CHINMAYA MISSION SAN JOSE PUBLICATION

November/DecemberVol. 24, No.6

MISSION STATEMENT

To provide to individuals, from any background, the wisdom of Vedanta and practical means for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become a positive contributor to the society.

Chinmaya Lahari

By pursuing our daily duties in a spirit of selfless dedication, vasanas exhaust and consequently the intellect becomes purified of its disturbing desire eruptions (योगय$%तो 'वश$*दा-मा). When the intellect is quietened, mind automatically becomes calmer and so conquered ('विजता-मा). One in whom the desire gurglings are dried up, and one whose mind has discovered a salubrious climate of joyous peace in itself, in him the sense-organs are subdued. They no longer rush out seeking sense-gratifications (िज12दय).

When the intellect, mind and body become thus tamed, quietened and subdued, a strange joy, a holy sense of well-being, an all-full contentment and an unearthly satisfaction come to dance in the heart. Life becomes extremely enriched, well rewarded and unbelievably enlarged. The individual discovers in himself, all by himself, independent of everything else, a new kingdom of meaningful happiness—the State of Selfhood.

--Swami Chinmayananda

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CONTENTSV o l u m e 2 4 , N o . 6 N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3

From The Editors Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chinmaya Tej Editorial Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Status of Building Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Information is Not Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Finding the Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Philosophy of Old Age in Ramcharitmanas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Swami Chidananda on Self-Realisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

He Was No Dry Vedantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

A Combination of Intellectual Appeal and Emotional Fervor . . 16

What is Devotion to God? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Tommy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Meditation with Talks on Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Bala Vihar Locations & Choir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Bhakti Rasamrutam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

BalViHar Magazine - Gita Chanting Classes for Children . . . . 26

Tapovan Prasad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Scheme of Study for Chinmaya Study Groups . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Community Outreach program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Vedanta Study Groups Adult Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Satsangs with Br . Prabodh Chaitanya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Prabodhji's Classes at Bala Vihar Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Prabodhji's Classes at Sandeepany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Swami Tejomayananada’s Itinerary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

CHINMAYA TEJ EDITORIAL STAFFEDITOR Uma Jeyarasasingam / umakj@sbcglobal.net

CO-EDITOR Rohini Joshi

ELECTRONIC EDITORIAL ADVISOR Satish Joshi

CONTRIBUTORS Subbu Venkatkrishnan, Swami Tyagananda, Uma Jeyarasasingam, Swami Chinmayananda

DESIGN & LAYOUT four waters media, inc.

PRINTING PigMint Press, Redway, CA

DATA BASE Kapil Vaish

MAILING Autozip, Ukiah, CA

CONTACT www.chinmaya.org Ph: (650) 969-4389 Fax: (650)428-1795

FROM THE EDITORS DESKTej, is a bi-monthly publication of Chinmaya Mission San Jose. CMSJ is in the process of getting the necessary permits to build the New Facility.

The City of San Jose is studying the building drawings and when they are approved we shall begin the construction of our New Building.

We are happy to show you some elevation drawings of the projects. We invite you to visit the site when you can.

News and events update via e-newsletter on CMSJ web-site is serving our timely announcements. Please keep us updated with your e-mail addresses and send them to Cmsj-news@chinmaya.org

If you do not hear from us e-mail or Chinmaya Tej, please forward your address and e-mail to me indicated on this page.

Chinmaya Tej is also available for viewing on our website.

Chinmaya-Tej will be mailed to all Sponsors and Members of Chinmaya Mission San Jose. Send your subscription marked, Chinmaya-Tej, CMSJ, 1050 Park Ave., San Jose, CA 95126.

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Hari Om!

Chinmaya Vision — A Commitment to Excellence

As Bala Vihar enrollment and attendance at events grows, the Chinmaya vision - “to provide maximum happiness, to the maximum (number of) people, for the maximum time” - continues to inspire the entire Chinmaya Mission San Jose community. In the midst of increasing challenges, our commitment to excellence remains strong as ever. It is quite evident that the present Sandeepany San jose Facility is not adequate to support needs of our activities: Balavihar, Yajnas, Pujas & Festivals. Our need for a new facility emerges from this situation.

We started the New Building project on Maha Shivarathri in 2006 and acquired the property - an old church - on 10160 Clayton Road in San Jose, in January 2008 (2 buildings, ~11,000 sq. ft total, 1.7 acres) at a cost of $2.6M and are in the process of building a new ashram from the ground up on the property. Architectural plans for the new ashram have been approved by the City of San Jose and we have been in the process of construction after Permits were approved.

Current Status as of mid-March, 2014

Hari Om and Salutations to Chinmaya Family !!

As you all know, we had targeted the inauguration of our new facility at the end of March 2014. However, due to the recent weather conditions our building readiness has been impacted. Although this is expected to be only a minor delay, we are postponing the inauguration to a future date that will be announced later. Please ignore the advertisement in India Currents that calls out the inauguration at the end of March. We look forward to your continued support towards fully equipping our new building. Thank you for your patience and understanding..

Thank You and Warm Regards,

CMSJ Board of Directors

status new building

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Sensing that something is awry in the way physicians are trained, a common response of medical schools has been to provide students with more information, or with information with a slightly different focus — courses (often optional) in medical ethics, medical humanities, or medical history. But this strategy often makes no real difference, because information is being confused with transformation. The young protohealers are not hungry for more facts but for experiences that can help them connect with those deep psychological and spiritual urges that have manifested throughout history as a commitment to the healing arts.

The informational approach to solving problems in medical education is immensely seductive. It can also be deadly as Neil Postman, chair of the Department of Culture and Communications at New York University, puts it, we have created, a new problem never experienced before: information glut, information incoherence, information meaninglessness. … We have transformed information into a form of garbage, and ourselves into garbage collectors. Like the sorcerer’s apprentice, we are awash in information without even a broom to help us get rid of it. Information comes… at

INFORMATION ISNOT TRANSFORMATION

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high speeds, severed from import and meaning. And there is no loom to weave it all into fabric. No transcendent narratives to provide us with moral guidance, social purpose, intellectual economy. No stories to tell us what we need to know, and what we do not need to know.

If our medical schools are once again to produce healers, they will have to foster transformation of the inner life of the students who entrust themselves to the educational process. Postman suggests: “We will need to consult our poets, playwrights, artists, humorists, theologians, and philosophers, who alone are capable of creating or restoring those metaphors and stories that give point to our labors, give meaning to our history, elucidate the present, and give direction to our future.”

“Transformation” is a robust project, and we should not underestimate the magnitude of this task. “We’re asking a young physician to become a wise old person, and to do it in 4 years of medical school. That’s a lot.” observed the late molecular biologist and cancer researcher Helene Smith, who believed an infusion of shamanic knowledge into modern medicine would be a good thing. But becoming a wise healer has always been a difficult and lengthy undertaking, even for the shamans. In fact, it was by no means certain that the shaman would survive; the process of transformation sometimes ended in death.

I do not mean to suggest that our medical schools fail completely in their mission. Authentic healers do emerge from them, though not as commonly as they should, and often in spite of the educational process and not because of it. Neither do I wish to imply that the inadequacies we have been addressing are the sole fault of the schools themselves. Medical schools reflect the values of the society in which they exist. If something is amiss in them, the problem can usually be identified in the society as a whole as well. At the root of the problem lies the fact that we, as a culture, have turned our collective back on healing. We should not kid ourselves: we are all in this together, jointly entranced by a physicalistic approach to health and illness and dazzled by the promises of technology to right every conceivable misfire of the body. Against this backdrop, healers and healing have been shoved aside and very nearly forgotten, and we are paying the price. Ignoring the role of consciousness, soul, spirit, and meaning — stock items in the arsenal of authentic healers — we have birthed a malaise that permeates not just the healing profession but our entire society. The casualties have been not just healers and healing but the soul and spirit of a culture.

BY LARRY DOSSEY(from Mananam series, The Science of Sciences)

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Pandit Rakinar, an authority on the Ramcharitmanas, used to say that there is no situation in life which has occurred or will occur, that is not described in the Ramcharitmanas. There are many places in the Ramcharitmanas which describe old age and its philosophy. It will be useful to look at them in more detail in the present context. Today the elderly population is increasing and at the same time various factors like the daily structure, urbanization, migration, diminishing values of life, demographic changes are all affecting them adversely.

In the Ramcharitmanas the advice given by Lord Rama can be seen at many places. Some of them were meant for a particular person like Lakshmana, Vibhishana etc, and some meant for the public at large. Having ascended the throne of Ayodhya, he gave a sermon which was meant for all his subjects. He said that the human form is a rare gift which is earned after much tapas and good deeds in previous births. Therefore it should be made use of in the best way for fulfilling the ultimate goal of life. He poses the question, “What is this human body?” He says,

“Sadhan dhaam mochha kar dwara,” it is an abode for sadhana and it is the door to moksha or liberation. Whenever we construct a house or get one as a gift, we see if it has all the necessary amenities which we require. If it lacks something, we remodel it to suit our needs. Lord Rama says that this abode given to us by God is meant for sadhana (spiritual practices). Our body has not been made by us, it has been given to us by God. The Lord says that if we observe it carefully, we will see that it has been constructed in a particular way, and the structure itself gives an indication about its purpose. This body undergoes changes continuously. Modern medical science confirms this. The child grows into a youth and then becomes old and finally the body dies. This itself is an indicator. One who understands this message is benefited, one who ignores it is a loser.

There are certain characters in the Ramcharitmanas who have learnt lessons not only from the Rishis but also from their body. One of the most prominent in this category is Maharaj Manu. He ruled for a very long time over his kingdom. When he became old, a thought occurred to him — ‘I have lived dharma and preached dharma with this body of mine

Philosophy of Old Age I N R A M C H A R I T M A N A S

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in my younger age. Now this body has become old. What message is it conveying to me?’ His discriminative power being good, he thought that if God has given old age to us, there must be some purpose behind it. When we are young, our memory is strong, in adulthood we have bodily strength and in old age our thinking capacity and wisdom are in their zenith. What was to be done in youth and adulthood has been done, now is the time to use and enhance our discriminative power This is the message one should recognize in old age. Maharaj Manu accepted this message and responded to it.

Goswamiji writes that Manu’s heart was full of sorrow, thinking that his life had been wasted, since he had not achieved love for God. Sorrow is of two types, one is when we feel the paucity of things, and the other originates from right thinking The former leads to hopelessness whereas the latter gives us a direction in life. Maharaj Manu lacked nothing, he was a king with all comforts, a loving family and obedient subjects. His sorrow was born out of discrimination. He thought that life’s end was nearing and he had not been able to achieve salvation, the ultimate goal of life. This was the cause of his sorrow. Although he had been living a balanced life, he had not developed dispassion. He felt that he could at least make an effort to renounce worldly comforts. That is seen in our daily life also. When the doctor tells us to give up something for the sake of health we give it up. That does not mean we have developed dispassion for it. It is done out of necessity. One should give thought to the fact that one day we will have to give up everything. Why not do it now and make use of old age to achieve bhakti and salvation? Such thoughts came to Maharaj Manu and he decided to do penance. That is why Lord Rama had said that the very structure of this body gives a message about what is to be done in old age.

This body is an abode for penance and a gateway to salvation. If there is a house which has four walls, but no door, then it is a grave. If the house has a door, but it is always locked, then it is like a prison. Here the Lord says that it is a house, which has a door, which is the gateway to salvation. However if we do not search and find this door, then we will find ourselves enclosed from all the four sides. This is what Goswamiji says in his couplet,

Phirat sada maye kar prera Kaal karma swabhav guna shera

7.43.5

We are bound by four things, namely, time, duties (actions), our nature and the three gunas. Is there a way out of this? Lord Rama says, “Yes, there is a door.” The door is our renunciation of the identification with the body. If

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we consider this body to be ‘me’, then we are bound by the above four. To drop this identification, we should use this body to do sadhana. Thus we see that Maharaj Manu, having observed the body in old age, got the right message, which he followed diligently.

Maharaj Dasharath was another person who used his discrimination in old age. One day, he saw a few white hairs near his ears, in the mirror. He thought that whenever someone comes close to the ears, it is to give some message. The message was, “Maharaj, you have had this crown on your head for many years, now the time has come for you to put this royal crown on Sri Ramachandraji’s head.”

The majority of us consider old age as a calamity, but if in old age our power of discrimination is intact and remembrance of the Lord is there, then it is fine. If we understand this well, then all the infirmities and shortcomings of old age become insignificant. Such a person never considers old age as a disability. If God so desired, he could have given us youth throughout life and no old age, but he did not do so. This means that there is a purpose behind our old age. It tells us to drop all that we have been doing so far and to concentrate on the presence of God. Maharaj Manu and Maharaj Dasharath gave due thought to this message.

Goswami Tulsidasji’s life too gives us a message about the purpose of old age. The bodily changes in old age, like the greying of hair, diminished vision and hearing power, difficulty in walking, are natural processes. They themselves are no problem, but the way we look at them poses problems.

Goswamiji had a very long life. It is said that he lived till the age of 128 years. In his old age he could not hear or see properly. He had difficulty in walking. His disciples humbly requested Goswamiji to permit them to bring some good vaidya (physician) to treat his ailments. Goswamiji reluctantly agreed, but told his disciples that first of all they should know what he wanted from the vaidya, He said, “If the vaidya finds that my hearing capacity has decreased, tell him that I do not want to increase it. At this age I do not consider loss of hearing as a disability. It may be so for those who want to hear worldly gossip, praising some and insulting others. For me it is a boon, since now I shall be able to hear the inner voice for which these ears are not required. If the vaidya finds my vision diminishing, then tell him that I do not want it to improve. I have seen enough of this world. Now the vision that I want to have (i.e. God Realisation) does not need these eyes. So you must bring to me such a vaidya who need not be concerned about my sense organs’ incapacity. What he should be able to diagnose is whether at this ripe age my love for

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the Lord is diminishing or not. If he finds that my devotion and love for the Lord is diminishing, then if he has some medicine which will increase it, he should give it to me.”

If one gives deep thought to old age and its accompanying disabilities, one does come to the conclusion that there may be some physical disabilities in old age, which we may consider as incapacitating, but there are certain gains also. One should ponder over the benefits to be gained in old age, and use it creatively for self-improvement.

Once, someone posed a question to Goswamiji, “Your age is advancing. What are you doing to prepare for it?” Goswamiji gave the answer in a couplet of Kavitåvali. He said, “When Yamaraj will come to take me away, binding me with his tong ropes, neither father not mother, master or friend, son or brother, will share my fate. There shall be none to hear my wailing in this pitiable condition There is one and only one, the son of Dasharatha, who will mercifully save me.”

There is another character in the Ramcharitmanas, Ravana, who had a very different view of old age. He considered the elderly as useless dullards. Many in the society have this view of old age. The word ‘old’ carries a negative image. This was Ravana’s attitude to old age. He considered Jambavan as very old and useless as seen in the couplet — Jambvant mantra ati boodha. In his conversation with Angada, he calls Lord Brahma an old dullard. A person who considers Lord Brahma as unintelligent since he is old, cannot be considered a wise person.

Thus we see two opposite views on old age. Manu Maharaj and King Dasharatha consider old age as giving out a gospel, whereas Ravana ridicules it, forgetting that he himself has reached that age.

Pujya Swami Shankarananda has included the views of Manu and Dahsharath Maharaj as the basis for the orientation camp syllabus for 50+ age group being propagated by the Central Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan and the University for Third Age of Chinmaya Mission Reva. This is a very fundamental point which enables the elderly to have a spiritual view of old age.

BY SAJJAN SINGH(from Tapovan Prasad, Oct 2003)

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from Tapovan Prasad, Nov 2003

QA

QASwami Chidananda on Self-Realisation“Hey, I’m in nirvana!” We all talk like this when we feel good. But what is it like to actually attain nirvana, otherwise known as moksha or Self-realisation? How does the world appear to such an exalted

human being? Does one acquire supernatural powers?

There are few people in India more qualified to answer such questions than Swami Chidananda, the President of the Divine Life Society and the successor

of the illustrious Swami Sivananda. Swami Chidananda is a soft-spoken, kindly man with sparkling eyes. He is deeply revered by hundreds of

thousands of people in India and around the world, who recognize his saintliness, selfless service and great humility.

On March 25, 2000, Jujhar Singh met this great saint at ‘Guru Niwas’ in Rishikesh for a two-hour interview on the theme of Self-realisation.

Parts of the interview were published in The Times of India and in First City magazine earlier this year.

This is the first part of the interview. The second part will be published next month.

Q. Vedanta philosophy clearly states that the goal of life is to attain the state of Self-realisation. What is this state and why is this the goal of life?

A. The Vedic rishis found that everything in the world that blooms is also subject to ultimate decay and dissolution. So they wondered — are we, human beings, endowed with intelligence just to live a brief life span and then pass away? They reasoned that life cannot be devoid of some higher purpose, especially when we are the only species of living beings who have the ability to think and reflect.

After generations of investigations and after having raised their consciousness to a very subtle level, they came to the Truth through direct experience. They declared that beneath this mortal body seen by the world of man is an immortal spirit unseen by the world of man.

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And that Eternal in the non-eternal body, that Imperishable in the perishable body is actually part of a vast, infinite, eternal, beginningless, endless, cosmic Spirit. Timeless, beginningless and endless. It exists. It does not exist as an inert piece. It is Consciousness. Very much aware that it exists. It knows — I exist. So it is conscious existence. Existence is sat. Consciousness is chit. So it is sat chit.

And in that state of pure sat chit (Existence — Consciousness), many are the imperfect, negative experiences man is subject to once he is born in this mortal world — heat and cold, pleasure and pain, loss and gain, honor and dishonor. All these things assail man. But all these travails that man is subject to in this mortal world have no access to that lofty, sublime, transcendental realm, where abides only peace and bliss. There is ananda in that sat chit. So it is sat-chit-ananda. That is the nearest way you could define or describe that state of eternal Existence, which is also referred to as Brahman. And to realize and enter this state is called Self-realisation.

Self-realisation is the goal of life because in that state there are no sorrows. Once you discover that you are the infinite, imperishable, eternal reality — you are liberated from all sorrow. In that state, there is only pure and permanent bliss and joy. Isn’t that the goal of each and every one of us?

Q. But there is joy in this mortal world too?

A. Yes, but it is neither pure nor permanent. If a thing is capable of giving you a pleasurable sensation that same thing is capable of giving you a painful sensation also. A man marries — he’s in seventh heaven. Then if she runs off with someone else, or she dies, then he plunges into sorrow. This happens because the world is imperfect and man is imperfect. In one sloka in the Geeta, the advice is that pleasure is the worm of pain. In seeking pleasure, you have already created your pain.

Thus, pleasure in worldly objects and people is neither pure nor permanent. If you want real, continuous happiness that does not change or end — then rise above petty desires and seek the ultimate Reality. There is supreme Bliss, supreme satisfaction in it — an indescribable joy and peace.

So make use of this life. It is a golden opportunity. While fulfilling your duties here, be a seeker of the Truth, seeker of Brahman. Seek

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QA

Self-realisation. In the word ‘Self-realisation’, ‘Self’ does not mean your little self. It means your supreme Self. This is why Self is written with a big ’S’. Know your real Self.

Your mortal body is only a vehicle given to you to function upon this earth. But you are distinct from it. You are an immortal part of divinity. And when that is realised, one realizes that I am aware, one with that limitless ocean of sat-chit-ananda. I’m a little wave, but I’m part of the ocean. There’s no difference between the wave and the ocean. The wave may appear separate because it has a size and a form. But that is momentary and then it goes back into the ocean. From the ocean it arises, for a moment it exists, and then it goes back into the ocean.

So make use of this life. It is a golden opportunity. While fulfilling your duties here, be a seeker of the Truth, seeker of Brahman. Seek Self-realisation. In the word ‘Self-realisation’, ‘Self’ does not mean your little self. It means your supreme Self. This is why Self is written with a big ’S’. Know your real Self.

Q. How does the world appear to such a Self-realised person?

A. The world appears just as it is. But he realizes that the fabric of the world is not what he thought it was before. He realizes that it is nothing but the Brahman principle.

Q And how does his own body and mind appear to him?

A. Same thing. He sees it as part of Brahman. He is completely objective.

Q. Is Self-realisation within the reach of every human being?

It is the birthright of every human being. Because he has been born as a human being. It is not within the reach of any other creature in creation. The moment you reach that status of a human being the goal of Self-realisation becomes open.

Q. At any given time, roughly how many Self-realised people do you think there are in the world?

A. It is impossible to say.

Q. Roughly?

A. You see, from your relative point of view, these powers are something special, something very fascinating. But from the Self-realised person’s point of view, they mean nothing. They are a natural part of him. I

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QA

have got five fingers. I don’t crow about it — “I’ve got five fingers! I’ve got five fingers!” These supernatural powers are as natural to the supreme being as having five fingers.

Theoretically, of course, Self-realised people have all powers. There is nothing that they cannot do. But they are generally not interested in doing all these things because they know the whole world is a myth, a dream. From myth, they have been awakened. So why would they be interested in doing anything in a dream world? You see, when a person has dreamt a number of dreams one night and woken up in the morning — what value has the dream got for him? Similarly, once the Self-realised person has woken up to the supreme Reality, this mortal world is a dream, a myth.

Q. But looking at it from our point of view — if a Self-realised person has all powers, why can’t he use those powers to solve all the problems in the world?

Why should he solve all the problems in a world that does not exist in his state of Consciousness?

Q. No but from the human being’s stand point?

A. But he is in that standpoint. You are referring him to a world to which he would say —where is this world where you want me to solve the problems?

Okay, if you oblige him to come to your state of Consciousness and ask him this question, he will say that the world is God’s creation. It has been here thousands of years before I came here and He has been looking after the world in His own way and the world has been going on. And if I leave the scene tomorrow and go away, the world will continue to go on. My being there or not being there will not even be noticed.

See, if somebody gets diarrhea the doctor says,, “I won’t give you any medicine because some inedible things have gone into your intestines and so nature is flushing your system clean. So let us not come in the way of nature. Just eat light things and don’t come back to a normal diet until your system has come back to its normal state”. You see, the point is that you see things in a fragmentary, segmented way — but He sees the whole thing.

Q. Can a Self-realised person change another person’s destiny?

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QAA. He can mitigate another’s destiny. But he will not change it because

that destiny has been ordained by God and the Self-realised person has no interest in contradicting God. He would rather try to be in harmony with God.

Q. How does he mitigate another person’s destiny? What is this power to mitigate?

A. Read the life of Shirdi Sai Baba. He had an ardent devotee who had completely surrendered at Shirdi Sai Baba’s feet. But due to some past karma, the devotee was destined to be executed by impalement with a spear-like object. But this man had completely transformed himself. So one day when this man went into the fields, a very shark thorn went very deeply into his foot. He suffered terrible, agonizing pain and became unconscious. Half of the thorn in fact broke inside and other people had to put a sharp instrument inside to remove the thorn. The man underwent terrible agony. But by going through this, he was saved from the impalement that was due to him. His destiny had been mitigated.

Q. How does one recognize a Self-realised person?

A. When you are beside a Self-realised person — no matter how bothered, troubled or worried you are — you will, for the time being, experience peace. Your mind will be serene and it will be directed towards the person before whom you are sitting and not towards the other people who may also be sitting there.

Q. So in general, how do Self-realised people benefit the world?

A. A lot. They are fragrance where there is bad odor. Vibrations of goodwill emanate from them because Self-realised people have nothing in their heart except that all should be happy, all should be free from suffering. Day after day, they wish the well-being of all living creatures. That is the only thing they have in them — they have no other desire. This thought and this feeling goes out in waves from them all over the world. And thoughts sent to someone can disturb the mind of the person to whom they are sent. In the same way, thoughts of cosmic love and peace have the effect of mitigating the sorrow, suffering and negative thought currents in the world.

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He Was No Dry VedanticHe is verily Tapovanam, but not wild Vanam or jungle grown with rough growth of dry austerity and cynical seclusion. He is rather an Upavanam full of fragrance of the flowering of Vedanta and filled with the fruits of his mature realisation. It is an Upavanam wherein countless bees in the form of seekers, Sadhaks and Sannyasins crowd to drink of the honey of true wisdom. Simultaneously, with his great Vedantic experience, he is yet mellow with Parā Bhakti. He is a Bhakta-gyāni. He never divorces Bhakti from Gyāna. His Sanskrit books “SAUMYA KASISA STOTRAM” “BADAREESA STOTRAM” and others are all best examples of this. He always emphasizes that Abheda Bhakti is conducive to the attainment of Gyāna. Thus he combines in himself all the highest elements of Adhyātmic life and the Nivritti Mārga.

During a visit to Ananda Kutir, he was filled with immense bliss to witness the devout worship of Viswanatha and Murti Manohar at the Mandir. He was thrilled to hear the chanting of the Vedic Mantras and the Vedokta Pushpanjali. After finishing Parikrama, his face wreathed in joyous smiles, he smilingly spoke to the Brahmachari doing the worship and expressed his keen appreciation and great happiness at the devout conduct of the divine puja. Being no dry Vedantin, he may therefore be rightly likened to an Upavanam full of blossoms and fruits. No doubt, no seeker can go to him but will return with his spiritual hunger fully appeased. It may truly be said that Swami Tapovanam is a divine Upavanam.SWAMI SIVANANDA

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SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA

To a man of emotion, prayer and surrender at the feet of the Lord of his heart is indeed an effective method of saving himself; but to one who has no such ardent devotion but is sincerely pursuing the path of discussion, reflection, understanding and meditation, the method of surrender in devotion is of no practical use. And yet I had found in the HYMN TO BADRINATH, the required emotional fervor as well as the desired intellectual appeal to boost up the morale of the higher in me that sought restlessly a nameless consummation…

Devotion is a love-play between the devotee’s heart and the Supreme Divine. As such, any amount of descriptions will not convey the depth of the emotion of devotion. Therefore, Sri Swamiji himself dramatises the emotions of love in a hundred different moods, and each of his moods is so perfectly expressed (in his SRI GANGA STOTRAM) that it cannot but deeply influence and move the reader, if he has at least a trace of devotion already in him for his glorious river of sacred associations, both historical and cultural.

intellectual appeal

emotional fervor

A combination of

&

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Love of God is the highest and the best means to man’s happiness here and hereafter. That is why the man afflicted with sorrows the man of curiosity, the man who desires wealth and the man of right knowledge turn to Him…Narada and other advocates of Bhakti marga prefer it to the other three ways — “Karma, Dhyāna and Jnāna” — as the easiest and the best. They have dealt elaborately with the method of Bhakti or devotion. Their view has been borne out by actual experience. The practice of Bhakti requires no material wealth like cow and gold, no stupendous effort to control the activity of the mind, no exceptional powers of discrimination. Without a touch of devotion, all the three other methods become dry, dull, insipid and vain. Bhakti alone is charming. Love of worldly pleasures is charming too, but it is fleeting like the lightning and it is the root of sorrow and so it is to be avoided. On the contrary, love of God is untouched by sorrow; it is eternal and of the nature of bliss and so to the seekers of Liberation, it is most desirable and acceptable.

The man who takes refuge in God with faith and devotion is never cast out of the path of earthly joy or Liberation. Intoxicated with Divine love he loses consciousness of external and internal suffering, because in him there is no identification that is at the root of all human suffering. Besides, both earthly and heavenly prosperity have the same source. Taking shelter in God is, therefore, the best means to either of these ends. This throwing oneself completely on the protection of God with full faith is what is called devotion to God.

SWAMI TAPOVANAM& ISWARA DARSHAN

In the words of Swami Tapovanam

WHAT IS DEVOTION TO GOD?

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About fifteen years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in Theology of Faith.

That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He had not combed his long flaxen hair, which

hung six inches below his shoulders. It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just

coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it isn’t what’s on your head but in it that counts, but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed

Tommy under “S” for strange…very strange.

Tommy turned out to be the “atheist in residence” in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father-God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times a serious pain in the back pew. When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in slightly cynical tone, “Do you think I’ll ever find God?” I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. “No!” I said very emphatically. “Oh,” he responded, “I thought that was the product you were pushing.” I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then called out, “Tommy, I don’t think you’ll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!” He shrugged a little and left my class and my life (temporarily). I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line. “He will find you!” At least I thought it was clever.

Tommy

BY FATHER JOHN POWELL(Reproduced from Devotion: Loving God, Mananam series)

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Later I heard that Tom was graduated and I was duly grateful. Then a sad report. I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. His body was badly wasted, and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy. But his eyes were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I think.

“Tommy, I’ve thought about you so often. I hear you are sick!” I blurted out.

“Oh yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It’s a matter of weeks.”

“Can you talk about it, Tom?”

“Sure, what would you like to know?”

“What’s it like to be only twenty-four and dying?”

“Well, it could be worse.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real biggies in life.”

I began to look through my mental file cabinet under “S” where I had filed Tom as strange. (I swear that everybody I try to reject by classification as ‘odd’ is sent back into my life to educate me.)

OPENING TO LOVE

“But what I really came to you about,” Tom said, “is something you said to me on the last day of class.” (He remembered.)

He continued, “I asked you if you thought I would ever find God and you said, ‘No!’ which surprised me. Then you said, ‘But he will find you.’ I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time. (My clever line. He thought about that a lot!)

“But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, then I got serious about locating God. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven. But God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try anything for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted, fed up with trying. And then you quit. Well one day I woke up, and instead

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of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be there, I just quit. I decided that I didn’t really care….about God, about an afterlife, or anything like that.

“I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class and I remembered something else you had said, ‘The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.’

“So I began with the hardest one — my dad. He was reading a newspaper when I approached him.

‘Dad.’

‘Yes, what?’ He asked without lowering the newspaper.

‘Dad, I would like to talk with you.’

‘Well, talk.’

‘I mean it’s really important.’

The newspaper came down three slow inches, ‘What is it?’

‘Dad, I love you. I just wanted you to know that.”

Tom smiled at me and said with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him. “The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me. And we talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me.

“It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years. I was only sorry about one thing — that I had waited so long. Here I was, in the shadow of death, and I was just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.

“Then, one day I turned around and God was there. He didn’t come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop, ‘C’mon, jump through. C’mon, I’ll give you three

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days, three weeks.’ Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour.

“But the important thing is that He was there. He found me. You were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him.”

“Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing, it wouldn’t be half as effective as if you were to tell them.”

“Oh, I was ready for you, but I don’t know if I’m ready for your class.”

“Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call.”

In a few days Tommy called, said he was ready for the class, that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date. However, he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with my class and me. Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more beautiful than the human eye has ever seen or the human ear has ever heard or the human mind has ever imagined.

Before he died, we talked one last time. “I’m not going to make it to your class,’ he said.

“I know Tom.”

“Will you tell them for me? Will you tell the whole world for me?”

“I will, Tom. I’ll tell them. I’ll do my best.”

So, to all of you who have been kind enough to hear this simple statement about love thank you for listening. And to you Tom, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven, I told them, Tommy, as best I could.

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Saturday / 6:30-8:00am / Sandeepany Ashram Guided Meditation & Mandukya Upanishad Brahman is the only Reality. Nothing else is real. All the Universe, consisting of the evershining Sunday, moon and stars, is a dream - a long, long dream. How can this everlasting Universe perceived in the waking state be a dream? In the great Mandukya Karika, the illustrious Seer and Acharya, Sri Gaudapada tries to answer this question. The Karikas explain clearly and proves with various inferences and logic that this Universe is nothing but a dream.

Saturday / 1:30pm-3pm / Fremont BV Location Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 6, Yoga of Meditation The Lord teaches the path of meditation by which one can attain the highest possibilities in life. To a true seeker, a thorough study of this chapter is sufficient direction and guidance to attain the highest through meditation.

Saturday / 4:30pm-6pm / San Ramone BV Location Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 2, Yoga of Knowledge Chapter two of the Gita titled Sankhya Yoga is essentially a summary of entire Bhagavad Gita wherein three main topics are covered: Knowledge of Self, Preparation required for gaining Self Knowledge and Characteristics of Man of Realization.

Sunday / 9am-10am / San Jose BV Location Bhagavad Gita - Ch. 16: Yoga of Divine and Devilish Qualities. This chapter elaborates on the two different types of personalities that covers all of beings: jivas with Daivi sampatti and jivas with Asuri and Rakshasi sampatti. The main theme of this chapter is to address the concerns of a seeker as to what qualities to adopt (divine) and what qualities to give up (devilish, or not so divine).

Sunday / 10:30-11:30am / San Jose BV Location Discourses on Atma Bodha. Bhagavan Shankaracharyaji expounds on the nature of the Self and the means to attain realiSaturdayion whereby one can be free from the cycle of birth and death.

Monday / 10am-11:30am / Sandeepany Ashram Discourses on Sri Ramacaritamanas of Sri Goswami Tulasidas. One of the most popular texts of Hindu Philosophy is the Ramayana wherein we learn about the life, trials and tribulations of the Lord, Sri Rama and His Beloved Consort Sita. Dive deep into the manasa lake of exploits of Lord Rama and discover your true Lord within.

Chinmaya Miss ion San Jose — 2013 Class Schedule

ALL CLASSES AND MEDITATION SESSIONS ARE FREE

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SANDEEPANY ASHRAM 1050 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126

SAN JOSE BV LOCATION Lincoln High School, 555 Dana Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126

FREMONT BV LOCATION Washington High School, 38442 Fremont Blvd .,Fremont, CA 94536

SAN RAMON BV LOCATION California High School, 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon, CA 94583

HOME SATSANG WITH BR. PRABODH CHAITANYA1st Friday of each month / 8pm - 9pm

TEXT: Sat DarshanamKirtida and Kamlesh Ruparel’s Residence 20668 Seaton Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070 / Ph: 408-867-9550

2nd Friday of each month TEXT: Chandogya Upanishad, Ch 6

Geetha & Sanjay Rao’s Residence 22314 Cupertino Road, Cupertino, CA 95014 / Ph: 408-863-0595

3rd Friday of each month TEXT: Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2

Sweta & Jnana Dash’s Residence 6789 Glenview Drive, San Jose, CA 95120 / Ph: 408-268-5056

Please visit www.chinmaya-sanjose.org for more information.

Wednesday / 10am-11:30am / Sandeepany Ashram Kathopanishad: Dialogue with Death revealing the Truth about the Self. Nachiketa deMondaystrates the qualifications of an ideal student and his dispassion for the world which makes him fit for the Self Knowledge. Lecture follow Wednesday by guided meditation.

Tuesday & Thursday / 6:30am-7:30am / Sandeepany Ashram Brahma Sutra: Brahma Sutras constitute the central text of Vedanta Philosophy. The Vedanta doctrines enshrined in the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, etc. are summarized in the Brahma Sutras. These are also known as Vedanta Sutras, the Sutras that give exposition of Brahman as revealed by the Vedas.

Tuesday & Thursday / 7:30pm-8:30pm / Sandeepany Ashram The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the greatest of the Upanishads by its size as well as substance. The six chapters are divided into three kandas which deal with upadesha, upapathi or exposition and meditation.

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SHIVA ABHISHEKA & PUJA AT SANDEEPANY SAN JOSECONDUCTED BY MISSION MEMBERS

Time: 7:30-8:30 pm / Every 2nd Monday of the month

BALA VIHAR LOCATIONS 2012-2013FREMONT WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL

38442, Fremont Blvd. Saturdays: 1:30 pm Contact: Lakshmi Prakash / (510) 490-1266

SAN JOSE LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL555 Dana Avenue, San Jose Sunday: Session I-9:00am, Session II-10:30am, Session III-11:45 am Contact: Uma / (650) 969-4389

SAN RAMON CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL9870 Broadmoor Drive/San Ramon, CA 94583 Saturdays: 4:30 pm Contact: Meena Kapadia / (925) 680-7037

Those who are interested in joining the choir as a vocalist or musicians please be in touch with the contact for each event.

SAN JOSEChoir sessions are held every alternate Sundays between 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. VENUE: Sandeepany / San Jose TEACHERS: Prema Sriram, Jaya Krishnan CONTACT: Prema Sriram: NANSUK@aol.com

SAN RAMONChoir sessions are held once every two weeks, Saturdays at 2:00pm - 3:00pm VENUE: California High School 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon, CA 94583 TEACHER: Shailaja Dixit CONTACT: Shailaja at (925) 309-4837

FREMONTChoir is held weekly on Saturdays, 12 noon - 1:00 pm VENUE: Washington High School / Fremont TEACHERS: Natana Valiveti and Rajashri Iyengar CONTACT: Natana at natana@yahoo.com

SWARANJALI YOUTH CHOIR

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Swaranjali, Chinmaya Youth Choir, has produced 10 CDs containing 100 Bhajans, glorifying the Lord in many Indian Languages. The Bhajans

are rendered by 15 students of Swaranjali, with devotion, an offering to the Lord as their contribution to the New Building Project.

Choir participants who sang on the Bhaktirasamrutam album were trained by Prema Sriram, Jaya Krishnan and Jayshree Ramkumar. The CD

is entitled, Bhakti Rasamrutam, the sweet essence of Devotion. All details on this CD are posted on our web-site, chinmaya-sanjose.org.

This is a rare gift which is very inspirational and uplifting.

The proceeds from the CDs will add to our Fund-raising efforts. Thanks to all who contributed their time and talents to the production of the CD.

Bhakti Rasamrutam(The sweet essence of Devotion)

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Kids' Own Magazine...BalViHar

Parents...This is a monthly magazine published by Central Chinmaya Mission, Mumbai for Children. It is packed with stories, puzzles, arts and craft ideas, children’s contributions of essays, riddles, games, and much more. You can subscribe to it directly. The annual subscription is

$30 and you will receive it monthly by air. We suggest that you subscribe in your child’s name so your child will have the pleasure of receiving his or her own magazine from India.

Make your checks payable to Central Chinmaya Mission Trust and mail it to: Central Chinmaya Mission Trust

Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Saki Vihar Road, Mumbai 400 072, India

GITA CHANTING CLASSES FOR CHILDRENBY MALLIKA SUBRAMANIAN

San Jose: Lincoln High School / Every Sunday Contact: (408) 245-4915

Fremont: Washington High School / Every Saturday Contact: (510) 490-1266

San Ramon: California High School Every Saturday (3:15pm - 4:15pm)

Contact: (510) 490-1266

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A MONTHLY SPIRITUAL OF CHINMAYA MISSION

WORLDWIDE

Published by Chinmaya Chinmaya Mission Worldwide

It is Internationally acclaimed Publication filled with articles

and reports that are inspiring and educational.

Hindus living all over the world keep in touch with their spiritual

heritage through Tapovan Prasad.Annual Subscription by Airmail:

US $25 (12 issues)Make checks payable to

Tapovan Prasad, and mail to Chinmaya Mission

No.2, 13th Ave., Harrington Rd, Chetput, Chennai, 600 031, India

Our thanks to all our Sponsor families who have continued to support us for many years and to all Member

families who have found our programs to benefit their children thereby supporting us. We have room for more

Sponsors and Members. Please invite your friends to join the larger Chinmaya Family of the Bay Area.

CMSJ SPONSORSHIP . . . . . . . . . . Annual Contribution $500

CMSJ MEMBERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . Annual Contribution $200

Chinmaya - Tej . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annual CT Sponsors $300

Chinmaya - Tej . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annual Subscription $50(Receive Chinmaya-Tej only)

TAPOVAN PRASAD

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1 . Self Unfoldment 2 . Tattva bodh 3 . Bhaja Govindam 4 . Atma bodh 5 . Manah Shodhanam 6 . Upadesa Saram 7 . Narada Bhakti Sutra 8 . Meditation and Life 9 . Bhagavad Gita Introduction – Ch .1 & 2 10 . Jnanasarah 11 . Kenopanishad 12 . Gita, Ch . 3 – 6 13 . Dyanaswaroopam 14 . Kaivalya Upanishad 15 . Gita, Ch . 7 – 9 16 . Isavasya Upanishad 17 . Gita, Ch . 10 – 12 18 . Bhakti Sudha 19 . Gita, Ch . 13 – 15 20 . Mundaka Upanishad 21 . Gita, Ch . 16 – 18 22 . Sat Darshan23 . Vivekachoodamani

Vedanta Study Groups held in the Bay Area are listed in this issue of Chinmaya Tej and you may contact them if you wish to join a Study Group.

C H I N M A Y ASTUDY GROUPS

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SAN JOSEAre You Willing to Volunteer or Just Sponsor the Program?

If yes, please call Krishna Bhamre: (408) 733-4612 or e-mail sbhamre@yahoo.com

We need VOLUNTEERS for preparing and serving Hot Meals for the Homeless. Lunch bags are prepared at

Los Altos Community Center. All Youth volunteers are required to sign up with Krishna Bhamre.

Meals For The Homeless Program: Served at San Jose’s Emergency Housing Consortium at Orchard Drive off

Curtner Avenue (Adult & Youth Volunteers & Sponsors).

FREMONTFremont BV sponsors Sandwiches For The Needy.

On the 2nd Saturday/Washington High School in Fremont.Parents of Bala Vihar and the kids prepare 70 Sandwiches,

bag them and provide chips, fruit and juice. The Sandwiches are delivered to the Tricity Homeless

Coalition, where they are served to adults and children.The Shelter is located on 588 Brown Road, Fremont, CAIn addition, last Christmas, Fremont Bala Vihar donated new blankets, sweaters, sweat shirts, and infant warm

clothes etc. to the homeless at the shelter.

C H I N M A Y A M I S S I O N S A N J O S E

Community Outreach Program

Seva Oppor tunit ies

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VEDANTA STUDY GROUPSA D U LT S E SS I O N S

Concord: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 8 Sevak: Vipin KapadiaContact: Meena Kapadia (925) 680-7037 Time: 7:30 pm ( Wed .)

Cupertino: Questions and Answers Sevak: Ram MohanContact: Ram Mohan (408-255-4431) Time: 7:30pm (Thurs)

Evergreen: Self Unfoldment Sevika: Venkatesh SrinivasanContact: Bipin Thakkar, (408) 274-7575 Time: 10:30 am (Thurs .)

Fremont: Atma Bodha Sevika: Lakshmi PrakashContact: Hetal Hansoty (510) 707-1788 Time: 6:30 am (Sun .)

Fremont: Atma Bodha Sevak: Lakshmy PrakashContact: Hetal Hansoty (510-707-1788) Time: 6:30 a .m . (Sun)

Fremont (WHS): Sadhana Panchakam Sevak: Lakshmy Prakash Time: 3:15 - 4:15 pm (Bala Vihar Time)

Fremont: Jnana Sarah Sevika: Priya BathejaContact: Priya Batheja (510) 490-1926 Time: 6:30 am (Sun .)

Los Altos: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 3 Sevika: Uma JeyarasasingamContact: Ruchita Parat (650) 858-1209 Time: 7:30 pm (Thurs .)

Los Gatos Jnanasarah Sevak: Sandeep TiwariContact: Sandeep Tiwari (408 234-7815 Time: 8:00 pm (Fri .)

Satsangs with Br. Prabodh ChaitanyaAll events are from: 8:00-9:00pm

1st Friday of each month: Kirtida & Kamalesh N. Ruparell

Text: ABC’s of Vedanta • Ph: (408) 867-9550

2nd Friday of each month: Geetha & Sanjay Rao

Text: Srimad Bhagavatam - Kapil Gita • Ph: (408) 863-0595

3rd Friday of each month: Sweta & Jnan Ranjan Dash, Almaden

Text: Aparokshanubhooti • Ph: (408) 268-5056

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Milpitas: Vivekachudamani Sevak: Uma JeyarasasingamContact: Suma Venkatesh (408) 263-2961 Time: 7:30 pm (Tues)

Mountain House: Tattva Bodha Sevika: Padmaja JoshiContact: Padmaja Joshi (209) 830-1295 Time: 9:00 a .m . (Sun)

Redwood City: Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 7 Sevak: Jayarami ReddyContact: Sunil Jeswani (650) 364-1074 Time: 7:30 pm (Fri .)

San Ramon: Bhagavad Gita Ch 9 Sevika: Bela PandyaContact: Sireesha Balabadra (925) 804-6102 Time: 7:00 pm (Wed .)

San Ramon Cal Hi: Bhagavad Gita Ch 4 Sevak: Meena KapadiaContact: Meena Kapadia (925-680-7037 Time: 3:15 pm (Sat)

San Ramon: Kathopanishad Sevak: Padmaja JoshiContact: Lakshmy Prakash Time: 5 pm (Sun .) (510) 797-1788 Skype(ID:Padmapatra)

Saratoga: Bhaja Govindam Sevika: Kalpana JaswaContact: Kalpana Jaswa (408) 741-4920 Time: 10:30 am (Thurs .)

West San Jose: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 6 Sevak: Krishna Kumari ReddyContact: Krishna Kumari Reddy (408) 806-2876 Time: 8:00 am (Wed .)

Walnut Creek: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 Sevak: Vipin KapadiaContact: Rakesh Bhutani (925) 933-2650 Time: 9:30 am (Sun .)

A l l c l a ss e s h e l d w e e k l y u n l e ss o t h e r w i s e s t a t e d

Prabodhji's Classes at SandeepanyMondays: 10-11:30 am Sri Ramacaritamanas

Wednesdays: 10-11:45 am Kenopanishad (followed by Sanskrit class)

Tuesdays & Thursdays: 6:30-7:30 am Brahma Sutra Tuesdays & Thursdays: 7:30-8:30 pm Brhadaranyaka Upanishad

Saturdays: 6:30-8:30 am. Guided Meditation and Mandukya Upanishad

Prabodhji's Classes at Bala Vihar Locations Fremont: Session 1:30-3 pm Bhagavad Gita Ch 3

Danville: 4:30-6 pm Gitas from Tulsi Ramayana

San Jose: Session 1: 9 am Bhagavad Gita Ch 11 Session 2: 10:30 am Gitas from Tulsi Ramayana

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DATE LOCATION / EVENT PHONE

3 May-14 May Sidhbari Chinmaya Tapovan Trust +91-1892-234 325 Bhagavatam Canto 10

10 May-12 May Phagwara Land: +91-1824-263 257 Punjab India Mobile: +91-9814082591 Shri Hanuman Chalisa

18 May-23 May Kolwan +91-90110 04542 Chinmaya Vibhooti Pune Maharashtra Geeta Chapter V-Amrta Bindu Upanishad . (Camp in English)

23 May-25 May Kolwan +91-90110 04542 Chinmaya Vibhooti Pune, Maharashtra, India Naada Bindu Festival for the Arts

28 May-30 May Hong Kong +91-90110 04542 Satsang

1 Jun-8 Jun Piercy (1-707) 247-3188 Chinmaya Mission West, Piercy, California USA Vedanta Camp

9 Jun-12 Jun Chinmaya Kesari (1-707) 247-3188 Piercy Chinmaya Mission West, Piercy, California USA YEP Course Inauguration

13 Jun-14 Jun Inauguration of new ashram location (1-408) 998-2793 Sandeepany San Jose 10160 Clayton Road, San Jose, CA 95127

Swami TejomayananadaITINERARY

LATE SUMMER 2014

“Let us calculate years. Not by the flight of calendar pages but by what we have achieved and what we have

done to others.”

~ Swami Chinmayananda

Join the Chinmaya Family as SPONSORS… We invite you to join our Sponsorship program so that you can help us to promote, sustain and continue to teach adults and children, alike, the Hindu Dharma which is our Heritage. Chinmaya Mission began its service to the Hindu Community some 20 years ago in the Bay Area.We are funded by public contributions. Your contribution, as a Sponsor, goes towards the operation of Sandeepany. Many families who are taking part in the various classes that we offer to adults and children, have enrolled themselves as Sponsors. They enjoy many benefits and become an integral part of the spiritual family at Sandeepany. Sponsorship is an annual contribution of $500 per family. The donation is tax deductible and can also be paid bi-annually, quarterly or monthly.

What Do Our Sponsors Receive?

• They enjoy all the classes offered at Sandeepany Schools for adults and children.

• They will receive the journal, MANANAM and the bi-monthly Newsletters: Chinmaya Tej and CMW Newsletter.

• Sponsors are invited to attend Weekend Retreats held periodically at Sandeepany.

UNITED WAY CONTRIBUTIONS

Your contributions to United Way can now be designated to Chinmaya Mission San Jose (United Way I.D. No 212100). The Mission is enrolled to receive such contributions with

United Way Agency in Santa Clara.

Chinmaya Family would like to thank you for your support.

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Piercy, CA

1050 Park Avenue San Jose, CA 95126

Ph. (408) 998-2793 Fax (408) 998-2952

www.Chinmaya.org

Chinmaya Mission San JoseSandeepany San Jose

If travelling South on 101 Take Guadalupe Expressway Exit Then go past the airport about two (2) miles and get off at Park Ave. exit At the bottom of the ramp, and at the light, make a right turn

If travelling South on 280 Take the Meridian North Exit Go to Park Ave. and make a right turn

If travelling South on 880 Take the 280 exit to San Jose Get off at the Meridian North Exit Go to Park Ave. and make a right turn

If travelling South on 680 Get off at Race Street Exit At the bottom of the ramp, at the light, make a right turn Go to Park Ave. (3rd light) and make a rightD

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