ONLY JYOTIRLINGAM IN IN USA

There are 12 Jyothirlingams” only” in India and the 13

th one was initiated and founded

with Atharva Vedic Agama in USA by a Living Siddhar known as Swamij Sri

SelvamSidhar in Baytown, Texas, USA

This the 13th

Jyothirlingam in the world and also the biggest Shiv linga in the entire USA

and Canada

About Siddhars:

Siddhars (Tamil: ) are saints in India, mostly of the Saivaite denomination

in Tamil Nadu, who professed and practiced an unorthodox type of Sadhana, or spiritual

practice, to attain liberation. Yogic powers called Siddhis are acquired by constant

practice of certain yogic disciplines. Those who acquire these Siddhis are called Siddhas.

[1] These sidhars can be compared to Mystics of the western civilization. Siddhars are

people who are believed to control and transcend the barriers of time and space by

meditation (Yoga), after the use of substances called Rasayanas that transform the body

to make it potentially deathless, and a particular breathing-practice, a type of Pranayama.

Through their practices they are believed to have reached stages of insight which enabled

them to tune into the powers hidden in various material substances and practices, useful

for suffering and ignorant mankind. Typically Siddhars were saints, doctors, alchemists

and mysticists all at once. They wrote their findings, in the form of poems in Tamil

language, on palm leaves which are collected and stored in what are known today as

Palm leaf manuscript, today still owned by private families in Tamil Nadu and handed

down through the generations, as well as public institutions such as Universities all over

the world (India, Germany, Great Britain, U.S.A.).

[2] In this way Siddhars developed, among other branches of a vast knowledge-system,

what is now known as Siddha medicine, practised mainly in Tamil Nadu as Traditional

native medicine. Experienced elderly in the villages of Tamil Nadu has since practised a

rustic form of healing that is similar to Siddha medicine. (This has been misunderstood as

PaattiVaitthiyam, Naattumarunthu and Mooligaimarutthuvam. While paativaitthiyam or

naatumarunthu is traditional Tamil medicine and mooligaimarutthuvam is ayurvedic

medicine.) They are also founders of Varmam - a martial art for self-defence and medical

treatment at the same time. Varmam are specific points located in the human body which

when pressed in different ways can give various results, such as disabling an attacker in

self-defence, or balancing a physical condition as an easy first-aid medical treatment.

Tamil Siddhars were the first to develop pulse-reading ("naadipaarththal" in Tamil) to

identify the origin of diseases. This method was later copied and used in ayurvedha.

[3] Siddhars have also written many religious poems. It is believed that most of them

have lived for ages, in a mystic mountain called Sathuragiri, near Thanipparai village in

Tamil Nadu.

One of the best-known Siddhars was Agasthyar or Agasthya, who is believed to be the

founding father of Siddha culture.

AbithanaChintamani states Siddhars are either of the 9 or 18 persons enlisted, but sage

Agastyar states that there are many who precede these and follow 9 or 18 persons. Many

of the great Siddhars are regarded to have powers magical and spiritual. His Holiness

ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar is the “only” living Siddhar in the entire

western countries who is considered to be a living God to his followers who is living in

USA

Swamiji Sri Selvam” Siddhar” is a powerful Atharva Vedic scholar and helped millions

of his followers to come out of every kind of problems in their life. The 13th

Jyothirlinga

Temple in the world is situated in USA @ 7600, Baytown, Texas -77520. The temple is

situated on a very green forest temple set up on 10 acres and very close to the ocean

Someone does not need to go to all the 12 Jyothirlingam temples in India, if they can

make a trip and do the proper rituals to the Jyothirlingam in Baytown, Texas. By the way

the devotees would be able to come out of every kind of problems in their life. Call

immediately the Temple’s Toll free in USA @ 1-888-808-1428 TO GET MORE HELP

Also this is the only Temple set up under “Atahrva Vedic Agama. This temple has also

housed Hindu live Holy Animals for various “ parikatra” vidhi, Rituals. This the first and

the only temple in the 21 st century to have “ live Hindu Holy animals” for worship in the

Tempe itself such as” Cows, Horses, swans, Frogs, Fishes, Squirrels, Elephant, and

Peacocks

If you are living in USA or Canada, this is diamond opportunity to worship the

13th

Jyothrlingam in USA itself. Do not miss this golden opportunity in your life. Call

Swamiji directly @ 408 829 7780 or the Temple’s Toll Free 1-888-808-1428. Email:

avtemple@aol.com

Vegetarian?

You are what you eat

Whatever you eat, whatever you put into your stomach, it will reflect on your body and

mind and in this way on your physical as well as your mental health. Eating is not just

filling your stomach like filling a garbage bin. Food is not only food, it is vitamins,

minerals, fibres, carbohydrates, proteins and more which our body needs not only to

survive but also to be in balance and be healthy and strong which then of course has an

impact on our mind and overall being. So you need to take care what you take into your

body, it will be part of your system. A balanced vegetarian diet is the solution.

Why you should be vegetarian and not eat meat

How eating meat harms your health

Eating meat, which means any kind of flesh food including fish and poultry, has several

harmful effects on your body. Apart from the fact that a non-vegetarian diet often

contains fatter than the body needs or can use, the meat also contains hormones,

herbicides, pesticides and antibiotics due to the way that the animals were kept. All of

these substances enter your body while eating and your body needs to work to get rid of

all of them again. But of course some enter the body and together with other harmful

substances which were created during the preparation they increase major chronic

diseases like cancer, heart disease, kidney disease and osteoporosis.

It is not only on our body that eating meat has negative effects; our emotions and our

mind also are affected by it. If you take the saying 'you are what you eat' and you see

people who eat animals, then watch them and see that the saying is true. A meat-eater

often has more easily emotions like anger and aggression. And many people are aware of

what they are doing - killing to eat. And the minutes of death of the animal that you are

eating are with you whenever you take a bite.

Health benefits of a vegetarian diet

In the west there is still the wrong perception that eating meat is necessary for your

health. On the contrary a proper vegetarian diet gives you more energy, keeps your body

healthy and free of toxins. Studies and researches have found that vegetarians live longer

and more healthily than meat-eaters.

If you keep a diet with vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits and lentils or beans, you have

everything your body needs: vitamins, fibers and with lentils or beans also enough

proteins. A healthy vegetarian diet together with regular exercise is associated with less

obesity, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure and resulting from that less

heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke and finally mortality. It is simple: vegetarians live

longer!

Nature and Destiny of our Body

Our body is not made for eating meat. If you look at the jaw of carnivores, like tigers or

dogs, you see that they have teeth for hunting and tearing apart meat and bones. The

teeth of herbivores however, such as cows or horses, are made for grinding grains and

chewing vegetables. And if you compare our jaw, you will find that it is much more

similar to the jaw of horses or cows. Our teeth are just not made for non-vegetarian food.

It is not only our teeth but also our intestines which are made for a vegetarian diet. Our

intestinal tract is longer than that of carnivores, so that we can digest grains and greens.

Carnivores have to pass the raw meat that they eat through their intestines quickly as it

has lots of bacteria which can harm the body. Our whole body, our metabolism and the

entire system is not made for eating meat.

You don't need to kill to still your hunger!

We need to take care of our environment, the people and beings living around us and the

generations to come after us. There are many reasons to be vegetarian. One of them is

that from the amount of grains that are planted to feed cattle which is only raised for

being killed, we could feed millions of starving people on the whole world. These animals

are only raised to be killed. As a human person you need to have sensitivity in your heart,

a love for each living being. How can you kill an innocent animal just to feed your

stomach? They have a right to live just like us. We should take care and protect animals

and the environment but what is happening is that we are destroying and exploiting. Do

something against it! Becoming vegetarian, choosing not to eat meat but a healthy

vegetarian diet is thus not only good for yourself, your health and body but also for your

environment.

Vegetarian Food is not boring! Delicious Vegetarian Recipes, Vegetarian Cooking

Workshops and Retreats

You read this whole page, are convinced of everything above but just have one more

problem: you think vegetarian food is just boring? That is another common

misconception in the West where some people believe; vegetarians just leave away the

meat and eat the side-dishes instead. That would be indeed boring. However there is a

great range of delicious vegetarian dishes prepared with a variety of vegetables and

spices

Hindu Panchang

- ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar

Panchang - Means Panch + Ang( One who has five limbs ) and these limbs are :-

1) Vaar (Days)2) Tithi3) Nakshatra4) Yog5) Karan

There are two calendars -

1) Solar Calendar - This calendar similar to the calendar we use daily. It is based on

Sun's movement. One year is equal to the time taken by the Sun to complete 360 on

zodiac. Sun moves daily 10. Solar month starts when Sun transits from one sign to

another sign. It is called "Sankranti". The most famous sankranti is "MakarSankranti"

(14th January) and it is celebratedall over India in different form. We use this calendar

too for some purposes.

Lunar Calendar - This is the calendar we use in Vedic Astrology. In Lunar calendar day

is called "Tithi". You may understand it as Lunar Day. When a Lunar Month start, Sun

and Moon are at the same Longitude. Since Mo is faster so it goes ahead of the Sun.

When moon is ahead of Sun by 120 the second tithi starts. It completes one cycle of the

Zodiac(3600) in 30 Lunar Days

(Not Solar days or the calendar we use) . So it completes 3600 in 30 days hence it moves

120 ahead of Sun and after 30 tithis it will again be at the same longitude so the next

Lunar Mont will start.

Paksha :- So there are 30 Lunar Days or Tithis in one Lunar Month. There are two

fortnight in one lunar month. These are called "SuklaPaksha" ( Brighter fortnight) &

"Krishna Paksha" (Darker Fortnight). In Shuklapaksha the moon is called waxing moon

and in Krishna paksha it is called waning moon.

Trust In God

- ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar

Someone asked me a question

Question: How does one connect completely with God, Divine, etc? How does one

develop that 100%, no doubts type of faith, trust and belief in the Divine? How can one

lose all fear?

How does on develop deep trust in anyone or anything? Only through one’s previous

experiences. If a wife trusts her husband, if a child trusts his parents, if a sister trusts her

brother, if a student trusts his guru or teacher, or if you trust your friend, what is the

origin or cause of this trust? It is obtained from previous instances where the person

concerned has always been there, and has always helped us out of difficult situations.

The same is true when we trust our doctor, lawyer, astrologer, financial consultant, etc.

If a doctor has cured us and our family in the past, or if our lawyer has helped us win a

difficult legal case, we trust them, and keep going back to them when the need arises. We

know that they will always bail us out, when we are in trouble. We know that our parents

will provide us with money, advice, encouragement, and emotional support, when the

need arises. We cannot trust an unknown person, because we don’t have any knowledge

about him, and we have no past experience to go by. Trust develops only through past

experience. Even if you have heard from your family or friends that someone or

something is trustworthy, you will not fully trust that person or thing unless you have a

good experience yourself.

Now, let us come to the specific question of developing a hundred percent trust in God.

There are two problems with this. The first problem arises because we don’t know who or

what is God. The second problem arises because we don’t know ourselves. Two

unknowns cannot make a known. Even if we were to know ourselves---which is much

easier than knowing God----that still leaves us with the problem of who or what is God?

What we know of God is only what others have told us and what we have read. We don’t

have any direct experience of God. Most religions work with the concept that because

there is creation, there must be a creator, whom we call God. And since He is the

creator, He knows everything, he is all powerful, he controls everything and He is the

only one who can save us. In effect, when we say “trust in God a hundred percent”, we

are telling people to trust in an unknown entity, whom for all practical purposes; no one

has seen, heard or felt. As we discussed earlier, trust needs a previous personal

experience and since we don’t have any personal experience of this entity called God, we

find it difficult to trust God to the tune of a hundred percent.

Knowing the two problems that prevent us from trusting God a hundred percent, what

can we do? It is possible to know God only through our self. So, we must first embark on

an inner journey to find out who we are, through prayer, introspection and meditation.

As and when we find for sure who we are---the true entity hiding behind our race,

religion, caste, name, position, our economic and educational qualifications, our

emotions, our likes and dislikes, our thoughts and feelings----we are ready to embark on

the journey to find God. Now, we have a torch with which to search in the darkness.

Without self-knowledge, we are like blind men searching for something that is lost. Self-

knowledge is the flame which will guide us in this darkness.

Where this journey will take us, how long it will take, whether we will find God---all

these questions cannot be answered and will again have to be individual experiences. If I

say that I have found God, it is of no use to you, because what I can transfer to you will

still be hearsay knowledge, second hand knowledge which is of no use to you, as you

cannot trust second hand knowledge. This is the main roadblock or hurdle with what our

religions or enlightened men tell us---what they say is the truth, but their truth is not

easily transferrable. So, find yourself and then with that knowing and understanding

embark on the journey to find God or truth. And it is only then, when we get personal

understanding and knowing about God that trust can develop. Otherwise, we can keep on

saying that we trust God, but the moment a problem comes, God is forgotten, and we are

as miserable as ever

Vedic Discussions & Advise - His Holiness Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar You See That Which You Want To See! Morning Glory! Every morning looks the same, but we all know it comes only once in our lives, it remains fresh for few hours and then it is gone! You may wake up and start the day with the mindset of old patterns, carry on with the same rut of self-forgetfulness and deepen the patterns in your subconscious mind. Or you may first read a few lines of a book, some electrifying inspirational message, meditate and then move on to create a New morning! For the moments come to us with a message: are we ready to re-create the old pattern into a cast of new awareness that brings a sense of newness in the moments, a challenge to improve,

innovate, and move on with devotion and love for the purpose of Awakening to our inner God? When you wake up not to a morning but to a moment, then you awaken to a new meaning of every little happening that keeps happening inside and outside of you. They start to tell you unheard stories, very fresh, and poignant with a divine message. Oh! What a joy it is when you truly feel the pause, the silence, the eloquent language of pure bliss! I want you all to wake up and move out of the forgetfulness of the gift that is life, and that is not what you see or feel, but that which is available only when you open your eyes with the deepest intention and love for divine enfoldment! You see that which you want to see!!

Be a Good Gardener of Your Own Mind

The Wise always tell us to be a good gardener of our mind. To be watchful where the weeds are growing. Weeds grow in our garden only when we are not ready to work. One of the common weeds of our mind is aversion or dislike. We each have our preconceived notions of right and wrong. We love to have that which we want. If we don‘t get it for whatever reason, we are unhappy. It may be a person or an object, but mind dwells on that and most often we overlook its root, which is in the ego and attachment. There are people who are very frustrated for what they think would surely make them happy is not happening. Many off shoots come out of this one frustration. The areas of ‗dislike‘ spread, the mind space is cluttered, the person starts to grow angry and hateful, the cycle of negativity spreads its tentacles. Our spiritual search is essentially to find the sources of our unhappiness. We are inspired by the thought that in essence we all are Divine and our pristine nature is Divine nature or Buddha nature. We are in essence inseparable from divinity and pure bliss. But in order to realize this innate purity, we need to wake up to the reality that fulfillment of desires for a person or a thing does not keep us happy for long; we start to get disappointed and then the cycle of ‗dislike‘ takes over. The weeds of aversion and negativity grow in the garden of our mind only to postpone the good things from happening. For negative emotions can only pollute our subconscious mind and following the law of attraction, attract negative situations and circumstances, which in turn bring pain and sufferance. Like a good gardener if you are awake, mindful, meditative, then your light of consciousness will burn these weeds along with their seeds, and you are done with these karmas. Only Now can Peace and happiness blossom in your eternal garden of Mind. Love and happy weeding!

Ten Keys for Finding Happiness in Your Life

1. Live on purpose. Joyful aliveness connects you with your purpose. Learn the skills you need to create happiness. Discover the activities and pursuits that make your heart sing! These engaging activities provide clues to your purpose and will assist you in finding happiness.

If you want to maintain desperation and unhappiness, then believe that life has no purpose. 2. Find Happiness right now. No other time exists for experiencing happiness. Only the present moment contains the spark of life! You may also create misery by constantly wanting to speed ahead to some other time. Most people live their lives wanting to exist elsewhere and elsewhen. 3. Accept total responsibility for your life! You create your reality and your emotions. Your power and focus exceed your wildest dreams. You can choose to blame and whine, pretending that your life situation came from without, rather than from within. As within, so without. Accept total responsibility for all. 4. Act in boldness. Take on challenges and pursue lofty goals. Overcoming difficulties and obstacles provide some of the most exquisite joys in life. To create misery, play it totally safe. Never do anything scary or risky. Follow your fears and let them guide your actions. For happiness and joy - feel the fear, and do it anyway! 5. Expect happiness. Hope consists of a perfect expectation of desirable things to come. Picture desirable things to come. You choose what to think about, and what to visualize in your mind's eye! Imagine yourself finding happiness. Despair consists of a perfect expectation of undesirable things to come. To increase despair, simply imagine in detail terrible things that may happen to you. The better your imagination, the deeper the despair. You get what you truly expect, so expect happiness. 6. Increase your awareness. Feel your emotions consciously. Identify your core beliefs. Constantly learn and grow from the inside. Your unhealthy attitudes, habits, and behaviors will start to drop away like fall leaves. To maintain apathy and misery, just remain unaware. Allow clarity to flee from you like a deer from a hunter. Remain in unconsciousness and cloudiness - afraid to explore your beliefs. 7. Build your connections. Our relationships give life meaning and happiness. All of us truly connect to one another in the inner world. Building connections in the physical world builds on this inner reality and helps us in finding happiness. To create misery, simply separate yourself from others. Think that you exist as an independent entity, and other people merely drag you down. Insist on separateness and division. Deny the truth of connectedness and pursue unreality. 8. Learn and read daily. We grow in large measure due to the people we meet and the books we read. Did you read 52 books last year? Did you foster more friendships? We create happiness when we grow and increase our wisdom. To prevent happiness, try not to meet any new people this year, and don't read any new books either. Simply stay just the same person with the exact same ideas. For optimal joy, go for optimal growth and learning! 9. Serve other people. Truly recognize other people as real people, with needs and wants just like your own. Think how you can bring a smile to someone, and then do it! Give increased life in every encounter. Service is a huge key for finding happiness in your life. To create misery, ignore other people and totally concern yourself with your own needs. Don't think of other people as real. 10. Prioritize your actions. Know your goals and purposes, and put power and faith into every action. Do each action with focus and purpose, and know why you choose the activities you expend your energy on.

If you want to decrease joy, simply do as many things as you can each day. Never think of which tasks connect with your goals, simply busy yourself with work. Enjoy the Ten Keys to Finding Happiness!

The Master Teacher

We all know that the sun sustains life on earth. But at the same time the sun also imparts important lessons of life. The rising and setting sun tells us everything in life is transient ---joys and sorrows, gains and losses. The cycle of day and night is like life and death, only the soul is eternal like the sun. The sun breaks into dawn from dark night, comes out from behind the clouds, and emerges from eclipse too can overcome dark situations and negative energies we encounter time and again. Learn to give like the sun without prejudice or discrimination. To the sun everything and everybody is equal. He does not control his shine on the basis of caste or creed .or region or religion for that matter. Give without demand or expectation. Water that is soaked up by the sun is returned as rain. Take a lesson in detachment and principles ....with nine planet doing rounds, and millions and trillions of star surrounding the sun stand firm on his spot. What a catastrophe it would be if he ever compromises his position!! Tamaso ma jyotirgamayo does not happen by switching on a light. Look up to the sun, do sooryayog.....learn from the master teacher like Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar. .

MARRIAGE – as it is, and what it could be Opened were gates of unforgettable bliss: Two lives were locked within an earthly heaven And fate and grief fled from that fiery hour.

SRI AUROBINDO (In: Savitri, Book 7, Canto 1, p. 468)

Marriage unites a man and a woman for life. Irrespective of how the match was made, they always make the commitment in spite of not knowing each other half as well as they should. This is true even of couples who have been seeing each other for years before they tie the knot. Having long conversations over cups of tea or watching movies together is quite different from living together as husband and wife. It has been said that a marriage is like a game of cards. First, it is all hearts, then diamonds, later clubs, and finally spades. Almost all marriages go through a romantic phase of high expectations, a phase full of hopes that the partners will live happily ever after. The marriage ceremony brings glamour to the event. Then reality hits the couple. They realize that the partner no longer gives them the same happiness as earlier. Instead, the partner asks for love, care, time and material comforts. On top of that the marriage turns out to be a package deal. Along with the partner come the in-laws, the partner‘s friends, and sometimes even pets! The partners are seldom fully prepared for the reality. The disillusionment leads to disappointment, frustration and arguments, all

aimed at proving that it is the other person‘s fault – in other words, ‗clubs‘. Finally, they reconcile with reality, and settle down to ‗spades‘. The reconciliation involves seeing the other person‘s point of view, accepting that one cannot have one‘s way all the time, and above all experiencing the joy of giving instead of expecting the thrill of getting. The children that the couple gets may play an important role in their coming to terms with reality. Children both the partners love, and to children they both express their love by giving. The children teach those best what love is really about: giving, not getting. Marriage, as an institution, has survived the vicissitudes of history. The survival of marriage as an institution is because of the security it gives to the unit called the family. Sharing the drudgery of family life provides an ideal arrangement for meeting the physical and emotional needs of the husband and the wife, as well as their children. If the entire burden has to be carried by one individual – no matter how competent, hardworking and prosperous – the situation is invariably less than satisfactory. But does marriage have to be just an arrangement that brings some convenience and security into the difficult process of perpetuating the human race? Man is more than a feeding and breeding animal. The purpose of human life is spiritual growth, and the vehicle available to us for fulfilling the purpose is life itself. Marriage is an important part of that vehicle. When two persons get married, the first lesson they learn is that their sharply pointed individualities need to dissolve into a larger circle. This often comes after the egos of the two individuals put up a valiant fight. That is the phase of clubs. After a prolonged and painful battle, in which nobody is the winner, the egos settle for a truce. The children facilitate the process of dissolving the ego barrier by enlarging the circle further. The circle now includes not only the partners but also the children. That is the phase of spades. An ideal marriage, should not however, stop there. In spiritual terms, dissolving the ego barriers is one important step in spiritual growth; the love showered by the partners on each other, and on the children, is another. Of course, the two steps are interdependent; erosion of egos is a prerequisite for showering true love. It is in marriage that partners realize that true love is about giving rather than getting. They learn that true love brings joy when it is given, and also when it is received. They learn that true love is unconditional, and does not expect anything in return. Love for the partner and children, which comes naturally and instinctively, is a major instrument for spiritual growth. The love is further strengthened by crises, such as illness, accident, or bereavement – a few such crises are also inevitable in life. These crises then become periods of accelerated spiritual growth. Thus, without realizing it, the partners address the purpose of life while negotiating the labyrinth of a householder‘s life. The partners may not always look at it this way, but what they see is how much they have changed over the years. On the whole, they find themselves much more compassionate, loving, tolerant, and if further proof is needed of ego erosion, they find that they have taken on some characteristics of the partner. Thus, if marriage is a game of cards, it should not stop with spades; it should go to the next stage of celebrating the game itself! Marriage is excellent training for carrying on the process of spiritual growth even after the children have grown up, and do not need the partners any more. The experience acquired through loving the children for a few decades makes the partners an expert on love. The expertise can be used for continuing with the process of spiritual growth by showering love on those who may not be related to us by marriage or blood. The Mother has said that marriage is more than the partners uniting their physical existences, material interests, feelings and thoughts. All that is very good and necessary, but

not enough. Marriage should also unite the partners at the level of their Supreme Truths, their souls. The partners should unite in their aspiration for spiritual growth, and walk together towards the goal. A truly creative marriage is one in which the partners together move towards the goal faster than they could on their own. This is the partnership Gary Zukav has called spiritual partnership. According to Zukav, a spiritual partnership is a partnership between equals for the purpose of spiritual growth. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have visualized a rise in the level of consciousness of the human race in the very near future. As that vision takes shape, marriage based on convenience and necessity is likely to give way to spiritual partnership based on a free and mutually uplifting relationship.

The Creation Plan of God

A western philosopher has written that it appears that man is a stranger in this vast universe. It seems that neither has man been made for this world, nor has this world been made for man. Both seem mismatched.

Man is born with unlimited potential, yet in the present world he finds only a very limited use for it. According to his nature, man wants to live eternally, but very soon, without his leave, death arrives and puts an end to his life. He harbours an ocean of desires in his heart, but these desires are never fulfilled. He houses a life of dreams in his mind, but these dreams are never realized. In this case, there is no difference between a poor man and a rich man.

Why are man and the present world so mismatched? We can find our answer if we understand God‘s Creation Plan.

The reality is that God – the Creator of man, has created man according to His plan. To become acquainted with this plan is necessary for a man to have a thorough understanding of himself – just as the workings of a machine can only be understood when we study the drawings of the engineer who made it. Besides the mind of the engineer, there is no other thing that can clarify what the machine is meant for. The case of man is the same.

The existence of man is such a unique phenomenon that no other such example can be found throughout the vastness of the cosmos. Man is rightly called the ‗best of all creations‘, which means the best and most meaningful ‗being‘ among all the things created. Such a ‗meaningful being‘ cannot have been created without a purpose.

The Creator of man has created him according to a special Plan. His intention being that man must spend a period of trial in this present, imperfect world and subsequent to this, according to his deeds, he will earn the right to inhabit the perfect and eternal world, another name for which is Paradise.

The Creator of the world has created this world, as one half of a pair — the present limited world, in which we pass our lives after birth, is the first half; and the next eternal world where we live after death is the other half. The Creator of man has thus created him as an eternal creature and has divided his life into two stages — the pre-death period or the limited life in this world and the post death period or the eternal life after death. The limited period before death is meant to be a test for man, while the eternal period after his death will be the period for his reward or punishment, based on his performance in the test in this life. This is the scheme of existence for this world as devised by its Creator. The real aim of creation is to select those who are fit to inhabit the world of Paradise. Evil people will not be selected to inhabit Paradise.

What is Paradise?

Paradise is the name of the ideal world; the desire for which is lodged in the hearts of every man and woman. It is Paradise where the personality of man shall achieve fulfillment in the fullest sense. Man with his entire existence is desirous of this very Paradise and Paradise with its entire existence awaits him.

Paradise is that world, where a creation such as man attains his complete fulfillment, where he thinks the way he wants to think; where he sees what he desires to see; where he listens to the sounds that give pleasure to his ears in the real sense; where he touches those things which gives him the highest degree of pleasure; where he has the company of those people who make his life highly meaningful, where the winds are life-giving zephyrs for him, where he eats such food as he eternally craved for and he sips such drinks as are only beautiful figments of his imagination today.

How do we qualify for Paradise?

In the present world of trial, any man or woman, to be eligible for Paradise, needs to have two qualifications: one is to acknowledge the truth of the one God and the other is to lead a principled life. Those men and women who qualify in this test will be given a place in Paradise — where all their desires will be fulfilled. For those who fail in this test, they shall spend their lives in a state of eternal deprivation.

In the present world, man finds himself totally free. However, this freedom does not belong to him as a matter of right, but is rather a test paper. What man has to do is to acknowledge the truth of One God, and surrender to him — not by compulsion but by his own choice. This surrendering before the truth of One God is without doubt the greatest sacrifice that any man can make. Acknowledging the truth of One God is, like making oneself smaller not only to God but to others as well. But this is the very virtue, which will raise man to the highest position. It will take him to the very entrance of Paradise.

The second important thing in this set of requirements is to lead a principled life. Generally what happens is that man‘s character is moulded by his emotions — anger, revenge, jealousy, hatred, rivalry, etc. These are the negative feelings that shape man‘s personality. But what man ought to do is to become disciplined in such matters. He should not build his character under the influence of external incentives, but by his own decisions he should establish it on the basis of higher principles. This is what is called as Divine character.

The Right Approach to the Creation Plan

According to this Creation Plan of God, human beings are placed in situations where they have to face hardships from time to time at every moment throughout their lives as part of their test. Difficulty and sadness are integral part of the creation plan of the Creator. No man has the power to extricate himself from this life of trial and tribulation. This arrangement is to remind man of the fact that the present world has not been made as a place of luxury and comfort, but rather as a period of trial and as such as will help determine whether he is eligible or not for the eternal life in Paradise.

In spite of tremendous development in the present world, adverse conditions are still very much in evidence. But people, owing to their lack of awareness of God‘s creation plan, do not understand why this is prevalent. So, they continue to react negatively to situations and by giving such a response, prove themselves — in the eyes of God — to be failures in the examination he has set for them.

Stress is also a major problem faced by people everywhere. Many institutions have been established which claim to be able to eliminate stress. What these institutions actually do, in their endeavor to de-stress people is to ask them to stop their thinking process, thus bringing on them a kind of temporary anesthesia. This is, however, not a real solution to the problem of stress. There is only one true solution to this problem and that is to adopt the correct attitude to stress that of managing stress instead of trying to eliminate it or react negatively to it. In this way we will pass our test. Unpleasantness has been put into this world for man to learn the right lessons from it. The true lesson taught by unpleasant experiences is that man remembers the next world of Paradise. His approach thus becomes, ‗Let me not suffer in the Hereafter what I have suffered in this world.‘

Seen in the light of this creation plan, the root of all human problems is that the unenlightened want to make their Paradise in this world prior to death, whereas under the natural laws, the situation here on earth makes this impossible. According to God‘s creation plan, man has to be content in this limited world before death, so that he may be sure that in the eternal world after death he has Paradise in store for him. The right and

proper thing for man to do is therefore to acknowledge and accept this law of creation, and plan his life accordingly. His sole aim in this present world should be to make himself acceptable in the eyes of God, so that he may be held eligible for admission into Paradise in the eternal world after death.

Successful is one who has realized the eternal world in this temporary world; who has discovered in the failures of the present world, the secret to eternal success in the next eternal world.

ISLAM- A GOOD RELEGION TOO

- Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar

Freedom of Expression in Islam

Islam greatly believes in freedom of expression. As such blasphemy in Islam is a subject of intellectual discussion rather than a subject of physical punishment.

The concept of blasphemy is completely alien to the original teachings of Islam. Before the advent of Islam, difference of belief was also a punishable act. They used to punish on matters of belief just as on matters of social crime. This old practice is called religious persecution in history. Islam abolished this practice. The Prophet of Islam declared that personal belief is a subject of discussion and persuasion rather than of legal punishment.

If you go through the Quran and Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet of Islam), the only two authentic sources of Islam, you will find that there is not a single Quranic verse or Hadith that gives this kind of injunction which says: ―Man shatamanabiyakumfaqtuluhu‖ (Kill the person who commits blasphemy against the Prophet).

The Quran tells us that since ancient times God has sent prophets in succession to every town and every community. It says, moreover, that the contemporaries of all of these prophets adopted a negative attitude towards them.

There are more than two hundred verses in the Quran which reveal that the contemporaries of the prophets repeatedly perpetrated the same act which is now called ‗blasphemy or abuse of the Prophet‘ or ‗using abusive language about the Prophet‘. Prophets down the ages have been mocked and abused by their contemporaries (36:30), some of the epithets cited in the Quran being ―a liar‖ (40:24), ―possessed‖ (15:6), ―a fabricator‖ (16:101), ―a foolish man‖ (7:66). The Quran mentions these words of abuse used by prophets‘ contemporaries but nowhere does the Quran prescribe the punishment of lashes, or death or any other physical punishment.

This clearly shows that ‗abuse of the Prophet‘ is not a subject of punishment, but is rather a subject of peaceful admonishment. That is, one who is guilty of abusing the Prophet should not have corporal punishment meted out to him: he should rather be given sound arguments in order that his mind may be addressed. In other words, peaceful persuasion should be used to reform the person concerned rather than trying to punish him.

Those who adopt a negative stance towards the Prophet will be judged by God, who knows the innermost recesses of their hearts. The responsibility of the believers is to observe the policy of avoidance, and, wishing well, convey the message of God to them in such a manner that their minds might be properly addressed.

Another important aspect of this matter is that at no point in the Quran is it stated that anyone who uses abusive language about the Prophet should be stopped from doing so, and in case he continues to do so he should be awarded severe punishment. On the contrary, the Quran commands the believer not to use abusive language directed against opponents: ―But do not revile those [beings] whom they invoke instead of God, lest they, in their hostility, revile God and out of ignorance.‖ (6:108)

This verse of the Quran makes it plain that it is not the task of the believers to establish ―media watch‖ offices and hunt for anyone involved in acts of defamation of the Prophet, and then plan for their killing, whatever the cost. On the contrary, the Quran enjoins believers to sedulously refrain from indulging in such acts as may provoke people to retaliate by abusing Islam and the Prophet. This injunction of the Quran makes it clear that this responsibility devolves upon the believers, rather than on others. So others should not be held responsible and demands made for them to be punished.

Looked at from this angle, the stance of present-day Muslims goes totally against the teachings of the Quran. Whenever anyone – in their judgment – commits an act of ‗abuse of the Prophet‘, in speech or in writing, they instantly get provoked and their response is to start leading processions through the streets, which often turn violent, and then they demand that all those who insult the Prophet be beheaded.

Muslims generally advocate the theory that freedom of expression is good, but that no one has the right to hurt the religious sentiments of others. This theory is quite illogical. Freedom is not a self-acquired right. It is God, who, because of His scheme of putting man to the test, has given man total freedom. Then the modern secular concept of freedom is that everyone is free provided he does not inflict physical harm upon others. In such a situation, the above kind of demand is tantamount to abolishing two things: firstly, to abolishing the divine scheme, and secondly, to abolishing the modern secular norm. Neither goal is achievable.

So the hue and cry against the so-called abuse of the Prophet is simply untenable. By adopting this policy, Muslims can make themselves permanently negative but they cannot change the system of the world.

There is a relevant Hadith in which the Prophet of Islam has said: Min husnislam al-mar tarkahu ma la yanih (A good Muslim is one who refrains from indulging in a practice that is not going to yield any positive result). This Hadith applies very aptly to the present situation of Muslims. They have been making a noise for a very long time against blasphemy, but it has been in vain. Muslims must know that they are not in a position to change the world, so they must change themselves. There will be two instant advantages of adopting this policy: they will save themselves from becoming victim of negative sentiments and will be able to devote their energies to constructive work

Spirituality – The soul of ECONOMY

-ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar

The burning question was raised many a millennia ago. The questioner was a seer of the Vedic times and the question was targeted at the entire humankind. The same question continued to crop up from time to time. No doubt, every society attempted to answer this question according to its dominant nature and preponderant psyche. But, did the world get a satisfactory answer to the question mouthed by sage of yesteryears? Could this answer help in establishing a flawless and stable system of economy? Or, has it led to more economic problems than actually solving them? CAPITALISM – WEALTH BELONGS TO THE INDIVIDUAL Capitalism as a system of economic development began in the 18

th century. This century

witnessed the outbreak of Industrial Revolution. Machines began to be used for bulk production. Since mass production required heavy investment of capital, therefore those who could afford and invest adequate capital-fuel reaped windfall profits. Within no time, they became the owners of huge wealth and began to dominate the economic fabric of society.

This gained acceptance at the altar of underprivileged and the deprived sections of society. Owners of capital amassed more and more wealth and with it they could usurp power and position in society. This lead to the birth of capitalistic system of economy. Under this system, wealth came to be understood as a personal property belonging to the individual concerned. ―Work and Earn‖ became the dominant ideology. Income earned became the sole property of the owner of the capital. Other factors of income-generation became irrelevant and their claim and interference in any manner whatsoever was considered unacceptable. Even state interference was ruled out. All these became accepted principles of capitalistic system of economy. Thus, the only this answer provided by this system to the age-old question – ―Whose wealth is this?‖ Was that ―The wealth belonged to the individual who earned it.‖ But, was this answer appropriate? Passage of time proved a decisive factor. Evil consequences started coming to the surface with lapse of time. The nations, which were forerunners in embracing this system, began to feel the piercing pangs of cut-throat competition. Poor became poorer. Rich became richer. Millionaires became billionaires. A few rich cornered the wealth and resources of the nation. As a result, the society witnessed extreme economic inequalities. Sky rocketing buildings alongside huts became a common sight. How utterly ironical it was! The situation was akin to uneven circulation of blood in a living body. While some organs received blood more than required, others were deprived or received too little. Under such circumstances, what can one expect the state of the body to be? Its depreciation is certain! Deficient organs would get de-activated on being dried up. The ones with excessive blood supply would also not remain healthy. They too will decay. In exactly the same fashion it also became the destiny of the capitalistic economy. On the one hand, the poor were deprived of the bare minimum necessities of life and total deprivation became their life‘s integral part. On the other hand, rich became richer to such an extent that their coffers began to swell. As a natural consequence, vices engulfed them. Promiscuity and licentiousness became their lifestyle. Depravity and wickedness not only descended on social fabric, but also moral values witnessed a steep fall. While the rich exploited the poor, the poor, in order to fill their bellies, stopped distinguishing between right and wrong means. In course of time, the grave shortcomings and pitfalls of the capitalistic economy led to the nations to plunge into state of utter disorderliness. Gloom descended all over the world. The dark side of capitalism made it clear that it failed to provide a suitable answer to the age-old question. This led the world to move to a new system to run the affairs of the world economy. SOCIALISM – WEALTH BELONGS TO THE SOCIETY The proponents of socialism like Karl Max, etc. declared in Unison – ―Individual property is theft; property owners are thieves.‖ Thus, they advocated that the system of personal property should be destroyed. Wealth should be declared as income of the society and be distributed proportionately in the society and be distributed proportionately in the society without any discrimination whatsoever. On these fundamental principles emerged socialism. Complete ownership of wealth was bestowed upon the society. The age-old Vedic question received a new answer – ‗Wealth belongs to the society.‘

The question is whether this experiment was logical and rational. Certainly, the solution to the discriminatory practices of capitalism was inherent in this system. The system provided solution to the economic inequalities, which prevailed in the capitalistic system of economy. Through this system, exploitation could be checked to a large extent. However, amidst solutions and finer points of this system, another grave problem cropped up which itself exposed the serious loopholes in the system. There emerged a larger issue of immense concern to both the producer and the consumer. The system usurped the all-important elements of personal freedom. All crucial decisions pertaining to production came to be taken by a handful of planners and bureaucrats. Bureaucracy reigned supreme in every walk of life. Since the system predetermined the wages of individual, skill and innovation got dissolved over a period of time. Since there was no personal profit, nobody felt motivated to put in extra labour and skill. Lethargy began to prevail all around. People opted for leisure in lieu of hard work. All this together inflicted a hard blow to socialism. The impact was so powerful that even a strong nation like USSR could not bear it and ultimately collapsed. Many East European nations also became victims of immature and impracticable policies of this system. Thus, the age-old Vedic question – ―Whose wealth is this?‖ remained answered on the social horizon too. These developments forced the economists and policy makers to propose another answer to this vital question. There emerged another system to run the economic fabric of the society. MIXED ECONOMY – WEALTH BELONGS TO BOTH THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE SOCIETY In reply to Vedic Question, this system said, ―Both the individual and the society have the ownership of wealth.‖ The wealth belongs to both. As a result, the world witnessed co-existence of both the private and the public sector. In lure of personal profit, the private sector started devising best skills and practices to produce goods and services at the optimum level. On the other hand, the public sector started utilizing national resources in a planned manner for social welfare. The merits of both, Capitalism and Socialism, were merged to gain maximum profits and attain the goal of social well-being. But, every coin has two sides. Just as the merits of the two previous systems were up for grab, even so, the demerits were also there to follow the suit. Many other serious issues also surfaced. To cut things short, this system also did not prove fault-free. The aforementioned facts are not meant to convey that all these system were a total failure. Moving on these lines, some nations could undoubtedly achieve an all-round development. The progress and advancement of nations like USA, Japan, etc. is today witnessed by the whole world. However, the fact also cannot be ignored that none of the systems proved perfect and fool proof. Each system suffered from some or the other shortcoming. A system can be perfect only under one condition – when it not only propels industrial progress but also boosts the moral and ethical wealth of both the producers and the consumers mentally and ethically. An ideal system would be one which not only lays a strong foundation for economic growth but also sow the seeds of satisfaction, patience, and selflessness in the minds of people. Only a system, which pays equal regard and attention to both the aspects of human evolution, can be perfect and fault free. Such a system, capturing

the two-fold purpose of human development, alone can provide a logical and rational answer to the vital Vedic question. SPIRITUALISM – WEALTH BELONGS TO GOD The Vedic seer had not just raised a question of immeasurable significance for the entire human race, but had also provided answer to the question itself. If we refer to the Sanskrit version and connotation of the question – Kasyasviddhanam, we would know that the question itself provided the answer. Inherent in the connotation is the answer to the question. The entire expression when disintegrated implies – K+asyasviddhanam – Wealth belongs to God alone. Therefore, Spiritualism declares unequivocally that wealth belongs neither to an individual nor the society. It belongs to God only. It is just an offering to humankind from the ever benevolent Lord. We are only trustees empowered to make use of it in a rightful manner. Recipient of an offering is then required to follow religiously an age-old special tradition. Under this God-ordained tradition, one is not permitted to hoard wealth or use it for personal deeds alone. It has to be mutually shared and expended. Then and then alone, it gives pure pleasure to all. It has been said that something which pleases all is oblation – Prasaadam. Spiritualists, in every age, advocated this very system of dealing with wealth. The system entails the following guiding principles: · Wealth in our possession should be looked upon as a gracious offering from God. · Never ever hoard wealth in your personal coffers. · Never restrict it to personal use only. · Help should be heartily extended to the needy and deserving. The ideas were presented to the posterity by the Vedic seers through their powerful messages and soulful personal examples. Hereunder, is presented a brief description of some examples:- In ShrimadBhagvatPuran, Lord Krishna dwelt upon an important principle of economic policy. He declared that ―a man has rightful right on quantity which is sufficient to pacify his hunger. The one, who considers as his own more than what is needed by him, is a thief of society and liable to be punished.‖ BhagwanMahavir also depicted the same principle in words – ―wealth more than one’s need is liable to be abnegated like sacred cow’s meat.‖ Thus, all enlightened souls have criticised the tendency of hoarding. They have said that such tendencies are apt for ants and bees, but, for humans this mind-set is deplorable. The Vedas also proclaim – ―Those who consume their earned income alone and do not share with others, all their efforts for income-generation are futile. Remember, this wealth will one day become the cause of their death.‖ In this roaring message is inherent a profound warning too. The sages, in fact, endeavored to convey to the humankind that even if one amasses wealth like Duryodhana, a villainous character in the famous epic Mahabharata who denied lawful share to his brethren, he will surely be defeated in life. A similar message is also depicted in the Holy Gita. One of its verses says – ―Those great ones who consume remains of a religious sacrifice are liberated from all sins. But, those who look for only themselves, they only earn and

accumulate sins.‖ At another place, the Holy Gita advises not to hoard more than required. Never consume alone. Share with others. What should really be done with earned income? The system of economy whose sole basis is spiritualism presents an altogether different philosophy. It advises us to distribute earned income among the deserving and needy people of the society. Saint Kabir has also given similar message through one of his verses. The verse says – ―When water enters the boat, the instant reaction of the boatman is to pour the water out using both his hands. In the same vein, when the wealth swells up in our coffers, we should demonstrate humanness by giving it away in charity to the society with both hands.‖ It, however, does not imply that earning is a bad proposition. This system goads us to work hard using fair means and earn. But, all this should not be for self-interest rather for philanthropic purposes. It should be inspired by goodness at large. We have heard of Emperor Harshvardhana, who would work hard for five years to run the affairs of his kingdom. And then, at the conclusion of the fifth year, he would give away everything in charity. Not just one, there have been umpteen philanthropists in the past. Large heatedness has been the cornerstone of philanthropy of the Aryans of yesteryears. Self-abnegation and self-extrusion has been the tradition. Hoarded wealth was declared to be the cause of death and giving away in charity was compared to immortality. Charity – How, How much, and to Whom is a significant aspect of this deed itself. Charity should not be done blindly. Spiritualism does not advocate irrational charity. Act of charity should be performed with clear and clean heart, and with utmost humility. There should not be even a tinge of self-praise and pride. God should be regarded as the only giver and we as only His instruments. Give away charity as per your economic status. Give only to the needy and the deserving. Make sure that your act of charity should not propel the recipient to take begging as a matter of habit. Give only to the one who is truly impoverished and hapless. Only such institution should benefit by your charity which are doing real public good and welfare. – These were ideals and rules that were enshrined in the economic system proposed by the spiritualists of India. Saint Kabir has said – ―If such a system is introduced in the society, down to the level of an individual, this will lead to a flawless system of economy in which nobody will earn and spend using unfair means.‖ This will surely reinforce and establish the finer points and merits of Ram Rajya. All will be suffused with the sense of large heartedness and philanthropy. None will be poor, impoverished, and sorrowful. There will be health, happiness, and wealth all over. It is, therefore, imperative for the materialistic world to pay heed to our Saints‘ exhortation. Pay heed and act to usher into an ideal world. Deeds and wealth become productive, constructive, and justifiable when acted upon by internalizing eternal religion. Practical spirituality (BrahmGyan)is the foundation of a sound economic system. This is the eternal truth.

I have smooth life, then why seek God? Q: I have a smooth life that demands nothing else. Then why should I try to seek God and endure so much of hardships in the form of self-control and detachment?

: Those who feel that they lead a complete life and need no further progress to maintain their happiness, to them we say congratulations! You have reached a place in life where many hope to stand someday. But those who feel compelled to search for something more, that there could be, nay there MUST be something more to life than simply ‗‘making a living‘‘, for them awaits true reality of GOD. And only those people then strive hard to seek God. This situation can be best explained through an analogy: Suppose a group of people were born inside a cave and all their life have never left this cave. For their food, they lick the moss that grows on the walls and the floor is covered with water, so they have enough to drink. Since they have known nothing greater than this, they do not search for anything more. They think the experiences before them are all that life has to offer. They have never seen the beauty of the world outside their limited cave. One day one of them trips and fall onto the wall of the cave and a bit of rock is chipped away. A bright light shines through and immediately he is shocked and even a bit fearful. He exclaims, ―What is this, which I see before me?‖ He has never seen the sun; he has never known anything besides his very own cave. He builds up the courage to peer directly into this hole and witness a world beyond his wildest imaginations. He sees a river bubbling with water, so clear that he can see through to the bottom. He sees colors; he is blown away by the very sight. Upon seeing this, he realizes there is something more, which has existed without his knowledge. He thirsts to go to that place. And so without hesitation he begins to dig. With all his might, he pounds away the cave‘s wall trying to create enough space so that he can leave this dreadful cave for that wonderful world which he has seen. He ceases to eat, drink and sleep. His hands bleed from beating on the wall of the cave but he does not mind it. His fellow cave dwellers, not having seen the same breath-taking vision, think him to be insane. ―Look, how he is abstaining from the pleasures of this great cave of ours!‖ but since that man has already lived this ―grand‖ world of his, he can see the folly of the fellow cave dwellers. He knows that there exists a greater world than just that of a living in a cave. He understands if man tirelessly digs to liberate himself from the cave, he is not abstaining from happiness at all. Rather, he is trying to get even greater happiness than is available in the limited cave. Thus, we see that a comfortable life is not necessarily a complete life. Because that same man who was content with the darkness and dampness of the cave became crazed for the outside world once he bore witness to it; once he realized the true value of it. So let us consider whether we have experienced everything life has to offer. Have we truly found the happiness or have we just become accustomed to living a dreary life and call it happiness in our ignorance?

SIGNFICANCE OF THE MANTRA, „‟Asto ma sadgamay…‟‟

- ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar

A very popular mantra, Asto ma sadgamay, is an ancient Sanskrit prayer quoted in Brihad-aranayka Upanishad, one of the earliest of the Upanishads (8

th-7

th century BC). Let‘s look at

the mantra closely. Asto ma sadgamay,

Tamso ma jyotirgamay, Mrityorm’amritamgamay.

Translation:

From unreal lead me to the real, From darkness lead me to light,

From death lead me to immortality.

Let‘s explicate this mantra and gain an insight into it. The very first glance at the mantra, brings to our notice that each line includes the words ‗‘lead me‘‘. This symbolizes that the mantra is a prayer for transformation from lower into an exalted state, unreal to the real, darkness to the light and finally death to immortality. Asto ma sadgamay from unreal lead me to the real Here, what does this term ‗‘unreal‘‘ symbolize? It speaks of the world of illusion (Maya). According to our scriptures, all what we see with mortal eyes is an illusion. In GURBANI (page 1428), it has been said:‘’the world appearance is totally false; know this well, my friend. Says Nanak, it is like a wall of sand; it will not endure.’’ Thus we see that the world is considered to be false or unreal by our saints, the only reality being the divinity that lies inside us. Once we get a glimpse of that reality, we gradually realize what is true and what mere illusion is. Then only we become free from the trap of illusions. In other words, we are driven from unreal to real. Tamso ma jyotirgamay From darkness lead me to light In the second line, the devotee beseeches the Lord to lead him from the darkness to the light. But the darkness mentioned in this line is not that of external world. It is the darkness of anger, passion, jealousy, pride, greed, and attachment within us. These vices enshroud the divine light, the practical wisdom, which resides in our innermost being. But, this darkness can be eliminated by the One who has the ability to penetrate these thick veils of ignorance. It has been stated by our saints: the word Guru is comprised of two parts, GU and RU. Here, GU means darkness and RU means Light. Thus the True Guru is one who dispels the darkness of ignorance with the light of knowledge. He removes the veils of ignorance so that we can see our Divine form. Therefore, a Perfect Guru can only lead us from ‗darkness into light.‘ It‘s been stated in the BIBLE as well: ‘’He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness’’ (Micah 7:9). This is a transcendental experience that one must have within and is not possible in the external world. Man‘s real Self is full of light. But today he is dwelling at the superficial level of his mind and intellect. So, an aspirant prays that he may be initiated into spiritual knowledge which can lead him from the darkness of ignorance towards the light of the soul.

Mrityorm’amritamgamay From death lead me to immortality In the last line of the mantra, a person prays to the Lord that he may be led to immortality. We all know that death is an inevitable truth. Then what does the aspirant mean when he asks for immortality? It‘s been stated in the GURBANI (page 522): ‘’I have obtained Eternal Life, realizing the Self.’’ The goal of life is to live forever, attain immortality or Eternal Life. Only through the realization of True self one can arrive at the stage called liberation, salvation or moksha. This is the stage where he conquers death and is able to experience immortality while living. We must reflect on these truths presented by the mantra. We may recite this mantra many times, but have we made any effort to reach the stage that the mantra speaks of? Have we truly done anything on our part to have this experience for ourselves? If not, then it‘s high time to step forward for the practical knowledge to reach the stages that the mantra illustrates. As it has been rightly stated, ‘’to know what has to be done, and then do it comprises the whole philosophy of life.’’

KNOW YOUR SELF

- ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar

“Nothing is true in self-discovery unless it is true in your own experience. This is the only protection against the robot levels of the mind.”

– Barry Long A cursory glance through our immediate surroundings will unmistakably convince us that ours is a variegated world with a fierce struggle raging in every facet of life. Majority is caught up in a lunatic race for cosmetically prolonging life span besides endeavouring to make life as pleasurable as possible. With most of us, this has come to be the prime objective of our earthly existence. It seems as if we are satisfied with mundane attainments and possessions, obviously out of ignorance of pearls of fathomless wisdom that lie in the inner realms of Ultimate Reality. We never think and try to probe into the Ultimate Reality; instead, we get riveted to the external phenomena only and feel satisfied with the deluding appearances. We never try to ponder over: ‗Who actually are we? Why have we come on this earth? What is that which is energising us? What is that which is propelling the whole of the creation around us?‘ Enlightenment lies in knowing our true self, as is said:

He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. - Lao Tzu

That‘s why, great saint Kabir advises us to reflect upon: O man! Who are you? From where have you come? What is the source of your origin? Why are you roaming around in delusion? Where will you go after leaving these mortal coils? Far from living blindly and artificially, we need to pause to reflect upon these core queries. These are the fundamental questions that confront us on the very threshold of consciousness and long for an effective solution. Let‘s deal with these basic queries one by one. The very first query is: ‗Who are we?‘ If someone is asked who he is, then you can hear an instant reply: ―I am Mr. Paul‖ or ―I am the son or brother of so and so‖ or ―I am the relative

of so and so.‖ However, all this constitutes your relative identity and not the true one. Today, you know yourself by your name, address, city, country, or through some relationship. And not for a single moment do you wake up towards your True Self! However, the fulfillment and completion of the goal of human life demands awareness of our True Self without any relational input of any kind. Scriptures call it the knowledge of Self. RELATIVE IDENTIFICATIONS The recognition of a man with respect to name, form, relationship, etc. constitutes his relative identifications. These may be broadly classified into the following types: BODILY IDENTIFICATION We not only are deeply involved with our bodies but also err in developing identification solely with our bodies. We have cultivated the feeling of being merely bodies. Our philosophical world presents us a book called ―The Philosophy of As-If.‖ Basically, we too follow the same philosophy. Completely oblivious of our Pure Consciousness, we behave as if we are bodies. Actually, a man possesses the nature of developing bonds with anything he derives pleasure from. He then, steered by the view that he can extract bounty of happiness while being associated with anything pleasurable, tries to be recognized by that only. That is why, considering our body to be the source of pleasure, we try to develop a sort of intimacy with it. Such recognitions delude us. For instance, after birth, there is a tradition of celebrating a naming ceremony and assigning a name to a newly born baby. Gradually, as that toddler grows up, he develops an intense identification with his name. Even though he is born nameless, the name then becomes so prestigious that he prefers giving up his life for the sake of his name. The same way, one even develops a sort of affection for his form. But remember! Even your form is not your True Self. How can it be your true identity when it keeps on changing constantly? Just try to reflect upon: ‗What was your form in childhood? And how did you look like in your mother‘s womb?‘ Of course, totally different from what you appear to be today. If all those pictures are somehow produced before you, you yourself may fail to recognize your own form. Our medical science reveals that the physical body changes entirely in 7 or 12 years‘ period. Nothing remains the same, not even a single cell. However, our True Self is both immutable and imperishable. So, how can this ephemeral body, which keeps on changing even while being alive, be our True Self? RELATIONAL IDENTIFICATION Following the same logic of ‗identification for pleasure‘, a man tries to be known with respect to one or the other relationship. The parents begin to feel identified with their son, a sister with her brother, a wife with her husband, and vice versa. Most of the time, we see the parents living in their son. If the son succeeds, they too feel successful, and if the son achieves, they consider it to be their own achievement. Frankly speaking, whatever pleases us, directly or indirectly, we begin to develop attachment with it. So, if the son is successful in his life, the parents feel proud to be recognized through him. The very moment the same son turns rebellious or a criminal, the parents try to evade their acquaintance with him. Once there was an old man having two sons. One of them was a minister. Being proud of him, he always boasted of his position and became famous as the father of a minister. However, the old man never ever referred to his ordinary son. He never felt to be identified with his ordinary son. Once, in some tragic incidence, he lost his minister son. Son‘s demise was so unbearable for the old man that he even started thinking of committing suicide. Upon

being asked if his son had been a criminal, whether he would have felt the same, he pondered over and responded, ―Perhaps, no!‖ So, it was not the death of his son which troubled him, rather it was the death of his own ambitions, his own identification. Hence, such is the delusion created by our worldly relationships. An identification born out of them exists as long as our relative is alive. The end of bonds with someone implies fading away of recognition gained through him. Reflecting upon all these pseudo identities of man, Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar used to say that man is just like a palace having many slaves. However, the owner, the master of the palace, has gone for an outing. He has been out for such a long time that now the slaves have completely forgotten him and are scuffling to adorn the master‘s throne. Whenever someone passes by this splendid palace, stunned by its beauty, he is prompted to ask, ―Whose mansion is this?‖ The slave prominent at that time turns up and instantly replies, ―It belongs to me.‖ But if the same person passes by that palace at some other time, he can easily see someone else at the door claiming to be the owner. This way the whole of this human castle, being ruled by different slaves, the relative identities, at different intervals, is totally bewildered, as is said: “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the

multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” (Nathaniel Hawthorne/The Scarlet Letter)

Directly or indirectly, all these pseudo identities originate in one‘s mind, making a man more and more complex. Mind has the tendency of perplexing you. It takes you far away from your True Self, as it drags you down to the state of being allured towards the external world. It obstructs your inner spiritual odyssey. Following the dictates of your tricky mind, the more you get enticed into the world, the farther you get from your True Self. If the remedy is not found soon, it can leave you in a permanent state of homesickness. Thus, our mind leads us astray. It takes us far away from the real track. It would be foolishness to consider it a conveyance or a passage towards our True Self. Mind proves to be the most unreliable entity in us. However, the majority of the world population today is surviving at the mental level. Their mental dependency demands the designing of such a methodology that through enlightenment can tune our mind with our true Self, i.e., Soul or Pure Consciousness, thus making the mind reliable. Such a methodology should involve amalgamation of our mind with Pure Consciousness. For, if the mind gets harmonized with the soul, then there is no need to suppress or condemn it. So, Dear aspirants, Mind it! Such a strategy is none other than True Knowledge, involving the direct perception of our true Self, the soul, the part and parcel of God. Thus, receiving True Knowledge or Divine Knowledge (BrahmGyan) by the benedictory grace of a Perfect Master, we can acquaint and harmonize our body, mind, and intellect with our true Self.

HOW TO COUNTER SADNESS? -ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar

Encountering sadness in one way or the other, every individual, today, has developed familiarity with it. Sometimes, we succeed in overcoming it, and sometimes, we get gripped in its tentacles. At certain times, it even haunts us, assuming the terrible form of serious depression. Quite ignorant of its severity, we keep on bearing it until we eventually find ourselves afflicted by some ailment. It is then only that we start our irresistible stampede to doctors and hospitals. Sadness, being the root cause of many physical ailments, needs to be nipped in the bud. Moreover, the management of sadness demands special attention because unmanaged sadness leads to clinical depression. Disorders such as depression are spreading like wildfire nowadays. In addition, the substance abuse as a remedy is menacingly prevalent today. Not only this, the disease of sadness has even reached its critical level, as is vivid from the fact that most of the depression-ridden people often commit suicide. Thus, sadness can prove fatal, creating an environment of grief and remorse. Mostly people leave it unnoticed and, hence, untreated, considering it to be a common cold of the mind. At certain moments, especially during the winter, when we suffer from the common cold, we don‘t usually rush to the clinics or get hospitalized. Likewise, misconceiving sadness as the common cold of mind, people, ignorant of its life-consuming consequences, prefer enduring it silently instead of working it out. An un-nursed sadness or dejection, then, manifests as melancholy, disappointment, self-criticism, guilt, boredom, tiredness or restlessness, lack of interest, and many such feelings. Thus, assuming various forms, it devitalizes us, making us gloomy. All these factors demand the raising of an immediate call for the management of sadness. Its management, however, requires a deep analysis of its causes. There are various prevalent theories explaining the causes of sadness. Generally, it is said that people become victims of sadness when they fail in their pursuit for achieving happiness. Some say that sadness is the negative end of the mood scale whose positive end is happiness. Some claim that melancholy crops out of the psychological disorders, while others propose that it is the outcome of the malfunctioned brain chemistry, and still others consider the physiological dysfunction responsible for such pitiable state of dejection and despondency. Combinedly, it can be defined as a neuro-physiological state in which psychological factors play a vital role. Psychological science has verified and established that people tend to be more decisive, dexterous, healthy, optimistic, creative, motivated, social, trusting, loving, and caring when they are happy as compared to when they are in low spirits. Therefore, the mental state determines our behaviour too. So, is it that we can take charge of our mental state and, hence, our behaviour? Can we glide into the most dynamic, resourceful state at will – an energetic state with our mind alive in which we can be sure of success? For that, we will have to reflect upon the whole biology of the brain. The functions of the brain are performed by the parts of the limbic system capable of detecting the impulses of happiness and sadness. Each of our mental states, happy or sad, involves biological changes in our brain. Further, the type of biological variation in a specific state itself depends on the severity of the state. For instance, depending upon the depression levels of melancholic individuals, there is a variation in the features. In some, there is a decreased activity of a specific neurotransmitter, a molecule carrying a signal between nerve cells, while in others, there is an over-activity of a hormonal system. Thus, depression, otherwise erupting out of non-conduciveness, can be considered as an outcome of an elevated or the reduced levels of selected molecules in the blood.

Geneticists have succeeded in even providing some of the oldest proofs of biological components involved in sadness or the state of dejection. The involvement of biological or genetic components is clarified by the fact that manic depression frequently runs in families, as is vivid from the prevalence of depressive disorders among blood relatives, children, siblings, etc. of patients with severe depression or other mental disorders. In addition, there are other investigators who are concentrating on neuro-chemical aspects. Much of their work is focused on neurotransmitters. According to them, in many cases, depression is the outcome of disturbances in brain circuits that convey signals through certain neuro-transmitters of the monoamine class. These neuro-transmitters are the biochemicals, all derivatives of amino acids. Monoamines first drew the attention of depression-researchers in the 1950s. Early in that decade, physicians discovered that severe sadness arose in about 15% of patients who were treated for hypertension with the drug Reserpine; for, this agent depletes monoamines. At the same time, physicists discovered that an agent prescribed against tuberculosis elevated mood and spirit in the patients suffering from depression along with tuberculosis. Later on, the experiments revealed that the drug, in fact, inhibited the neuronal breakdown of monoamines by an enzyme, monoamine oxidase. It was then presumed that the agent eased depression by allowing monoamines to avoid degradation and remain active in brain circuits. This insight then led to the declaration and prevalence of monoamine oxidase inhibitor as the first class of antidepressants. However, the major point of concern is which monoamines are most important in regard to depression. In the 1960s, according to the Catecholamine Hypothesis of mood disorders, norepinephrine was identified as the feel good chemical. It was proposed that depression is the outcome of the deficiency of norepinephrine, also classified as catecholamine, in certain brain circuits. In addition, it was proposed that the overabundance of the same causes mania and, therefore, is again fatal. The proposed relationship between norepinephrine-depletion and depression gained much experimental support; nevertheless, subsequently, it was researched that it does not happen in everyone‘s case. The imbalance in norepinephrine is the cause of depression in just a few and not all. Then in 1990, research was conducted on serotonin. These investigations were based on the therapeutic success of the drug Prozac and related antidepressants capable of manipulating serotonin levels. Findings revealed that defects in serotonin-using circuits dampen norepinephrine signalling, for serotonin-producing neurons project from the raphe nuclei in the brain stem to the diverse regions of the CNS (Central Nervous System), including those regions that secrete or control the release of norepinephrine. Thus, serotonin-depletion might contribute to depression by affecting the neurons releasing other kinds of neurotransmitters. Moreover, serotonin-producing cells enter into many brain regions thought to participate in depressive symptoms; e.g., the amygdala – the area involved in emotions, the hypothalamus – the area involved in appetite, sleep, etc., and the cortical areas that participate in cognition and other higher processes. Thus, in short, it is the disturbed functioning of the brain circuit that leads to sadness. Our brain is a neurobiological system with the vital role played by the neurotransmitters. There are three chemicals in the brain that act as messengers of brain signals – serotonin, noradrenalin, and dopamine. Serotonin is responsible for making sure that our body‘s physiology is set for sleeping; noradrenalin sets our energy levels. Without enough noradrenalin, we feel exhausted and unmotivated. Dopamine propagates and runs the body‘s pleasure centre, allowing us to enjoy life. When stress interferes with our dopamine functioning, the pleasure centre becomes inoperative and the normal pleasure-filled activities

no longer impart any pleasure or joy. All these harmful effects and consequences prompt us to look for some solution out of this fatigue. Is there any clinical treatment available for this gloominess? The prevalent systems of medicine are helpless and poorly organised in this regard. In one way or the other, it is our negative thought pattern that is responsible for inflicting melancholy. As per our thought pattern, there are changes in our brain pattern, and it is our brain pattern that determines the type of biochemical reactions taking place in our body. Sadness, being the outcome of the malfunctioned biochemical reactions, is thus indirectly related to our thought pattern. However, our modern medicines fail to infuse the positivity required to overcome melancholy at our thought level. There has been no such medicine that can alter our thinking strategy. That‘s why emphasis has been made to anchor ourselves to spirituality, which can provide a comprehensive toolkit for mastering our mind and, hence, controlling our brain activity. By learning the strategy for mind control, this crippling neurophysiological state called sadness can be altered easily. There are certain neurobiological states that can empower us and the others that can leave us limp. These states can be easily managed like other health problems. One simply needs to change the internal representation from the negative to the positive one, producing more healthy results. Our medical world considers pain as a signal to heal something in the body. Unless you dress a particular wound, the pain will not be relieved. Likewise, sadness, melancholy, or dejection is a correction business. Do not mask it and escape from it; instead, try to find its cause, and heal it right from the root. The healing strategy for overcoming sadness involves the prime step of getting rid of negative thoughts and tendencies, which demands for an effective strategy that can exercise an alchemical effect on our thought patterns. And this strategy can be none other than the meditation based upon the Light of the Soul. It is only this protocol that exercises a transforming effect on our thoughts by re-channelling them towards Pure Consciousness, the embodiment of positivity, morality, and divinity. However, for the implementation of this strategy in our life pattern, first of all, we need to achieve True Knowledge –BrahmGyan, by the grace of a Perfect Spiritual Preceptor. ======================================================================

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL DIVINE LIGHT - His Holiness Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar

Experience is what causes change in a person. Someone has very aptly stated: ―No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or emotional appeal.‖ Opinions, facts, arguments, or emotional appeal do not produce changes in a person's behaviour or thoughts because the gate of change ―can only be opened from the inside.‖ Experience is the sole key to unlock the gate of change. Forinstance, do health warnings on cigarette cartons and bottles of alcohol really deter buyers from purchasing such detrimental items? No! The only way users stop from taking in such intoxicants is when their lungs, heart, liver, or any vital organ suffers. Hence, experiencing the injurious effects produces the necessary change.

St. John proclaims: ―God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.‖ 1 John 1:5. Seeing the divine light of God from within is the ultimate experience needed to transform a person into a self-recognised spiritual being. The direct experience of God is further spoken of in the book of Corinthians: ―For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of the darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.‖ Corinthians 4:6. Through the grace of the Christ-like Perfect Master, the doors to the inner world are opened and one begins to gaze at the visions present inside. We are familiar with only one reality - the external. But, we know so very little about what lies within, what God is waiting to show us. Saint Kabir has said, ―In this body lie lush gardens, in this body lies the Supreme, in this body lies the shimmering diamond necklace, and in this body lies my Perfect Master.‖ As a person with external vision can change his appearance to make it more appealing or can enhance his understanding of certain trades, professions, subjects through the use of his organs of sight (which feed information to the brain), likewise, an individual with internal vision, the divine eye, can change himself for the better. He can see himself in the effulgent light of God. Without such a vision, he would be handicapped and rendered unable to uplift himself from the doldrums and superficiality of material existence. Upon the opening of the divine eye, the first transformation that takes place is that one practically sees that he is spirit, not body. Swami Vivekananda illustrates this idea. He says, ―Here I stand and if I shut my eyes, and try to conceive my existence, 'I,' 'I,' 'I,' what is the idea before me? The idea of a body. Am I, then, nothing but a combination of material substances? The Vedas declare 'No.' I am a spirit living in a body. The body will die, but I shall not die.‖ Spiritual aspirants, when blessed with the grace of a Spiritual Master, have spontaneous visions of the immortal spirit through the Divine Eye, reinforcing the perennial fact that we are, in reality, the part and parcel of the Almighty, who resides within us as the luminous soul. Lord Krishna says in the Gita, ―Ishwarasarvabhootanaamhrdesharjuntishthti.‖ – ―O Arjuna! I am the Supreme, ever-shining in the chambers of all hearts!‖ During the course of meditation on the internal light, spiritual growth also takes place. Through diligent practice, a person begins to transform by sharpening his power of discrimination, rising above selfishness, pride, and falsity. He develops the ability to shake off envy, greed, attachment, etc. because he views life with a broader vision - seeing beyond the pettiness, egotism, and over-extensive passions of this world. Having the visions of light blessed by the Perfect Master is the first life-altering experience, as it eventually leads one to coming transformations. One should note that victories in moral behaviour without seeing the divine light of God are good, but small in comparison to the undivided bliss that one experiences when in communion with the light of the inner-world. That bliss creates a saint out of a sinner, as one realizes his own purity and strength and inspires others to fashion their life in righteousness as well. Most importantly, our transformation rests solely on our own shoulders. We bear the onus of self-growth. The divine light and the merciful hands of the Perfect Master give us the stamina and hope for refinement, but will should come from

us, as we are responsible for no one but our own selves. Swami Vivekananda puts it brilliantly: ―How will you behave if a little baby is put on your hands? Your whole life will be changed for a moment; whatever you may be, you must become selfless for a time being. You will give up all your criminal ideas as soon as responsibility is thrown upon you - your whole character will change. So if the whole responsibility is thrown upon our own shoulders, we shall be at our highest and best; when we have nobody to grope towards, no devil to lay or blame upon, no personal deity to carry our burdens; when we are alone responsible, then we shall rise to our highest and best. I am responsible for my fate, I am the bringer of good unto myself, I am the bringer of evil.‖

Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar has documented and helped countless number of cases of

hard-core criminals whohave attested to their changed behavior through Spiritual Knowledgeimpartedto them behind bars. Thousands of acquitted and released prisoners have laid anew foundation for themselves, and many have taken on the responsibility of keeping themselves on the track of righteousness and actively helping others to give up the life of crime. We too can produce important changes in our lives through the grace of the Perfect Master. Changing our perception from body to soul, from aggression to compassion, from ego-centricity to humility will enliven, enlarge, and enrich us as human beings. The experience of the divine light awaits us.