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Moderation is a Must
While the sacred texts are not against pleasure per se, they are uncompromising when it comes to moderation. No one can excessively indulge or get enslaved to pleasure, and yet hope to rise spiritually.
“dama” is the word for self-‐restraint in the context of sense pleasure. The rishis praise “dama” as the foremost of disciplines.
Through self-‐restraint, seekers cleanse themselves. Through self-‐restraint, ascetics go to heaven.
Self-‐restraint makes people invincible. Everything depends upon self-‐restraint.
Therefore the wise say that self-‐restraint is the supreme virtue.
damena dāntāh kilbisham avadhoonvanti damena brahmachārinah suvar-‐agacchan
damo bhootānām durādharsham dame sarvam pratisthitam
tasmād-‐damah paramam vadanti
Mahā-‐Nārāyana Upanishad – 79 (anuvāka 79)
AUPA eNEWSLETTER
October 2019 Volume 5, Issue 4 (No. 52)
Editor: Swami Chidananda Associate Editor: Dolly Seth
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I want you to dive consciously
into the Self, into the Heart.
Shri Ramana Maharshi Talks, 254
[Self-‐enquiry is neither a mechanical process nor something to be done in a half-‐sleepy manner. The quote above seems to remind us that it is extremely important to stay alert and aware during this quest. – Editors]
Light on Self-‐inquiry
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SUNLIGHT TO A PLANT
There is a phase of life that everybody goes through when basic necessities like food, cloth and shelter seem to be everything. A man longs to have them in more varieties and in richer kinds. A large percentage of humanity, at any given point of time in history, are preoccupied with these human needs. As they evolve, people realize their deeper needs. They see clearly that any amount of good food, rich clothes and fabulous places of residence cannot bring true happiness to them.
That is when they wake up to appreciate the place of beauty, outside and inside. Art and poetry appeal to them. They begin to respect artists, poets, musicians and others. They also awaken to inner beauty, when they observe how wonderful it is to meet people who live a dhārmik (righteous, caring, responsible) life. They experience with much clarity the deeper satisfaction they get when they follow noble values of life.
Spirituality begins with dharma – right living – but goes further to embrace transcendental factors. Soul, God and many intangible parameters come into the picture. The same man who had once imagined “roti, kapadā aur makān” (food, cloth and shelter in Hindi) were there “be-‐all-‐end-‐all” of life, seeks from the bottom of his heart a certain peace that is unconditional, uncaused and timeless.
Dharma and moksha, they say therefore, are the true needs of human life, which remain hidden for a long time in the life story of humanity. When they surface, man realizes that even when he was running after material pleasures, it was actually a grosser expression1 of his longing for moksha!
Spirituality, we discover, is to our life what sunlight is to a plant.
Swāmi Chidānanda
1 “Really speaking, there are no four purushārthas. Moksha alone is the purushārtha. Dharma, artha and kāma resolve into moksha-‐purushārtha.” – Swāmi Dayānanda Saraswati (page 11, commentary on Brahmasutras, Chatussutri).
From the Editor’s Desk
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Thus Spake Chinmaya
Unless the seeker has built a perfect cage of self-‐control, the entire world-‐of-‐objects will flood his bosom, to bring therein a state of unending chaos.
Param Pujya Swami Chinmayanandaji
(in his commentary The Holy Geeta)
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BHĀSHYA, VRITTI, TEEKĀ and VYĀKHYĀ (Commentaries)
The vast scriptural literature (shāstras) has the Vedas, the Geetā and the Brahmasutras as their foundation. These three are called prasthāna-‐traya. To help students understand these ‘foundation scriptures’, we have various kinds of commentaries with a certain hierarchy.
A ‘bhāshya’ is a commentary that, to begin with, explains the sutra (aphorism), mantraor shloka of the original text. The meaning of the original lines are unfolded and elaborated by sentences following the sequence of words in the sutras (or mantras, shlokas). The bhāshya explains its own words1 and sentences too, wherever necessary.
If just the meaning of the sutra is given, the (brief) commentary is called vritti. There is no defence. There is no need to explain why a certain explanation is given.
Now a vyākhyāna (vyākhyā or teekā) is marked by five components2: a) padacchedah (separation of words by resolving sandhis), b) padārthoktih (giving the meaning of the words), c) vigraha (resolution of compounds, samosas), d) vākya-‐yojanā (creation of the sentence by connecting the words) and doing anvaya, giving sangati (the connection to what has been said before), and finally e) raising possible doubts or objections and answering them (ākshepa and samādhāna).
Sometimes these bhāshyas and teekās form a pyramind. As an example, we may note the following. On Brahmasutras, Ādi Shankarāchārya wrote a bhāshya. The great scholar Vāchaspati Mishra wrote a teekā on it, known as Bhāmati. On it was written ateekā by Swāmi Amalānanda, which came to be known as Kalpataru. At the bottom of the pyramid, we have a teekā on Kalpataru by Appayya Deekshitar, known as Parimala. All of these provide ample scope for contemplation (shāstra-‐chintana).
Notes: 1 sutrārtho varnyate yatra vākyaih sutrānusāribhih| । svapadāni cha varnyante bhāshyam bhāshyavido viduh|| ॥ 2 padacchedah padārthoktih vigraho vākya-‐yojanā| । ākshepascha samādhānam vyākhyānam pancha-‐lakshanam ॥
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Breaking the Bonds of Karma
Good acts, performed (now) by mind, speech and body, destroy the (results of) bad acts performed (previously) by mind, speech and body.
Shri Ramana Maharshi
(in his work Ramana Geetā, chapter 7, verse 15)
[This significant verse throws light on what karmas like Poojā, vocal practices like Japa and mental acts like loving contemplation on God can do. Editors]
WAY TO CALM YOUR MIND
MERGE THE GROSS IN THE SUBTLE
Kathopanishad supplies to us an extraordinary technique to go from ‘a storm’ to ‘a calm’.
In a single mantra, the sacred text opens our eyes to five layers of our existence. Organs of perception and action constitute the first layer. Second comes the mind. Third is the intellect. Total intellect of all humanity is the fourth. The Pure Self (ātmā) is the last, the best.
Leave aside the deeper three. If we just learn to shift our attention from the organs (indriyas) to healthy emotions on the mental plane, we will find a great calm entering our hearts, making storms subside.
yacched vān-‐manasee prājnah
Katha Upanishad, 1.3.13
[The wise man dissolves his speech in his mind.]
A simple interpretation of the above is to bring noble emotions and good thoughts in our within; reflecting on them, we may allow our agitations on the bodily plane subside.
Quote of the Issue
TIPS FROM THE UPANISHADS
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Happiness Yoga (HY) 74, planned for September 7, got cancelled as hurricanes disrupted life in North Carolina. Dr Aziz was to speak on diabetes.
Now we present HY 74 by no other than Swami Chidananda ji, who is presently touring US, as the e-‐flyer shows.The event will be on Saturday, October 5.
FEAR
It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has travelled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
And in front of her,
Smt. Indira Gautam writes from USA
Words from Guest writers
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she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter there
seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river cannot go back.
Nobody can go back.
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear,
because that is where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
Khalil Gibran
[Khalil Gibran (1883 – 1931) was a Lebanese-‐American writer, poet and visual artist, also considered a philosopher. He is best known as the author of The Prophet, which was first published in the United States in 1923 and is one of the best-‐selling books of all time, having been translated into dozens of languages. – Editors]
THE GENESIS OF THE “APPALAM SONG”
As narrated by Ramana Maharshi himself
[Maharshi wrote the lyrics of the “papad song” and it has a lot of Vedanta meanings. Appalam in Tamil, Happala in Kannada, Poppadam in Malayalam, Appadam in Telugu, is a very thin, round cake, typically made of black gram flour, fried crisp. Papad is the name by which Haldiram’s and others sell these days. – Editors]
In the early days when Mother came to stay with me in Virupāksha Cave, there was no cooking. If Echamma or anybody else brought her any food she used to eat it, clean the vessels and then go to bed. That was all. One
Story time
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day she thought I had nothing special to eat and as I was fond of the twin appalams, she thought it would be a good idea to make some for me. Being well experienced, she could not refrain from making them. Without my
knowledge she asked the Mudaliar old lady, Echamma and some others to get everything ready and one evening she set out, saying that she was going to the village. I wanted to see where she was really going, and so
when she left, I waited silently under the tree outside. She thought I did not know anything. She went to several houses, collected all the required things in a big vessel and returned. I closed my eyes and
pretended complete ignorance. She put them away carefully in the cave till all the visitors left. After nightfall, I had my usual meal and lay down pretending to sleep. Leisurely, she took out the wooden roller, wooden seat,
loose flour and the balls of paste and commenced making appalams.
There were about two to three hundred to be made. She could not prepare them all single-‐handed. I knew the job. So she quietly began telling me, ‘My boy, please help me with it.’ I got the opportunity I was waiting for. If I
were lenient in this, she would start something else. I wanted to put a timely stop to it. I said, “You have renounced everything and have come here, haven’t you? Why all this? You should rest content with whatever is available. I won’t help you. I won’t eat them if you prepare them. Make them all for yourself, and eat them yourself.’ She was silent for a while and again started saying, ‘What, my dear son, please help me a little.’ I was adamant. She continued to call me again and again. Feeling it was no use arguing any more, I said, ‘All right.
You make these appalams; I will make another kind’, and I started singing this ‘Appalam Song’. She used to sing a rice song, soup song and other such songs, all with Vedantic meanings. None appears to have written
an appalam song. So I felt I should compose one. She was very fond of songs. So she felt that she could learn another song. By the time the preparation of the appalams was over, my song also was finished. ‘I will eat
this appalam (the song about the appalams) and you eat those that you have made,’ I told her. That happened sometime in 1914 or 1915.
Pune
Sunday, September 8: Two get-‐togethers were organized at E101, Brahma Exuberance, Kondhwa and the topics were a) Is Spirituality a Form of Escape? and b) Living with Enthusiasm – Geetā’s guidance. A good number of citizens of Pune, mostly regular students of Vibha Chaitanyaji, attended the session with much enthusiasm.
Bengaluru
Wednesday, September 11: The beautiful hall, Mānav Chetna, set up by Shri Prakash Gera, was the venue for the 40+ (in number) yātris, who had returned from their Kailāsh Yātrā, led by Dr Thimappa Hegde, to get together and listen to , who reviewed the theme of “Sādhana-‐Chatusthaya” for them.
NEWS
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Friday, September 13: Some 40 seniors responded enthusiastically to Swāmiji at the Nightingale Elders’ Enrichment Centre in Malleswaram, as he addressed them on “Living Enthusiastically – The Geetā Way”. Smt Mālathy Murthy had coordinated this, and Ms Shailajā, the Manager, ably organized the happy event.
Mysuru
Sunday, September 15: It was a mega event! Swāmi Hamsānandaji had taught, over a period of two months, some 1500 citizens of Mysuru the right chanting of Lalitā Sahasra Nāma. After that, all of them had performed ‘koti-‐archana’ (flower / sacred rice offering a crore (10 million) times) at six places. All this was brought to a grand finale at the Chāmundi Vihār Indoor Stadium in Nazarbād where some 2600 people had gathered for the “mahā-‐samarpanam” (great, final offering). Swāmiji spoke for 45 minutes during the 3 hour programme. Swāmi Advaitānandaji, Brni Vibhā Chaitanya ji, and two senior Swāminis from Ārsha Vidyā Gurukulam also graced the occasion.
USA, Tampa
The Vishnu Mandir in Tampa was the venue for a 7 day Geetā Discourse Series (Sept 20 thru 26) by, where chapter 9 (rājavidyā-‐rājaguhya-‐yoga) was the subject. Many other Satsangs were held at places like the Ayyappa Temple and many residences.
Webinars:
The two below were presented by Swāmi Chidānanda on Sundays 8.30 pm IST.
September 8 – Webinar 155 Glimpses of Devotion, ātmārpana-‐stuti of Shri Appayya Dikshitar – Part 2
September 29 – Webinar 156 Glimpses of Devotion, ātmārpana-‐stuti of Shri Appayya Dikshitar – Part 3
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DHIMAHI EVENTS
MUMBAI
Monday, September 9: The philosophy department of the well-‐known SIES College in Sion invited Swāmiji to deliver a talk on ‘Choiceless Awareness’ for the students of their first year, second year and third year B.A. classes. Ms Anjali Kāmbe, a trustee of Krishnamurti Foundation India (KFI) had done the groundwork for this to materialize. Principal (and also head, Dept of philosophy) Dr Uma Shankar engaged the students for an hour as Swāmiji, coming from Pune, got held up due to traffic and came late. He however spoke for the next hour and it was truly well received. Shri P V Dhabolkar, a senior member of the KFI Mumbai was present along with Ms Kambe. Dr Kamala Srinivas, a senior faculty, was the master of ceremonies.
A section of the audience in Pune, Sept 8, listening to “Is Spirituality an Escape?” Sept 8, 2019
DHIMAHI Events
Deriving Holistic insights into Management from the Heritage of India
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Students, staff and members of KFI as well as Fowai Forum were the audience at SIES College, Sept 9
Swamiji throwing light on the theme 'Choiceless Awareness'
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Principal Dr Uma Shankar and Swamiji on the dais.
Swamiji speaking on sādhana-chatusthaya at Mānav Chetana in Bengaluru on Sept 11
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Sri Prakash Gera at extreme right amidst the audience at Mānav Chetna
Audience at the mega-event in Mysuru, Sept 15, as Swamiji speaks.
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Swaminis of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Swami Advaitananda and Vibha Chaitanya ji are with Swami Chidananda ji at Mysuru.
Shri A G Krishnamurthy and Swami Hamsananda receive Swamiji at Mysuru, at the functiion
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A students’ group in Tampa, Florida Swamiji offers Arati to Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi at the (replica of) OLD HALL in Tampa, Sept 25
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Backside of Old Hall (replica) of Tiruvannamalai in Florida Discourse on Geeta chapter 9 in progress at Vishnu Mandir, Tampa
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US Tour: Please visit chidananda9.blogspot.in for details of programs at US between September 20 and November 17, 2019.
Fayetteville, North Carolina:
As this issue reaches your hands, Happiness Yoga 74 will just be over. The monthly event, launched by Late Dr Siddhārtha Gautam, has Swāmiji as the main speaker on October 5. He will speak on Meditation and also touch upon ‘mind-‐body relationship’ and ‘loneliness’. See the feature “Indira ji contributes from USA” in this issue.
Swāmiji will also conduct an informal Satsang at the residence of Smt Indirā Gautam on Sunday the 6th October.
Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas:
October 8 thru 12: Talks at the Raghunāth Temple in Plano will focus on issues of daily life such as Hurt, Jealousy, Fear – all the insights into them to be drawn from Bhagavad Geetā.
Sunday, October 13: Swāmiji will deliver a Kannada talk on “Vachanas of Akka Mahādevi” at Tom Muehlenbeck Recreation, 5801, W Parker Rd, Plano, 2.30 pm onwards.
October 16 thru 20: Talks on Upadesha Sāra of Shri Ramana Maharshi will be held at the Hindu Temple of Greater Fort Worth.
Northern California:
October 23 – 27: Swāmiji will attend SAND* Conference in San Jose, California. SAND stands for Science and Non-‐Duality. Please see scienceandnondualy.com |
October 28 thru November 2: Talks on Geetā, chapter 9 at the Silicon Andhra University, Milpitas.
In addition, there will be 6 classes at 11 am on October 29, 30, 31 and November 5, 6 and 7 (Tue, Wed, Thu). The venue will be Sanātana Dharma Kendra, San Jose.
Webinars
Coming up:
Two presentations on Sundays 8.30 pm IST by Swami Chidananda
October 13 – Webinar 157 –
Strength from Upanishads
Upcoming Events
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October 20 – Webinar 158 – Relationship between God and Man
[Those who wish to join these webinars may please write to [email protected]]
IT IS CELEBRATION TIME
AGAIN! NAVA-‐RĀTRI
September 28 thru October 7, 2019
These auspicious days and the festivities that accompany them go hand in hand with the universal needs of humanity in real life. Wealth, power and knowledge – represented by Lakshmi, Durgā and
Saraswati – are what all of us seek day in and day out!
We salute the three Goddesses who preside over the nine nights -‐ nava rātri!
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DUSSEHRA / VIJAYA DASHAMI Tuesday October 8, 2019
The tenth day, following the nine nights, symbolizes the victory of the good over evil. Lord Shrirāma kills Rāvana and returns victoriously to Ayodhyā on this day. In the inner, spiritual life of ours, we aspire to win over lust and greed, and return to the SELF, the Kingdom of Heaven!
WE WISH ALL OUR READERS
HAPPY DIWALI
(Sunday, October 27)
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&
JOYOUS BHAI DOOJ
(Tuesday, October 29)
We wish all our readers Happy Holidays! May the Divine Forces bless every one of you!
Team AUPA
(AUPA is the short form of AUPANISHADA-‐PURUSHA, the truth of the sacred source called Upanishads. This e-‐newsletter comes from Project Manager of the website: aupa.in – Upanishad
Wisdom).
Publisher: Shahid Sayed, AUPA Project Manager for STEP Press Email: [email protected]: +91 99678 78798
