||O® bh¿rbhuva¡ sva¡ tatsaviturvareñya® bhargo devasya dhºmahi dhiyo yo na¡ pracoday³t ||

(May Almighty illuminate our intellect and inspire us towards the righteous path)
- Rigveda 3/62/10; Samveda 1462, Yajurveda 3/35, 22/9, 30/2, 36/3
Yajurveda

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Date of Publication: 01.01. 2007

Amrit chintan

True Prayer

T rue prayer is less about asking and begging for things we are attached to than it is about
relinquishing our attachments to things, persons and possessions. We, in essence, being the
sparks of the Divine Effulgence, ought to pray for illumination of our inner selves with the
sublime glow of divinity –– no storm of hardship or turbulence of ups and downs of life could
ever quaver the flame of our faith in our divine origin as souls.
“…. ‘O’ Lord! Please bless us with courage and wisdom so that we could welcome adversities as
opportunities to refine our qualities and strengthen our potentials. Today’s blows of adversities
should sound as messages of a brighter tomorrow….” –– This would be an ideal prayer to
elevate our zeal and optimism and would protect us from becoming weak or coward.
We have to become intrepid warriors of the Spirit and not frightened fugitives in the battlefield
of life. Our attitude while praying should not be of begging but of ‘offering’ – “Lord, I am here,
use me”.
–Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya
( c.f. “Rishi Chintan”)

Jan-Feb 2007 3
01 Amrit Chintan
Contents
True Prayer --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03

02 From Chief Editor’s Desk: --------------------------------------------------------- 05

03 Happiness through Breath Control ------------------------------------------------------- 06

04 Pragya Yoga – An Exercise for Healthy and Happy Life------------------------------- 10

05 The Open Vision --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13

06 The Process of achieving Siddhi through Sadhana ------------------------------------- 17

07 Nothing can be possessed ---------------------------------------------------------------- 21

08 Yagya Therapy – The Key to Total Health ---------------------------------------------- 23

09 Art of Living – 6
Let the Fragrance of Jivan Sadhana waft across on this Vasant ---------------------- 27

10 Youth Column
Embrace High Ideals – Achieve Excellence --------------------------------------------- 29

11 Science and Spirituality

Hormonal Control ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31

12 Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya – A Centre for Holistic Growth of Youth. --------------- 34

13 Companions in Solitude-12
The Inner Aspect of My Sadhana of Life -I --------------------------------------------- 37

14 My Life: Its Legacy and Message- 23

Transformation of the Physical into Astral: S¿kÌmºkaraña ------------------------------ 40

15 Amrit V³ñº
Four Pillars of Self-Development - I ----------------------------------------------------- 44

16 Poem
Revelation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49

17 Shantikunj Diary --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50

4 Jan-Feb 2007
Dr. Pranav Pandya From Chief Editor's Desk
2006 gave the Gayatri Pariwar a rare and nostalgically memorable parting gift. Our Mahamahim
Rashtrapati, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam came as Chief Guest of honour on the Second Convocation
of Dev Sanskriti Vishwa Vidyalaya (DSVV) on December 09, 2006.The visit was the fulfillment
of a long-cherished aspiration of ours. We felt greatly honoured and blessed by the presence of
this truly great son of Mother India – a rare synthesis of a scientist, a Sufi, a saint and a sage. His
address on the occasion had the depth and sagacity of Acharya – Rishis of ancient Gurukuls. He
heartily commended the unique educational process of DSVV – aiming at a seamless synthesis of
the ageless spiritual wisdom especially as exemplified by the essence of Dev Sanskriti and latest
findings of modern science. The President reiterated his prophesy that by 2020 India is expected
to become the leader of the world – as a Powerhouse of Knowledge (harmonious fusion of
spirituality and science) – if its enormous youth power is holistically and wisely educated and
trained. He was happy to learn that the Founder – Sage of Gayatri Pariwar, Acharya Pandit
Sriram Sharma had put forward this vision of integration of spirituality and science before the
Gayatri Pariwar parijans fifty years back, and that DSVV has been especially established to give
concrete shape to his dreams. Rashtrapatiji exhorted the passing out students to put their talents
and expertise for selfless service of the teeming and suffering masses of the country – always
putting service before self. He also advised them to actively participate in his proposed project
–PURA (Providing Urban facilities in Rural Areas).

The proceedings of the Convocation were conducted with dignity and solemnity in accordance
with the Rishi Tradition. The Chief Guest was all praise for the life-long ‘Sadhana’ of Gurudev
aimed at integration of spiritual and scientific search at all levels of human endeavor – individual,
familial, social, national and international. He asserted that it is on this bedrock that the edifice
of the new integrative ‘Dharma’ of whole of humanity will be built. The President heartily
commended the ‘Divine India Youth Association’ formed by the students / alumni of DSVV and
assured of his guidance in its activities.

The foundation of a state - of- the–art Research Center was also laid in the presence of the Chief
Guest in the DSVV premises for carrying out fundamental research in the fields of Ayurveda,
Yoga, Biotechnology and Genetics.

2006 has been a year of fond memories and great expectations. India is indeed blessed and
fortunate to have as its Head of State a person of Dr. Abdul Kalam’s stature – a pre-eminently
great seer, sage and scientist. This strengthens our hope that our Gurudev’s glorious vision for
humanity is going to be fulfilled not in the too distant future.

With warm wishes for the New Year to all parijans and readers,
Prayerfully
Pranav Pandya

Jan-Feb 2007 5

-Pranav Pandya
 Happiness
through Breath Control
Adequate and harmonized (with respect to body functions and the bioelectrical flows) supply
of oxygen through balanced and deep breathing helps nourishing secretion and circulation of several
neuropeptides (neuro-transmitters) and healthy activation of the endocrine (hormonal )glands which
lead to a state of psychosomatic calm and peace.

I rrespective of what makes us happy, one

thing is certain that we all want to be happy.
Who is there who does not want to be happy?
Is there any moment when anyone, in normal
state of mind, would opt for or deliberately
attempt to invite tragedy, sorrow, troubles or
some other adversities? None. As noted
philosopher and ancient mathematician Blaise
Pascal puts it: ‘The cause of some going to war,
and of others avoiding it, is the same desire
in both (to be happy), attended with different
views. This is the motive of every action of
every man, even of those who hang
themselves.’
In fact every moment of life, with every breath,
every being seeks happiness. There is no
exception, because this is the original desire
of the individual-self; its quest for unalloyed
happiness is the driving force for its endless
journey life after life.
But have we ever thought what is happiness?
And, is everyone ever happy? The answers to
these could be as many as the impulses of
mind. (Perhaps that is why some savants say,
happiness is so soothing to feel but it is so dry
to talk about!) If happiness is only an impulse
or excitation of mind, then every thrill of mind
should have made at least someone happy. But
then, someone would have achieved and
experienced it all the time with varied degrees!
Which of these countless experiences would
have then accounted for the ‘real’ happiness?
Also, why then happiness would have been
6 Jan-Feb 2007
such a ‘sought-after’ goal of life? If the
source of happiness lay in worldly
possessions, glittering resources, lavish
food, charming bodies, supportive
circumstances, etc then all those owning
these things would have been most happy.
But in reality we often see the contrary.
People dying for worldly pleasure miss
happiness in their mad rush for success,
name, fame, luxuries and what not.
Whatever ‘joy’ they feel in achieving such
things is only a sting of excitation, an illusion
of happiness which is never separated from
the hidden shadows of fear (of losing what
they have), passions (of gaining much more
than what they have) and consequent stress
with recurring pressures of fluctuating
circumstances.
Worse is the mirage of those driven by the
lust for sensual pleasures in the illusion of
happiness; unless restrained, they often end
up entrapping themselves in negativities and
infirmities. The so-called ‘joy’ of wild
excitement and sensual pleasures is like a
cyclonic storm, which makes the mighty trees
dance and the tiny leafs and dry grass fly high
in the sky for a few minutes, but ruins
everything the next moment. There remains
nothing but a ghostly solitude of debris and
fallen jungles. That is why the elevated
thinkers of different ages have unanimously
taught us that the secret of joy lies in
restraining the extrovert passions, in limiting
the sensual thirst rather than satisfying or
running behind them.
It is a sign of wisdom to understand the fact
that if there is any joy and peace, it will be
realized only by our inner being and not by
our circumstances and possessions. One says
— “I am happy”, “I enjoyed myself”, or “I got
bored”, etc. That means joy or boredom is not
some externally defined thing, a worldly
condition, or a predefined concept, rather it
depends upon one’s own self, one’s own
imaginations, inner makeup, experiences and
feelings. If one has learnt, simply to be happy in
the present moment, he has won half the battle.
Indeed happiness is an intrinsic feeling,
inexplicable in words. It is like the spirit of
religion, which cannot be rationalized or
confined to fixed set of conditions.
In absolute sense happiness is unalloyed joy,
beatifying bliss of the unbounded
consciousness-force. This is why the Vedas,
Upanishads and other scriptures describe
absolute happiness as the state of ultimate
realization – unification of self-identity with
the Brah® — the Omnipresent-Eternal (sat)
Consciousness-Force, the self-existent
Absolute Knowledge (cit), the Pure, Infinite,
Everlasting Bliss ( ³nand ). Aristotle has
echoed this fact as – Happiness is the meaning
and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of
human existence. Thus in its origin and
complete expression happiness is a spiritual
experience, a characteristic of the soul, which
can be realized only by enlightened saints and
sages in the preeminent state of spiritual
awakening. But the infinite dimensional
domains of this ³nand (real happiness) do
have intercepts in our minds and hearts. We can
feel its natural flow in a calm and stable state of
mind.
This is why savants always preach for
cultivation of positive attitude, a temperament
of seeing the good that dwells in every thing
around. The essence of sagacious teachings is
Jan-Feb 2007
that a seeker of happiness should so think and
live that his state of mind shall depend as little
as possible on external happenings and things.
A calm and stable mind and introvert search
for the real Self provide the key to conquer
the external influences and expectations. A
natural query that matters to most of us here
is how to achieve that state of mind, which
can experience at least a sprinkle of the elixir
of inner joy?
The Vedic rishis were perfect scientists of
spirituality, consciousness and nature. They
had a reach in the deepest depths of the human
mind and heart. They knew the hidden nature
and intricacies of emotions and the influence
of intrinsic impressions (sank³ras) carried in
the unconscious mind. They had therefore
devised excellent methods of yoga, which can
be practiced by anybody for mental and
emotional refinement and focused orientation.
These practical exercises include — pr³ñ³y³ma
(exercises of deep, harmonized breathing)
with bandha and mudr³ ; and dhy³na
(meditation). Most prominent and popular
among the yoga practices in the present times
is pr³ñ³y³ma, as it has direct impact on the
state of mind and as different kinds of
pr³ñ³y³ma happen to be pre-requisites for
meditation and higher-level spiritual
s³dhan³s.
Thousands of yoga-centers and schools across
the globe are offering different levels of
training courses or packages on elementary
exercises of pr³ñ³y³ma these days. Millions
of people have benefited from sincere
practices of these simple breathing exercises.
With regard to happy state of mind and inner
self, the positive effects of proper breathing
are verifiable through modern scientific
methods. Adequate and harmonized (with
respect to body functions and the bioelectrical
flows) supply of oxygen through balanced and
deep breathing helps in nourishing secretion
7
and circulation of several neuropeptides
(neuro-transmitters) and healthy activation of
the endocrine (hormonal )glands.
More importantly, the upward flow of vital
spiritual energy (pr³ña) is attained through
adept practice of some pr³ñ³y³mas, which
helps refinement and controlled use of the
extrasensory element of k³ma1.
The upward movement of oil in a lamp helps
the conversion of oil into light upon ignition.
Similarly, the upward movement (through the
SuÌumn³ N³Ãº2 in the endocrine column) of
the vital energy of pr³ña generates vigor,
awareness and spiritual radiance. This is
attained by thorough practice of specific
pr³ñ³y³mas with m¿la bandha and
observance of chastity of thought and conduct.
By upwardly control, the sublime energy of
pr³ña immanent in k³ma, which otherwise
drains off through stimulation and discharge
of the genitals due to erotic thinking and
sexual excitations, is not only preserved but
is also transmuted into the spiritual energy of
zeal and joy. Look at the little children! They
look so cheerful and energetic all the time! This
is because their k³ma-energy remains in the
upper cakras (extrasensory energy-nucleus)
along the endocrine column. Negative
impulses of sensual pleasures, boosted by ego
and untoward effects (e.g. erogenous pictures,
stories, etc) of the surrounding environment
draw its flow downwards as the child grows.
With increased expectations, the chances of
desperation (of their fulfillment) and anger or
anguish (due to their non-fulfillment) also
augment and account for suppressing and
maligning the pure glow of k³ma and
triggering negative or downward flow of vital
energy and thus disturbing the natural impulse
of joy and vivacity. Loma -A nuloma (also
called circular breathing in modern parlance)
8 Jan-Feb 2007
and Bhramarº Pr³ñ³y³mas , etc help
controlling these excitations and related
stresses to a great extent but one also needs
to minimize one’s expectations from others
and change one’s attitude to adjust with the
circumstances. A quote of ancient Greek
philosopher, Epictetus is worth recalling here
– “It is our attitude toward events, not the
events themselves, which we can control.”
However, in spite of knowing all this, at times
the aggressive or depressive mood of the mind
is so strong that no thought of wisdom seems
to work on it. In view of the fact that one
cannot practice pr³ñ³y³mas arbitrarily, at any
random time or place, one may need easy to
practice physical exercises in such moments.
The swara - vijó³na or the science of
regularizing the rhythm of breaths offers some
practical solutions here.
One can experiment on himself to see that
whenever he is in a quiet and calm mood
(without any apparent reason for it!) and
having positive thoughts, he must be breathing
through the left nostril. His furor, excitement
or abrupt, untoward thinking would, on the
contrary, be mostly accompanied by
respiration through the right nostril alone.
The lunar currents (Ida) manifested in the
vibrations of breathing through the left nostril
are referred as ‘chandra-swara’ and solar
currents (Pingala) manifested in the vibrations
of breathing through the right nostril are
termed as ‘surya-swara’. In simple terms, when
we breathe only through the left nostril, the
chandra-swara is ‘on’ (active). When we breathe
only through the right nostril, the surya-swara
is active.
If we pay little attention to our breathing
patterns, we will notice most of the time we
breathe only through one nostril, either
through the left or through the right. It is only
at the time of changing of this flow from Ida
(chandra) to Pingala (surya) i.e. left to right, or
vice versa that both the swaras are active a for
few moments. This change over occurs
periodically in about one to three hours time
on an average. The flow of vital energy and
praña is active through the Sushumana Nadi at
these moments. This transition takes place at
characteristic timings, e.g. exactly at the
moments of sunset which are of very
significant importance in yoga and spiritual
s³dhan³s.
We all know that the rays of moon (called
chandra in Sanskrit) are cool and soothing
whereas those of the sun (called surya in
Sanskrit) are hot and energizing. As obvious
by their names, the chandra-swara corresponds
to a calm, stable and happy state of mind
which is most suited for clear and discreet
thinking, balanced discussions and adept
decision making, etc; the surya-swara occurs in
the relatively excited, active, dynamic, agile,
state of mind which is best for intrepid,
courageous efforts and tasks requiring
enthusiasm, force, aggressiveness and alacrity.
Sometimes we need to work late in the night,
which usually happens to be our sleeping time.
Then we try to control our drowsiness by
washing our face with cold water or drinking
tea, coffee, etc. Similarly, if we want to benefit
from the knowledge of swara-vijó³na, we can
try one of the following easy practices guided
by the researchers of this science to alter or
harmonize the swara-pattern as per our
requirement.
(1) Block the nostril at which the swara is ‘off’.
This could be done by pressing it by a
thumb. Now, take a deep breath through
the nostril where the swara is ‘on’. Then
open the pressed nostril and exhale
(breathe out) through this while blocking
the nostril that was used for inward
Jan-Feb 2007
respiration. Repeating this cycle several
times in succession would alter the
direction of flow of the swara (i.e., you will
start breathing through the nostril which
was blocked earlier).
(2) Lie down on the side of the active swara.
The direction of swara will shift to the other
nostril after sometime. Practicing the
breathing exercise described in (1) above
along with this gives faster result.
(3) Press something hard beneath the armpit
on the side of the active side. Doing so
along with (1) and/or (2) above would
make rapid change in the swara-pattern.
(4) Eating ghee is supposed to be favorable for
the left (i.e., chandra) swara and eating
honey for the right (i.e., surya) swara.
(5) Keep a smooth clean cotton ball in the
nostril of the active swara to make it flow
to the other nostril.
The equilibrium state of swaras when the pr³ña
flows through the Sushumna is a blessed
opportunity for the individual to leap forward
in spiritual elevation. These are the moments
when all vices, illusions, attachments and ego
drives are naturally pacified and the divine
inspirations and enlightened thoughts are
awakened. Any spiritual insight, ennobling
thoughts or feelings arising in these rare
moments are inspired from the inmost depths
pf the soul. The s³dhan³s of swara-yoga aim
at timely recognition and cautious use of this
beatifying phase for divine enlightenment and
spiritual ascent.
Notes:
1. K³ma: This term is used for seed of sex-element
and for the spiritual source of joy, creativity and
vigor.
2. Sushumn³ N³Ãº refers to an extrasensory canal
or a neural passage of subliminal flow of pr³ña
hidden in the inner core of the spinal column.
9
Health for All
Pragya Yoga
An Exercise for Healthy and Happy Life
Revered Gurudev, Pt. Shri Ram Sharma Acharya, has pioneered a novel approach to yoga for a healthy and happy life, which
is simple and suitable for the masses. He has named it “Pragya Yoga” – under the noble “Pragya Abhiyan” mission.
T he Indian sages - the Rishis, have guided
practical ways for accomplishing a
purposeful life. A life when lived as per the
will of the Creator becomes a life united with
yoga. The Rishis have given the formulae to
evolve the unlimited powers (potentials) of
human life. Ashtang yoga is one such formula
for accomplishing healthy and happy life.
Aasans constitute the first phase of Astang Yoga.
Aasan refers to a specific posture (while
keeping the body active internally). Our rishis
had keenly observed the sitting and standing
postures of different animals. They had
studied the effects of different postures in the
laboratory of their own bodies and developed
specific Asanas that had rejuvenating effect on
the entire body-mind-soul system. However,
with the changing attitudes in the course of
time, we became materialistic and this single-
tracked commercialized civilization has raised
several problems in our life. Therefore, it is
quite difficult to perform all these Asanas in
the present age.
Gurudev, Pt. Shri Ram Sharma Acharya, has
pioneered a novel approach to yoga for a
healthy and happy life, which is simple and
suitable for the masses. He has named it
“Pragya Yoga” – under the noble “Pragya
Abhiyan” mission. Shantikunj - an Aranyak of
our times, which is situated in the lap of the
Ganges and under the shadow of the
Himalayas is a center for learning this
comprehensive yoga. A brief description of
this form of yoga is given below.
Warm up exercise: To begin with, the fist is
tightly closed and opened. Now wrists are
moved inwardly and outwardly in clockwise
10
and anti-clockwise direction. This gives
flexibility to the muscles and joints of the wrist.
Then the elbows are folded and opened. The
elbows are folded further and moved
circularly in one direction and the other, as
much as the joints of the shoulders allow. This
circular motion provides exercise to the hands,
shoulders and elbows together. Hands are
moved once forward and next backward in
the same way as the rudder is moved while
rowing a boat. This provides excellent exercise
to the arms and waist.
Both hands are now stretched forward and
then pulled inwardly; then moved clockwise
and anti-clockwise direction. This simple
exercise is very much helpful for patients
suffering from stomach disorders.
The neck is directly connected to all the nerves.
Below the brain, it is the neck through which
all nerves pass. Being seated in sukhasan the
neck is moved circularly in clockwise and anti-
clockwise direction.
Pragya Yoga : This yoga involves all the three
bodies (physical, subtle and causal) of a
person. The Asan (physical exercise)
rejuvenates body, Pranayam (breath control)
strengthens mind and chanting in the heart of
Mantra augments the will power. The sequence
of exercises of this yoga is given below.
Stand erect. Half-close the eyes and
meditating on the brilliance of Lord Savita
(rising sun) for a moment chant ‘Om’. With
the faith that the subtle power of Savita is
rejuvenating the body, mind and soul with
each syllable of Gayatri mantra, follow the
sequence of exercises given below.
Jan-Feb 2007
1. Tadasan: Chanting ‘Bhooh’ (in the heart i.e. to
oneself) raise both the hands upward while
inhaling gradually and deeply. Now stand on
the toes. This benefits us in the case of
weakness of the heart and blood disorders.
(See Fig. 1 for posture.)

2. Hastapadasan: Chanting ‘Bhuvah’, both the

hands are brought downward from the
posture of tadasan, while exhaling and the head
is bowed down to touch the knees, with the 1 2
palms trying to touch the floor. This removes
gastric trouble and induces vital strength in
the Ida, Pingla, and Sushumna Nadis. (See Fig. 2
for posture.)

3. Vajrasan: Chanting ‘Swah”, toes are placed

completely on the floor and haunches are set
on the feet. The backbone should be erect and
both palms placed on the knees. Breathe
normally during this posture. This is helpful 3 4
in digestion and cures gastric trouble and
constipation and keeps the stomach light. (See
Fig. 3 for posture.)

4. Ushtrasan: Chanting ‘Tat’, inhale deeply, put

knees on the floor and keep the feet straight
on toes. The heels are held in by taking both
the hands from the back side. The stomach is
drawn upward and head is bent backward.
This makes the heart strong and spinal column
flexible. This also provides exercise to Ida, 5 6
Pingla and Sushumna. (See Fig. 4 for posture.)

5. Yogamudra: In this posture, chanting ‘Savituh’

exhale and clench together both the palms at
the back and stretch upwardly. The head is
kept downward so that the chest and the
stomach touch the thigh. This posture removes
severe gastric trouble, gives strength to
7
digestive system and increases appetite. (See
Fig. 5 for posture.)

6. Ardh Tadasan: Chanting ‘Varenyam’ inhale

deeply. Being seated in the posture of vajrasan,
both the hands and eyes are raised upward.
This is as useful as tadasan and cures the
weakness of the heart and blood disorders. 8 9
(See Fig. 6 for posture.)

Jan-Feb 2007 11
7. Shashankasan: Chanting ‘Bhargo’ exhale.
Sitting in the posture of vajrasan both the
hands are kept straight in front of the
chest, palms touching the floor, while
bending downwards; the stomach
touching the thighs. This cures stomach
problems and increases flexibility of
backbone. (See Fig. 7 for posture.)
8. Bhujangasan: Chanting ‘Devasya’ inhale
deeply. From the previous posture, the
body is moved ahead and head is raised
upward like a snake’s hood. Eyes are kept
looking upwards. This provides soothing
exercise to the heart and the backbone. It
also cures gastric troubles. (See Fig. 8 for
posture.)
9. Tiryak Bhujangasan. In the posture of
bhujangasan, keeping the breath normal
chant ‘Dhimahi’ and look toward the left.
Then chant ‘Dhiyo’ and look toward the
right. It increases flexibility of the waist.
10. Shashankasan: Chanting ‘Yonah’ repeat step 7.
11. Ardh Tadasan: Chanting ‘Prachodyat’
repeat step 6.
12. Utkatasan: After tadasan, chant ‘Bhooh’ and
breathing normally sit on the toes. Calves
touching the thighs, place both the palms
on the knees. This gives strength to calves
and improves balance of the body.
(See Fig. 9)
13. Padhastasan: Chanting ‘Bhuvah’ repeat
step 2.
14. Tadasan: Chanting ‘Swah’ repeat step 1.
15. Coming back to original position: Chanting
‘Om’ keep the hands stretched. Close the
fists and bring the hands down
energetically and stand erect. Breathe
normal.
If practiced sincerely, it may provide us the physical,
mental and spiritual benefits of Ashtang Yoga.
12
Some people brought a young man to Maharshi
Patanjali and said – “Despite the best efforts from
our side, we are not able to teach this man the
importance of yoga s³dhan³ in human life. Kindly
help us in this regard”. The Maharshi asked the
young man to stay back in his Ashram for a few
days.
Several days passed. The people who had brought
that man to the Ashram came to meet him there. It
was indeed a pleasant surprise for them to see him
completely transformed. That man, who was
addicted to intoxicating drugs and sensual
pleasures a few days back, was now living a life
of austerity and self control. He was engrossed in
deep meditation beneath a huge tree when they
reached the Ashram.
“How did this magical change occur?” – they
couldn’t help asking Maharshi Patanjali. The latter
humbly replied that there was nothing amazing in
this. It was due to healing and soothing influence
of the spiritually suffused vibrations of this
Ashram, where every inmate is a devoted s³dhaka;
this acts as an attitudinal therapy. Those people
were well aware that the environment also plays
an important role in the progress of s³dhan³ but
they could not follow what the Maharshi meant
by attitudinal therapy. Maharshi further explained
– “An eye-specialist cures the problems of eyesight
but treatment of the mental-sight, the outlook
towards the self and the world…, is the job of a
rishi. Because of the deep insight awakened by
long-term s³dhan³, a rishi can view the hidden
tendencies and nature of a person and diagnose
the ailments of his mental and emotional selves.
Using their spiritual powers, rishis can heal such
ailments and infirmities of the inner selves of a
person. The treatment and righteous orientation
of one’s mentality is achieved not merely by
preaching and teaching but by the impact of the
rishi-level s³dhan³”.
Jan-Feb 2007

What is the direct, Open Vision? – One may ask. One thing about it is that it should appeal
to reason - that is the foundation. If something is unreasonable the question of vision
does not arise.
‘Do you feel as sure of God,’ someone once
asked me, ‘as you do of the lamp in front of
you?’ ‘I am sure, quite sure of God,’ I replied,
‘but as for the lamp, I am not nearly so sure
whether it really exists or not !’ This exchange,
which is recorded in my Vichar-porthi, took
place in 1928. On a number of occasions I have
had what appears to me to be direct Vision of
God. I own it partly perhaps to the attitudes I
inherited in my family, and partly to my
reverence for certain holy books. But my faith
rests not so much on these things as on the
fact of experience. Other living creatures in
all their variety, and the human beings I see
around me, are so many forms in which He
wills to appear.
What is the direct, Open Vision? – one may ask.
One thing about it is that it should appeal to
reason - that is the foundation. If something
is unreasonable the question of vision does not
arise. First, the thing must be acceptable to
reason; secondly, after that, comes the
experience. Reason tests it -this is knowledge;
the experience follows - that is vision through
knowledge. We may take, for example, the
personal experience of compassion. Reason
must first recognize that the world is full of
compassion, that compassion is essential to the
world plan. If my mother had not had
compassion on me, I could not have received
what I needed for my growth. The intellect
must understand the need for compassion and
recognize that it is present in the creation. Only
Jan-Feb 2007
The Open Vision
then comes the experience of compassion. To
feel in oneself the compassion that a mother
has for her child, that is direct knowledge of
compassion.
The Vision Direct of Compassion
The compassion I feel is not for individuals
but for society. I am so hard-hearted that if
someone falls ill I don’t feel it in the least; but
if I felt no compassion for the whole
community, my life would come to an end. It
is my basic principle that if you want equal
compassion for all, you must not allow
individuals to make special claims - otherwise
there will be envy and hatred, which are found
not only among kings but also among those
who keep company with the great. I, therefore
believe that as compassion expands to
embrace the whole creation, love will no
longer leap like waves in shallow water, but
become ever deeper. Waters that run deep are still.
As the sky pervades all, it turns into a void.
Companions from the Past
The direct experience of the virtue of
compassion is a comparatively small matter.
There are other, more comprehensive forms
of open vision in which we may have
fellowship with many who have lived before
us.
The voices of men of former days fill the air
around us, but they are heard only by those
who have the power to receive their words.
When can we hear the distant sounds on the
13
radio? – only when we possess a radio set.
Without it one can hear nothing, even though,
as science has proved, the air around us is full
of sound. In the same way we may hear the
voices of those who have gone before us,
provided we have the right radio set.
I often speak of my still-continuing talks with
Bapu. When he was alive I had to walk five
miles to meet him; it took me two hours, and
I had to make an effort. Now, I simply close
my eyes and am with him that very second. I
can ask him questions and get his answers with
no trouble at all. Then, he was confined within
a body; now, he is free. He is everywhere,
there is nothing to bind him. I am still bound,
but so long as I am in the body I shall continue
to get inspiration from him.
In the same way I have often described how
on my pilgrimage I felt that the Lord Rama
was going before me, so also the five
Pandavas, the Lord Buddha, the Lord
Mahavir, Shankar, Ramanuja, Kabir, Namadev
… they all lead, and I follow. They are with
me, I am not alone. I never feel lonely; I feel
them to be with me all the time.
I remember also one incident when I was
camping at bettiah in Bihar. I dreamed that
someone of very gracious appearance was
sitting talking to me about Vinayanjali. He
asked me about the meaning of two of the
hymns and requested me to explain some
points to him, which I did. He listened with
great attention and from time to time nodded
his head in agreement. After a while it came
to me that the man who was visiting me was
no other than Saint Tulsidas himself - and I
woke up. I began thinking about this dream,
and realized that the day was that of Tulsidas’
death - a day which I was in the habit of
commemorating every year by reading his
Ramayana or his Vinayapatrika. But this time
I had forgotten, so Tulisdas himself came and
talked to me in my dream. Since that day those
hymns of his have had a new meaning for me.
14
On another occasion Manoharji (Manohar
Diwan) had asked me a question and in reply
I had commented on one of the verses of
Jnaneshwari. When I was asleep that night
Saint Janadeva came and talked with me.
‘Vinya,’ he said, ‘you have understood me
rightly. One phrase which I used is based on
a line in the Upnishad. But I used the word
buddhi (intellect) where the Upnishad used
manas (mind). I did not make this change
lightly. In the Upnishad manas includes buddhi;
in Janeshwari buddhi includes manas. You will
understand why I used this word buddhi if you
think about what manas means in the
Upnishad’. That was all, but I went on thinking
about it for half an hour.
Face to Face with God
On April 18, 1951, in Pochampalli in Telangana,
the Harijans asked for land and were given
one hundred acres. That night I could not sleep
for more than three or four hours – what was
this that had happened? I believe in God; I
also believe in arithmetic. I began calculating;
if one were to ask for land for all the landless
of India, it would take fifty million acres to
satisfy their needs. Could so much land be had
for the asking? Then I had a direct talk with
god, just as I might talk face to face with
another human being. ‘If you hesitate,’ He
said, ‘if you fear this task, you must give up
your faith in non-violence and stop claiming
to be non-violent. Have faith; ask, and ask
again.’ He said one thing more: ‘He who put
hunger into the child’s stomach also put milk
into the mother’s breasts. He does not leave
His work half done.’ This set all my doubts at
rest; the very next day I began asking for land.
An Experience in Nirvikalpa Samadhi
While I was at Chandil during my bhoodan
pilgrimage, I went down with malignant
malaria. I was in high fever, and became so
weak that no one expected me to live. I was
quite prepared either to live or die, and I
Jan-Feb 2007
cannot say that I would have been at all sorry
if the Lord had taken me away. One day –
December 17, 1952 – I felt as if the time for
my departure had come. I was in high fever,
but I asked those present to raise me into a
sitting position. No sooner had they done so
that I became directly absorbed in
contemplation. I may have remained in that
state of total absorption for perhaps twenty-
five minutes or half an hour. Although I had
practiced meditation a great deal, I had never
before known such bliss, such open vision, as
I did then. It was illimitable boundless bliss,
peace beyond all comprehension. I felt that I
stood in the very presence of god and saw
Him face to face. You may call it imagination,
illusion, what you please. Shankaracharya
called the whole world an illusion, so as this
experience of mine was not outside the world,
you may call it an illusion too. After half an
hour I became conscious once more of my
surroundings, and left that new world of
mine. It was an experience of what the shastras
call nirvikalpa Samadhi, an experience in which
the knower, the known and the knowing
become one.
My body broke into perspiration, my fever
left me, and I was ready to live. He who
sustains the world, He it is who sustains me.
If He had called me away I would have been
ready; I was equally ready to be cured. I felt
that many of my physical and mental ills
would disappear and I should become stronger
mentally. I was weaker than before and had
less physical energy. Mentally however I found
myself so full of energy that I felt, in the words
of a Vedic hymn, that I could swing the whole
world to and fro as I willed.
Becoming the Lord’s mount
During my travels in Monghyr district (Bihar)
I camped at a village named Ulao, where the
meeting was held in the temple of Shiva.
Usually the Shiva temple itself is
underground, and the meeting hall is above
Jan-Feb 2007
it. At Ulao however, in contrast, the meeting
hall was below and the temple above it. My
seat in the hall was just under the Shivalinga.
As I sat there it was as though the Lord Shiva
Himself was using me as His vehicle; I had
become His mount, His bull Nandi. Then it
dawned on me that the phrase Adhirudha
Samadhi-yoga might have another meaning. Up
till then I had taken it to mean a samadhi, a
transcendental experience, mounted on yoga;
now I saw it was meaning a Samadhi which is
mount, or vehicle, for yoga, the ultimate union.
Before that I used to rebuke our workers in
rather harsh and arrogant terms. After that
event I changed my style as can be seen by a
careful study of my talks from the point of
view of their inward spirit.
In the Arms of God
On August 22, 1957, just two days before I
left Kerala for Karnataka, I was sleeping under
a mosquito-net. Suddenly I felt a sharp sting;
I thought it was a scorpion, and got up and
shook out the bedding. A centipede fell out.
The sting gave me such intense pain that I
could not sit still, I had to keep walking to
and fro. Something like five hours must have
passed, all the while in this intolerable pain.
Then at last I lay down again, and my tears
overflowed. Vallabhaswami (who was one of
those with me) thought that my tears were
due to the pain. ‘I am not in pain,’ I said. ‘All
of you go to sleep.’
What had happened was this: All this time I
had been inwardly repeating to myself a
Sanskrit prayer: ‘O God, give me devotion,
cleanse my mind of faults, may it be without
sin. O thou who dwellest in the hearts of all,
this is the desire of my heart, I have no other.
O God, I am speaking the truth.’
But in fact, while I repeated these words, I
had another desire-I longed that the pain of
the sting should subside ! I was saying satyam
vadami (I am speaking the truth) but really it
15
was jhutham vadami (telling a lie). What a
display of egoism ! At last I cried aloud in my
mind: ‘How long are you going to torment
me?’ And suddenly, all the pain was gone,
completely gone, and I felt myself held as in a
close embrace. That was when my tears
overflowed, and within two minutes I was
asleep. I experienced God then in His quality
of mercy.
An Open vision
As I traveled through Maharashtra I came to
Pandharpur. Those who were in charge of the
temple of Vithoba invited me for darshan of
the image. My companions were people of all
castes and religions and we all had the darshan
together. I shall never to the end of my life
forget what I saw that day, it is so deeply
imprinted on my heart. It is hard to find words
for what I experienced then as I stood at the
feet of Vithoba, the tears flowing freely from
my eyes. I looked at the image, and saw no
(From his Memoirs ‘Moved By Love’ – with glad permission of the compiler – Kalindi Behan of Brahma Vidya Mandir)
stone sculpture there, but the very God
Himself. Beside me there stood those I had
revered, some from boyhood, saints like
Ramanuja, Nammalvar, Jnanadev, Chaitanya,
Kabir, Tulsidas and many more. I bowed
before the image, looking at its feet, and saw
all those dear to me, all those who had
nurtured me, mother, father, guru, and drank
my fill of joy.
For my part, I think of God as an ocean of
consciousness, in which the waves rise and fall,
the billows mount up and are broken, and
merge once more into the whole. New waves
arise, new waves fall back to be absorbed
again. Each individual soul, one wave in the
ocean of God, emerges from it to play on the
surface for one, two three lifetimes and then
is absorbed, and so set free. Among individual
souls there is no high or low; all are different
manifestations of His will.
-Sant Vinoba Bhave

The publication of Sri Aurbindo’s renowned work “The Foundations of Indian Culture” had
sparked a new wave of interest in the multiple aspects of Indian Culture. His disciples and
other residents of his Ashram also used to have prolonged discussions on the elements of this
great legacy of the Vedic Age.

Once a disciple raised a query as to why the Indian Culture is also referred as the “Divine
Culture” while the cultures of all the other nations are known after their names only. He put
this question to Nalinda, who was the seniormost s³dhaka in the Ashram and was considered
very close to the master. Nalinda could not find a satisfactory answer to the query and said
that he would approach Sri Aurobindo himself for a reply. One day, while discussing some
related topic, Nalinda put the same query before Sir Aurobindo. The latter replied – “The
principal objective of the Indian Culture is the awakening and expression of Divinity in
human life. The Vedic Rishis, the founders of the Indian Culture, had developed the grand
structure of this culture around this very central search. Because of the incorporation of
divine values and elements in its genesis and expansion, the Indian Culture is also synonymous
with Divine Culture”.

16 Jan-Feb 2007
Siddhi through Sadhana-1
Siddhi through Sadhana
The process of upgradation of the levels of physical activity, the mental thinking
and the sentiments combined with the transmutation of animal instincts into the
divine traits has been called the science of Sadhana.
I n materialistic terms, sadhana means an effort
or endeavor done to achieve a specific goal;
and siddhi means an accomplishment or the
success achieved in that direction. However
in the spiritual world, it is a common belief
that the siddhis (meaning supernatural powers)
are showered by the deities and that sadhana
is supplication for the same. In the modern
context, when everything has to pass the test
of scientific validity, let us try to understand
the basic principles underlying the
achievement of siddhi through sadhana. In order
to simplify things, let us begin with few
examples.
We all know that iron is in the form of an ore,
when mined from earth. It is purified by the
Agni Sanskar (the process of heat treatment, in
this case called smelting). Iron ore, in its crude
form, is useless. It can neither serve as clay
nor as a metal, whereas, after smelting the
purified iron can be moulded into a variety of
appliances, components of machines and parts
of weaponry. This is how the utility and
importance of the crude ore is enhanced. The
medicines like Lohasava, Lohabhasma
Mandurbhasma and other iron tonics
manufactured by pharmacists contain this
ordinary iron as an essential ingredient. These
medicines ameliorate the sufferings of many
chronic patients. The credit of transmutation
of an insignificant piece of crude iron ore into
a refined metal of immense utility goes to the
Agni Sanskar.
Jan-Feb 2007
The Process of achieving
A crude lump of gold changes into an
attractive ornament in the hands of a
goldsmith. However, in this development, it
has to pass through many processes e.g.
heating, hammering, scratching etc. The value
of other metals too increases manifold when
they are converted from their original form
into articles of utility. The price of a piece of
stone is negligible, but after going through a
prolonged process of hammering and chiseling
by the sculptor, it becomes a precious idol of
a deity.
A farmer has to take lot of pains to transform
an uneven and barren field into fertile land.
An expert gardener is able to convert a wild
haphazard growth of the forest into a beautiful
park or a garden by his skills of horticulture.
Health enthusiasts engaged in the Sadhana of
bodybuilding succeed in making the body
strong and attractive. Such a body earns the
person the name and fame of a renowned
wrestler.
In order to channelise the strength of
otherwise useless and dangerous wild animals
for utilitarian needs, man has persevered for
long and developed the science of animal
husbandry. The wild big cats of the jungle,
which may otherwise maul and kill a human
being, start earning huge profits for a person
who trains them properly. It is a miracle of
Sadhana.
17
According to anthropologists, original
ancestors of human beings had also the traits
of wild animals. It has been convincingly
proved that man has reached his present state
of development through several stages of
evolution starting from the category of apes.
During this process of evolution, he has
developed his intellectual, physical and
communication skills. He has made numerous
achievements in the fields of education,
medicine, sculpture, fine arts, farming,
transportation etc. But all this has not
happened suddenly. It is the result of
hundreds of thousands of years of Sadhana of
development. Had he not erected the existing
frameworks of social structure, governance,
philosophy, religion, culture, ethics etc.,
basically, he would not have been better than
apes. With the aid of persistent Sadhana in the
field of science, mankind has received
miraculous boons from nature. In the absence
of such single-pointed efforts, none of the
present scientific achievements would have
been possible. Even today, in those parts of
the earth, where the light of civilization has
not yet reached, the aborigines are living an
animal-like existence.
From the abovementioned examples, it is very
clear that nothing happens accidentally or
unexpectedly in this world. All the
movements, from the mysterious workings of
nature to the rise and fall of human beings,
are inexorably bound by the laws of cause and
effect. Due to our ignorance of this process,
we might call it fate, destiny, will of God, etc.
but the facts confirm the validity of the
principle of achievement of Siddhi through
Sadhana, at each step.
This world is full of means and materials of
comfort and luxury. Most of us crave to
acquire as many of them as possible. However,
mostly this craving exceeds our modest needs
and develops into a tendency of unbridled
accumulation by fair means or foul. Why does
18
it happen, after all? Why should the highest
creation of God - mankind - live in such hellish
conditions of utter dissolution and disgrace?
The question is really difficult but the answer
is very simple. One can buy anything in this
world by paying its price. All of us have
received the body, vital force, earth, sky, sun,
air, clouds, etc. as free gifts from nature much
before we were born. Now, in order to acquire
anything else, we will have to promptly
employ our physical and mental resources.
Beyond that, one also has to develop the
magnetism of refined personality. Essentially,
this is the force that attracts the desired
success. The virtues of hard work, dedication
and an excellent moral character are invaluable
treasures kept in the locker of our inner being.
One can buy with them the coveted
achievements at all levels and in every sphere
of life.
From which planet or stars can the goddess
of prosperity descend on an undeserving
person? How can the rainwater be
accumulated on a mound? How can vegetation
be grown on a barren rock? Even the
downpours of the monsoons would not be able
to do it. For a blind person, this beautiful
world would continue to be eternally dark.
An individual, whose eardrums have been
damaged, is, forever, deprived of the musical
sounds. This world, which is the most
beautiful artistic creation of God, would
appear to be in disorder to an insane person.
Wise men know that it is difficult to remove
the thorns from the entire path and hence one
has to wear the shoes in order to protect
himself. If we desire to see the world in the
green colour, there is no other option but to
wear spectacles of that colour. World is like a
mirror. Whatever is seen here is, infact, one’s
own reflected image. Had it not been true,
how, out of the two neighbors, putting up in
the same environment, one would have been
blessed with success and the other suffered
Jan-Feb 2007
failure? The world is like an echo from the
well. Here one’s own actions keep on
reflecting back as reactions.
The foundation of Jeevan Sadhana (disciplining
of one’s own life pattern), is shraddha (faith)
which has been held supreme in the spiritual
texts. As a matter of fact, the deities believed
to be present in the statues of temples, manifest
concretely in response to a devotee’s living
faith. The visible circumstances are only the
result of the invisible internal thought
processes. The toxicity present in the blood
appears in the form of ulcers and tumors. The
leaves, flowers and fruits of a tree do not
materialize in space. They owe their existence
to the nutrients sucked by the invisible roots.
Similarly, the source of extraordinary talents
lies deep within the inner-self. One may
express his gratitude to some deity, mantra
or talisman for the boon of these virtues but
the fact remains that not a single instance
can be cited when any deity has favoured
an undeserving person or bestowed a boon
beyond the merit of the devotee, as a result
of some mechanical rituals of worship.
The evaluation of a person is done on the
touchstone of integrity, which is tested in
terms of purity of character and the
refinement of intellect. The purity of
character is reflected in the form of the
magnanimity and farsighted wisdom,
whereas the refinement of intellect is
manifested in the form of celibacy, self-
control, penance and idealism. Those who
have manifested these virtues shone like
stars in the sky and earned lasting name and
fame. On the contrary, those who have
remained in the grip of the carnal desires or
have chosen to wallow in the swamp of
worldly attachments, might have, at the
most, found recognition amongst the people
of their own ilk, but they would always be
regarded by the wise as pigmies whatever
their age or attainment be.
Jan-Feb 2007
The acquisition of Siddhi of invisible powers
of nature through Sadhana is not wrong. God
has been showering his grace on each and
every constituent of this universe incessantly
and will continue to do so till eternity.
However, the degree of benefit received
through His benevolence by an individual
depends exclusively on his/her level of merit.
The food articles are found in abundance in
this world. They are within the reach of all
the living beings. Nevertheless, an ant selects
the type and quantity of food according to its
capacity and an elephant acquires its food in
accordance with the need of its belly. There is
no shortage of the grace or the boons of the
Creator. There is no need of any begging, too.
What is required is to prove one’s eligibility
or worthiness. The objective of prayer or
Sadhana is the augmentation of this eligibility
or worthiness.
The forests attract the clouds and force them
to rain. Droplets of dew are seen to be
deposited on the tiny leaves of plants. The
magnetism of blossoming flowers attracts the
honeybees, butterflies and the humming bees.
A blooming youth automatically becomes the
center of attraction. The talent invites several
admirers and followers. These are the miracles
of magnetism. Similarly the magnetism of
Sadhana invites the invisible divine powers and
impels them to shower their boons.
The process of upgradation of the levels of
physical activity, the mental thinking and the
sentiments combined with the transmutation
of animal instincts into divine traits has been
called the science of Sadhana.
The principle of achieving Siddhi through
Sadhana is well established. In the materialistic
world, industrious persons are seen to achieve
the desired goals through relevant Sadhana.
Self-upliftment is also a specific process of
acquiring the special attributes of super-
consciousness. The principle of achieving
19
success in this field is the same as that in the
materialistic world. Sadhaks practice the
Sadhana of Jeevan devata (the life deity). They
endeavor to uplift both the internal and
external facets of life. The excellence in thought
and deed make things beautiful and
systematic. That is why cultivating a garden
out of wild growth, taming of wild animals
for utilitarian purposes, and converting a
crude person into a balanced personality has
been called Sadhana. The miracles of this very
process are scattered all over this visible
world. The literature moulds the direction of
thinking. The creativity produces resources
and comforts. It is the aim of Sadhana to make
one’s self a kalpavriksha (wish-fulfilling tree)
laden with the fruits of virtues.
The human life is a visible deity. Those who
are able to invoke this deity are assured of
Siddhi, prosperity and an extraordinary success
in the materialistic world and Riddhi, the
supernatural achievements of the spiritual
world. On the other hand, ignorant persons
keep on prostrating, flattering and entreating
their imaginary deities and ultimately get
disgusted in despair and end up expressing
their faithlessness in the deity. The wise men
are advised to see the reality, even though it
may be tough and an onerous task. The greed
of easy success generally generates despair
and it is this frustration that leads to atheism.
The people eager to get divine boons without
merit may seem to be devout in the beginning,
but ultimately they turn out to be atheists. This
is because the law of nature cannot be changed
according to the whims of an impatient greedy
person. Had it been possible to get invaluable
achievements by such shortcuts as puja-path
(mere idol worship), without acquiring the
merit or paying its cost through an earnest
effort, then, no person in this world would
care to develop his personality and move on a
virtuous path. It must be emphasized again
that it is the ‘Life’ that is God. Sooner this
fact is realized, better it is. Those who are
able to accept and digest this eternal truth
are fortunate, because the opportunity of
getting innumerable gifts associated with
the human birth is available only to such
persons. In future, also they will be reserved
for them.

Once upon a time, there lived an erudite man in a town. He had studied a vast
range of scholarly works. He used to feel proud of his scholastic and intellectual
attainments. Whether it were day time or night, he used to walk with a lighted
lamp in his hand. If asked about this peculiar habit, he would arrogantly reply –
“There is darkness everywhere in this world. I walk with this lamp so that there
could be some light”.
Once this arrogant scholar came across a saint. The saint started laughing when
he saw the scholar with the lighted lamp and said: “My friend, if your eyes are
not blind of the ever shining sun then don’t tell that there is darkness around the
world. What will this tiny lamp of yours add to the limitless glow of the sunlight?
Where does the light of your knowledge stand before the infinite knowledge of the
Omniscient? If possible, try to know this simple fact that true knowledge can’t be
attained just by reading and cramming tonnes of books and treatises. True
knowledge comes through the realization of the indwelling light of everywhere
present Divinity

20 Jan-Feb 2007
 Nothing Can be Possessed
To enjoy things is not to possess them or to be possessed by them, but to use them.
The joy of anything is the use of it. The joy of anything is to take it and make it into
something more.
I said to the Master, “Tell me about things.
Is it wrong to pray for things?”
The Master said, “It is wrong not to pray for
things. If prayer is right, then there is no
aspect of living that we should not pray
about.”
“Pray about things, and you will find that you
have the things you need, and you have also
the attitude toward things you need.”
Then I thought about things. I saw that it is
futile to pray for the possession of things, for
things can never be possessed.
Nothing can be possessed. We have the use
of things, but we never have the possession
of them, however many titles to them we may
deposit with the recorder of deeds, however
many locks and strongboxes we may use for
hiding them. There is nothing that is ours to
keep. Not one thing. Sooner or later, we will
have to give it away or it will be taken away.
Everything. Even our body. Even our mind.
Everything was the gift of life. And life asks
it back. According to the greatest teacher of
all, life asks it back with interest; life expects
it to have grown under our care. Life asks
what we have done with what was given us.
Have we turned it into a trash heap, or into a
park?
Life is for us to be alive in. Life is not to build
a castle on. A castle is a vast pile of stones,
damp, gloomy, and usually uncomfortable.
After a short time nobody wants to live there
anymore; then it becomes a ruin.
Jan-Feb 2007
Life is to grow a garden in. A garden changes
a bare patch of land into a place of trees and
flowers and grass and fountains splashing into
pools and singing birds and buzzing insects.
Life is not a thing of stones for stones, but a
thing alive for things alive-for mayflies and
pine trees and hummingbirds, and you and
me.
A gardener knows what a garden is like. A
gardener knows that no one possesses a
garden.
No one owns the land. In a well-built house
the landlord is merely a lodger-with rooms
for a week, a year, five years, fifty years.
Generations of mockingbirds sing in the
branch tops. Generations of moles tunnel the
lawns, smelling out the grubs that live here
too. The rabbits mock at the fences; the
pokeweed lords it in the lot corner; the flower
garden belongs no more to the gardener than
the bees that sup the flowers. In the limestone
of the walls are the remains of shellfish that
swam here once, and perhaps … the gardener
is content to plant his trees and not trouble
himself as to who will lie in their shade.
Till the ground, tend the plant, pluck the
flower as you wish. But the garden grows with
spring and rests with fall.
You may take the flower, dry it, and place it
in a glass case - but it is not the flower. You
have only a bit of colored straw, slowly fading,
slowly powdering. Keep it long enough and
you will have only colorless dust.
21
Things are not for forever.Things are like
smiles and frowns that flit across the face of
the Eternal. When a smile becomes fixed, it
turns into a grimace. When a frown becomes
fixed, it is just another wrinkle.
To enjoy things is not to possess them or to
be possessed by them, but to use them. The
joy of anything is the use of it. The joy of
anything is to take it and make it into
something more.
Rows of dresses hanging dusty in a closet,
dresses no one wears any longer; tools slowly
rusting in a tool shed, where no one comes to
work; books that have gotten yellow and
brittle with age because no loving hand ever
fondles them or opens their pages; or a house
in which no one has lived for a long time -
there are few things sadder than these.
The joy is not to have a shining plane in your
tool chest, but to take the plane out and plane
a board with it until the board is flat and
smooth and true.
To do this is to know what things are for.
The joy is not to have a beautiful dress in your
closet, but to wear the dress to make the day
or evening colorful and bright and interesting
to you and your friends -or even to give it
away when you will not wear it.
The joy is not to have a book upon a shelf,
neat and perfect in its shining clean dust jacket,
but to read the book and rejoice in its
information or its inspiration, even to scribble
in its margin - or to lend it to friends to read,
even friends who never return it.
It is right to pray for things. When you pray,
pray knowing that life lavishes its things,
crowding every crack of space with its fecund
living stuff, pressing into every outstretched
hand its overflowing bounty.
22
Know, too, that things are not for forever.
Things are not to hold on to. Hold on long
enough and you had cast even the dearest
thing away.
There is a great Japanese myth. It is about twin
deities, Izanagi and Izanami, who were
devoted lovers and produced the Japanese
islands and their people. When Izanami died
in childbirth, the sorrowing Izanagi could not
let her go but followed her into the
underworld begging her to return to him.
When he neared her in the darkness, she asked
him not to look at her, for she knew that death
had not made her sightly. But he lit the comb
that held his hair in place, and saw her
moldering.
Clutch things to you, and when life comes
round again, where will it leave its gifts? For
whatever you have, life has yet more to give.
The snake must slough its skin; the bird must
molt its feathers; and the evergreen that lies
for a thousand years must give up many of its
boughs as it grows.
Is the corn less because it gives itself for food?
Or the Sun because it gives itself for light?
Things are made for life, not life for things.
Pray for them, knowing that they are yours
to use, to enjoy, and to expend - for the
increase of your own joy-in-living and for the
joy-in-life of others.
- James Dillet Freeman
[ From “Angles Sing in Me” –
Published with glad permission of
Unity House, Unity School, USA –
The Publishers]
Jan-Feb 2007
 Yagya Therapy
The Key to Total Health
In view of the scriptural citations and scientific affirmation by clinical trials, case
studies, laboratory tests and pharmacokinetic analysis, yagya-therapy assumes
great significance in today’s world where we are facing threatening challenges of
ever-new viral infections, psychosomatic disorders, dreaded diseases like cancer
and AIDS and unabated air-water-soil pollutions.

T his series aims to introduce the readers to

the ancient knowledge and modern
findings on yagya with special focus on
example, the hymn (9|15|14) of the Atharva
Veda remarks – Aya® Yajóa Viïvasya Bhuvanasya
N³bhi
yagyopathy or yagya therapy. Yagya Therapy is
a herbal inhalation therapy derived from the Lord Krishna says in the Gita (3|10) —
ancient Medical Science of Ayurveda[1, 2]. The Sahayajn³¡ Praj³¡ SraÌÚ³ Purov³cha Praj³ pati¡
multiple benefits of yagya - experiments |
include purification of atmospheric
Anena PrasaviÌyadhvameÌa VoastviÌÚa K³madhuk
environment and healthy fertilization of the
||
soil. Scientific validity and technical
Meaning: Before the existence of the cosmos,
evaluation of this Vedic ritual in recent times
Prajapati Brahma – the supreme creator, the
indicate its enormous potential in reducing air-
eternal source of all existence, had originated
water pollution and for agricultural and
yagya and commenced the process of
therapeutic applications [3-8].
generation and expansion of cosmic powers
and their limitless expressions resulting in the
The philosophy and deeper science of Gayatri creation and manifestation of Nature.
(G³yatrº) and Yagya (yajóa) constitute the
foundations of the divine value system and
As a process of ‘homam’ (havan or agnihotra) or
Indian Culture bequeathed for humanity by
fire ritual, yagya is a scientific experiment in
the Vedic Wisdom. Yagya symbolizes noble
which special herbal/plant medicinal
deeds and altruistic mode of life that generates
preparations (havan s³magrº) are offered in the
and expands benevolence in all forms of
fire of medicinal woods ignited in a specially
Nature. The cycle of Nature is itself a cosmic
designed inverted pyramid shaped altar, pit
yagya that is essential for sustenance of the
or container (called agni-kuñÃa). The specific
natural rhythm of the universe and existence
shape and size of the agni-kuñÃa (fire-pit) the
and maintenance of the animate and inanimate
arrangement of wood pieces in it and the time-
worlds in it. The paramount importance of
frequency and amount of havan s³magrº account
yagya is greatly hailed in the Vedas and ancient
for controlled chemical processing in the fire
texts.
and lead to sublimation, chemical conversion
and/or transformation into vapor phase of the
Yagya is referred in the Vedas as the nucleus herbal/plant medicinal preparation and
process of manifestation of Nature. For release of medicinal phytochemicals[3, 9-11].

Jan-Feb 2007 23
Referring to this fire-ritual yagya, the Gita
(3|14) says –
Ann³dbhavanti Bh¿t³ni Parjany³danna Sambhava¡
| person alone would be sneezing under its
Yajó³dbhavati Parjanyo Yajóa¡ Karma
Samudbhava¡ ||
Meaning: All creatures survive on food
produced by food-crops and vegetation;
Yagyas performed and practiced by prescribed
methods bring rainfall and hence the source
of existence of life.
The Yajur-Veda contains the knowledge of the
principles and methods of performing yagyas
as part of spiritual and scientific experiments
for global welfare. The Sam-Veda focuses on
the musical chanting patterns of the mantras
that deal with the subtle forms of yagya
pertaining to mental oblation in the deeper
core of emotions.
There are two basic energy systems in the
physical world — heat and sound. In the
process of yagya these two energies –– namely
the heat from yagya-fire and the distinct sound
waves generated by the rhythmic chanting of
the Gayatri Mantra and other Vedic Mantras
––combine to achieve the desired physical,
psychological and spiritual benefits. The
decomposition and transformation (into vapor
or gaseous phase/colloidal forms, etc) of
specific substances in the yagya-fire is a
scientific method of subtlization of matter into
energy and expanding its potential and
positive effects. The electromagnetic waves
generated thereby compounded with the sonic
signals encoded in the mantras help in
intensifying and transmitting the desired
benefits of yagya in the surroundings
atmosphere and far beyond[3, 10].
It is a well-known fact that the substances
when taken in their vapor or gaseous form
through the nostrils have much greater
24
efficacy – many hundred times more. And, the
same quantity of substance can benefit a much
larger population. It is a common experience
that if an individual eats a red chilly then that
influence. But if the same chilly is put in the
fire then the resultant air can cause many
hundred people to sneeze[9].
The process of yagya magnifies the advantages
of the desirable medicinal phytochemicals and
other healthy nutritional substances. Further,
the thermal and associated aerodynamic
characteristics of the base-fire cause the
sublimated/subtlized/ vaporized substances
to traverse and diffuse everywhere in the
surroundings where yagya is being conducted.
Thus, because of the anti-bacterial properties
of the herbs commonly used in it, yagya also
purifies the environment.
Yagya and Atmospheric Environment:
Recent research[13, 14] on assessment of yagya
effects in reducing air-borne bacteria and
pollutants shows good potential of yagya in
controlling air-water pollution. As per the
Vedic scriptural descriptions, grand (large-
scale) yagyas performed on regular basis for a
certain time-period help maintain the natural
equilibrium in the various components of the
environment. The effects of yagya help
conserve the eco-system., purify the
atmosphere, kill and destroy many disease-
causing microbes and also remove the air,
water and soil pollution.
Yagya is that scientific process through which
the balance of CO2 and O2 is maintained in the
atmosphere. There are various cycles in the
nature through which all things reach their
point of origin like seasonal cycle, animal cycle,
solar cycle, lunar cycle, rain cycle etc. In Rig-
Veda (10|90|6) and Yajur-Veda (31|14), these
cycles have been termed as natural yagyas,
which are being performed continuously.
Jan-Feb 2007
Clarifying this process it is further said that
the Sun God is made happy through Yagya
and the Sun in turn satisfies the mother earth
through the rains which are formed in the
Dyu-lok (upper layers of atmosphere).
Through yagya clouds can be generated and
from clouds desired rainfall can be had. For
example,
Healthy rainfall:
Bhumim parjanya jinvanti, divam
jinvantyagnayah|
–Rig-Veda (1|164|51)
For agriculture:
K—aÌiïcha me v—aÌÚiïcha me yagyen kalpata®|
–Yajur-Veda (18|9)
The hymns nos. 1 to 29 in chapter 18 of the
Yajur Veda describe Yagya as the basis of good
agriculture, physical, mental and spiritual and
intellectual progress, prosperity in the
botanical kingdom of the earth, prosperity in
food and cereals produce, good health and
pure environment through removal of
pollution.
(4|16|1) says that yagya removes all the
impurities and pollution and purifies
everything.
AiÌa hi vai yagyo yo aya® p³vate| Ida® sarva®
pun³ti, tasmadev aiva yagya¡||
In the Vedas and Vedic scriptures like
Brahmanas and Ayurvedic texts yagya is
regarded as the sustainer of all living beings
and hence it is also referred as bhujyu and
provider of safety and security to life. It is
mentioned here that therapeutic (bhaiÌajya)
yagyas should be performed to eliminate the
effect of contagious/epidemic diseases which
occur at the change of seasons. These
therapeutic yagyas, along with diseases, also
remove all sorts of pollution and purify the
atmosphere (e.g see the following citations):
Yagyo vai bhuvanasya n³bhi¡| –Tat. Bra.
(3|9|5|5). Yagyo va avati | –Tad. Bra. (6|4|5)
Yagyo hi sarv³ni bh¿t³ni bhunakti| –Shatpath Bra.
(9|4|1|11). Bhujyu¡ suparño yagya¡| –Yajur
Veda (18|42). Aya® vai yagyo yoaya® p³vate| –
Aet. Bra. (5|33). And, Gopath Bra. U. (1|19):
BhaiÌajya yagya va aete, ritu sandhishu prayujyante,
Ritu sndhishu pai vyadhirjayate|

In view of the scriptural citations and scientific

In Chhandogya Upanishada yagya has been
affirmation by clinical trials[5], case studies[6, 7],
described as the best remedy to eliminate
laboratory tests [3, 8] and pharmacokinetic
subtle environmental and atmospheric
analysis [4] , yagya-therapy assumes great
pollution. For instance, following hymn

The Bhagwad Gita quotes – “Nahi Jó³nena Sadraïa® Pavitramiha Vidyate”.

Meaning, nothing is purer than knowledge in this world. True knowledge
generates pure thoughts, which enable righteous development of character,
awakening of good tendencies and sentiments and refinement of the inner
self. Such knowledge is the key to real success in life. Thorough study of
inspired talks, deep thinking and contemplation over the thoughts and
works of great sages, seers, and saints is the surest way of acquisition of
this knowledge.

Jan-Feb 2007 25
significance in today’s world where we are
facing threatening challenges of ever-new viral
infections, psychosomatic disorders, dreaded
diseases like cancer and AIDS and unabated
air-water-soil pollutions. In the successive
issues of this series, we shall present some
simple remedies – with details on herbal
preparations, mantras, etc, through such
yagyas, against some diseases for which the
therapeutic effects have been observed in the
laboratories of the Brahmvarchas Research
Centre, Shantikunj, Hardwar.
(Series to be continued)
References:
[6] Agnihotri F. L. (2004): Yagya Chikitsa –
Kshaya Roga Ki Prakratic Achook Chikitsa.
Satyadharm Prakashan, Rohatak;
Haryana, India.
[7] Pandya P. (ed.) (2001): Eka Anokha Prayoga,
Vilakshana Rahe Jisake Nishkarsh. Akhand
Jyoti. Nov. 2001, pp. 30-32.
[8] Mondkar A. (1982): Agnihotra and
Microbes – A Laboratory Experience.
Satsang Issues. Vol. 9(20) (http://
www.users.nexet.net/agnihotra/
microbes.htm)

[9] Selvamurthy W. (2000):

[1] Acharya Sharma S. (1995): Yagya Ka Gyan
Neurophysiological Parameters –
Vigyan. Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya
Agnihotra Effect. Def. Res. Lab Report.
Samagra Vangmaya Vol. 25. Akhand Jyoti
(http://www.agnihotra.india.com/
Sansthan, Mathura; UP, India.
study_find.asp)
[2] Acharya Shrama S. (1995): Yagya – Ek
[10]Chandra H. (2004): Agnihotra: Brief
Smagra upchar Prakriya. Pt. Shriram
Remarks from Combustion Sciences.
Sharma Acharya Samagra Vangmaya Vol.
http://www.newjerseyvedicsociety.org/
26 Akhand Jyoti Sansthan, Mathura; UP,
new_page_6.htm
India.
[11]Joshi R. R. (2000): The Intregrated Science of
[3] Raghuvanshi M. (2006): Some
Yagya. Yug Nirman Yojna, Press
Investigations into the Chemical and
Mathura; UP, India.
pharmaceutical Aspects of Yagyopathy.
PhD Thesis, Dev Sanskriti Univ.,
[12] Satya Prakash (1937): Agnihotra– A Study
Hardwar (India).
From The Chemical Stand Point. The Sarva
Deshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Delhi.
[4] Joshi R. R., Raghuvanshi M. and Pandya
P. (2006): Yagyopathy Vs Oral and I.V.
[13] Saxena M. (2006): Air Quality modeling
Drug Administration: Evaluation for
and Non-Conventional Solutions to the
Pulmonary Tuberculosis using
Environmental Pollution Problems with
Compartment Modeling. J. Biological
Reference to the Vedic Sciences. PhD
Systems Vol. 14(3), pp. 463-489.
Thesis, Dev Sanskriti Univ., Hardwar
(India).
[5] Raghuvanshi M., Pandya P. and Joshi R.
R. (2004): Yagyopathic Herbal Treatment
[14] Saxena M. Sengupta B. and Pandya P.
of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Symptoms –
(2006): Paper presented in the National
A Clinical Trial. Alter. & Compl.
Symposium at DSVV (29 Oct).
Therapies. V 10 (2), pp. 101-105.

26 Jan-Feb 2007
Art of Living - 6

Let the fragrance of Jivan Sadhana

waft across on this Vasant
Try to shape and see and experience yourself as a person who has courage as
well as illumined wisdom, who is humble, whose character has the fragrance of
tapa, and who has the capacity for ceaseless striving for self-growth.
Madhu v³t³ —t³yate madhu kïaranti sindhava¡
M³dhvºrnah santvoÌadhi¡.
- Yajurveda 13/27
M eaning: Following the cosmic order, the
winds blow soothingly and the rivers flow
with nectarine waters. May the herbs be sweet
for us.
Honey-sweet Vasant (spring) has once again
come to our homes and lives with its full zest and
vibrancy. It has brought on its wings the
invigorating message of jivana sadhana, the same
message as had come to our revered gurusatta
(spiritual guide) Param Poojya Gurudev on the
Vasant Parva in 1926. This time, too, the air is
permeated with the same fragrance, the horizon
has the same glow, the nature is suffused with the
same exuberant surge of vital energy. In 1926,
the Vasant-time message in the life of Gurudev
had been brought by his own spiritual guru. This
time the celestial tunes of this message have been
composed for us by the transcendent
consciousness of our Gurudev.
The advent of this Vasant is a time of test for us.
On this auspicious and festive occasion, are we
as wakeful and alert as was our revered Gurudev,
who in his very first meeting with his guru
Jan-Feb 2007
surrendered himself completely to him and
became a sadhaka of jivana sadhana? As a
sadhaka and a disciple, every dimension of the
life of Gurudev is a source of inspiration – to be
read, contemplated upon and followed. From
the very first instant of his jivana sadhana, words
of the guru became Vedic dicta and unflinching
faith in the guru, his whole identity. In every
aspect of sadhana – be it dietary rules, or
refinement of conduct and thoughts, or the awe-
inspiring tapa – the standards set by him are
milestones for us.
Can we, his spiritual progeny, surrender ourselves
completely to the sadguru? Do we possess the
courage to be true disciples? Are we earnest to
overcome fully our stultifying lethargy; and the
unyielding ego which fumes and frets at the drop
of a hat? Those aspiring to tread this path should
judge themselves on this Vasant Parva in the light
of Gurudev’s life of a sadhaka. This is the
touchstone of their sadhana and of the sincerity
of their discipleship.
It is generally observed that on the one hand we
talk endlessly of jivana sadhana and take pride
in our discipleship, and on the other, are ever
ready to plunge into a do or die situation for some
small benefit or satisfaction of the ego. Annihilate
if we must, our selfishness, our egoity, our conceit.
27
A true disciple’s identity is non-distinct from his
guru’s. Only the gross body is his own; the inner
consciousness is that of his sadguru. This is
possible only when the merry journey of life is
steeled with the hot embers of tapa, the flames
growing bigger and higher with every advance of
the step. The sadhaka’s life of Gurudev is its
best example.
When did he crave for respect and honour?
When did he bother for his identity? When did
his ego obstruct his path? He had but only one
passion – the task assigned to him by his guru.
An intense and fervent desire to dissolve
himself fully in this task was his only identity.
Every second of his life, every day, month and
year of it, send out only this message. It is this
ardour which elevated him to the pinnacle of
sadhana. If supra-sensory powers are to be
given recognition as visible proofs, it can be
positively said Gurudev accomplished rarest
of the wonders in the course of his jivana
sadhana. He not only acquired the spiritual
glories and powers scarcely within the reach
of even mahayogis, but also liberally
transmitted them to some worthy recipients.
As a mahasiddha (great mystic), the life of
Gurudev is as much a saga of heroic endeavor,
rigorous austerities and supreme sacrifice, as it is
of compassion, paternal love, kindheartedness
and extraordinary generosity for his followers. If
we can attentively perceive, this bounty is available
to us even now. Only his gross body has gone,
his transcendent consciousness still pervades
every pore of our beings. He exists just around
us. We have only to open our hearts, and then
we will realize how eager he is to shower his
innumerable heavenly gifts on us.
Even at this moment, through these words, he
wants to mingle his voice with our emotions,
something like what he had said on one occasion:
“Try to shape and see and experience yourself as
a person who has courage as well as illumined
wisdom, who is humble, whose character has the
fragrance of tapa, and who has the capacity for
ceaseless striving for self-growth. If he
occasionally stumbles, or is faced with a failure,
he is not perturbed or loses his patience, but
resumes his journey on the sadhana path with
renewed vigor and courage, because he knows
that the setback is temporary, failure is transitory;
at the end success is certain. You and only you
have a right over the ultimate and supreme
accomplishment of jivana sadhana. This is
inevitable. No one can alter this verity in any
circumstances, because the responsibility of taking
you to that pinnacle is mine”. These words of
Gurudev, are a source of unlimited energy and
courage for us, his followers, on this Vasant
Parva. So, no more delay or prevarication; with
him in mind, step ahead for jivana sadhana now,
this moment.

A student asked his teacher: “Who are the two angels who nurture life”?
“Heart and tongue”, was the reply. The next question was: “Who are the two
demons who destroy life”? “Heart and tongue”, was the reply again.
The cruelty and tenderness of heart makes a person mean or great
respectively. Non-control over tongue leads to loss of health and friendship.
Sweet and amiable speech, on the other hand, begets ample love and affection of
the multitudes.

28 Jan-Feb 2007
Youth Column
Embrace High Ideals Achieve Excellence
In the present age, there is the pious ideal of Yugrishi Param Poojya Gurudev before us
all. His sparkling tapasvi life, the supremely high level of jivana sadhana, the spirit of
sacrifice for the country, and the dharma (law of righteousness) could easily be the
ideal for anybody, and it has indeed been so.
Uardhvo na¡ p³hya®haso ni ketun³
viïva® samatrina® dah
K—dhº na urdhv³ócharath³ya jºvase
vid³ deveÌu no duva¡.
- Rigveda 1/36/14
Meaning: O Fire-God! You are the most
exalted. Save us from sinning by the light of
knowledge. Burn to ashes all our selfishness.
Endow us with excellence for progress and
happy life. Make us worthy of honour by the
gods.
I f we want to strive for excellence, we will
have to embrace high ideals, because
without noble ideals in life there can be no
jivana sadhana at all. Without ideals, life
becomes a meaningless meandering. What is
the best course of life? How to walk this
course? These questions in the mind remain
in futile wait for an answer. The nagging
feeling of not having realized one’s potential,
not having used one’s capacity to the full
always torments. The confused and troubled
life drags on somehow but there is no joy in
it, no sense of contentment.
To experience the joy of living, presence of an
ideal is essential in life. This ideal could be
anything – a pious thought, pious emotion or
some pious and exalted personality. All the
three are equally effective. Any of these can
be chosen in accordance with one’s aim in life,
mentality, taste and circumstances. But
Jan-Feb 2007
whatever be the selection, one must have the
courage to efface oneself at this altar. Without
dissolving one’s emotions, thoughts, mind and
every breadth into it, the ideal does not
become forceful.
Those in whose lives inspirations arose,
sensibilities grew and blessings poured had
all merged their entire beings in their ideals,
albeit in varying ways. Mahatma Gandhi, for
example, had chosen Srimadbhagvad Gita as his
ideal and would call it Gita Mata (Mother Gita).
Vinoba Bhave called it Gitai. The noble and
profound thoughts of the Gita were the
guiding principles of both great men. The
path of their lives was niïk³ma karma (selfless
action) which they had named an³ïakti yoga
(yoga sans attachment). Their love for the Gita
was so deep that they used to say: “As a
mother nourishes her child with her milk, so
do I receive nourishment from the thought
feeding by Gita Mata. Whenever I am in a fix,
the Gita Mata comes to my aid and shows me
the right way”.
For Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh,
love for the nation had become the supreme
ideal. They had merged all their feelings and
thoughts, and every breadth of life in it.
Mother India was everything for them, the
raison d’etre of their existence. They lived for
Mother India, fought every moment for Her,
and died for Her. By making this pious
29
emotion their ideal, Bhagat Singh and
Chandrashekhar Azad could make their lives
meaningful, contented and great.
Like pious thoughts and pious emotions, a
pious and noble personality, too, could be
adopted as the ideal. It is not essential that
he exists physically, because noble
personalities are no less inspiring and effective
in their unembodied existence than they were
in their corporeal forms, nay, even more so,
because their austere life-style increases these
capacities manifold.
During the freedom movement of India many
youth plunged themselves in the service of the
nation with Swami Vivekanand as their ideal;
many others did so for serving the people in
general. The Ramkrishna Mission is a living
monument of the collective identity of these
very persons. It is to be borne in mind that
those who embraced Vivekanand as ideal did
not stop at merely chanting his name, but
boldly proceeded to mould their lives after
him. This indeed is the real meaning of an
ideal – crafting of thoughts in the ideal’s
mould, embracing the values of life in
conformity with that, and adoption of a pious
life-style accordingly. These criteria constitute
the touchstone of love for the accepted ideal
of life. One has to come out with flying
colours, whatever be the price, howsoever
great be the suffering.
In the present age, there is the pious ideal of
Yugrishi Param Poojya Gurudev before us all. His
sparkling tapasvi life, the supremely high level
of jivana sadhana, the spirit of sacrifice for the
country, and the dharma (law of righteousness)
could easily be the ideal for anybody, and it
30
has indeed been so. Millions of persons inside
the country and outside, thinkers and
intellectuals, the devout and the emotional, the
young and the old, and even teenagers have
embraced him as an ideal, and are sincerely
endeavoring to lead their lives in accordance
with the standards set by him. Included
among them are also many who are presently
reading these lines.
Those who are already pursuing the way of
life as exemplified by Param Poojya Gurudev,
and also those who are yet to start their jivana
sadhana can move forward in this direction.
They have only to follow the regimen as any
idealist is required to do. The steps in this
regard are:
(1)To read about one’s chosen ideal
personality, i.e. Yugrishi Gurudev and
contemplate deeply on every aspect of his life.
(2)To establish deep emotional bond with the
ideal person, viz. Gurudev. This is achieved
by regular contemplation.
(3)To remain dedicated to the values of tapa,
sacrifice, altruist service and love for the
nation as demonstrated by him.
Whoever embraces this three-point scheme in
his life will automatically start casting himself
in the mould of Yugrishi Gurudev. What is
more, it is the experience of such persons that
even though the sadhaka’s outer personality
remains active in the phenomenal world, his
subtle consciousness hovers around Gurudev.
What is needed is to increase one’s self-
confidence for the purpose of embracing this
high ideal
Jan-Feb 2007
Science and Spirituality
One can regulate the hormonal levels in a desired manner by purifying the intrinsic
characteristics and hidden impressions (sanskars) of the inner self and controlling
the emotions, beliefs and aspirations assimilated in its subtler core – the causal
body. This cannot be achieved by gross level treatments based on nutritious diets,
physical exercises and medicines etc.
A t a superficial level, it appears that some
chemical processing of the food intakes
generates blood, and that the flow of blood is
the source of heat and energy in the body.
However, deeper analysis has shown that
there is a separate mechanism at the root of
all functions inside the body, which gives rise
to the formation of blood and maintenance of
body-energy. The auto-regulatory system of
the neurons and the influence of the conscious
and unconscious mind on it are also now
regarded as a manifestation of some subtler
processes. The hormone secreting endocrine
glands constitute this subtle system, which is
now found to be the basic controller, at
physiological level, of all functions, qualities,
abilities or disabilities of the bodily and mental
functions.
The thyroid gland secrets a hormone called
thyroxin, which enters the blood stream and
reaches different parts of the body. Deficiency
of this hormone reduces the absorption rate
of oxygen, which often results in disruption
of metabolic functions, excessive fatigue, loss
of memory and bluntness of mind. Also, the
skin and hair become dry, lips and eyelids
become lose and appear as pulled downwards.
The body fattens and its plumpness is such
that pressing a finger makes a groove
(depression) in the swollen part. One is unable
to bear chill and feels tired because of the
Jan-Feb 2007
Hormonal Control
reduced level of this hormone. Growth of the
thyroid gland results in a swollen, protuberant
throat and gives rise to diseases like goiter.
The reasons for abnormal shrinkage or growth
of this gland have not yet been fully
understood. It may malfunction even if one’s
diet is balanced and the daily routine is also
maintained at a level, which is normally
prescribed for a healthy person.
So far, the deficiency of iodine in food is found
to be a major cause of disturbing the normal
functioning of the thyroid gland. The doctors
recommend that the daily meals should
contain at least 20 micrograms of iodine.
Seawater, natural salt, sea grass and fish are
rich in iodine contents. However, in many
cases even the desired intake of iodine and
iodine based medicines do not help control
the abnormal functioning of this red colored,
butterfly shaped tiny gland whose two ‘wings’
in leaf shaped structures cover the upper end
of the respiratory canal. The discovery of a
yellow protein colloid in the deep core of this
gland had raised hopes that this colloid might
be the source of thyroxin secretion. Further
research annulled this possibility.
Experiments on controlling the deficiencies of
thyroxin by injecting the extract of thyroid of
other animals have not been successful because
of lack of biocompatibility. Drs. E. C. Kendall,
31
Harrington and Berger of Britain had
synthesized thyroxin in the laboratory by
taking appropriate combination of carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and iodine.
Although this artificial substance resembles
thyroxin in chemical structure, its injection in
the patient’s body could not substitute for the
deficiency of the latter. Use of iodized salt is
regarded as a preventive measure; however
it has not been successful in permanent
prevention of the thyroid related problems.
Excessive secretion of this hormone also
causes a variety of problems: the ‘engine’ ––
source of energy of the body gets ‘over-
charged’ and, as a result, different metabolic
and biochemical reactions and physiological
functions are accelerated. This often gives rise
to increase in pulse rate, profuse perspiration,
high blood pressure, excitation,
hypersensitivity, mental restlessness, irritation
etc. Throat swallows due to which the neck
also fattens. At present, radium based X-ray
therapy and radioactive iodine, calcium etc are
being experimented as possible remedies
against an over-active thyroid gland.
From the medical experts like Dr. Emily to the
chemical scientists like Dr. Collins of Canada,
efforts of many researchers have been
dedicated since long towards finding methods
of controlling the malfunctioning of the
thyroid gland. Role of the tiny parathyroid
glands in influencing the thyroid functions has
also been investigated in several laboratories.
However, the secrets of these glands still
remain unraveled.
The chemical processing of extraction of
energy from the food constituents begins as
soon as it reaches the stomach. Starch and
sugar are converted into glucose. Part of this
glucose goes in the blood stream and helps
energize the body and maintain
temperature.... The remaining quantity of
glucose is stored in the liver in the form of
32
glycogen, making a stock for future energy-
requirements. In diabetic patients, the sugar
level in the blood increases and the
corresponding shortage of energy supplied by
glucose gradually weakens the body. This
disorder in blood sugar arises due to the
deficiency of insulin –– a hormone secreted
by the pancreas. In healthy blood, the normal
level of sugar is about one sixtieth ounce per
liter. This small amount is the fuel (source of
energy) that keeps the cellular and muscular
machinery warm and active. Insulin, along
with another hormone adrenaline, helps
regulate this function.
Growth of the body is maintained by the
pineal gland in the brain. Drastic changes in
one’s growth –– especially height, are caused
by the disorderly functioning of this small
‘dot-sized’ endocrine gland. In early 20 th
century, Dr. Harvey W. Cushing, a surgeon
at the Harvard University medical school had
removed the pineal gland of a puppy in an
experiment. The growth of this dog had
stopped after this operation and it remained
a puppy thereafter. In some other experiments
of this kind, the growth of some young rats
was arrested since their pineal glands were
cut out. In spite of being fed with ideal
nutritious diet in controlled conditions, these
rats neither grew in size nor gained any
weight. They appeared like baby rats
throughout their lives. In another case,
surgeon Philip Smith had fixed the pineal
gland of one rat into the brain of another
normal rat. The latter, because of two such
glands, grew at exceptionally fast rate and
became a giant—almost three times bigger
than the normal rats - ever found in that family
of rats.
Many physically weak persons have gained
repute in diverse fields of sports, arts,
literature, sciences, etc. Dwarf men and
women have become popular actors. The
jugglery of hormones can also be seen making
Jan-Feb 2007
some poor ones –– who might have never
eaten a full meal, as hefty and stout. On the
contrary, in some other cases, in spite of
having lavish and nutritionally rich and
healthy diet and best efforts in terms of
physical exercises, the weak and bony bodies
of many people show no signs of improvement
due to persistent hormonal deficiencies.
The importance of hormones in regulating the
defense mechanism of the immune system in
the body is well known. Whenever the germs
and viruses (or any substance, which is
‘foreign’ or ‘toxic’ to its normal functioning),
invade the body, some of the hormones
secreted by the endocrine glands react
instantaneously. These stimulate the B-cells in
the blood to recognize the antigens and
harmful microphages and produce specific
antibodies to eliminate the invaders. The
hormones also participate in the struggle of
the body to fight the infections/diseases
during this defensive activity. This struggle
of hormones induces psychological effects that
are manifested as –– restlessness, irritation,
anger and anguish in the diseased persons.
A human being is an ensemble of three
systems: one is physical –– made up of panca
tatvas, which is known as the physical or the
gross body. Food, atmosphere and physical
activities affect this system. Disorder or
malfunctioning of this system is treated with
the help of medicines and external devices. The
other component of a human being is the
subtle body consisting of the conscious and
the unconscious faculties of mind. Thoughts
and intellectual levels of environment influence
this system. Logical analysis, thought
provoking discussions and studies, training of
The fragrance of flowers does not go against the flow of wind; but the
perfume of virtues spreads in all directions.
Jan-Feb 2007
discreet planning and decision making, etc are
used as the means for healthy development
of this body. Intoxication and steroids affect
the brain-functions and thereby exert an effect
on the system of the subtle body also to some
extent. Ambience of life, quality of work,
mental tasks, habits and deeds affect and are
affected by the status of this system.
Epistemology, Psychology, Parapsychology
and allied branches of neuroscience and
philosophy of mind deal with orderly
maintenance and refinement of this subtle
component of a human being.
The treatment of the disorder or abnormalities
in hormonal secretions would be most
effective if it is focused at refining and
awakening the subtle body. One can regulate
the hormonal levels in a desired manner by
purifying the intrinsic characteristics and
hidden impressions (sansk³rs) of the inner self
and controlling the emotions, beliefs and
aspirations assimilated in its subtler core – the
causal body. This cannot be achieved by gross
level treatments based on nutritious diets,
physical exercises and medicines etc.
Intellectual activities and creative methods of
mental elevation are also ineffective in
reaching the causal body. The endeavors
(s³dhan³) of spiritual refinement appear to be
the only solutions. Ascetic practices of these
s³dhan³s offer multiple benefits of regulating
the endocrine system and thus helping in
harmonious functioning of the physical body,
avoiding hormone driven disturbances in
mental fluctuations and creating wholesome
effects on the subtle and causal bodies. These
s³dhan³s have the potential to elevate the
individual self to divine heights.
- Acharya Shriram Sharma
33
 Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya :
A Center for Holistic Growth of Youth
Universities and institutes are aplenty. ….. No one teaches the technique of a joyous
life, or the art of noble conduct, or the awakening and management of the latent
energies of the personality. Indeed the profound matters connected with the inner
core of life remain completely untouched in these campuses.

D ev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (DSVV) is

a non-conventional center of higher
learning, education and training for holistic
growth of youth – heart, head and hands.
Universities and institutes are aplenty. Each
one of these has its own distinctive feature.
Some are known for their academic excellence,
some for their sporting achievements or for
their infrastructure and other facilities. Many
have distinguished themselves for their
vocational/technical degrees which fetch
handsome pay packages for their products. But
none is concerned with the task of refining
and shaping the personality, of straightening
the tangled strands of life. No one teaches the
technique of a joyous life, or the art of noble
conduct, or the awakening and management
of the latent energies of the personality.
Indeed the profound matters connected with
the inner core of life remain completely
untouched in these campuses. The whole
potential and consciousness of the youth is
focused on sharpening of intellect and
memory. Consequently the students of these
institutions are surely able to impressively
articulate their views on myriad topics but the
overall quality of their lives remains practically
unrefined.
Experts on youth affairs have conducted many
studies in this regard and almost all of them
have put a question mark against the present
system of education. In their opinion a
majority of the youth keeps perilously floating
like a rudderless ship on the surface of a rough
sea during their university education period.
But why is this so? Studies also reveal the
surprising fact that the alumni of renowned
management institutes are unable to properly
manage their own lives. The companies they
have joined are prospering day by day but the
personal lives of these management ‘gurus’ are
mostly in shambles, their pay-packages in
lakhs notwithstanding. Their bodies are in the
grip of diseases, family life strife-torn and the
children becoming uncultured and delinquent.
This ‘mis-management’ in the lives of
“management experts” is baffling indeed.
More or less the same situation obtains in the
lives of technologists. The reason is obvious.
They have received knowledge of the subject-
disciplines in their educational institutions but
have been left ignorant of the true art of living
– which alone makes life worthwhile and
meaningful.
This is an all-pervasive tragedy with the
present-day youth – they are devoid of the
understanding of the purpose of life. The
DSVV, unlike other universities, has resolved
to guide its students in developing holistic
personalities – fully manifesting in a
harmonious whole the dormant potentials of
their hearts, heads and hands. The teachers
and administrators here have very carefully
devised a system of instruction which

34 Jan-Feb 2007
addresses the personal lives and social duties
of the students as well as their employment
needs. That is why while the students at other
institutions think of their future only in terms
of personal and material progress; DSVV
students, besides spiritually enriching their
lives, make noble plans for upliftment of their
country and society and then also engage
themselves actively in the execution of these
plans.
The whole emphasis of DSVV is on chiseling
and refining the lives of the youth. The
theoretical and practical methods adopted
here for teaching and training are special. Each
course of study is carefully crafted with a
definite purpose. It aims at inspiring the youth
to do something new and fresh, and not simply
follow the beaten track. Whatever subject they
study here, they are constantly led to reflect
upon and realize what its importance is in their
personal life and in the wider context of the
society. The techniques of teaching and
learning at DSVV inculcate in students a deep
understanding rather than rote-based
superficial knowledge. A scheme of research
projects, creative writing and many other such
activities is intrinsically woven into the
teaching process to nurture and develop
originality in students.
The distinguishing feature for which this
university is earning increasing fame is the
applied methodology adopted to make the
students conscious of the innate powers of
their personalities and learn how to develop
and use these powers effectively. Recently a
professor from a reputed management
institute, along with a group of his students
visited the DSVV campus. It was evening. The
students were going to the mess for their
evening meal. After the meal they strolled for
a while and then suddenly all the boys and
girls headed in the direction of a big hall. The
curious professor asked a student, “Are night
classes too run here?” The student replied,
“No, Sir, we too have our classes in the day
time. This is our dhyan class.” The professor
was a bit perplexed. A class on dhyan in the
university! He probed further, “Has some
mahatma been invited for discourse?” The
answer perplexed him still more when he
learnt that the “Chancellor” himself took
classes on the dhyan and Gita twice a week.
Oh! Even the chancellor takes classes here! He
teaches dhyan, and Geeta too! The professor
stood silent for a moment and then entered
the dhyan class. When he came out after an
hour-and–a-half, he was in a contemplative
mood. He sat near the Mahakala temple on the
campus for a long time and then started
strolling around. He addressed his students:
“Frequently I have been reading that India’s
future is very bright. But nowhere do I find
written how it will be so. Here, at this place, I
can see how the future of India is going to be
bright. Here the youth are being given samskar,
they are being taught love for their country
and society. And most of all, here they are

Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the former President of India, was a scholar of global repute.
Once when he was visiting some of the developed western countries on an assignment of
invited lecture series, a highranking dignitary of a host institution wanted to have his views on
the scientific and technological progress of that country.

With due regards and modesty, Dr. Radhakrishnan responded: “The scientific and technological
development of your country is indeed remarkable. It has enabled man to fly in the skies like the
birds and float in the seas like the fishes. However, due to lack of corresponding soul-growth, it
has not been able to teach its people to live like cultured human beings on the earth….”

Jan-Feb 2007 35
developing a deep understanding of their
personalities. Through the medium of dhyan
they are awakening their internal energy
centers of head, heart and soul” Howsoever
profound the knowledge, it is useless if not
put into practice.
The professor told his students about an
anecdote which the President APJ Abdul Kalam
has narrated in his book Wings of Fire. At one
place in the book Swami Shivanand tells young
Kalam, “The longing which takes birth in the
depths of your heart and inner self, the will
which is generated in a pure mind bears an
amazing kind of electro-magnetic energy.
Every night when the mind is in a sleeping
state this energy goes into space, and the next
morning re-enters the body carrying the
cosmic consciousness with it. Whatever your
pure mind has conceived will surely
materialize. Young man, you can eternally
believe in the truth of this fact as you do in
the fact of sunrise.” Quoting this portion of
Wings of Fire the professor told his students,
“Who in the world can diminish the sparkling
quality of the lives of these students who daily
purify their minds with evening dhyan and who
are taught regularly to think sublimating
thoughts?”
The professor went back along with his
students but with the remark, “If only the
whole country could emulate the education
system of this university! Nowhere else is seen
in the youth such intensity of interest, such
abundance of noble emotions. There is no
doubt at all that if this university continues
on its radically different path, the trained
and educated alumni of this institution will
be in the vanguard of the movement for
bringing about a transformative revolution
in society.”

A rich man was extremely miser. He had instructed even the ladies of his
house never to give alms to the beggars. One day a crippled beggar came to
the house. The newly - wed daughter-in-law of the house was from a noble
family. She told the beggar that the house had nothing to give him. The
beggar asked, “Then what do you people eat?” Came the reply, “We eat the
left overs and stale foods, and when even these will be consumed, we too
will start begging like you.”

The master of the house upstairs was overhearing this dialogue. He was
greatly annoyed. The daughter-in-law explained, “Whatever we have earned
as a result of good deeds in our previous births, we are reaping and
consuming only that. We in this life are adding nothing to that asset,
devoid as we are completely of the qualities of charity and munificence.
Naturally when the previously acquired wealth of ‘punya’ is exhausted,
we too will be left destitute. The rich man highly appreciated the wisdom of
the young damsel and thence onwards started devoting his time and money
towards the general weal.

36 Jan-Feb 2007
Companions in Solitude – 12

THE INNER ASPECT OF

MY SADHANA OF LIFE - I
- Gurudev Pt Sriram Sharma Acharya

Dedicated life involves three – fold Sadhana - (1) Matrivatparadareshu (Apart

from own wife, all other women to be looked upon as mothers) (2) Paradravyeshu
Loshthavat (Other’s wealth to be regarded as a lump of clay) (3) Atmavat Sarva
Bhooteshu (All living beings to be regarded as extensions of our own self).

I t is natural that Parijans of Gayatri Pariwar
would like to know something more about
my sadhana and the attainments thereof.
Whatever of my visible life activities have
come to light, themselves give glimpses of
‘Siddhis’ and miracles in their view.
to turn iron into gold). With this view the
secret behind the outer events of my life could
be researched in times to come and my close
associates will be of help in this endeavour.
But at this moment, it is premature. So let it
remain veiled, as it has so far been.

Usually, I have never been in favour of hiding
anything. Hypocrisy, tricks and fraud are not
in my nature. But I firmly believe that so long
as my assignments behind the curtain are not
completed, raising the curtain would be
counter-productive; and would not serve the
purpose of awakening the sense of duty in
common people. People will get mired in
pseudo-occultism and my personality will
become controversial. Moreover, it will create
obstacles in the way of fulfilling the mission
assigned to me. My life throughout is
undoubtedly filled with supernatural
phenomena. The curtains of occultism are so
many that their premature raising would be
uncalled for. So I leave it to posterity to test
their veracity on the anvil of rationality and
thus to judge the power and potential of
spirituality. Then would be revealed the secret
of how an insignificant individual succeeded
in transforming his personality, just as an
ordinary piece of iron turns into gold by mere
touch of ‘Paaras’ (the magic stone which is said
The wish to write the autography can be
fulfilled only in respect of revealing how I
carried out my Sadhana. In fact all my
achievements are the results of single-pointed
dedication to and pursuit of the noble ideals
put before me by my Teacher, my
unconditional surrender to the guidance of my
Gurudev – and above all to Divine G r a c e .
By taking this cue, those who are sincerely
interested in this subject can find the path,
treading which the bliss of spiritual elevation
can be achieved. For the present, only this much
can be revealed.
Of the 60 years of life (in 1971), the early 15
years are not of much consequence. In the next
5 years I was assimilating spirituality in my
life system. Prayers and worship had only a
small part in it. Three hours of daily worship
for 24 years may not be considered so great
an effort for purifying the mind and for
developing sublimity. Had not the thinking
and mode of working been purified, the net

Jan-Feb 2007 37
result would have been naught like that of the
numerous people engaged in performing mere
ritualistic worship. If the pursuit in my life can
be considered superbly successful and the
underlying reasons thereof are deeply
searched for, it will be found that it is
attributable to the purified state of my inner
and outer being. Prayers and worship may not
be considered of prime importance. In my
endeavour to write my autobiography on one
aspect of my life, I would state only one fact -
that I have applied all my concentration and
all my efforts and ability for self-purification.
The prayer and worship have also been aimed
at this aspect. Now for the benefit of the
readers I would throw light on the path to
tread for self-purification.
Dedicated life involves three – fold Sadhana -
(1) Matrivatparadareshu (Apart from own wife,
all other women to be looked upon as mothers)
(2) Paradravyeshu Loshthavat (Other’s wealth to
be regarded as a lump of clay) (3) Atmavat
Sarva Bhooteshu (All living beings to be
regarded as extensions of our own self). The
first two steps were simple ones. The
challenge was with regard to one’s own self,
which had to be expanded to encompass all
beings. This was done successfully due to the
inner trait carried on through previous births
and with the help of my great Teacher. The
mind was not so wicked or avaricious as to
drag me on the path of evil doings. When it
attempted to do once in a while, it was
resolutely resisted and subdued whereafter
it became gentle and obedient and thus I was
spared from sin and down-fall. Saint Kabir had
said that he had worn the blanket (the garment
of clay – the physical body) so carefully that
he could lay it off without a blemish. By this
Your positive thoughts have a unique power of new creation. Man’s quick
progress takes the direction of his colour, shape, quality & direction, of his
predilections respectively.
38
metaphorical expression Kabir meant that he
lived his life in such a manner that no speck of
impurity touched it and thus he returned it to
God in as pure a condition as was it was given
to him at birth. I thank the Almighty for having
guided me along the same path and now I have
reached a point where the danger of slipping
or falling down does not exist.
The ritualistic aspect of spiritual life is not
difficult. With firm determination, dedication
and faith one can effortlessly carry on the
prescribed process of prayer and worship. An
ordinary grocer carries on his business in the
same shop in the same routine throughout his
life with full zeal and zest. Neither does he
feel bored nor disinterested. A person selling
Paan (betel) and cigarettes spends about 12 -
14 hours daily in his shop quite comfortably
and joyfully doing the same routine all
through his life. Then where was the need for
me to break the resolve of performing Gayatri
Sadhana for 24 years requiring daily routine
of 6 to 7 hours Sadhana? Boredom occurs only
to those who consider Upasana to be less
important or less profitable than running a
grocery shop or such other cores. It is lack of
interest that creates boredom.
Upasana becomes uninteresting and boring to
those whose supreme ambition is materialistic
welfare and comforts. Those who think of
getting their desires fulfilled by performing
ritualistic worship get disappointed when the
aim is not attained due to deficiency of
dedication and the burden of the past doings.
In such persons, right from beginning there is
apprehension and lack of firm faith in the
outcome. My state was different. The body
was considered only as an instrument for
‘sadhana’. The materialistic requirements were
Jan-Feb 2007
restricted to the extent necessary for
sustenance of life. I never nourished any
ambition for becoming a great man or to get Swami Vivekanand was tak-
appreciation or recognition. With the firm
conviction that I am an Immortal, ever pure ing a stroll along the banks of
Soul, a spiritual being going through a living the Ganga near Vellur Matha
experience, I thought, “Why not live for its
upliftment, for its awakening to its true one evening. Sister Nivedita,
identity and for its expansion to encompass
the whole existence.” When I divided myself
Sharatchandra Chakravarti
into two parts - that is body and soul - and and a few others were also
identified the requirement of each, an invisible
wall crashed down and light rushed in accompanying him. While
dispelling the darkness. walking, some of them started
Satiation of sex, fulfillment of greed, amassing
wealth, getting applause, etc. are the highest discussing about the Divine
aims in life for those who consider their body
(Indian) Culture. Swamiji said,
to be their true identity. They can forget about
the awakening of the soul and can continue “The Divine Culture repre-
wearing golden handcuffs and leg straps. They
may be right in their pretext of not having sents a harmonious blend of
favourable conditions to adopt the higher s³dhan³ (purity and strength
path. It is the ego-driven desire within that
prompts people to amass material wealth, and of character) and samvedan³
worldly name and fame. When the aim itself (loving kindness and com-
is gaining material pleasures and prosperity,
the whole conscious efforts and thinking will passion). Lack of either would
be focused on acquiring them. In that
condition, Upasana will remain a childish game.
strike at the very roots of the
Out of curiosity people do it for fun to see structure and aim of our cul-
whether it yields something. When one takes
up Upasana half-heartedly with a view to ture. S³dhan³ without
obtain miraculous worldly benefits, it is bound samvedan³ leads to arrogance.
to be abandoned when the hoped for benefits
do not accrue in a short while. Without And, samvedan³ sans s³dhan³
dedication and faith, without focused efforts
in the pursuit of the true aim of life, no one
proves to be nothing more
could achieve any progress in spiritual field. than sentimental efferves-
These facts were already known to me. So I
paid only that much attention towards the cence. A balanced cultivation
need of the body and the management of the of both generates what is es-
household as was felt absolutely necessary.
The inmost conscience was firmly determined sential for the expression of
to achieve the aim. So there was no need to divinity in humanity.
run after materialistic temptations and
attractions.

Jan-Feb 2007 39
My Life: Its Legacy and Message – 23

Transformation of the Physical into Astral:

S¿kÌmºkaraña
[Autobiography of P¿ jya Gurudev, continued from the previous issue]

The basic question is of S¿kÌmºkaraña (transformation into astral state) of the physical human
sheath. S¿kÌma is more extensive, comprehensive and multifarious. It can simultaneously work
at various places and discharge various responsibilities. Physical body has the limitations of space,
time, language etc. By entering into the astral (s¿kÌma) plane, all these limitations disappear and
exchange of thoughts becomes easier. Thoughts can be directly communicated in the astral plane
and language does not act as a barrier. This is the greatest convenience.

O urs are momentous times of a

revolutionary change of an era. I have
been divinely directed to act as a dynamic
agent, over the next twenty years, to ensure a
smooth transition to the Golden Era that is
beckoning humanity. The work which has been
done during the past eight years since 1980 is
much more than what was done during the
preceding thirty years. Due alertness and
wisdom have been exercised, so that the
needed energy (resources) was available to
carry out the tasks in hand. One can hardly
describe the vigilance, concentration,
resoluteness and industriousness with which
these eight years have been spent. The
establishment of 2,400 Prajó³pºthas. 12,000
Prajó³ sansth³ns and writing of one folder daily
are the directly visible manifestations of this
work but all the rest is invisible, indirect, which
cannot be accounted for in visible terms.
There are still twelve years left of this
transitional period of Yug-sandhi. The wheel
of change will move with far greater and
baffling speed during this period. It will be
necessary to minimize destruction and
promote refinement and growth. At present
the speed of both these phenomena is slow
and with such a speed it will not be possible
to attain the goal by 2000 A.D. The speed will,
therefore, have to be accelerated. In this, I have
to play the necessary role of a vulture and a
squirrel. In times of war the responsibilities
of a commander and a cook are equally
important. Nobody can ignore or disregard
his duties in days of emergency.
It will be necessary to simultaneously fight on
several fronts during this time. Reaping of
harvest, feeding the cattle, treating the sick
son, attending the court on the date of hearing,
welcoming a guest visiting the house and such
other chores are sometimes required to be
attended to by a householder at the same time.
During war, the responsibility of the
commander becomes all the more grave. He
has to decide on the number of soldiers to be
deployed on a particular front, make
arrangements for regular supply of arms,
ammunition, and rations; ensure that the
hospital is kept well-equipped, well-stocked
with medicines, well-manned to attend to the
wounded; make speedy arrangements for
disposal of the dead; and also prepare trenches
for the next encounter. Attention has to be paid
simultaneously to all these aspects. If there is
any weak or missing link in the chain, the
whole battle strategy will collapse.

40 Jan-Feb 2007
I have been asked to enormously expand and
diversify my activities and the physical frame
is becoming more and more a limitation and a
hurdle in the execution of the new tasks. It is
limited and can work only in a limited sphere
when the actual work which has to be done
extends over a vast infinite sphere. How can
this be done? One of the ways is that the
physical body be abandoned and whatever has
to be done be accomplished with the help of
one or more astral bodies. If my director will
consider it expedient to do so, no time will be
lost in actualizing it. There is one drawback
of the physical body, that the law of karma-
phal (result of one’s own deeds) always pursues
it. If there is any balance of give-and-take, it
is carried forward to the next birth and has to
be settled there.
Ramakrishna Paramhansa had granted boons
and blessings in abundance, far in excess of
the accumulated capital, and so he had to
invoke cancer to settle the account. Mahatma
Narayan Swami had also to suffer such a
disease. Guru Golvalkar died of cancer. There
are several such instances in which pious, holy
persons had to spend their last days in physical
agony. This is not the result of their sins. Such
great persons take the miseries of others on
themselves. If they are unable to repay, they
settle the account in their last days, thus
leaving no balance of karma-phal for future.
The basic question is of S¿kÌmºkaraña
(transformation into astral state) of the
physical human sheath. S¿kÌma is more
extensive, comprehensive and multifarious. It
can simultaneously work at various places and
discharge various responsibilities. Physical
body has the limitations of space, time,
language etc. By entering into the astral
(S¿kÌma) plane, all these limitations disappear
and exchange of thoughts becomes easier.
Thoughts can be directly communicated in the
astral plane and language does not act as a
barrier. This is the greatest convenience. It is
Jan-Feb 2007
only the physical body that has the necessity
of migration and movement from place to
place. A man can hardly walk about three miles
in an hour. A person has only one tongue with
which he can speak and express himself. But
there is no limitation in respect of the organs
of the astral body. Its powers of vision, hearing
and speaking are several times more in
comparison to those of the physical body. An
astral body can transform itself or appear in
several bodies. At the time of R³s, S hri
Krishna appeared to be dancing
simultaneously with several Gopis. At the
time of death of Kans and svayamvar of Seeta
people saw Krishna and Ram in different
figures. What Arjun and Yashoda had seen was
nothing but a glimpse of the astral, causal,
celestial forms of Lord Krishna.
It is not possible for every one to attain this
state after leaving his physical body. Evil
spirits, ghosts do remain in astral form but
they remain in a crude natural state. They can
simply indicate their needs to persons who are
related to them. The souls of the level of pitars
(deceased ancestors) are more capable as
compared to the ghosts; and their behaviour
and wisdom are loftier on account of maturity.
Special efforts of the standard of tapaïy³ are
needed to make the astral body highly
refined and elevated. The next step on the
path to upgrade an ordinary human being
to the level of siddha puruÌa is S¿kÌmºkaraña.
Such persons, while living within the confines
of a physical body, acquire divine powers and
with them they serve and help others. But
there are also persons who acquire siddhis
which are described as añim³ , mahim³ ,
laghim³ etc. in the Yoga- ï³stra. So long as
physical body is there it cannot become lighter
or heavier, visible or invisible nor can a man
fly in the air or walk on water due to the in-
built limitations of the body cells. If
somebody narrates such siddhis on the basis
of rumour or hearsay it should be regarded
as hyperbolic.
41
The question is of s³dhan³ which I am doing
at present. It is a special s³dhan³ which can
be done while living in the physical body also
and has to be continued even after abandoning
it. This stage cannot be attained without
heightened, concentrated self-effort,
tapaïcary³ and s³dhan³. This can be regarded
as the next phase of yog³bhy³sa tapaïcary³.
What has to be done for this depends upon
the present stage of growth of the aspirant
and the level of guidance available to him.
There cannot be one uniform curriculum for
all. But one must restrain himself from misuse
of the powers gifted to him by divine grace
for egoistic purposes. An egg remains in the
shell so long as it does not get matured. But
as soon as it gets matured it breaks the outer
shell, comes out and starts running and flying.
The practice of S¿kÌmºkaraña is almost
similar. In ancient times people lived in caves
and practiced sam³dhi for this very purpose.
Detailed description is found in ancient
scriptures about souls living in astral bodies.
There is such a description in Mahabharat in a
question-answer dialogue between
Yudhishthir and Yaksha. YakÌa, Gandharva,
Brahmar³kÌa were all different categories of
souls living in astral bodies. Five Veers used to
live with Vikramaditya. The attendants
( gañas ) of Lord Shiva are known as
Vºrbhadras. Ghosts (bh¿t, pret, mas³n) are of
different category .Those who have read “The
Lamp of Allaudin” can get information about
these types of people. In ch³y³puruÌa
s³dhan³, separate entity is created from one’s
own person who works as a powerful invisible
companion of the s³dhak.
Most of the souls living in astral bodies have
been described as malevolent or of a lower
order of creation. It is likely that in those days
warriors with unfulfilled desires at the time
42
of their violent death became such low-level
astral souls. But, side by side, ancient
scriptures are full of descriptions about
DevarÌis living in astral bodies. RajarÌis and
BrahmarÌis were those who lived in physical
body; but those amongst them who had the
capacity to work in astral bodies also were
known as DevarÌis . They could assume
ethereal forms and roam in space and other
lokas (subtle cosmic worlds). They could
suddenly appear at any place to give guidance
to the devotees and seekers. References are
available about several —Ìis who were not
restricted to walk on the ground only. Even
at present several travellers in the Himalayan
region narrate that on losing their way
someone guided them to their destination.
Several persons have seen invisible yogis
appearing and disappearing in the caves and
on the hilltops. Such stories are prevalent about
the lamas of Tibet also. The Theosophical
Society is of the view that even at present
there is a group of DevarÌis in the central parts
of the Himalayas who are engaged in the task
of achieving universal peace. They have
termed them as ‘Invisible Helpers’.
It has to be borne in mind that this community
of DevarÌis consists of extraordinarily evolved
type of beings. Like yogis and siddha puruÌas,
they are far more-capable, as compared to
human beings, in rendering service and help.
But it is wrong to assume that they are
omnipotent and are capable of instantly
fulfilling the desires of or conferring boons
on any person. The rule of karma-phal (result
of one’s own actions) is paramount which can
be reduced or negated by God alone. It is
beyond the power of man. Just as a physician
rushes to help a patient, a rich man helps a
poor and needy person, in the same way
DevarÌis living in astral bodies rush, from time
to time, whether they are called upon or not,
for promoting righteous attitudes and deeds.
Still, none should take it for granted that
Jan-Feb 2007
personal effort or industriousness is not
necessary.
Here, the best example is of my Gurudev who
lives in the Himalayas. As he lives in his astral
form he can live in environments where there
are no adequate means for maintaining
physical life. He guides and helps me from
time to time. This does not mean that I was
not required to do anything or did not face
any difficulty or was never unsuccessful. But
it is certain that I would not have been able to
achieve all this with my own limited human
capacities. With his divine help and guidance
my enthusiasm and morale have been far
higher and I have overcome the trials and
difficulties of the path with unflinching faith
and infinite patience and courage. This is not
insignificant. Only this much should be
expected from others. It should not be
expected even from God that He would come
and even do the self-effort on our behalf.
Whenever one refers to divine help, people
think that it is a magic stick which does all the
work simply by waving it. This is an illusion.
Such credulous people lose their faith easily.
We should expect timely help from divine
powers, from astral souls but should also be
prepared to discharge our responsibilities.
Failures and difficulties should be regarded
as lessons to be learnt and the next step should
be taken with greater caution and courage.
Astral bodies are more powerful than the
physical ones. They can see and hear things
from a great distance. They can visualize
future events and they possess the power of
conveying their thoughts to others. They have
helped several persons in overcoming
adversities. Just like our visible world, there
is an invisible world linked with it which is
inhabited by beings with astral bodies. Some
of them are quite ordinary; some are
An optimist sees opportunity in every obstacle and a pessimist finds ob-
stacles in every opportunity
Jan-Feb 2007
mischievous, while some are of highly
elevated level. These elevated souls take
interest in the affairs of mankind. They extend
help in reforming evil persons and in making
good persons still better.
This is all about beings with astral bodies and
the astral world in general. The primary aim
is of spiritual refinement, elevation and
upliftment. Ours are extremely critical times.
Elevated souls living in the material world are
doing all that is within their power to do but
it appears that this will not be enough.
Powerful beings on astral planes will have to
use all their powers in not allowing those who
are possessed by evil tendencies to slip further
down the abyss. The process which is going
on, on the physical plane, to reform these
perverted souls is not adequate. Invisible help
is needed to make it easier and more
successful. This will be necessary for the
solution of collective problems, as also for
making persons who are engaged in righteous
pursuits, shine out with still greater glory and
strength.
Ever since I have been entrusted with such a
work, there has never been any dilly-dallying
or let-up. I have been working for quite a long
time now on the guidelines given by my divine
guide and this will continue till I am alive. It
is necessary to make Herculean efforts to free
the visible and the invisible spheres from the
strangle-hold of the poisonous grip of the evil
forces. For this something drastic has to be
done, as was done by Hanuman, in the ancient
times, by uprooting a mountain and procuring
the plant possessing the potency to revive life.
I was required to get immediately engaged in
awakening and activating the dormant divine
energies involved in the physical body; and
in the pursuit of this aim, I have done severe
tapaïcary³ (s³dhan³ in seclusion).
43
Amrit Vani
Four Pillars of Self-Development
(Translation of a discourse by Poojya Gurudev Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya on
“Atmonnati Ke Char Adhara “ delivered in 1980)
Let us begin with the collective chanting of
the Gayatri Mantra:
“Om Bhur Buva¡ Swa¡, Tatsaviturvareñya®
Bhargo Devasya Dhºmahi , Dhiyo Yona¡
Pracoday³t ||”
Sisters and Brothers,
O ur “Yug Nirman” mission has been
organized as a laboratory. In a
laboratory of chemistry, new chemicals and
compounds are invented and presented to the
world with a demonstration of their
properties and use. Our mission is
experimenting on the ‘formulae’, on the
workable and viable plans for spiritual ascent
and reconstruction of the world. Our Yug
Nirman mission is a man-making odyssey. It
is developed like a nursery to nurture good
qualities, to produce enlightened talents. As
you know, saplings of a variety of plants and
trees are grown in a nursery and supplied to
different gardens where they blossom with
beautiful flowers and nutritious fruits. Our
laboratory is like an agricultural farm where
varieties of crops of better health-values are
cultivated based on thorough research and the
beneficial knowledge and technology is
distributed for wider application. Our Yug
Nirman mission is like a school for the training,
development and chiseled refinement of
personality. It is an academy to produce the
future architects of a happier, harmonious, and
integrated society.
After all what is the society? It is a
congregation, an ensemble of people. People
make the society and their collective qualities
and conduct shape up the ‘character’
44
(reputation) of the society. Transformation of
individuals leads to transformation of the
society. Therefore, illumined ascent of men
and women to a higher level of consciousness
leads to transmutation of the society, thus
altering the trends of time and creating a new,
better, world. This is what “Yug Nirman” aims
at. The four definite steps to achieve this lofty
goal are – vyakti nirm³ña, pariw³ra nirm³ña,
samaj nirm³ña and yug nirm³ña (personal,
familial, social and global transformation and
evolution). We firmly believe in the pledge –
“Hama Badalenge, Yuga Badaleg³”; “Hama
Sudharenge , Yuga Sudhreg³ ” (When we
transform ourselves, the trends of our times
will be transformed. When we reform
ourselves, the world will be reformed).
It is obvious that we cannot experiment on the
entire world; all the people across the globe
cannot even be reached in feasible time. As
we know, charity begins at home. So we have
to begin with a small group, with our own
selves, our families and friends. If all of you
endeavor sincerely, the “Gayatri Pariwar” of
our mission will become a model for others to
follow. This way, gradually the ripples of
change will encompass the whole ocean.
So the first and most important task before us
is self-refinement, self-development. For this
we will have to first identify and focus our
attention on the central root that directly or
indirectly governs the course of our lives.
Think and ponder over what really makes one
what one is as a person? It is the force of
Jan-Feb 2007
intrinsic tendencies of the mind. The hidden
desires activated by these tendencies drive the
mind and generate the corresponding currents
of thoughts and trigger the brain for matching
actions. Although the conscious mind appears
to be our decision maker and manager with
the brain being its counterpart at the level of
the physical body, the real ruler is our
unconscious mind. The intrinsic impressions
on it are so intense that these block even the
voice of the soul. So, for self-refinement and
self-transformation, it is essential that we first
purify our inner self – especially the
unconscious mind, reign in its passions and
control its wayward tendencies that dominate
our desires, thoughts and actions.
Transformation of the central root will
transform our life in no time.
Thousands of complications, adversities and
problems in one’s life flow from one’s nature,
outlook and inner personality. Negative
attitude, deluded perspectives, one’s own
vices and infirmities and wrong thinking often
invite or add to adversities and problems. It
is said that one becomes what one thinks and
does. Indeed, most of the present
circumstances of life are the results of one’s
own past actions and aspirations. Well,
whatever be the present situation of your life,
the best you could do is to face and tackle the
hardships with patience, courage and balanced
reasoning. If the circumstances are favorable
today, make the best use of them for a better
future with farsighted vision and prudence.
In any case, the process of your self-
purification and improved thinking should not
stop.
You might wonder what exactly is meant by
self-refinement, self-transformation and self-
development and how to go about it? To
achieve this you will have to adopt four
disciplines – sa®yam, sw³dhy³ya, s³dhan³,
and sev³. These are like four essential steps
Jan-Feb 2007
of the excelsior of human life, four
foundational pillars of the edifice of
accomplished life, four resources of divine
ascent of human self. All the fours are
interwoven. We cannot expect elevating our
life without anyone of them. For growing a
crop, four things are crucial – seed (or sapling),
soil, water and sunlight (or some source of
vital elements). If you want to do a business,
again a quadruple is a must; namely, capital,
experience, demand and customer!
Combination of four things – bricks, cement,
iron and wood is essential for building even
an ordinary house. Talent, resources, support
and appropriate opportunity are required for
recognizable success in this world. Paucity or
deficiency on any of these four fronts hinders
the success-race. What is most vital for our
clinical health? Balanced food (includes water),
labor, rest and excretion. Disturbance in any
of these upsets the body-system. So you see!
Nature has ample examples of four
interdependent fundamental necessities. We
cannot dream of anything worthwhile along
the path of soul-evolution without
accomplishing the fundamental necessities of
self-ascent. We shall discuss each of them now.
(i) Sa®yam: Literal meaning of “sa®yam” is
restraint. It is crucial for us to prevent the
drainage or misuse of our powers and
potentials. In general, most of us consume our
mental and bodily energy in haphazard
activities driven by the passions of our ever
turbulent minds and sense organs. Even a so-
called ordinary person may accomplish
wonderful things if he checks the wastage of
his capabilities and makes constructive use of
his potentials. We have to be vigilant on four
fronts and observe abstinence of sense organs,
control over the turbulence of mind, and
optimal uses of time and worldly resources.
For the sa®yam of the sense organs, most
difficult and important is the sa®yam of the
tongue and the sex-organs. These two are the
45
greediest organs vulnerable to ‘addiction’. As
you are all aware, the greed of the tongue
disturbs our digestive system, gulps anything
edible or non-edible for taste and spoils our
health. The unrestrained indulgence in sex
drains out our vital energy and thus weakens
our physical and mental strength. Unbridled
use of tongue in speech invites animosity and
insult. One cannot think of any notable
progress or even having a healthy and hearty
life for a long time without restraining these
sense organs.
There is hardly any moment in a day from the
time we get up, when our mind is void of any
thought. But what kind of thoughts? Most
often these are hazy flashes of auto-wandering
of our mind in its world of ever-new desires
or abrupt imaginations and retrieval of
memory as per egotist impulses. Anger,
excitation, depression, etc are all offshoots of
an unstable and wayward mind. I don’t have
to say much on how important it is to have
good mental concentration. Be that study,
writing, research, focused use of any skill or
art, everything requires thorough mental
engrossment for success. Even the daily chores
can’t proceed smoothly unless our mind is calm
and stable to some extent. Success in mental
control and constructive channelization of
thoughts opens up the doors to all-conquering
win-win achievements along any chosen walk
of life.
Time is the most precious resource gifted by
Nature to us. But we spend most of it in
sleeping or in laziness. We shun hard work
and don’t do things in a planned systematic
manner. When there is some pressure or
something of our immediate interest, we get
over-enthusiastic and spend all the time in one
particular task. This is an extreme, which often
burns out our energy or puts us under stress.
And, the moment the pressure or interest is
gone we just slip back to the other extreme –
become dull and aimless; don’t even care for
46
how our time is flying in haphazard activities,
arbitrary thoughts and daydreaming. Look
at the lives of those who have attained success
in some field of life. You will find one thing in
common – prudent management of time.
Equally important is the adept use of available
resources. Money happens to be a vital
resource on materialistic fronts of life. But
unless utilized cautiously, it only encourages
addictions, luxury driven life-style leading to
a variety of physical and mental health
problems; extravagant show-off, which in one
form or the other, invites jealousy, anxiety or
threats of burglary etc. Those who are not
wealthy need to be more careful, as every
penny of their hard earned money is
important. Those who have substantial
amounts for fulfilling basic necessities and
duties should invest the remainder wisely in
projects that help many others in a viable
manner and generate more wealth for wider
use. Industriousness, planned budgeting, and
thoughtful use of money is the secret of
prosperity. Assiduity and controlled use of
resources also lend essential support in one’s
efforts of self-restraint of sense organs and
are therefore important for self-dependence
and self-development.
(ii) Sw³dhy³ya: Sw³dhy³ya is a wonderful
method of purifying the mind and righteous
molding of the thoughts and attitude. Our
attitude and thoughts are expressions of what
we have accumulated in the mind. The
activities around us, the nature and conduct
of the near and dear ones, the ambience we
are exposed to or what we have been
experiencing, learning or grasping, knowingly
or unknowingly via the automatic process of
nature, continuously create subtle impressions
on our mind. This accumulation, together with
the consequences of what we have been
desiring, feeling, thinking and doing remain
inscribed in the unconscious mind life after life.
What we have inherited from the earlier lives
Jan-Feb 2007
and what has been assimilated so far in the
present life accounts for our sansk³ras
(intrinsic impressions and tendencies). Unless
we make an extra effort, our outlook and
thoughts and hence our persona is shaped up
by our sank³ras and our present ambience and
training. Sw³dhy³ya is an attempt to choose
an enlightened aura of influence, superior
ambience for our mind. How?
Sw³dhay³ya literally means self-study. It deals
with the study of one’s own self (one’s
aspirations, thoughts, attitude and conduct)
in the light of elevated thoughts of enlightened
personalities. How will you study yourself
unless you have a guiding measure for
comparison? Why will you study yourself
unless there is a motivation and an aim to do
that? What is your aim? Self-ascent. What will
inspire you for this? The company of those
who have achieved it. It is human nature to
compete with, to copy, or to follow others –
especially the more influential ones around.
This is why parents are advised to maintain
good conduct in front of the children. This is
why you are advised to choose your friends
carefully. If you are in the inspiring company
of great personalities, you are bound to be
motivated to improve and illumine yourself,
to rise and experience the fulfilling and
glorifying horizons of life.
The present times and environment of life are
such that more often than not they encourage
and aggravate our negative tendencies, sensual
passions and vices. Even our relatives and
friends often divert us from the path of self-
ascent. They do so because of their ignorance.
For them, likewise for most people around,
following the popular trends, viz., earning
money, comforts, higher worldly status and
power are the major goals in one way or the
other. They would even criticize, hinder and
oppose one’s efforts for self-restraint, simply
because they are not familiar with such things,
or, because these do not fit into the common
framework of life-styles they have adopted
or desire for, or they don’t see any immediate
gain in attempts of self-control. Our own
tendencies are also not much different from
them so we also get attracted by the
suggestions of people around us. Then what
do we do? Should we let ourselves be
entangled in the vicious cycle of downward
trends? Certainly not! As you all know it is
the nature of water to flow downwards. Water
naturally flows, by the law of pressure-
gradient, from higher to lower level.
Additional force (e.g. by the motor of the
pump) of higher magnitude is required to
draw it upwards.
Similarly, if you want to see the light of
knowledge, if you want to broaden your
attitude, if you want to rise beyond the insane
or wrong trends of the present time, if you
want to cross the barriers of your present
circumstances and ambience and want to excel
in the righteous sense, you will have to put in

It happened in the initial days of the Banaras Hindu University. Some students went to meet the
founder vice-chancellor, Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya. They had many complaints against
some of their teachers and classmates. Malviyaji was an eminent scholar and patriot, who genuinely
cared for the younger generation of the nation. He patiently listened to the complaints then replied
affectionately – “My young friends! There may be some thorns of angularities in those people, but
these thorns would bother us only when we are not able to see the beauty of the flowers of their
positive qualities. You should endeavor seeing the flowers of goodness indwelling their lives; then the
thorns will lose their prominence and your life will also begin to get fragrant with the sweet scent of
those flowers”.

Jan-Feb 2007 47
extra efforts with unflinching resolution. How
will you do that? From where will you get
the power to move ahead against the
resistance of the popular customs, against the
downward pull of surrounding ambience and
against your own convictions and habits? Who
will give you adept guidance and support for
it? One possibility to annual the negative is
by assimilating the positive with greater
intensity. Satsang (good company) of great
personalities, saints and sages is most effective
and practical method of doing this. But how
often do we get this opportunity to attend
their discourses or to meet and discuss them?
Even if their discourses and meetings are
organized in your neighborhood, sometimes,
you may not be free in those particular hours.
Then? Therefore, sw³dhay³ is the only means
which is feasible in the present circumstances
and which can serve the purpose of satsang.
As balanced food and regular physical exercise
is necessary for bodily health, regular
sw³dhy³ya is necessary for mental, emotional
and spiritual wellbeing. It is no less important
than any devotional practice. Sw³dhy³ya is
given utmost importance in the science of
spirituality. It is stated in some Vedic
scriptures that – a person is equivalent to a
‘beastly human’ on the day when he/she does
not do sw³dhy³ya. As washing and scrubbing
is necessary for the cleanliness of the clothes,
bathing is essential for the hygiene of the body,
similarly, sw³dhy³ya is necessary for the
purification of the mind. The untoward
accumulations in the mental field are cleared
out and elevating sansk³ras are strengthened
by the trenchant thoughts and inspirations
induced by sw³dhy³ya. It lays the foundation
for realization of Inner Light.
(To be concluded in next issue).
48
Maharshi Kanad, the founder of the
Vaishashik School of Indian Philosophy was
a renowned thinker and teacher of his times.
He got the name ‘Kanad’ because of the
ascetic practice of eating only the kanas
(grains) of food. He used to collect the small
quantities of food grains left scattered in the
fields after the farmers had reaped the ripe
crop. This was the source of nourishment
for him for the entire season. When the King
of the land heard about this severe austerity
of Maharshi’s life, he sent substantial gifts
of wealth and food for the latter. Maharshi
Kanad warmly welcomed the bearers of the
gifts but politely refused to accept the royal
gifts. He said – “I am very happy with my
present mode of living. I do not need
anything more. You may kindly distribute
all these gifts among the needy”. The King
vainly tried twice again to arrange for some
material help for this great seer-sage. Finally
he himself went to the Maharshi with
abundant material wealth and provisions
and requested him to accept at least a part
of the bounty. Kanad then explained to him
with due respect – “I am an Acharya, the
sole motive of whose life is the acquiring and
sharing of knowledge. I need abundance of
s³dhan³ (devout endeavor towards
spiritual enlightenment) rather than
abundance of s³dhans (materialistic
resources) to fulfil my duties and achieve
the goal of my life. So please do not bring
any wealth or other materialistic bounties
to me. Give it to those who really need it”.
The King returned, himself enriched
with wisdom. He had now comprehended
the true meaning of the word “Acharya”
and understood that the glory of this title
lies in s³dhan³ and not in the accumulation
of s³dhanas.
Jan-Feb 2007
 “Give me a revelation, Lord!”
Revelation
the young man cried in despair.
Spring bloomed, and he rejoiced to see
spring’s beauty everywhere,
spring green on every bush, spring birds,
spring flowers in the air.

But, “Give me a revelation, Lord!”

he cried. Love filled his life
and blessed him with good pleasant friends
and a fair, gentle wife
and a gift to lift men’s hearts and bring
peace to their inward strife.

But, “Give me a revelation, Lord!”

he cried. He strove to do
as well as he knew how the work
that he was fitted to,
and to what truth he thought he saw
he labored to be true.

But, “Give me a revelation, Lord!”

still constantly he cried.
How often must the Lord have wished
to draw the youth aside
and whisper gently in his ear,
“Dear child, how I have tried!”
- James Dillet Freeman
[From “Angels sing in me” Published with glad permission of Unity House, Unity
School, USA – The Publishers]

Jan-Feb 2007 49
D ev Sanskriti Vishwa Vidyalaya (DSVV),
functioning under the aegis of Shantikunj,
Hardwar, had the great honour and joy of having
the President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, as the
Chief Guest at its Second Convocation held on
December 09, 2006.
The President in his Convocation address stressed
the dire need of seamless fusion and integration of
the essence of spirituality and science in the
educational process at all levels in all corners of the
globe and hoped that India could be the pacesetter in
this direction. It is only on the firm foundation of
spiritual-scientific humanism that a global
revolution in human consciousness can be brought
about. This is exactly the sutra (panacea) that our
Gurudev Pt. Sriram Sharma, Acharya had
prescribed fifty years back for healing of human
ills. The President exhorted the passing out
students to put their talents and expertise at the
service of the masses. He expressed the hope that
under the able and enlightened guidance of the
Chancellor Dr Pranav Pandya (himself a
distinguished holistic healing scientist and
therapist) will continue growing as a pacesetter
for a relevant, integrated educational pattern, the
basic features of which could be emulated by
others for integrated and holistic development
of the youth of the country.
Sri Sudarshan Agrawal, Governor of Uttaranchal,
asserted that DSVV, a self-financing institution of
higher learning, can be a source of inspiration for
other educational centres. In this connection, he
made a special mention of the internship scheme
of DSVV in which the students take up relevant
projects of upliftment and service in remote and
backward areas of the country – in the process
learning lessons of selfless service of the needy.
50
The Chief Minister, Dr. N. D. Tiwari, said that DSVV
will play a pivotal role in restructuring the system of
education in the country to make it an effective
instrument for total inclusive upliftment of the masses.
The Chancellor, Dr. Pranav Pandya, expressed the
hope and faith that DSVV will be a role model for
inspiring youth of the country to dedicate themselves
for the pursuit of high and altruistic ideals of selfless
service and loving kindness – by setting personal
examples of uprightness, integrity, compassion and
caring concern for others.
Dr. S. P. Misra, the Vice Chancellor, read the report of
the activities and achievements of the university over
the past four years. He made a special mention that
in the annual national yoga competitions, the
university won three gold medals during the past
four years. While praising the psycho-spiritual model
developed by the Psychological Department, he also
mentioned the path-breaking work done in the
villages adopted by DSVV. Earlier, Prof. O. P. Misra,
Dean of faculty, presented the students for collective
conferment of degrees/diplomas. The following were
individually awarded the degrees and gold medals
by the Chief Guest: Ms. Meenakshi Raghuvanshi,
Ms Mamta Rastogi and Kamakhya Kumar (all Ph.D
degrees); Indrani Nishad and Pratima Pandey (Gold
medals for best performance during 2004-06 and
2003-05 respectively); and subject-wise gold medals
for several others. The students scoring the highest
marks in the Bhartiya Sanskriti Gyan Pariksha at
different centers around the country were specifically
invited to witness the convocation function. The
convocation function was telecast live by Sanskar
TV channel and millions of viewers were able to see
the celebrations and thus get acquainted with the
activities of DSVV and the Gayatri Pariwar.
Jan-Feb 2007