of four years. Swamiji in his

lucid way explained the message of Upanishads.

He called upon the women who were present to

understand the importance of the role of mother

in the family structure. The country has to be-

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 1 6

come Jagatguru, and it is in mothers hands to

achieve it. He invited questions from the audi-

ence which were elucidated by him.

A half day Seminar on ‘Swamiji and

Education’, especially for the B.Ed students and

school teachers was arranged on 11th January.

Lakshmi Didi welcomed the gathering. 165 dele-

gates mainly from Dr Palpu B.Ed College and

HPK B.Ed College and S.N.M.Maliankara Col-

lege, registered. The Programme started by 10

a.m. Dr Geetha Suraj, Ex-Principal of

Muthakunnam College was the Chief Speaker

who gave the Inaugural talk. Other speakers

were Dr. T.P.Sashikumar and Vice President of

Bharatiya Vidya Niketan-South zone, Dr

Madhavan.

Question answer session was dealt with

by Dr T.P. Sashikumar, which almost all the del-

egates enjoyed and actively took part so much so

that an open session was kept even after lunch

upto 3p.m.

Seminars

1) Bird's eye view of Vivekananda litera-

ture

On 21st July, a seminar meant for the

prabuddha section of our society , was conducted

by Vivekananda Vedic Vision Foundation in

collaboration with Kodungallur Sahitya Sadas-

su. Topic of the seminar was 'Vivekananda Sa-

hityam Oru Vihaga Veekshanam'. A number of

speakers presented their papers. Chief speaker

was Sri Harindran Master, Vice principal of

SRKMHS, Puranattukara. His topic was Swa-

miji's poems in Malayalam literature. Other

speakers were Nimisha Kavi Sri Thayyaparambil

Gopalankutty Menon, Professor R.P.Menon, Sri

Nanda Kumar-a Bank Officer, Professor K.

Ajitha. Sri Kottapuram Rajan Master and poet

Sri T.R.Velu. 'Ammini Kutty' a novel authored

by budding authoress Kum.J. Deepa of Edavil-

langur, was released on the same day.The semi-

nar started at 10 a.m and concluded at 2pm in the

afternoon. Seventy five people attended.

2) Kodungallur Sahitya Sadassu, in col-

laboration with Vivekananda Kendra conducted

a one day seminar on 'Swami Vivekananda - a

Karma Yogi'. The seminar was inaugurated by

Sri Surendran, Dy SP of Kodungallur. One of the

members of Sahitya Sadasu,Sri P.S.S Kaimal,

had composed a Khanda Kavyam on Swamiji's

life entitled Karma yogi. The book was released

by Sri Surendran and the first copy was received

by Kum Manavi. Nimisha Kavi Sri Gopalan-

kutty menon and other speakers threw light on

Swamiji's life as Karma Yogi. In the end there

was question answer session on the subject. Pro-

gramme concluded with Shanti mantra.

Foreign Tours

The highlight of the year was Lakshmi

Didi's visit to Switzerland at the invitation of the

Vedanta centre of RK mission, Geneva. As part

of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of

Swami Vivekananda, the Centre had arranged

three major programs, one at Sas Fe mountain

resort, another at Geneva and the last one at Zur-

ich. In all the three places Didi was the chief

speaker. The audience included many celebrities

of India and Switzerland. Swami Vivekananda's

message to the West, Harmony of religions and

yogas and relevance of Swami Vivekananda's

message were the topics covered by her. While

S a m a r p a n 2 0 1 4 P a g e 1 7

returning, she spent a week at Dubai and nearby

places and held a number of satsanghs for the

pravasi Indians.

Award:

On 12th April, on the auspicious day of

Akshaya Tritiya, and Mother's Day, Didi was

honoured with this year's 'Sri Lakshmiprabha

Award' for her contribution towards society by

"Mangadatthamma Mahalakshmi Kshetra Sami-

ty", Puthuvaserry.

Publications brought out during the year

Books ready for printing: Malayalam

Translation of Lakshmi Didi's book Incredible

India (Bharatam Oru mahavismayam) is

ready and is in the final stage.

Book sales

Kendra publications were sold for rupees

30,000 and other publications for 27,000. Sale of

novelties stood at 20,000 and Projects publica-

tions Rs. 77000.

Enrollment of patrons

85 patrons for Vivekananda Kendra

were newly enrolled and 200 new subscriptions

for Vishwa Bhanu.

Guests from abroad

Shri Tushar Ghosh and Miss. Katherine

Heyer, both devotees of Ramakrishna Math

from Switzerland, visited Anandadham. Tushar

Ghosh stayed for a week from 21st January and

Katherine stayed for five days from 31st Janu-

ary. Both took part in the various activities of

Kendra and attended the Yoga classes too.

The healing Touch

Last but not least of our soul filling ac-

tivity, as a spiritually oriented service mission, is

providing the much needed spiritual healing

touch to tormented souls. In the social atmos-

phere prevailing in the country today, specially

in Kerala, men, women and children are under

great pressures of various kinds - social, eco-

nomic, familial and son on. Though most of the-

se tensions are man made, due to one’s own in-

adequacies, they don't have the wherewithal to

come out of it and lead a balanced life. The

counselling centres are unable to heal the dam-

age caused at the deeper levels human personali-

ty. A good number of such people approach us

for spiritual consolation and receive advice that

help them to balance their lives and put it back

on the tracks. Starting with yoga and breathing

exercises and we help them to delve deep unto

themselves and experience in their own way the

Truth of their being. “Give back to our people

their lost spirituality” are Swamijis words.

Mananeeya Eknathji also used to feel that all the

misery, poverty and insults that our country had

to go through centuries were due to our lack of

confidence, courage and vision. It is here that

Vedic Vision Foundation makes our humble

contribution. The net result is that today Ananda

Dham our campus has really become an oasis in

the arid desert of human life in Kodungallur.

Samarpan

As always it is a pleasure to look back on the

year and offer our grateful thanks to all our trus-

tees, members of the managing committee of

Vivekananda Kendra and well wishers who are

part of Vivekananda Kendra family at Kodungal-

lur. May the most elevating vedic vision of our

seers ever guide us in all that we do so that, our

great Motherland regains her ancient glory and

be seated as the Jagat Guru blessing the entire

humanity. May Swamiji's inspiring man making

nation building ideaswhich also embodies the

fine tuning of one's individual self with the eter-

nal indestructible omniscient , omnipotent , cos-

mic power ever protect us and give us courage to

walk in the path of Satya and Dharma guide.

Satyam param deemahi

Hari Om Tatsat

Sri Ramakrishanarpanamastu

General Donations

SRI. ANIL BATRA, NEW DELHI 5100.00

SMT. C.PADMINI PANICKER, TRISSUR 10001.00

SMT SUBHAVATI DINKAR. PUNE 50000.00

DR. LAKSHMI KUMARI 40000.00

SMT. A.VIMALA, TRISSUR 30000.00

SMT. MALATHY RAJAGOPALAN, CHENNAI 10000.00

SRI. SHAILAPPAN, KODUNGALLUR 10000.00

SMT. LATHA MENON,U.S.A. 300000.00

SRI. TUSHAR GHOSH, CALCUTTA 10000.00

MISS. KATHERINE .H, CALCUTTA 5000.00

SMT. GOURI K.P, KERALASSERY 50000.00

SMT. PADMA DEVY, KODUNGALLUR 5000.00

You can help

Vedic Vision Foundation

v Becoming a patron of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari

v Becoming an Annual Donor of Vedic Vision Foundation by do-

nating minimum of Rs. 1000 per year

v Sponsoring our publications and service activities through

general donations.

v Through sponsorship of Students for taking up Vedic/ San-

skrit Studies

v Dharma sevika Project of training girls.

v Encouraging your friends to imbibe our Vision and Mission.

VIVEKANANDA KENDRA VEDIC VISION FOUNDATION

ANANDADHAM, SRINGAPURAM KODUNGALLUR,

PIN 680664. KERALA Ph. No : 0480-2803349, 2805780, 2812780 Email

ID : vkvvf@vkendra.org Blog : blog.vkvvf.org / vkvvf.org