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Sthita Prajna

Guru Vandana

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GururdevogururdharmogurornishthaparamtapahGurohparataramnastinastitattvamgurohparam

Guru Gita - 200

The guru is God. The guru is dharma. It is supremeausterity to have firm faith in the guru. There is nothing superiorto the guru and no greater truth than the guru.

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 15 ISSUE 3

Sub Page No.

• GURU VANDANA 3

• EDITORIAL 5

• MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER 6

• PRAJNANAVANI – KARMA AND FREEDOM... 10

• PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDA Childhood 21

• PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDA’S 125th Birth... 25

• NATIONAL SEMINAR – EMPOWERMENT... 27

• TEACHINGS OF THE MASTERS 32

• MYTHS AND METAPHORS 33

MAHABHARATA

• YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI 38

• DATES TO REMEMBER 40

• STORIES TO LIVE BY – THE BITTER TRUTH 41

• VALUABLE VOLUMES 43

• ACTIVITIES OF PRAJNANA MISSION 47

Printed and Published by Swami Achalananda Giri on behalf ofPrajnana Mission, Printed at Graphic Art Offset Press,

at Nuapatna, Manglabag, Dist : Cuttack (Orissa) and published atPrajnana Mission at Nimpur, P.O. Jagatpur, Cuttack-754021, Orissa.

Editor : Swami Achalananda Giri

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FROM THE EDITORS :

“By using every breath, every thought, every moment,as flower seeds watered with love , the life will be a gardenfull of beautiful flowers.”

Paramahamsa PrajnananandaIn the “Message from the Master”, Gurudev talks about

sacrifice as a noble act for manifestation of inner divinity throughself-offering, using a verse from “Chandi Sapthashati” to elaborate.

Prajnanavani explains “Karma and Freedom fromBondage.”

As we celebrate the 125th Birth Anniversary of our greatGuru ParamahamsaYoganandaji this year, we remember the lifeand valuable teachings of this great yogi, and bring you messagesabout the celebrations.

We celebrate Gurudev Baba Hariharanandaji’s birthday onthe 27th of May.

Mahabharata continues under the Myths and Metaphorseries giving more insight into human nature and the struggle forpower.

Yoga Sutra discusses the states or stages of differentqualities of nature.

The four month Brahmachari training course at thegurukulam comes to an end with the valedictory ceremony on the24th of February, the day of Maha Shivaratri.

We bring you many messages of the Gurus, the news ofthe Intensive International Kriya Yoga Seminar and the manyactivities of Prajnanamission.

We thank our readers and sponsors for their continuedsupport.

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MESSAGE FROM THE MASTERTHE BEAUTY OF SCRIPTURAL WISDOM

TVAM SWAHA

Life is a sacrifice. Thissacrifice is for a greater cause.As a seed sacrifices itself tobe a tree, or the mothersacrifices for the child, similarly,sacrifice is a noble act for themanifestation of inner divinitythrough self-offering. In theVedic ceremony, when there isan offering to the Divine, oreven to others, there is a specialprayer or associated mantra.With sacrifice, if there is anelement of ego, then there isno real result. In realityeverything belongs to God. Weare just the caretakers or

trustees. To elaborate thisspiritual significance ofsacrifice, there is a verse in theChandi (1.73) that begins witha prayer to the Divine Mother:

tvam svaha tvam svadhatvam hi vashatkara

svaratmikasudha tvam aksahre nityetridhamatratmika sthita

“You are the GoddessSwaha (satisfying the devas orthe Divine),

Swadha (satisfying theancestors or pitrus),Vashatkara (form of all yajnasor sacrifices) immortality ornectar, imperishable, everexisting, and made of threesyllables pranava, aum”

It begins with tvamswaha, “you are swaha.”Swaha is a word that not onlymeans you are offering anoblation to the Divine, but it alsorefers to one’s own will,determination, nature, orpleasure. It is also the nameof the wife of Fire (agni). Ina fire ceremony, while offeringan oblation, we say the mantraand add swaha to it. The power

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of swaha is within us, becausewe are children of God. Wehave godlike purity, perfection,balance, and amity, but we arenot using these qualities becausewe are not meditating deeply.Why don’t you seek the power?You and He are one, but youprefer to remain in the shallowstate.

The next word is tvamswadha . Swadha is theoblation for the ancestors or thespiritual persons who have leftthe physical plane of theuniverse. They have superpower in them, and that poweris within you all. If youmeditate, then you will getcalmness, and you can feel thepower of God always withinyou.

Tvam hi vashatkara isthe mode of offering to the deitymanifested in the materialworld. We live in this world,and we have our ownresponsibilities for creation,even for the plants and animals.There are so many animals inthe universe, and all thoseanimal instincts also prevailwithin you. Why don’t youremove them? You have arational and divine form, so whydon’t you come to the swahastate or divine state?

The next part of theverse is :

sudha tvam akshre nityetridhamatratmika sthita

“You are sudha. You arenectar. You are immortality. ODivine Mother, you are thebestower of immortality in all.”

Constantly, the divinenectar, the power of God, isflowing through you. It is notthe talk of Hariharananda, it isthe talk of God, and what youare hearing is heard by God.If you feel this, then it is nectarto you, but to reach that staterequires alertness and deepmeditation.

Tvamakshre nitye (youare eternal) and akshara .What is that akshara?Akshara means“imperishable.” You are thatimperishable soul. It is also saidin the Bhagavad Gita (8:13):

om ityekaksaram“Om is the akshara.”What is om? Om is

made up of A U M — the grossbody, astral body, and causalbody. The casual body is thesound A, the astral body is thevibration U, and the gross bodyis the beauty that is M. If youadd A+U+M, then it is aum, om.

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In your spiritual life, ifyou go beyond the three bodies,or integrate the three bodiestogether with yogic practice, youwill then get the imperishabletalk of God. It is a nonstop,continuous sound in the etherealstate. The more you meditate,the more you will hear thatsound. Nitye means“constantly.” You have tomeditate, and then God will flowthrough your body, like nectar.Whatever it may be, be it asense of material prosperity, orphysical pleasure, or appetite forfood, if you feel that it is comingfrom God, then it is nectar. Godis giving you one thought afteranother, constantly.

We have three bodies(gross, astral, and causal), alsoknown as animality, rationality,and divinity. Divinity, or thecausal body, is swaha. Theastral, or the rational body, isswadha, and the gross, oranimal body, is vashatkara.This is integration and harmonyin life. This is the real practiceof yoga. This is the integrationof the formless soul in bodyform, so that in all actions, oneexperiences the soul. In realitythe form and the formless areone. Those who understand theinner significance of

worshipping the Divine Motherwill know that it is not the actualworship of the deity, but theworshipping of one’s own Self.The Divine Mother as Durgaor Kali is shakti, which isenergy or power. There is nolife without power and strength.

Shakti is depicted as anaked woman. Why naked?For any energy to manifest, ithas to be uncovered. If energyor power is not naked, then itcannot function. If the electricwire is completely covered withan insulator, then the electricityinside cannot be used. I willgive you another simple, butpractical, example. We havefive sense organs: eyes, ears,nose, skin, and tongue. Theeyes can see, which is thepower of vision or sight. It isdarshanashakti. If I do notkeep my eye naked, or open,then I cannot see, sodarshanashakti should benaked. Shravanashakti is theability to hear. If I close myears I cannot hear, so theyshould be naked. Vakshakti,or the power of speech, is inthe mouth. The mouth shouldbe open or without a cover,enabling speech.Ghranashakti is the ability to

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smell. If the nose is blockedbecause of a cold, you cannotsmell the beautiful flower. Themind has the power to cognize;therefore, the mind should bekept open and free from tensionand emotion.

Shakti is picturedwearing a garland of fiftyhuman heads. These representthe fifty letters of the Sanskritalphabet. With the letters weare talking, and talk comes fromthe neck center. This is thematrikavarna mala (garland of

alphabets). All talk is the powerof speech manifested from theDivine Mother through themouth. A spiritual seeker isaware of it. Talk is the light ofthe body lamp. A spiritualseeker speaks with love andawareness. All talk is anoffering or sacrifice to theDivine, as well as to all humans,plants, and animals. Speak withlove. Speak as a prayer.Speak as a mantra. Speak asa loving oblation. This will bringbeauty and perfection in life.

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Inauguration of IIKYS by Gajapati Maharaj

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PRAJNANAVANI - THE VOICE OF WISDOMKARMA AND FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE

Karma means action andthis entire creation is the worldof karma. Throughout creation,the elements are also working.For instance, in the water cyclethe sun is shining, water isevaporating to make clouds, andagain the water dropletsbecome rain, falling on the earthto make it fertile for sprouts togrow. Just as the elements areworking externally, they are alsoworking internally. However,the elemental work or the workthat is going on inside the bodysuch as the vital breath,digestion, and circulation doesnot give any visible result of

action or binding. For example,when you get joy from eatingfood or when you become sadwhen the teacher scolds you, itis all a visible result. But theelements work by nature andthey are not bound with theresult of action known askarmaphala. When it israining, nobody praises andthanks the rain. It is an act ofnature. Similarly, the heartpumps by nature. And thoughthe breath occurs by nature,only the spiritual personremembers God and says, “OGod, I am grateful to youbecause of this breath.”

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The fruit of action ifattributed to a person when onethinks, “I am the doer.” Thus,he gets the fruit or result.Animals act with instinct; theyeat and sleep, but they are notbound by karma because theirmind is not as developed as thehuman mind. Plants and treessprout, grow flowers and fruits,and then die. They, too do notget the result of karma becausethey are instinct bound, theyhave no freedom, and they donot have choices. Animals donot do something purposefullyas humans do to be better.Suppose someone is poor andworks hard to be rich; orsomeone is sick and works hardto be healthy; or someone isignorant and tries to be a personof knowledge: they have goalswith meaning and purpose.However, animals do not behavelike this; their conduct is notvolitional. They cannot workwith the purpose to achievebecause they are guided byinstinct. Hence, the law ofkarma does not apply toanimals. Only humans reap theresult of karma because weattribute doership with activity:“I did it.” However, it is saidwe are free from the result ofkarma up to the age of four,

then after the age of fourwhatever we do we are boundwith it; whether or not wedeclare it, whatever we do wewill get the result.

A jivanmukta, aliberated being while living, isfree from all types of karma.Thus, he is not bound by hisactions. When we speak offreedom or liberation, it meansliberation from the bondage ofthe fruits of action. However,when we use the expression,“I did” or “I achieved,” thenwe are attached to karmabecause of our ego. Suppose Ihelped you and then you didsomething that I did not like, soI started blaming you, thinking,“I did so much for him, yet hedid not even do this little thingfor me.” This attitude happensbecause of ego or doership.With doership comesexpectation, and this is thebinding with which we suffer.

In the Bhagavad Gita(5:11), it says, yoginah karmakurvanti: “yogis do the karma.”Doing karma means the yogisalso act and work, but they arenot bound. Ordinarily, whenpeople do any action they arebound because they feel happywhen praised or sad whenblamed. Both responses show

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that the person is bound, or isin bondage.

It is also written in theBhagavad Gita (3:5), nahikashchit kshanamapi jatutishthati akarma krit. Thesimple meaning of this messageis that “not for a single momentis a person devoid of action.”In other words, every momentwe are doing something. Wehave been active by workingday and night from birth untildeath through the body, senses,and mind. Life after life wehave been working. Anythingwe do has some effect, soevery karma (action) is readyto give some fruit.

The law of karma saysthere is some reactive force weinitiate for killing insects like wedo while cooking, digging thesoil, walking or cleaning thehouse. For example, when wecook, we turn on the burner,which kills many insects withthe heat. Or, if we plant agarden and dig up the soil, wemight kill some insects living inthe soil and destroy their homes.Or, while walking we might killsome insects. Even if you donot know that you are harminginsects, the karma will come toyou because of your actions.So we should be mindful that

whatever is being done throughour daily activities might causeproblems for other living beings.Suppose a man killed anotherman by mistake. He may saythat he did not really knowwhat was going on, and becauseof his ignorance this act wascommitted without any motive.Although his punishment maybe reduced, he is still to bepenalized even if it was doneout of ignorance.

To be free from ourkarma, we must engage inregular prayer and help others.If we are serviceful and do ouractivities not with pleasurealone, but with prayer, with theright attitude, without ego ordoer ship, then we will be freefrom many karmas.

Acharya Shankara saysthat there are three types ofkarmas, and he explains eachtype commencing with thekarma of a realized or liberatedperson.

karmani katividhanisantiticet

agami sancita prarabdhabhedena

trividhani santiWord Meaning

karmani – actions;katividhani – how many types;

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santi – are; iticet – if asked,then; agami-sancita-prarabdha-bhedena – indistinction agami, sanchita,and prarabdha;trividhani –threefold; santi – are (there)Translation

If it is asked, “How manykinds of karmas are there?”

There are three types ofkarmas: agami, sanchita, andprarabdha.

jnanotpattyanantaramjnanidehakrutam

punyapaparupam karmayadasti

tadagamityabhidhiyateWord Meaning

jnana utpattianantaram– after the manifestation ofknowledge; jnani-dehakratam– done by the body of therealized person; punya-papa-rupam – in the form of meritand demerit; karma – action;yat – whatever; asti – is; tat –that; agami – agami ; iti – thus;abhidhiyate – knownTranslation

The results of actions,good or bad, performed throughthe body of the jnani (a realizedperson) after the dawn ofknowledge is known as agami.

ExplanationThe literal meaning of

agami is “for the future” or “fortomorrow.” Another meaningof agami is derived from its rootgam, meaning “to go” and a,meaning “not”; thus, it meansnot going to the person, notcoming back to you. In mostcases, every karmic seed thatis planted has its own result.However, when somebody isdoing karma and not getting theresult, it is agami.

The Bhagavad Gita(3:27) says:

prakriteh kriyamananigunah karmani sarvasahahamkara vimudhatma

kartahamiti manyate

“All good and evil worksare done by the qualities ofnature, but the egotisticalperson thinks, ‘I am the doer.’”

A person can bestupefied by the ego. Becauseof ego we become foolish, andbecause of discrimination we gotowards wisdom and becomeintelligent. Intelligent peopleare those who have the abilityto discriminate, but fools arethose who live with ego. Thus,more ego equals more stupidity.A person with too much ego or

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stupidity thinks kartaahamiti: “Iam the doer.” If you say thatyou are the doer, then you willget the result. This is true evenif you do not utter that you arethe doer, but you feel or think“I did. I am doing,” you arethe doer. So long as that egois there, it will create problemswithin that “I am doing” or “Itold.” When it is always I, I, Iand that “I” is egocentric andnot the spiritual “I,” you will getthe result for your actions. Eachperson, except for thejivanmukta, is tied or garlandedwith the necklace of karma.The liberated ones are freefrom the influence of the threebodies, and they are here onthe earth due to God and guru’sgrace. They remain in thebody only for us, not forthemselves.

I have heard ShriGurudev Hariharanandaji say, “I will leave my body wheneverI want.” He was actuallysaying that at his wish he couldleave his body. Only one whois free from all karma canreally do or say this. Thus,when a person is wellestablished in Truth, in “I amBrahman,” he is free from allkarmas.

How can a jnani (arealized person, or a person ofknowledge) be free fromkarma? Acharya Shankarasays in this verse that it isbecause the action is beingdone by the body of the jnani,not by the jnani himself. Afterrealization, it is the body that isdoing the action(jnanidehakritam) becausethere is no ego or doer ship ofthe jnani; he is established inTruth. Suppose you ate atlunchtime. When you say youate food, it means you haveaccepted the doer ship — youdid it. But for a person ofknowledge he has eaten, but heis not eating with doer ship.This is the difference betweena liberated being and one whois not realized. Whateverthejnani does can be in theform of punya (good,meritorious, or virtuous) orpapa (nonmeritorious, sinful, orevil). But it does not mean thatthe jnani has degenerated. Heis free.

When people dosomething good, it is generallyunderstood or accepted. Sohow can a realized personcommit a wrong or sinful act?If he has knowledge how canhe do something wrong? There

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is a simple answer to thesequestions. A realized personwill not do anything wrongbecause he knows he is not thedoer, he is free. But as long asthe body is there, the possibilityof both types of action exist:good as well as bad, thus somekarma will be done. By wayof illustration, suppose througha realized person many goodthings such as teaching andhelping people were done.Then one day while walking hetrampled on some insects andthey were killed. So both typesof actions are there. We knowthat to kill something orsomebody is not good, but it wasdone. When karma is there youcannot say that the karma willalways be good. When ShriGurudev’s samadhi temple wasbuilt, some trees had to be cutto build it, to create a beautifulgarden, and to build a road.Sometimes, you cannot havesomething pleasant withoutdoing something unpleasant. Toplant a nice vegetable or flowergarden, the weeds have to bepulled out, and while tilling thesoil to make the garden, theremight be many worms or othercreatures in the soil that getkilled. Thus, when there iskarma there is a mixture of

good and bad. Suppose youkill insects without yourknowledge, is it sinful? Yes. Buta realized person is free fromthe result of all actions becausethe action has only been donethrough his body. When it issaid it is done by the body ofthe jnani, it means that thejnani will eat, speak, and dothings. Suppose a jnani spokestrongly and a person was hurtbecause of his words. Who isgoing to get this result of actionbecause of his harsh word?One time when the greatrealized yogi master Shri LahiriMahashaya was given fish toeat in a disciple’s house, he ateit. Another disciple invited ShriLahiri Baba to his home and healso served him fish and said,“Baba, eat this. It is fish.” ShriLahiri Baba became consciousof what was being said andasked, “Why did you give mefish to eat? I do not eat fish.”The disciple explained that hehad seen him eating fish at theother disciple’s house. Nowwho is telling a lie? Shri LahiriBaba is saying he never eatsfish, yet it was all eaten. Thisis because he was not eating.

It is written in the HolyBible that as a grown man,Jesus was in Jerusalem,

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shouting and turning the tablesupside down in the temple. Heeven used a whip to drivepeople away. Whatever he did,he was not bound with it.Remember, so long as there islife, a jnani or a jivanmuktamight appear to be doingsomething good or bad.However, the jnani is not inthe state of good and bad so heknows that he is not the doer,and whatever is being done isthrough the body and mind. Yetwe are with tongue, we arewith senses, we are withattachment, we are with likesand dislikes, but not a jnanibecause he is not doing anactivity purposefully,intentionally, or for his pleasureor sense satisfaction. Hence,anything that is done by the bodyof the wise or realized personis known as agami karma.This type of karma is associatedwith a person of knowledge.The Bhagavad Gita (5:10) says:lipyate na sa papena padma

patra ivambhasa“They are not affected

by sin, just as lotus leaf is notwet by water.”

There is a story aboutLord Krishna and SageDurvasa and the gopis. Thegopis held a special celebration

known as katyayanivrata inwhich they worshipped theDivine Mother Katyayani tofulfil some of their wishes. Itis tradition at the end of thecelebration to feed rishis orbrahmins. The gopis went toLord Krishna requesting thatthey wanted to feed somebrahmins or rishis. LordKrishna told them that on theother side of the river Yamunawas Durvasa, a great sage, towhom they could take whateverthey wanted to feed him andhis people. The gopis prepareddelicious food, and when theywere about to cross the riverwith their baskets full of sweets,fruit, and other food, they sawthat the Yamuna River wasunusually high and they couldnot cross it. They went backto Lord Krishna and asked howthey could cross the river. LordKrishna said, “Go and tell theriver, if Krishna is a strictbrahmachari and does not lookat a woman, O Yamuna, giveway to us.” The gopis couldnot believe this because LordKrishna always comes andplays with them, so theywondered how he can beconsidered a brahmachari inthe strict sense. But they didas they were told.

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When they went to theriver, they bowed down andsaid. “O Yamuna, if Krishna isa strict brahmachari, thenshow us the way to cross over.”An embankment appeared andthey crossed the river and wentto the other side.

The gopis fed SageDurvasa all the delicious foodthat they had brought for him.He ate cheese, yoghurt, milk,sweets, and so many items.Soon it was late afternoon andthey had to hurry back home.They asked Sage Durvasa howthey were to cross the river.He told them there was no boatand asked how they had come.They told him what they hadsaid to the river. Smiling, SageDurvasa said, “Go and tellYamuna, ‘O Yamuna, ifDurvasa is ever fasting, give usa path.’”

Now the gopis werecompletely confused about howthis could happen. But they didas they were told and a waywas made. While coming theysaid Lord Krishna is a strictbrahmachari, and whenreturning they said SageDurvasa is ever fasting, yet theyhad fed him everything and heate. And yet, the river gavethem a way to cross it. How

could this be? The answer isdoership. If you say aloud oreven think in your mind that youhave done it, then you have toget the result. If one is in thestate of knowledge (realization),then that which is being doneby the body and senses will nothave any result for the personbecause there is no doership.

Whatever has been done,it is done by prakriti (nature’splay), and because of the gunas(qualities of nature) one is withego. Usually when we do somegood thing and there is success,we say we did it. But if thereis failure, we want to step backand not claim ownership.Although with the ego we didit, we later want to avoid itwhen there is a problem. Inanalyzing who is talking, you willsay the mouth is speaking. Themouth alone cannot speak; it isthe mouth with the help of themind. The mind gives thethought and it is expressedthrough the mouth. But canthe mind function alone, can themouth articulate and producesound? The answer is no. Itis because of the presence ofthe soul. In the absence of thesoul no work is possible.Because of the presence of thesoul the eyes can see, the

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mouth can speak, and the handscan work. It is similar to howa fan moves because ofelectricity.

There is another exampleof someone who is readingunder a light post on a street.When that person leaves, twofriends stand near the light postand talk. Then a little whileafter that, a criminal stabs aperson under the light post.Because of the light post, oneread, two friends talked, and acriminal committed a crime. Isthe light post attached to anykarma? The answer is no. Ifyou take the light as the soul,then in the presence of the soul,in the presence of light, all thesethings happened, but the soul,like the light, is detached.

However, one who is inthe state of knowledge is freefrom ego and never thinks thatI am the doer, he remains assakshichaitanya . Sakshimeans “being a witness,” or“not doing anything.” That iswhy it is said jnanidehakritam,and not jnanikritam — theaction is done by the body ofthe jnani, not by the jnani. Ifit would have been done by thejnani, he would have receivedthe result.

Suppose a husbandworks hard and at the end ofevery month he receives apaycheck. If he dies beforethe end of the month, who willget the money? His wife. Hiskarma has not gone in vainbecause the money will go tosomeone else. He will not bethere to enjoy the money thathe earned, so it will go tosomebody who has a claim overit. In this case, the money willbe enjoyed by his wife. Whena person dies, their familyinherits the person’s belongings.However, for a monk who hasmoney but no family, who willclaim it?

There was a monknamed Bhagwanji Das (alsoknown as Gumnami Baba) whodied decades ago. He did nothave any disciples who couldclaim that they were his discipleand thus his belongings wouldbe theirs. When he did nothave somebody to claim hisbelongings, the governmentseized it. When the governmentopened the cottage where themonk had lived, they foundboxes that contained his diariesand writings, which createdconfusion about him being afreedom fighter that had stayedincognito as a monk because

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of political reasons. Thus, nomatter what one does, there willbe some result that will go tosomeone.

Every action has its fruit,but who will enjoy it? Ifsomeone does something, hewill enjoy it. But if a jnanidoes something, who will enjoyit? Again, this is known asagami karma. The literalmeaning of agamiis “kept fortomorrow.” From the jnani’spoint of view there is no good,or no bad. He is in knowledge,where there is no good, no bad,no likes, and no dislikes. Hewould not kill an insect out ofhatred or praise someone to getsome benefit. Usually peoplepraise others so that that personwill do something for them. Forthe jnani, if something good orbad is done, it is done neitherfor expectation of praise nor forhatred because he is free fromduality.

The Taittiriya Upanishad(1:11:2) says:

yanyanavadyani karmanitani sevitavyani na itarani

“Those actions of oursthat are commendable are tobe followed by you, nor theothers. If you saw somethingthat is not good you should notfollow.”

In this Upanishad therishi explains that if you haveseen something that is notblameworthy, and is free fromblemishes, then follow it. If youhave seen something that is fullof blemishes and not worthy,then leave it alone. The rishiis saying you might have seenboth good and bad because yousee with your own eyes andprocess the vision with yourown mind, which is notcompletely free from duality, butwhatever the realized ones havedone, they have done so withoutany sense of good or bad.They are free from likes anddislikes.

Who controls what isbeing done by the jnani’s body?A jnani neither controls it normakes it free; it happensspontaneously. Let us take asimple example to illustratefurther. When a fan is switchedoff, it continues to move forsome time. But how is itmoving? You’ll say it is inertia,but which energy is doing it?Can you say the electricity isstill responsible? No, becausethere is no electricity. Likewise,for a jnani, when something isdone through the body, who isdoing it? Because of the soulthe action is being done, but the

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jnani never attributes that hedid it. If it is good he is notattached to it, and if it is badhe is not affected by it. Yet, itis done. What happens with usis that when we do somethinggood we are happy, and whenwe do something bad we areunhappy. We are influenced byour actions. But even if thejnani does the same thing thatwe do, he is not affected.

Monks in India say, “Seebut look not.” Your eyes areopen and you see, but you donot look. “To look at” meanspurposeful looking, whichengages the senses and theego. It is the same as touch,but feels not; or eat but relishnot. When one eats but doesnot taste or when one touchesbut does not feel, it is the stateof the wise. A realized personis seeing but he is not lookingat it; he is eating but not tasting,and he is touching but notfeeling. This is a teaching ofmany masters in India, whichmeans that through all the thingsthe realized one does, he is notattached to the senses. Thus,he is free from the senses, heis free from emotion, and he is

free from attachment. Sowhatever is done through thebody and the senses, the jnaniis not attributing “I did it” or “Ienjoyed it” or “I felt it.”

Yogis know how towork; they know the secret inperforming actions. How dothey know this? Sangamtyaktva: being detached. Whenyogis work they are detached.However, ordinary people areattached to the work and to thefruit of action; thus, they areattached twice. Yogis workwithout attachment. If theyogis have no attachment, whydo they work? They work foratmashuddhaye, for innerpurification.

Those who have controlover nature, like yogis, do notcome under nature; naturecomes under them. Everybodyis regulated by the breath andheartbeat. One who knowshow to regulate the breath andthe heartbeat has control overthem. Similarly, one who hascontrol over nature has controlover all the activities of nature.However, to have control overthe law of nature, one must firstexhaust their karma.

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PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDAGROWING UP

“MY GOLDFISH DIED”As morning shows the

day, the child Mukunda wasquite unusual in his behaviour,talk and outlook. In his familyyard, there was a waterreservoir for emergency use.Mukunda had a tiny goldfishthat he kept in that reservoir.For many hours, a day he wouldsit watching the goldfishbecause it made him enjoy thedivine bliss of the ocean of thecosmic consciousness and love.One day the family servant usedsome water from the reservoirto clean the house and thegoldfish, which had accidentallybeen picked up, died when thewater was thrown on the floor.When Mukunda returned fromschool, he went to the reservoirto see his fish, but as it was nolonger there, he searched andsearched everywhere. Whenhe discovered it was dead, tearsrolled down his cheeks and hecould not even eat his dinner.That night he drew a picture ofthe goldfish and wrote, “Mygoldfish died” and he fell asleep

with his head on the picture.Divinely intoxicated people havelove for all living creatures.Mukunda’s heart wasoverflowing with love.A LETTER TO GOD

When people writeletters to their friends andrelatives, they expect a reply,so when they arrive home fromwork they usually check if theyhave any mail. Mukunda lovedGod as his father, mother, friendand relative. He believed thatGod was very close, so hethought of writing a letter toHim. He spent some nightswriting this letter, expressinghow he loved God and how heexpected to obtain God’s visionand darshan. He sealed hisletter and addressed theenvelope to: “God, in Heaven”,without forgetting to write hisreturn address, and withpostage paid, and then hemailed the letter. Every dayupon his return from school, hewould go and see if a reply hadarrived.

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When the postman sawthe letter, he was very surprisedand took it to the postmasterwho knew Mukunda’s father.The postmaster returned theletter in a different envelope toBhagavati Charan Ghosh, whowas not at all surprised as hewell knew the heart of his son,and had always encouraged hissincere search and lovefor God.THE SPARK OF LOVE

Mukunda’s mother wasextremely loving and dear tohim. Although she died whenhe was only eleven years old,she set alight the spark of lovefor the Divine Mother in herson. This love increased dayby day, as did his prayer,meditation and passion fordivine experience.

During his youthMukunda was always searchingfor opportunities to visit holymen and their kind words, lovingand caring touch made a greatdifference in his life. Duringthis time Mukunda alsoencouraged and inspired someof his friends to lead a reallyspiritual life following strictdisciplines.

A LEADER FROM CHILDHOOD

Mukunda always tookthe lead in different events. Hewas the leader of a soccerteam and thanks to this commonpast time, He met his spiritualcompanion Manmohan, whowould later be known as SwamiSatyananda. Mukunda andManmohan lived in the sameneighbourhood, so they spentmany nights meditatingtogether. Another friend,Basukumar Bagchi, laterbecame Swami Dhirananda.

Although born into a veryrich family, where he couldhave ample opportunities for‘so-called’ enjoyment,Mukunda’s mind always strovefor self-mastery. He wasextremely kind-hearted andalways wanted to distribute andshare all what he had, be itmaterial belongings or spiritualwisdom. Even as a schoolboy,when he learned the art ofmeditation through his initialKriya practice, he did not keepit secret, but shared it with hisfriends.HIS EARLY GURUS

In his childhood, helearned some techniques ofKriya from his father, who was

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his first guru of Kriya anddeveloped his interest inmeditation. As a high schoolboy, Mukunda was not sodevoted to his studies, so heusually had to resort to privatetutors. Among them was thegreat Sanskrit scholar AshutoshMukhopadhyaya, also known asShastri Mahasaya and later onas Hamsa Swami Kevalananda.He was chosen by Mukunda’selder brother, Ananta, to teachhim Sanskrit, even if Ananta didnot know that this saintly manwas really an elevated spiritualMaster, a disciple of ShriLahiriMahasaya. Locked up ina room while the family thoughtthat they might be discussingschool subjects or Sanskrit,Mukunda was learning aboutspiritual truth, meditation andthe intricacies that lie behind thedifferent scriptures. Thus,Mukunda got the reveredspiritual teacher he had desiredand prayed for, who taught himnot only Sanskrit but also Kriyameditation and the BhagavadGita.MEETING WITHSHRIYUKTESHWAR

Swami Shriyukteshwarwas at this time a full-fledgedspiritual Master, well-

established in the Karar ashramin Puri, Orissa. He used tospend four months in Puri, fourmonths in Serampore, hisbirthplace and four months inBenares, the place of his guruShri LahiriMahasaya. In adivinely ordained situation,Mukunda came into contactwith Swami Shriyukteshwar inBenares in 1910 and thismeeting ended his search for aspiritual Master who couldguide and shape his life. Thefoundation for his Kriyapractice, which had been laidby the teachings of his ownfather-guru and Kevalananda,became reinforced byShriyukteshwar’s strictdisciplined instructions.Mukunda managed to spendmost of his time in the companyof his divine guru and from1910 to 1915, under the pretextof receiving higher education,he lived most of the time inSerampore. Although he did notcare for a University degreesince his heart was set inbecoming a monk,Shriyukteshwar motivated himto complete his education, withPhilosophy as His major subject.In June 1915, Mukundaobtained his final degree from

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the University and in thefollowing month he wasordained by his beloved guru intothe monastic life of the Giri

(Lineage of Kriya Yoga Masters)“Behind the light in every little bulb is the great dynamic

current, behind the waves, vast oceans, and behind theindividual lies the Supreme Spirit”

“The moon is not reflected clearly in the ruffled watersbut only on its calm surface.True love for god is manifestedonly through calmness of mind.”

“Problems are necessary ingredients of life and makeit worthwhile. Meet every body and every circumstance inthe battlefield of life with the courage of a hero and smile ofa conqueror.”

ParamahamsaYogananda

***

order. Henceforth MukundaGhosh became known asSwami YoganandaGiri.

Paramahamsa Yoganandaji's Birthday CelebrationCalcutta

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PARAMAHAMSA YOGANANDA’s125TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

Loving and Divine ones,Let the choicest blessings

of god and the masers be uponallof us. I send my best wishesand love while also seeking thegrace and blessings of ourbeloved master ParamahamsaYoganandaji .We are going tocelebrate his 125th birthanniversary beginning on 5th

January 2017and ending on 5th

January 2018.I offer hoage to his

beloved parents BhagavatiCharan and Gyanaprabha andall the masters of the kriyalineage who showered theirblessings on him, starting withBabaji Maharaj and Shri LahiriMahashaya and ending with hisbeloved Jnana-Gurudev swamiShriyukteshwarji.

Throughout the worldmany have started down asincere spiritual pathinspired bythe spiritual classicAutobiography of a Yogi, whichhas been translated into manylanguages. When I was acollege student reading thisbeautiful book, I slept with the

book on my chest. A friend ofmine commented, “sleeping witha picture of the Mona Lisa.”At first, I was shocked, but Ihave accepted him as the MonaLisa of my life. He is a polestar for countless seekers; hewill guide for much more timeto come.

The question might arise.“What is the purpose of thiscelebration?”

My loving ones, the onlypurpose is to keep the teachingsof a great master vibrant in ourlives so we can follow in hisfootsteps. He had instructed ourbeloved Gurudev BabaHariharanandaji about changingthe attitude of finding faults withothers. Let us all sincerely striveto seegood in others and changeour lives.This year let us focuson Yoganandaji’s beautifulteachings, and his sacrifice andstruggle to spread the timelesstreasure of kriya yoga all overthe world. He spent everymoment doing good to others.He is a role model for all ofus.He is not only our Master.

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He is the perfect guide.Let usstudy is writings and focusmore on intensifying ourkriyapractice. Let us be kindand loving toward others.Let hisuniversal outlook of honouringall faiths and all religions be adynamic force guiding ourthinking and work.

There are plans forcelebrating this programglobally, small and big, But weshould plan to celebrate his125th birthday in our hearts andminds. Let his selected

teachings and motivational ideasinspire our daily lives throughoutthe year.

Let us breath everybreath remembering his loveand sweetness. Let his love forGod be the throbbing of ourhearts.Let his blessing carry uson the path.Let us welcome allchallengesand difficulties withlove and then overcome themwith inner strength and patience.

Again I bow to this greatMaster and send my love toyou.

With lovePrajnanananda***

Paramahamsa Yoganandaji's House in Calcutta

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I am confused by theword empowerment. How canpower be empowered?

You can empowersomeone who is powerless.One who empowered me tospeak, to stand up and walk, tobe courageous, and one who isbehind all my success in life ismy mother. If my mother is thesource of my success, who hasnot studied much – she onlystudied up to 3rdgrade, does itmean she is not empowered.

What has happened toIndia? India is a land thathonored woman as mother. Ifyou come back to a valedictoryaddress recorded in anUpanishad – (TaittiriyaUpanishad) the rishi is saying ““ M a t r u d e v o b h a v a ,pitrudevobhava, acharyadevo bhava,atithidevobhava.” When toour society is referred to as apatriarchal society I do notagree. Father may be the visibleimage in the family but motheris there behind the scene and it

NATIONAL SEMINAR –EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

(Excerpt from the Inaugural address of ParamahamsaPrajnanananda at Sailabala Women’s College, Cuttack)

is the mother who shapes thefamily and has control overevery member of the family.That is why the rishi saidmatrudevo bhava and notpitru devo bhava first. Themother comes first.

Coming to this topic ofempowerment of women – weshould remember that India hasempowered women already.But we have forgotten it.During the period of India’sdependence on other culturesand foreign rule we could notallow our women to go into thesociety to take a dynamic roleas they did before that time. Ithink of India, as culture whereSubhadra was driving a chariot,queen Kaikeyi was driving achariot and we had gloriousnames of brilliant scholars suchas Maitreyi, Gargi, Viswavaraan Madalasa in the Vedicperiod thousands of years old.

Even in more moderntimes while the United NationsAssembly was representedcompletely by male members

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from different countries therewas only one female memberwho was Sarojini Naidu fromIndia. So, India has its historyin which women wereempowered. Thisempowerment should really betaught to the West by the Indianpeople. West does not knowhow to empower women.Recently I was addressing a USaudience about empowermentof women. Until now they havenot had a women president ora vice president. India has.Odisha had women leadersduring freedom struggle andeven after that in the field ofpolitics, education, and socialwork. The problem with us isto look at West, and think ofempowerment in the westernway.This is not the answer.India has its own culture andvalues and we should notdisrespect it in the name ofempowerment. Empowermentto me is to show your owncapability and caliber.

After independence,unfortunately we have notdeveloped proper educationpolicy because of which wehave large illiterate population,a good number of children notgoing to school not to speak ofwomen. I feel uncomfortable to

use the word women as I amused to refer to them s mothers.In India, we are used to callingeven a little girl as mother andshe accepts it. In the west ifyou call someone a mother theyfeel insulted. If you call a littlevillage girl in India, Ma – shelooks at you and accepts theaddress with dignity.

Being addressed as“Mother” is the highest respecta woman can get, is there anybetter empowerment thanaddressing woman as mother?Recently before motherTheresa was declared a saint,I was speaking in the west tochristian audience and askedthem how many mothers theyhave. They said -one and thatis Mother Mary. I said Indiahas given you another motherand that is Mother Theresa. Inany other country, she wouldhave been only a sister. Shecame to India and wasaccepted as a mother.

This mother hood is veryspecial. The entire creationdepends on a mother. TheVedic thought of creation saysGod created. How did Godcreate? There is the thought ofelectricity with positive andnegative poles. Upanishadexplains God created with

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prakriti (nature) as the mother.When you think of prakritiIndia is a country where Earthis the mother, rivers aremothers, scriptures are mothersand mantras are mothers andthe list goes on.

A mother has every role.I am reminded of the principalof Ravenshaw college who isno more. She loved me like herown child and at the same timehad every right to discipline meas a student. Mother has thispower and authority. Weworship the Divine Mothers -Saraswati, Kali, Durga andChandi. Do you know MotherSaraswati does not hold only thebook and the musical instrumentbut also has many otherweapons when needed?Women’s empowerment to meis to bring out all the caliberinherent in women. I quote aline from Chandi very oftenwhere the Divine Mother isdescribed as,

“Chit tekrupasamaranishthurata ca drushtva-.Compassion in the heart butalso the ability to discipline.”

Few days ago, I read ofan incident in Cuttack. Oneevening in Badambadi area,some people were watchingyoung girls being harassed by a

couple of mischievous culpritsand when one of the youngwomen caught hold of theculprit and was hitting him,instead of going to her rescuethe people gathered around andwere applauding as if watchinga show. Are these really humanbeings? Would they watch it likethat if it were their mother orsister or daughter?

I am sorry to say this butIndia has become a countrywith a large population but notof human beings. Unfortunately,our education has missed itsdirection. I have studied andtaught and I am still teaching.In the present scenario that weare facing if we take the list ofcorrupt people – are theyeducated or uneducated? In thepolitical field –are they educatedor uneducated? – The answeris educated. Is an uneducatedvillager or farmer responsible forthe present corruption andmismanagement? The answeris no.

So, what is the presentIndian education doing? This isthe time to think about whatneeds to be done from the grassroot level to the national level.Has education fulfilled the goalof Character building, love forsociety, love for country and

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culture, humanity and above allfor the creation? Moderneducation imitating west is aself-centered egotistical modelof education. Education shouldbring the real transformation inhuman being to make a sensible,responsible and courageoushuman being.

Time is changing, worldis changing. Do you know thewhole world is looking at India?India has the power toempower the whole world withthe element of love, compassion,kindness, amity, unity and whatnot?

In 1893 one SwamiVivekananda went to West. In1920 one ParamahamsaYogananda went to the west.Now hundreds of monks fromIndia are going to West. Why?The western world wants them.And what is happening to India?In India, who are the rolemodels for our young students?From whom will they getencouragement andempowerment?

My dear children -Begood dreamers. Don’t dream ofbecoming movie stars. Don’tdream to be just objects ofpleasure and enjoyment.Remember if you think that onlypleasure and enjoyment is

everything in life, people willsqueeze you like a lemon andthrow you out. Have courageand strength. Strength ofknowledge and strength ofcapability.

In India woman issometimes referred to as abala.Who is abala ? One who isnot strong and needs protection.But it has another meaning – ameans brahma and abala canmean brahmabala. womenhave the ability to make orbreak. We are in a country withthe largest number of youngpeople. We are the countrywhere the young people havetremendous brainpower. WhenI travel in the West people askme, “how do you remember somany things from thescriptures?” I say, “Because ofIndia. As children, wememorized not using calculatorsand computers.” Human brainhas a tremendous potential. Ifone would take the activity ofhuman brain Indian brain willexcel any one. We should makegood use of our brain.

I will conclude with astory from my own mother. Atone time, I failed in one step ofmy life. My mother toencourage me sang me apoem. The theme of the poem

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is a little boy came home sadfailing in the examination. Themother took him to the backside of the home where therewas a pond and in the middleof the pond was a bamboo pole.A small snail was trying toclimb up the pole and wasfalling down repeatedly. But it

was trying again and again. Themother showed it to him andtaught him that one should notaccept failure in life.My sisters,mothers and children – weshould not accept failure in life.We should try again and againtill we succeed. Be courageous.

***

Inauguration of Women's Empowerment - National Seminar

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Teachings of the Masters

“The mind deliberates, but it cannot decide. To help us,we are gifted with an intellect (buddhi), which gives usthe power of rational thought. Buddhi is thediscriminating and deciding faculty. Through Yogicdiscipline we learn to focus our attention inwards, and

“Your breath is not really yours - it is the breath ofGod. In every breath you are to love Him.”

Paramahamsa Hariharananda

“Man is the manifestation of both good and badqualities. In some people, good prevails whereas inothers evil is predominant.” Swami Satyananda

“Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself.You will then find out how easy it is to get along.”

Paramahamsa Yogananda

ram) you will hear the divine sound constantly and youwill enjoy being in the secret chamber (Chorakothari)which is filled with spiritual treasure. It is immenselygood for you to remain quiet and motionless in that innerchamber.” Lahiri Mahasaya

“The door of Kriya Yoga is open only to earnest seekersand sadhakas.”

Mahavatara Babaji

“When one practices breath-control through Kriya,one enjoys a blissful state and one becomes free fromego.” Sanyal Mahasaya

in this manner makes rapid progress in the spiritual path..”Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

“If the mind is always fixed on your guruand the soul on the name of ‘Rama’ (atma

“The ancient yogis discovered that the secret of cosmicconsciousness is intimately linked with breath mastery.This is India's unique and deathless contribution tothe world's treasury of knowledge.

Swami Shriyukteshwar

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MYTHS AND METAPHORSMAHABHARATA

THE CHILDREN OF PANDU AND DHRITARASHTRA

Love is SacrificeOne day, after observing

the union between birds andanimals in the forest, Pandu hada strong urge to be united withhis beloved wife, Madri. Foryears he had been so self-controlled, but that day he wasemotional and had temptationand desire. He knew Kuntiwas intelligent and would neverallow this to happen, but thatdid not stop him. Hence, dueto the curse of the rishi whowas in the form of a deer Pandudied. Madri wept, and whenKunti arrived, she consoled herand said not to be unhappyabout what happened. Whatwas destined to happen,

happened. This is coolness(Kunti). When somethinghappens, we should not bedisturbed; rather, we shouldmaintain our inner calmness.Due to the shock of herhusband’s death, Madri did notwant to live anymore. Duringthose days, the practice of satiwas carried out, in which thewife wanted to die with herhusband.

Strong love can be verypowerful. Not too long ago inOdisha, a poet namedAbhimanyu Samantasimhara agreat devotee of Lord Krishna,was conversing with his wifeabout the crying and mourningcoming from a neighbor’s house

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due to the death of the woman’shusband. The poet’s wife wascurious why her neighbour wascrying for her deceasedhusband. She said that if a wifehas true love for the husband,then she should also die if thehusband is dead. The poet tookto heart what his wife said andwanted to test her. One daywhen the poet left to go foroutdoor work, he told his barberto go to his home with hisumbrella and turban and tell hiswife that he had died in theforest. The barber did asrequested and gave the poet’swife the sad news of herhusband’s death. Right thenand there she died. It is saidthat the poet repented for hisplay for the rest of his life.Truly, her death showed whatlove is.

When Pandu died, Madriwanted to die with him. Thus,Madri handed over her twosons to Kunti to take care ofthem. She requested Kunti notto die because if she died therewould not be anyone to lookafter the children. Kuntiagreed. So Madri left her bodyafter the death of her husband.Pride, which shows its strengthbecause of knowledge, dieswhen knowledge dies.

The Kauravas and PandavasCome Together

Kunti took theresponsibility of raising the fivechildren. The saints and sagesadvised Kunti to go back to thecity because it would be toodifficult for her to raise fivechildren alone in the forest. Sheagreed and thought that sincethey were princes, they shouldlive in a palace, not in theforest. The rishis then broughtthe five children and theirwidowed mother, Kunti, to thepalace and told Dhritarashtrathat these five children were hisnephews. Bhishma and allothers welcomed them withopen arms.

Now the Pandavas andthe Kauravas began livingtogether in the palace. TheKauravas, who were extremelyrestless and turbulent,immediately started feelingjealous of the Pandavasbecause of their calmness,intelligence, strength, purity, andlove. Although the blind kingwas not able to rule, Bhishma,the elderly grandfather, helpedmanage the kingdom. The blindking sat on the throne until thechildren were grown. Amongthe 107 children (100Kauravasand their sister Duhshala, and

35

Yuyutsu, and the five Pandavabrothers), Yudhishthira was theeldest. According to the lawof royal dynasty, the eldest oneshould be the king.Consequently, there was someconflict and inner fear aboutwho would be the crownprince. However, the blind manwas not the real king; the realking was Pandu. Thus, Pandu’seldest son Yudhisthira was tobecome he future king. ButDuryodhana, the eldestKaurava, was not willing toaccept this. Because he is thesymbol of envy, jealousy, hatred,passion, and desire, he neverwanted to compromise. Hewas not happy with thepresence of the five Pandavas.The Pandavas were so humbleand loving that everybody lovedthem. The Kauravas on theother hand were so adamant,rude, cruel, misbehaved, andarrogant; nobody loved them,There is a natural tendency tohave love and affection forthose who are good, and adisliking for those who are notgood. However, this createdconstant conflict in the familyin the palace.In the Gurukulam

Since all 107 childrenwere very close in age, it was

decided that their schoolingwould take place in the palaceinstead of sending them to agurukulam in the forest, whichwas the accepted tradition atthat time. It has been said thatthis pivotal decision was thefirst downfall of the Indianculture. They brought the gurusto their home, whereas in thepast, the gurus were free andindependent. Before that,students would go to the gurusto serve and study in suchresidential schools. Most guruswere married, and the couplelooked after the children liketheir own sons and daughtersfor a number of years. Whilethere the children receivededucation in medicine,construction, warfare cultivation,and all other areas necessaryfor material daily life. Mostimportantly, they also receivedspiritual education and training.All children, even kings’ sons,went to a gurukulam; therewas no discrimination orpartiality. Every student wastreated equally irrespective oftheir cast and social status.

But here in Hastinapura,when Bhishma andDhritarashtra decided that theteachers could be hired and paidfor by the family, it brought a

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big shift in the Indian culture.The parents were aware of thenature of their children. TheKauravas were undisciplinedand unruly and full of envy andpride. They would not haveliked the disciplined andstrenuous atmosphere of atraditional gurukulam.Moreover, in such a privategurukulam the gurus’ loss offreedom led to a diminisheddegree of respect for them.The teacher sought moneyand power.

In olden times, educationwas imparted free at theteacher ’s ashram. Theseashrams never depended uponothers; they were autonomousand self-sufficient. Hence, thiswas the first time in India’sspiritual tradition that the kingwanted to purchase education—to pay the teachers, the gurus—with money.

The two teachers whowere hired for the childrenwere brothers-in-law namedAcharya Kripa and AcharyaDrona. Both were born asbrahmins. The quality of abrahmin is to be peaceful,loving, and spiritual. The dutyof the brahmins is to learn andteach all branches of knowledgealong with spirituality. These

brothers-in-law did not do that.Instead, they were more skilledat warfare than other streams.In fact, they were the bestamong the warriors of that time.War is the quality of thekshatriyas. These twoteachers taught the art ofwarfare to the Kauravas andthe Pandavas. This was theirfirst mistake. In doing so theyforgot their own nature andquality. They thus accepted theother way. Their secondmistake was that they went tothe students’ home to teachwarfare in exchange for moneyinstead of following tradition.These were the two majormistakes, the two wrongtendencies. Instead of beingtrue spiritual teachers, theymostly taught about warfare,and they wanted to sell theirknowledge in exchange formoney and status.

Acharya Drona sold hisspirituality, skill, and knowledgein a king’s palace. He lived inthe palace and only taught theprinces along with his own son,whom he had a specialaffection for, wanting him toknow much more than theothers. Ordinarily, when aking’s son goes to a gurukulam,where there is no discrimination,

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the ego diminishes. The princeconsiders himself to be one withall. However, when the King’ssons get special coaching andtraining in their home by ateacher, they become egotistical.This very thing happened,especially to the Kauravas.

Bhishmaaslo taught thechildren quite a bit; just like ina family, the parents teach alot. Since Dhritarashtra had novision and Pandu was no more,Bhishma taught them a greatdeal about diplomacy andwarfare.

Oftentimes, teachers lovegood students more. If the mindis calm, quiet, and focused, itcan learn and receiveinformation very quickly. Butif the mind is restless, runninghere and there, it cannot learnso well. The Pandavas learnedtheir lessons extremely well, butthe Kauravas could not.Present Education

A great mistake inmodern education is that wemake children more restless andthen try to train them. Oncewhen I stayed with a family, Isaw their child come home fromschool, open the refrigerator,heat food in the microwave,and then sit in front of the

television and eat. His eyeswere on the television, handson the plate, mouth eating, andmind maybe somewhere else.This is the typical human mind:sitting in one place, looking atone person, thinking of otherthings. And the child was doingjust that. The same habitcontinues when the child issupposed to study: looking at thebook, putting food in the mouth,and thinking of some otherthing. How can the child learn?If one is to learn, then he orshe should do one thing at atime and do it well. When youare done with the task, go thenext task.

When Gurudev was ayoung boy, he was very fondof flute music. One day, flutemusic was playing on the radiowhile he was supposed to bestudying. The books wereopen, but he was lookingsomewhere else and listening tothe music. His mother, knowingthe mind of the child, said, “Ifyou want to listen to the music,sit and listen. If you want toread the book, sit and read. Doone thing only, with attention andconcentration.” The lessonwas to avoid doing many thingsat once in favour of doing onething perfectly.

***

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Sutra 19The States of the TripleQualities of Nature

visesa avisesa-lingamatraalingani

gunaparvani|| 19 ||Word Meaning

visesa – particular,specific, specialized; avisesa –non-specific, unspecialized,universal; lingamatra –phenomenal, merely a mark;alingani – noumenal, withoutmark; guna – of the qualities(of nature); parvani – stages,statesTranslation

The states of the triplequalities of nature are particularor universal, with a mark, orwithout a mark.Commentary by Shri LahiriMahasaya

Specific, nonspecific,phenomenal, and noumenal: allthese are stages of qualities ofnature. Five tanmatras (subtleelements or sense objects) suchas sound, etc. are correlated tothe five gross elements space,air, fire, water, and earth.Linga, or a mere mark, is greatprinciple. Alinga, without any

THE YOGA SUTRA OF PATANJALI

specific mark, is absolutelysubtle. The sage then speaksof the nature of the observeror the seer.Metaphorical Explanation

In this sutra, there is abeautiful explanation of gunaand guni. Ordinarily, gunameans “qualities of nature.” Italso means “merit,” “virtue,”“excellence.” Guni means“possessed of or endowed withqualities or merit.” Sun andsunlight can be a simpleexample of guni and guna.They are always together andinseparable. In the samemanner, purusha and prakritiare essentially one, but they playdifferent roles in appearance.

In the previous sutra, thesage explained that visibleobjects are a modification of thequalities of nature. In this sutra,the sage speaks ofgunaparvani: states or stagesof different qualities of nature.

What is gunaparva?Guna is described above.Parva means “knot,” “joint,”“portion or part,” “a festival oroccasion of joy.” Therefore,while the ordinary meaning of

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gunaparvani is stages or statesof qualities of nature, its specialmeaning is a celebration of joyby prakriti for purusha alone.Purusha is one, but prakritiassumes many forms for thejoy and glory of purusha (sva-svami). In this sutra, the sagedivides prakriti into fourdifferent groups:1. Alinga — without a

mark. Without anydistinct characteristics.Alinga is pradhan,avyaktamulaprakriti :the unmanifestedprimordial nature. It isthe first state of prakriti.

2. Linga — merely a mark,phenomenal. Linga isl i n g y a t e p a r i c h i yateatma anenaiti:“Linga is thatdistinguishable statethrough which there isunderstanding orrecognition of the Self.”It is also known asmahattattwa, the greatprinciple, when the threequalities remain inharmony. It representscollective or individualchitta (memory).

3. Avishesha —non-specific, universal. It istanmatraniasmita cha

— five tanmatras arethe five senses of sound,sight touch, taste, andsmell, and the ego (whichis the cause of elevensense organs). It totalssix in number.

4. Visesha— particular,specific. It is of sixteenconstituents, including thefive gross elements earth,water, fire, air, space orether, the five organs ofaction, the five organs orperception, and the mind.All these summed uptogether equal twenty-four in number.In the Agni Purana

(368:26), it is said:prakrtipurusa ca

ubhauliyateparamatmani“Both prakriti and

purusha dissolve in theSupreme Self.”

In the process ofcreation, there appear to be twoas purusha and prakriti. Oneprakriti appears as visibleobjects, phenomenal existencewith its twenty-four aspects infour different stages, butpurusha remains with prakritiyet is invisible. Without thepresence of purusha, prakriticannot operate.

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O Seeker! Mysterious isthis creation. The visible worldis the celebration of the joy ofpurusha and prakriti. Inreality, it is one divinity, but inappearance there is multiplicity

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in unity. You have to beholdunity in diversity and diversityin unity; this is practicalspirituality, bhoga andapavarga (sutra 2:18),enjoyment and emancipation.

DATES TO REMEMBERApril – July, 2017

April 4 : Rama NavamiMay 10 : Birthday of Swami ShriyukteshwarMay 17 : Foundation Day of Prajnana MissionMay27 : Birthday of

Paramahamsa Hariharananda

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Paramahamsa Hariharananda

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A man died and when herealized it, he saw God comingclose to him with a suitcase inHis hand.

God said, “All right son,it is time to go.”

“What do you have inthat suitcase,” the man asked.

God answered, “Yourbelongings.

“My belongings? Youmean my things, my clothes, mymoney?”

God answered, “Thosethings were never yours; theybelonged to the earth.”

“Are they mymemories?”

God answered, “No ,they never belonged to you:they belonged to time.”

“Are they my talents?”God answered, “No,

those were never yours: theybelonged to the circumstances.”

“Are they my friends andfamily?””

God answered, “I amsorry, they were never yours :

STORIES TO LIVE BYTHE BITTER TRUTH

they belonged to the path youtravelled.”

“Are they my wife andson?”

God answered, “No, Theywere never yours, theybelonged to your heart.”

“Then it must be mybody.”

God answered, “No , thatwas never yours: it belonged tothe dust.”

“Then surely it must bemy soul.”

God answered, “You aresadly mistaken, your soulbelongs to Me.”

Full of fear, and withtears in his eyes, the man tookthe suitcase from God’s handsand opened it just to find outthat the suitcase was empty.

Heartbroken and withtears rolling down his cheeks,the man asked, “I never hadanything?”

God answered, “That iscorrect, you never ownedanything.”

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“Then what was mine?”asked the man.

God replied yourmoments. Every moment youlived was yours.”

Be good in everymoment. Do good in everymoment. See good in everymoment. Thank God in everymoment. Be it, Live it. Feel it.Love it. Enjoy it.

Life is just a moment. Amoment that belongs to you.Material things and everythingelse that you fought for, stayhere on the earth. You cannottakeanything.

Life is an opportunity forinner transformation withrightunderstanding, positiveactions and a prayerful attitude.We came alone to this world

and out of ignorance gotattached to many things andpeople.We forgot that we cameempty handed and one day wehave to leave the world emptyhanded.Even the body withwhich we have become themost attached will not comewith us.

To know who we are, itis essential to know who weare not.To know our real natureit is equally necessary to nowour false identification withdifferent things and differentaspects of life. We identifiedourselves with the body, mind,intellect, ego, gender, nationalityand so on. These are necessarybut inwardly we should knowthat we live in this body andplay with this mind but we areneither the mind nor the body.

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Saraswati Puja at Balashram

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VALUABLE VOLUMES

JNANA SANKALINI TANTRABY PARAMAHAMSA PRAJNANANANDA

Lord Shiva continues toanswer the questions of Deviand explains about the theoneness of shiva and shakti andthe meaning of tirtha,veda,tapah , dhyana and homaof tirtha, veda, tapah, dhyanam,homam.Verse 48

mano nyatra sivo nyatrasaktiranyatra marutah

Translation(For a person steeped

in ignorance) Mind is nothere, God (Shiva) iselsewhere, so also is shaktias well as maruta (breath).Metaphorical Interpretation

Those whose mind andbreath are agitated, and whoperceive Shiva as separate fromShakti, are submerged in a stateof ignorance. Restlessness is

the cause of misery. Whenbreath is unstable, the mind islikewise excitable andchangeable and this reflects inall activities. A diversified andmutable mind cannotexperience the state of Truth.A wavering and unsteadyperson is easily distracted;nothing is ever accomplishedwithout concentration orsingleness of purpose. In anobscure and ambiguous state,human beings always divide anddifferentiate, findingseparateness in Shiva andShakti. Confusion leads peopleto think that god is in heavenand not near to us, within us.Their ego does not let them feelthe living presence of god increation, in everybody, and inevery single breath. Throughbreath-awareness, a sincere

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seeker can achieve liberation.Restlessness and oscillation isthe nature of the mind, butthrough regular practice, self-analysis, and non-attachment,the state of unity and harmonycan be experienced.Verse 49

idam tirtham idam tirthambhramanti tamasa janahatma tirtham na janantikatham mokso varanane

TranslationO Charming One

(Parvati), tamasic (ignorantand dull witted) people gofrom one holy place toanother in search of God,but without knowing theatmatirtha (seat of the soul),liberation is not possible.Metaphorical Interpretation

Most people search forhappiness and realization, butthey fail to follow the pathdirected by the realized.Without real innertransformation, wandering invaried directions does not leadto the state of realization.Pilgrimages and dips in holyrivers are only an external play.A pilgrimage to a far off placehas no significance unless thedevotee is sincerely trying tochange. A real pilgrimage is

the inner journey that goes fromthe lower centers to the soulcenter, atmateertha, (place ofpilgrimage, the soul). Onlythrough this inner growth can aspiritual aspirant attainliberation. To achieve this, innercalmness, concentration,determination, and completededication are essential.Verse 50

na vedam vedam ityahuhvedo brahma sanatanambrahma vidya rato yastusa vipro veda paragah

TranslationThe Veda is not only a

book, as people think, butis the eternal Brahman.One, who constantly dwellsin Brahman, is the one whois really brahmana.Metaphorical Interpretation

As was previouslyexplained in earlier verses, thereare four major Vedas; Rig Veda,Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, andAtharva Veda and fourauxiliary Vedas: Dhanur Veda,Gandharva Veda, SthapatyaVeda, and Ayur Veda. Thesebooks contain both ephemeraland spiritual knowledge.

We also observed thatthe word Veda comes from theroot verb vid i.e., ‘to know.’

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What is to be known? Withoutthe experiential knowledge ofBrahman, all other knowledgeis incomplete. A devotee whohas mastered the Vedas, whois immersed in the search forTruth, is a vipra — a personwith inner purity.LahiriMahasaya, a great masterin the Kriya Yoga lineage,pronounced that ‘Kriya isVeda.’ The sincere practice oftechniques like Kriya Yoga andthe constant pursuit of Self-knowledge is the true spiritbehind the Vedas.Verse 51

mathitva caturavedansarvasastrani caiva hi

saram tu yogibhih pitamtakram pivanti panditah

TranslationChurning the four

Vedas and all the scriptures,yogis drink (enjoy) theessence (butter) of theVedas while the pundits(mere scholars) are happywith the buttermilk of bookknowledge.Metaphorical Interpretation

Cream or butter can onlybe obtained by churning milk oryogurt. Once butter surfaces,it cannot be mixed back intomilk. Allegorically, a devotee

should churn one’s life to getthe taste of Truth hidden within.Once Self-knowledge isattained, it is easy to swim inthe ocean of the world insteadof drowning. Through carefulstudy of the four Vedas, agenuine seeker understands andaccepts their essence, but afoolish one is lost in the mazeof words and ideas.

The holy scriptures teach,ananta sastram bahu

veditavyamsvalpasathayuh bahavasca

vighnahyatsarabhutatamtadupasitavyam

hamsa yada ksiramivambumadhyat

“The scriptures areendless, and life is short.Difficulties are many. Thatwhich is the essence, should beaccepted, as the swan alonecan separate the essence milk,leaving water aside.”

Shastra is ‘scripture.’The word consists of two partsshah + astra. Shah means‘cutter’ and astra is ‘weapon.’Metaphorically, it is a double-edged weapon that frees aseeker from the bondage of pastand future karmas, allowing oneto live in the present withstrength. Another interpretation

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of shastra is —shasanatshastraucyate —‘through discipline, one canwield a weapon.’ Just as aking or warrior wields aweapon to eliminate evil, theseeker instilling self-disciplineacquires a tool of scriptures toeradicate ignorance and lead arighteous life.

An accomplished yogi,through meditation and Self-realization, becomes establishedin the so‘ham ‘I am That’ or

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hamsa the ‘swan’ state.Paramahamsa is the highesttitle given to a yogi, meaning‘supreme swan.’ A scholar isreferred to as pandita, butsuperficial scriptural knowledgemay enhance ego, whereas rueknowledge liberates the seeker.A sincere yogi knows the innermeaning and message of thescriptures, whereas anintellectual scholar is busy withthe outward meaning oftenleading to vanity.

Gita Jnana Yajna Bhubaneswar

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ACTIVITIES OF PRAJNANA MISSION

7th Residential BrahmachariTraining Course

The ResidentialBrahmachari training coursefrom 28th October 2016, through24th February2017, covered avariety of topics ranging frombasic Vedantic texts of Shri AdiShankara -TattvaBodha andAtmaBodhaalong with his otherworks like, NirvanaShatkam,K a u p e e n a P a n c h a k a m ,BhajaGovindam and DakshinaMurty Stotram.Bhagavad Gitaand Sveatsvetara Upanishadwere other major subjects.K a i v a l y a D a r s h a n ( H o l yScience) by Shriyukteshwarjiwas also discussed. In additionto the trainees, severalparticipants, both national andinternational, attended theclasses of Paramahamsaji whotaught tirelessly for four hourseach day on most of the days.125th Birth Anniversary ofParamahamsaYoganandaji

P a r a m a h a m s aPrajnananandaji inauguratedtheyearlong celebrations of the125th birth anniversary of ourparamaguru,ParamahamsaYoganandajion the 5th of January with theprogram at Kolkata.

Our monks werewelcomed at the house ofParamahamsaYognandaji atGarpar Rd, Calcutta and payedtheir respects.Celebrationswere held at the Bose Institutein Kolkata whereParamahamsa ji gave aninspiring inaugural addressabout the celebrations andfelicitated Somanath Ghosh, thegrandson of Sanandalal Ghoshof Mejda.

“The only purpose ofcelebrations” Paramahamsajisaid, “is to keep the teachingsof a great Master, vibrant in ourlife, so we can follow in hisfootsteps.”

Gita Jnana Yajnas -Theannual Gita Jnana yajnas ofParamahamsaPrajnananandajiheld at Cuttack, Bhubaneshwarand Puriin the month of Januarydrew large audiences.

IIKYS- The18thIntensive International KriyaYoga Seminar was held fromthe 14th to 20th of January.Gajapathi Maharaja ofPuriInaugurated the event andaddressed the audience. TheSeminar was intensive andinstructive with talks, guided

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meditations. A two day lectureseries was held by the specialguests, Dr.Nagaratna andDr.Raghuram from SVYASAfrom Bangalore. The talks onYoga and Health, wereenlightening and included somepractical exercises.

The cultural programsevery evening includeddevotional music, dance anddrama. The varietyentertainment was presented bytheBalashram students on the16th of January.

Disciples from all overIndia and abroad, gathered atthe Gurukulam to pay theirrespects to the Masters andbenefitted from the talks andguided meditation sessions withseveral yogacharyas. Theclosing ceremony was held onthe 20th of January whenseveral monks and yogacharyasaddressed the participants, andconcluded with the blessings ofguruji.9th Foundation Day of MatruAshram.

Matru Ashram at Arua ,Pattamandai celebrated the 9th

foundation day, as a two dayevent -30-31st of January 2017in the presenceo f P a r a m a h a m s aPrajnananandaji. The 6th edition

of Matruprerana – the annualmagazine was released. Severalhundred people of theneighbouring villages attendedthe program.Students ofBalashram presented a culturalshow.Balashram News

Saraswati Puja wascelebrated on 1st February, atBalashram, our residentialSchool in the divine presenceof our guruji ParamahamsaPrajnananandaji elaboratelywith worship of a beautiful idolof Mother Sarawati followed byhavan, with full participation ofthe students. Residents andtrainees as well as the severalparticipants and visitors fromour Hariharanandagurukulamalso attended the program.

New ClassroomFacilities Balashram isprogressing well bothacademically and culturally withmany extracurricular activitiesand moral education lessons.The construction of the newbuilding of Balashram whichwould house the 11th and 12th

years of schooling is close tocompletion.

Annual PrachiParikrama was held from the16th of February through the22nd of February with purnahuti

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at the AndhaKapileshwartemple.

Mahashivaratri –Mahashivaratri was celebratedon the 24th of February, at thedevamandir of the gurukulam.Worship of Lord Shiva withabhisheka and all night wasattended by all ashramites andother disciples.

This day was also theclosing ceremony of the 4month Residential BrahmachariTraining courseOther Celebrations

Gurukulam celebrated aspecial gurupurnima with thechanting of gurugita followed bya havan, the birthday ofParamahamsaYoganandaji, thebirthday and mahasamadhi dayof Shri SannyalMahashaya ,tour of our goshala,Mahasamadhi day of swamiGurupremanandaji and thebirthday of swamiBrahmanandaji,Other Programs

Besides the teachingsessions,Paramahamsaj i ’sschedule was a whirl wind ofactivity as he attended anddiscoursed at several programs– JagannathPancharatraprogram at Deuli Math,Kakatpur, Charchika Mandir at

Banki, the annual yajna atEkam Kona, Inaugural addressat the National Seminar forWomen’s Empowerment atShilabala women’s college atCuttack, Inauguration of theBimalamba temple atShankaracharya Charya Mathin Puri, National youth day andSwami Vivekananda Birthday.

Paramahamsaji alsoattended and discoursed at the32nd annual day celebrations atour Sambalpur ashram andprograms in Lucknow.Paramahamsaji spoke at aInternational Sufi Confer-ence at New Delhi

Visitors and Guests–Shri Mohan Bhagawat , RSSchief, while visiting ourgurukulam on the 20th ofJanuary addressed theparticipants of the InternationalIntensive Kriya yoga Seminarthat was in progress. GajapatiMaharaj was at the Gurukulamon the 14th of January,toinaugurate the annualInternational kriya yogaseminar. Sri Rajendra DasMaharaj visited our gurukulamon the 25th of January.News of Bishindipur Ashram

Our Bishindipur ashramis celebrating the followingevents from March 1-3, 2017

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Inauguration of theShiva-Kali Mandir andinstallation of marble statues ofGurudev ParamahamsaHariharanandaji and SwamiNayaranaGiri.

Birth Centenary ofSwami Narayana Giri

75 years of Yuktashram

125th Birth Anniversaryof ParamahamsaYoganandaji

What was started as asmall ashram in a remotevillage,has expanded over timewith a huge meditation hall, ahealth centre and now a goshalaand a charitable HomeopathicHealth centre and a new templeon the premises.

Visit our web site:www. prajnanamission.org

For current information.E-mail : seva@prajnanamission.org / missionprajnana@gmail.com

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International Sufi Conference – New Delhi