Help Not Fights

“If the Parliament of religions has shown anything to the world it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written, in spite of resistance: “Help not Fight, “Assimilation and not Destruction”, “Harmony and Peace and not Dissension”.

More than a century has passed since swami Vivekananda’s sonorous voice echoed these immortal words, resplendent with the never diminishing shine of eternal Truth. In fact, these words were a short commentary on the inexplicably sweet utterance he made at the opening of the Parliament of Religions: “Sisters ad Brothers of America”. These words fell like the first rain drops on the thirsty ‘chataka birds/ who had thronged the opening session of the Parliament earning for a new message, a new vision, a new impulse and a new command that would make not only their lives fruitful but also bring the very much needed new silver lining on the dark clouds that were gathering over the worlds horizon. Nobody could imagine that a silver line would be drawn by that attractive ‘Prince among Saints’ who sat deeply absorbed in himself. There was none among the audience who could have gone behind his eyes and shared the vision that he was seeing – ONE in the many and the many in the ONE. It was this vision that translated itself into the words Sisters and Brothers of America’ as he stood up and began his address to the Assembly.

The sound vibrations that emanated from him have merged and become part of the Universal Sound. But the soul stirring expressions that poured out of him over the next nine and a half years still remain with us as his own commentary on the vision he had nurtured , thanks to his realisation of the Self within. Those commentaries fortunately remain with us distributed in the volumes of Vivekananda literature. In living form they remain in the monasteries and mission centres for which he laid the foundation in his own life time and in the hearts of millions of Indians for whom they form a never ending source of inspiration and guidance. The only place where they are lacking today is alas our Indian political sphere, where Swamiji’s wisdom has been cast aside paving the way once again for a lack- lustre Indian nationalism.

The point worth contemplating n this context, which provides a vision of the Indian Religious approach centred on Universal acceptance and tolerance is that while all the other religious leaders presented views from the stand point of their particular religion stressing its uniqueness, Swamiji alone presented a vision of the universal dimensions of Sanatana Dharma, global in its sweep and at the same time centered in each individual.1 What enabled him to achieve this soul transforming miracle? For this we have to go back to the wonderful spiritual heritage, the elixir of which flowing through his arteries and veins since childhood had set him on the journey towards Self-Realisation We have to go back to the years he spent with that unusual ‘Best among Avatars” whose life experiences had transformed even the most intricate religious ideas and experiences into his very life’s breath.

It is from this Immaculate Teacher that Swamiji learned that the first ideal of religious realisation is renunciation. Secondly, that “the religions of the world are not contradictory or antagonistic. They are but various phases of one eternal religion……. One infinite religion existed all through eternity and will ever exist and this religion s expressing itself in various countries in various ways. Therefore we must respect all religions and we must try to accept them all as far as we can.”

One idea Swamiji was emphatic about in this connection was the need to recognise “that each one of them has the same saving power as the other Firmly rooted in his realisation of the one Ultimate Truth he firmly reiterated that the same God answers all……… the same Almighty God is responsible for all”. To attain realisation of this God are needed “tremendous purity and renunciation which is the one secret of spirituality” .He considered ‘renunciation as the background of all religions and if senses crept into the field of religion spirituality decreased in the same ratio’. Again and again he voiced his Master’s words “Do not care for doctrines ,do not care for dogmas/, or sects or churches or temples; they count for little compared with the essence of existence in each man, and the more this is developed in a man the more powerful is he for good.

This was also voice of Mother India, who from time immemorial had kept the gates of her home open to all those who approached her for refuge from the tyrannies in their homelands be it racial, religious or political.

What is so special in the voice of India that is absent in others? To quote Swamiji’s own words, “This is the ancient land where wisdom made its home before it went into any other country, the same India whose influx of spirituality is represented, as it were, on the material plane, by rolling rivers like oceans, where the eternal Himalayas, rising tier above tier with their snow caps, look as it were into the very mysteries of Heaven. Here is the same India whose soil has been trodden by the feet of the greatest sages that ever lived. Here first sprang up inquiries into the nature of man, and into the internal world. Here first arose the doctrines of the immortality of the soul, the existence of a supervising God, an immanent God in nature and in man, and here the highest ideals of religion and philosophy have attained heir culminating points………. It is the same land which stands firmer than any rock in the world, with its undying vigour, indestructible life. Its life is of the same nature as the soul, without beginning and without end, immortal, and we are the children of such a country.” Thanks to the multitude of peoples and cultures that got assimilated in our country we alone could formulate a Universal Religion” as well as originate the idea of VasudhaivaKutumbakam, Universe as one family..

What is so unique in Hinduism that is absent in other religions? ”Hinduism is a true religion because it teaches that God alone is true, that this world is false and fleeting, that all your gold is but as dust, that all your power is finite and that life itself is oftentimes an evil” Hinduism is a true religion because it teaches renunciation and stands up with the wisdom of ages to tell and to declare to the nations not to be ruined by the senses, to renounce the love of the senses and of the world. That is the way of religion. Through renunciation is the way to the Goal and not the enjoyment”.

Swamiji could think, talk and act as he did because he was a, a true Hindu. aVedantin. Vedanta is built on principles, not personalities, Sages discovered them who tried to become illustrations of the principles they preached. Because of this Vedanta s a most impersonal religion- based on principles and yet with infinite scope for the play pf persons.

Hinduism recognises that “unity in variety is the plan of the universe.’ “That Universal Existence is God, the Ultimate Unity in the Universe. In Him we are all one. At the same time in manifestation, these differences must all remain’”. We must learn that Truth may be expressed in a hundred thousand ways and each of the ways is true as far as it goes. We must realise that the same thing can be viewed from a hundred different stand points, and yet be the same thing.”

“It is in vain that we try to gather all the peoples of the world around a single personality. It is difficult to make them gather together even around eternal and universal principles. If it ever becomes possible to bring the largest portion of humanity to one way of thinking in regard to religion, mark you, it must always be through principles and not through persons. We must gracefully accept the fact that through high philosophy or low exalted mythology or refined ritualism or arrant fetishism , every sect, every soul, every nation every religion, consciously or unconsciously is struggling upward towards God, every vision of Truth that man has , is a vision of Him and of none else.”

Swamiji intuitively felt that the world is waiting for this ‘grand idea of universal tolerance. It will be a great acquisition for civilisation. Nay, no civilisation can long exist unless this idea enters into it. No civilisation can grow unless fanatics, bloodshed and brutality stop. No civilisation can begin to lift up its head until we look charitably upon one another; and the first step towards that much needed charity is to look charitably and kindly upon the religious convictions of others. Nay, more, to understand that not only should we be charitable, but positively helpful to each other., however different our religious ideas and convictions may be………Love alone is the fittest thing to survive and not hatred , it is gentleness that has the strength to live on and to fructify and not mere brutality and physical force’

The other great idea that the world wants from us today…….. is the eternal grand idea of the spiritual oneness of the whole world. “Swamiji refers to it as a life giving idea and was convinced that this was what the world wants from us today and which the mute masses of India want for heir uplifting, for none can regenerate this land of ours without the practical application and effective operation of the idea of the Oneness of things.

Another more scientific and appealing rationale which Swamiji offers in this connection is with regard to that most highly priced ethics in human society. The West is desperately seeking the raison d etre of all its philosophy and its ethics other than mere sanction of any personage, however great and Dive he may have been “would finally settle on the ethical and moral code based on some eternal principles of truth. This eternal sanction can be in the only Infinite Reality that exists in every one as their own self in the soul.

“The infinite oneness of the Soul is the eternal sanction of all morality and you and I are not only brothers – every literature voicing man’s struggle towards freedom has prescribed that for you-but that you and I are really one. This is the dictate of Indian philosophy. This oneness is the rationale of all ethics and all spirituality”.

Swamiji preached Advaita not as a sectarian philosophy but because of its universal and widely acceptable grounds. He felt that Advaita aspect of Vedanta is necessary to rouse up the hearts of man, to show them the glory of their own souls. Mark his words: Teach yourselves, teach everyone his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come and everything that is excellent will come when his sleeping soul is roused to self conscious activity This was his clarion call, calling upon man ”to discover the innate potential divinity of his soul, by controlling nature external and internal” This can be done through work or worship, psychic control or philosophy, by one or more or all of these. This alone can take him to his ultimate freedom.

Harmony of science and religion

Harmony of science and religion was another very important aspect of Indian approach that he upheld before his Western audience to prove the science behind his statements. ”Science is nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further growth, because it would reach the goal”. So is with religion. The science of religion becomes perfect “when it would discover Him who is the one life in a universe of death, Him who is the constant basis of an ever changing world. One who is the only Soul of which all souls are but manifestations Thus is it, through multiplicity and duality, the ultimate unity is reached. Religion can go no farther. This is the goal of all science.

The sooner this knowledge of the harmony of Science and Religion enters into the comprehension of mankind, the nearer will we be to peace and understanding at the global level. Religion will not then be ‘blind’ nor science ‘lame’ any more. Religion of the future will have to be modeled on the basis of this mighty confluence of science and spirituality. The result, the world will get a faith which is not afraid of truth, which is not afraid of ‘others’ which is also not afraid of a God sitting above us in Heaven judging us. Rooted in fearless pursuit of Truth man will attain a new dignity, strength and sense of fullness and freedom. Swami Vivekananda’s teachings foreshadow this inevitable coming together of the objective scientific truth and subjective Spiritual Reality. Out of this synthesis should emerge a universal religion urging man to manifest the ‘Universal Self’ in him in place of his limited individual self. That would indeed be the crowning glory of religion and science.

Swamiji often spoke of ‘Universal Brotherhood’. How can we ordinary beings conceive of this brotherhood, when our minds are so filled with Jealousy, hatred, intolerance and so on. How to get rid of the negative impulses in our mind? Swamiji wants us to take a good look at religion as he firmly believed that religion is the highest plane of human thought and life. No doubt religion has created very many negative forces in the society. But again “the intense love that humanity has ever known has come from religion. The noblest word of peace that the world has ever known has been uttered by religious men”. Therefore we must concentrate on those aspects which shall enhance in us positive qualities by which we can create better humans. Swamiji underscores this by defining religion as “the manifestation of the Divinity which is already in man”.

“The time has come for renunciation and then you will see the harmony in all the religions of the world. You will know that there is no need of any quarrel and then only will you be ready to help humanity. To proclaim and make clear the fundamental unity underlying all religions was the mission of my Master. Other teachers have taught special religions which bear their names, but this great teacher of the nineteenth century made no claim for himself. He left every religion undisturbed because he had realised that in reality they are all part and parcel of the one eternal religion”. In Sri Ramakrishna the world saw Universal Symphony of Religions. It was this symphony that Swami Vivekananda so effectively replayed in the Parliament of Religions. Knowledge of the Unity in diversity was the secret behind his unified vision which brought out those unforgettable words- ‘Sisters and Brothers of America’

We in India need this vision today most urgently so that we can write in bold golden letters in our Nation’s banner “HELP NOT FIGHT”, ASSIMILATION AND NOT DESTRUCTION’, HARMONY AND PEACE AND NOT DISSENSION’.’

Dr. M. Lakshmi Kumari

Director,

Vivekananda Kendra

Vedic Vision Foundation

AnandaDham, Sringapuram,

Kodungallur 680664,

Trissur district, Kerala

Phone: 0480-2805780/2812780

Email: vkvvf99@satyam.net.in

A profile

Personal Data:

Date of Birth: 1^st March 1936

Fathers Name: Late Puthezathu Raman Menon

Place of Birth: Trissur, Kerala

Academic Qualifications:

M.Sc. in Botany from Travancore University

Ph.D in Botany from Madras University

Post-Doctoral Research at the Institute of Micro Biology, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev. USSR (1968-1970)

Professional Experience:

Professor of Botany in Sri Padmavathy Women’s College, Tirupati (1966-1968). Micro-biologist in Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi (1970-1982)

At Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari

Joined Vivekananda Kendra in 1981 as a whole time worker and became its Joint General Secretary and later it’s Working President. After the passing away of the Founder President of Vivekananda Kendra, MananeeyaEknathjiRanade, was unanimously elected as the All India President of Vivekananda Kendra in the year 1984. She continued as its president till 1995 when she stepped down to devote more time to spiritual pursuits.

To help her in this Vivekananda Kendra formed a new Trust, Vivekananda Kendra Vedic Vision Foundation with Dr. Lakshmi Kumari as its lifetime Chairman. The Foundation is presently functioning from Kodungallur, Trissur District, Kerala.

As the President of Vivekananda Kendra she has extensively toured the country spreading the message of Swami Vivekananda in addition to her duties as the President giving form and content to Swami Vivekananda’s ideal of social service as envisaged by Ma. Eknathji. In 1992 when Kendra organised a marathon year long Vivekananda BharataParikrama she participated in it for the full time of 353 days. In 1993 she represented Vivekananda Kendra at all the three major World Parliaments of Religions at Washington, Chicago and Calcutta and in 1995 at the World Hindu Conference, at Durban, South Africa. In 1999 again she spoke at the World Parliament of Religions, Cape Town, South Africa. She has the unique honourof having participated in all the ten major centenary celebrations connected with Swami Vivekananda’s life from 1963 to 2002.

As the Chairman of Vivekananda Kendra Vedic Vision Foundation, presently she is engaged in encouraging Vedic studies in different ways through promoting Sanskrit, publishing Vedic literature, conducting seminars, study classes and so on.

Currently a new experiment in value based education, SandeepaniGurukulam, has been taken up at Kodungallur. A nursery school, SandeepaniSishuvihar, functions at Kodungallur where tiny tots get acquainted with Sanskrit from the nursery level onwards.

Publications:

Dr. Lakshmi Kumari has been a prolific writer as the Editor of Vivekananda Kendra Patrika and YuvaBharati from 1982-95 in addition to various other cultural and spiritual magazines in Malayalam and English. Some of her articles have been compiled as books – Snake and Ladder (based on Bhagavad Gita) Sita must live (devoted to women) VandeMataram (Patriotic ideas) and Swami Vivekananda and Bhagavad Gita, Vivekananda charanangalil (Malayalam).

My Turn

Banking Spiritual Silence

Dr. Lakshmi Kumari

A wife, at least in the early days of her marriage, has her life centered in her husband and for her everything has an aura of her love. When she becomes a mother that love is made very pure as it is devoid of even traces of lust and jealousy. Her home has now as its center her love for her children. A very good starting point indeed. All that is needed is for that centering to be reinforced with a new faith, a new urge to reach out to the spiritual Truth within and superimpose it on the acts of love and service without.

Many women have too little time to look after their children and their home. But they may be members of this society or that, engaged in children's programs, projects to help women, etc., etc. The work is good, no doubt, but it doesn't serve the real purpose of self-empowerment. At home you are a different person than what you are outside. There is a widening gap-the error or parallax goes on increasing. Simplifying and straightening our outer life would help us to find time and the mind to reorganize our inner life. Then more and more we are able to add beauty and charm to our outer lives.

Women with their God-given sense of wholeness can slip into this ever-widening circle of mutual adoration and understanding-if only they choose, if they care. When we discover this wholeness in creation and learn to absorb it unto us and start adding to the wholeness within and around us, our capacity to love, tolerate, accept and above all positively give and take become more intense and rewarding. The real "mother" wakes up inside.

The only condition to acquire this gift is to establish a connection with the unknown-the Invisible. Spirituality is not acquiring something from outside. It is a giving up-sacrifice, renunciation-of our small self and selfish interests and motivations so that the fountainhead within us starts gurgling out.

Housewives have a lot of time-provided they are not part of the rat race of living-when they are alone. Instead of spending it in dissipating activities like gossiping, reading some trash or watching character-destroying TV programs they could use it to create fields of creative silence within when they are in communion with something energizing within themselves. By this they can not only conserve their energy, but also enrich themselves spiritually.

Hours or minutes of silence can be incorporated into our lives, filling some odd leisure hour here and there. As we wait for the children to return from the school when the mind is alert and watching we can open it further, to be one with all the mothers, all their children and all the beauty of the children growing up. As we stand at the gate of the school whose heart does not get filled up at the sight of children rushing from class-bundles of joy rushing about here and there in all seriousness, reminding each other of their "silly" transactions. So on and so forth, life is full of beauty and harmony if only we open our spiritual vision.

Adding up moments, minutes and hours would be creating small savings deposits of energizing and invigorating spiritual energy within. As the quality of silence starts deepening, the colors and forms of trees, sounds of the chirping of birds, movement of leaves, everything becomes a source of joy and gives a deeply relaxing sensation. Slowly, without anybody noticing it, these precious moments can be made into a regular meditation at a particular part of the day. Loneliness stops to worry us, work doesn't tire us when the inner life is restored even by a minute fraction. This is the journey from the fragmented to the whole and is the best way open to many of us-housewives and mothers-to combat the divisive tendencies of the purely material life of today with its immense demands, problems and tensions. To make India assert her spiritual power, we women can have this small saving spiritual deposit scheme which can certainly add to our nation's spiritual wealth at this critical moment.

Lakshmi Kumari, Ph.D., is president of the Vivekananda Kendra, and editor of its magazine "Voice of Youth." She comes from Kerala and is a devoted follower of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda.

Self-Improvement- :: Meaning and Purpose of Life

October 1, 2007 — Suriyodayam

What could be, in a nutshell, the meaning and purpose of life? What could be that philosophy which when lived can take man from manhood to supermanhood and to Godhood?

In simple terms, it may be said that by enhancing the ‘unifying’ and ‘universalising’ forces in his life, man can move from imperfection to perfection. The former is the ultimate goal of all disciplines, austerities, sadhanas or yoga, that is, centralizing and focusing the vital energies in us bringing them under control and thus strengthening and ennobling and integrating one’s personality. It is only then that the inner potentialities can be brought to manifest. The second is to channelise the energy thus accumulated for expansion, fulfillment and growth, directed towards serving everything in the universe.

Swami Vivekananda puts it as “involution followed by evolution”. In his own inimitable way he related it to human life as “internal contemplation followed by external service.” Again, this principle forms the backbone of the ideal of “renunciation and service”.

To a person in whom these two forces have been harmonized, the whole creation is nothing but a grand display of these forces of unification and universalisation. This is the very secret of Nature; this is the science of sciences. This cosmic force operates from the gigantic galaxies to the invisible atom – from ant to Brahma – as they put it in our scriptures. This cycle of matter to energy conversion goes on eternally.

What could be the role of man in this great universal drama? To understand that, he has only to look around again to Nature and her working.

There is the great sun illuminating the entire world and filling it up with its light energy. It must have taken millions of years of condensation and concentration to create the dense matter within it before it turn out to be an almost infinite source of energy burning itself off – sacrificing itself to serve the creation for centuries to come. Look at the trees around. What are they for? The pigments in the plant world only can capture effectively the immense amount of light energy falling on the earth and convert it into all these forms of energy, food, fuel, and so on, by which man can make his life beautiful.

So much man realize his place and role in this vast creation. As a potential source of divinity, he has to convert himself to be an instrument to capture the divine energy, condense, concentrate, focus and centralize unto himself as much as of these positive cosmic divine forces and through him route them back into the universe, to complete the cycle. In short, he must learn to make himself an instrument in the divine play.

How can man attract this supra-human forces unto himself? Just as one pure tiny crystal can attract to itself like molecules in a saturated solution, grow and expand, so can man expand his speck of divinity and make it operative as a divine force. Through renunciation of all the unwanted dissipating forces within him, through the power of his self-will, sadhana and surrender, he can in this very life manifest divinity.

Excerpt from the Chapter “Mother, upon thee I meditate” in the book “Snake and Ladder” (A Few Drops from the Nectar of Bhagavad Gita) by Dr.M.LakshmiKumari, President, Vivekananda Kendra.

Grateful thanks t0 Dr. M.LakshmiKumari and Vivekananda Kendra.

An Enchanting and Enriching Experience

Dr. M. Lakshmi Kumari

By the grace of Swamiji I was given a wonderful opportunity to study Swamijis works in detail, when the most famous publishers of Kerala D.C. Books requested me to compile Swamijis message for daily reading covering the whole year,essentially 366 pages of Swamijis inspiring thoughts, if necessary with a footnote or commentary. My first thought was, oh!! What is there? I can just pick up 366 quotations and present them. Then came the detailed letter that each message should be one full page, it must include special pages for important days, it should contain stories,letters etc. That brought the realization that it is not an easy joke. First effort was to find out someone to copy down from Malayalam complete works. Fortunately one of our well-wishers Smt Padma who is extremely fond of writing came forward, followed by another friend Sri. Sudhakar to check up with and compare with English. Step 2 was to bring some order into the arrangement of thoughts. A lot of mental shuffling went on till a beautiful pattern emerged. That was to arrange the thoughts, taking inspiration from the magnificent gateway to Vivekananda Literature which Swamiji himself has provided. His famous quotation “Each soul is potentially divine……etc.,”. That brought to mind the picture of “the ascent of man” from small m to capital M, passing through the gate way and on to the ladder of Swamijis life giving and soul stirring message. The gate way first leads us to one’s own Self and then to unravel the mysteries of the world without. Then starts the real ascent through Karma, Bhakti,Raja yoga and Jnana.

As I started this ascent myself I could feel giddiness at the immensity of the ascent and some resting places had to be created. And there they were when Swamiji speaks of our great Bharat and her glory. Then comes his message to the youth to ready themselves for the regeneration of the country. The ascent continues from Karma to one moves to Bhakti yoga which naturally circumambulates Sri Ramakrishna and Swamijis observations of his Master. Then comes the Raja Yoga, just a sample to excite the interest common reader. Again comes a landing platform to ease the stress on our mind meditating on Sri Buddha and Swamijis adoration for the great Master. At last we are the foot of the steep ascent of Jnana Yoga. Swamijis, wonderful insights into the Upanishadic lore and how climbing on to the Everest of Advaita is a must to establish peace and happiness in the world at large. In the light of this knowledge religion assumes a different form altogether, of Self-realization. At last the soul is ready to merge with the Source from where it came out. And there ends the story of the ascent of man into Godhood.

A Bridge between the Ancient and the Modern

Sri Sarada Devi (1853 - 1920)

(Hinduism has a rich and sacred history dating back thousands of years. The values and teachings of our ancient scriptures are timeless and have a universal relevance. Dr M Lakshmi Kumari, former President of the Vivekananda Kendra, shows us how Sri Sarada Devi made these ancient precepts relevant for the modern man.) All of us are in a way bridges. Every father and mother, every human being is a bridge that spans two generations. Each generation has to hand over the keys to the next generation by which they can unlock their inner potentialities and possibilities. But what sort of keys do we hand over to our children? These days we have only one key, by which our material possibilities can be unlocked, made more productive and pleasurable, though not satisfactory. Within a short time that key starts rusting. With it we cannot open our homes, least of all our hearts. We seem to have lost the key by which we can unlock ourselves and through us the entire universe. 

This has been happening from time immemorial and hence Sri Krishna declares, 'I take birth again and again when dharma declines and adharma gains supremacy.' When men forget their duty of handing over the key of satya and dharma, asuric forces take over and the whole society slips into decay. Avatars come to remove the rust from our keys and to hand over the right keys to us by which human welfare can be restored. What keys did Mother give us? What bridge did she construct for us so that our lives get a new meaning and become fulfilled?

Every bridge spans either the two banks of a river or the chasm between two peaks. With reference to human life, a bridge takes us from one set of values to another. Holy Mother's was such a beautiful bridge by which anybody could cross over the mighty ocean of samsara. Rarely do people of her calibre appear who can construct such a wonderful bridge. Sarada Devi was, like many of us, born and brought up in a rural household, exposed to much penury and hardship. But the rays of light of good breeding were part and parcel of her upbringing and she grew up as an extraordinarily sensitive and kind-hearted daughter. All the wonderful human qualities that mark a super-human being manifested in her effortlessly. Today we seem to have lost the fragrance of these natural character-building traits. Neither our parents nor teachers have the time or the capacity to inculcate these qualities, the hallmark of a good human being, in us. Here is something for us to contemplate - what have we lost?

Equipped though Holy Mother was from childhood with the best of materials to build the bridge of human understanding, yet there was one lacuna and that needed to be filled up. The strength of the human bridge lies in God consciousness, the realization of the Truth of the atman within and without. The Light hidden within had to be brought out. From a little known village girl she had to be transformed into the Divine Mother, to play her full part as an avatar with her husband. She had to become the Mother of the rich and poor, fallen and downtrodden, sannyasis and dacoits! For this she had to become one with the Light of knowledge, love and action. She went to Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineshwar. She was his shakti, first as his dutiful wife, then as his dedicated disciple and to manifest divine motherhood. Every word and action of hers bore the imprint of divinity. On her bridge, one is led from untruth to Truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.

In the arati song of Sri Ramakrishna there is a line 'jnananjanavimalanayanavikshanemohajaya,' - the purity of Sri Ramakrishna's eyes adorned with the collyrium of knowledge dispels delusion. What was there in Mother's eyes which could transform human beings in toto? What collyrium did she use to remove the delusion in others? lt was premanjana, the collyrium of love. That was the bridge through which she drew the dacoit into her heart. Because of that premanjana in her eyes she saw everyone as her own. This is what mothers of today need to learn.

Holy Mother's biographers extol her life of absolute purity. There was not one black spot on her. Her purity was centred on the realization of Truth with its byproducts of samabhavana and samadarsitva, same-sightedness and universal love. Mother never asked for anybody's credit card of worthiness before she consoled and enriched them with her love. Those who came to rob her were themselves robbed, of their inner impurities. Let us imbibe this lesson of true love from her.

This divine vision was Sri Ramakrishna's gift to Sarada Devi when he made her part of his very being through the Shodashi Puja which marked the culmination of his sadhana. Thus Mother received the whole of his spiritual effulgence. She was the fittest recipient of this unusual legacy, because she was none other than Prakriti (Primordial Power), Parama (Supreme), Abhaya and Varada (She who grants fearlessness and fulfils desires). She was the Bhavatarini whom Sri Ramakrishna worshipped in the temple. Otherwise how could she give, in such a simple homely way, truths which rishis had realized after long and severe austerities? Even Sri Ramakrishna had to climb so many difficult steps before he could enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Divine Mother's heart.

She was a perfect being without any selfishness or self-interest or self-glorification of any kind, so her thoughts, words and actions did not cast any shadow anywhere. There was only benediction in front and blessing behind each and every movement of hers. Is it not a great lesson to those who are unhappy and dissatisfied in life?

The eternal bridge that Holy Mother made connected the ancient and the modern. How can someone who lives in the present make use of the ancient? One has to clearly understand the nature of this bridge which spans time and space with values, never dying and ever valid. Holy Mother acquired these values through extraordinary self-denial and service to Sri Ramakrishna. It was her genius that she could make it applicable for all times to come. No wonder that we find all the epithets of the great Mother of the Universe in her.

Three Facets of Truth

'Satyam sivamsundaram' - these are the ancient facets of eternal Truth that we find on the wonderful modern bridge that Holy Mother has given to us. Truth alone makes human life valuable. 'Nanyahpanthavidyateayanaya,' there is no other way, as our rishis repeat again and again. Satyam, truth alone was dear to Mother and she learned early in life to centre her being in it. This Truth made her see everything as her own, soaked in the divinity that she herself experienced abundantly and at all times.

Modern science tries to express Oneness as interrelated, interconnected, interdependent and so on. But can it express it as aptly as 'vasudaivakutumbakam,' the universe is one family, especially when demonstrated by an all-knowing Mother like her?

The second span is sivam - auspiciousness. Mother was the image of auspiciousness and today even her pictures radiate the same. Everything she said or touched was auspicious. All of us should keep a photo of Holy Mother somewhere in our homes to make them auspicious.

Satyam is also sundaram, Truth is beauty; Mother was beautiful. Her life exemplifies Vedantic truths that adorn human life with a rare beauty. Holy Mother never extended her hand to anybody for anything. The only thing she ever wanted was that Sri Ramakrishna fill her heart and mind with premasudha rasa, the nectar of divine love. Sitting in the nahabat, a small room at Dakshineshwar, she became the Divine Mother and embraced humanity through her love and understanding. She shows us how to expand and be really global by assimilating truth, goodness and beauty in everyone.

We should walk on this eternal bridge which spans the ancient and the modern. Modern science has come full circle and now reverts to the concepts of voluntary simplicity, frugal consumption and so on, based on its new understanding of the interconnection of the whole universe. The Upanishadic dictum, 'tenatyaktenabhunjita,' enjoy by renouncing, provides the spiritual foundation. India has preserved these values from time immemorial.

Our ancient values based on satyam and dharma can even today provide all that is necessary to make human life worthwhile. Fortunately for us our avatars continue to provide bridges making use of the ancient values so that even today we can cross the ocean of samsara. Let us pray to Holy Mother to give us courage and strength of conviction to use the wonderful bridge that she has built for us.

(Reprinted from: "Eternal Mother"; published by Sri Sarada Math, India, 2004)

Vishwa-Bhanu

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Vishwa-Bhanu

The activities report for the month of October and November for the project Vivekananda Kendra Vedic Vision Foundation
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The Elevating Spirit of Indian Music

By Dr. M. Lakshmikumari (Served as president of Vivekananda Kendra, India)

From ‘Jyoti’ magazine Published by The Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa

Like the unique Vedanta philosophy, the ancient yet vibrant Sanskrit language, the all-encompassing system of Yoga, Indian music is yet another exercise of the Indian mind in its path of exploration into the mysteries of Nature and of Ultimate Truth.

The word Bharata (India) – which is condensed out of the musical expression Bhava, Raga and Tala, rightly emphasises the inalienable relationship between the thoughts, words and actions of human life, and music in India. On one side, it can be said that it is the music within, the Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Knowledge- Bliss Absolute) that finds manifold expressions outside in man’s life. Viewed from the other side, it is the sublimation of actions, words and thoughts that lead one to hear the same music within.

Sound as the Source of Creation

In India, music is considered as a subtle divine thread capable of linking the Jeevatman (individual soul) with the Parmatman (Supreme Soul), a concept originating in the Tantric idea of Sabdabrahman, the primeval source of creation. This idea finds expression in the eloquent words of the renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin, ‘Indian music reflects Indian life having no predetermined beginning or end but flowing without interruption through the fingers of the composer-performer.’

To fully understand the beauty, depth and elevating qualities of Indian music, one must therefore understand, if not experience, these concepts at least to some extent.

It is believed that the Supreme Being is of the nature of Sabdabrahman or Nadabrahman. This Ultimate Sound Principle gets manifested as its vibrations. Through the Samyoga and Viyoga i.e. the union and separation of these vibrations, Sabdabrahman creates the world of ‘forms’, from the sub-atomic to the biggest and the mightiest! The entire cosmos is the manifestation of Sabdabrahman. That being so, in uniting the entire creation, lies ‘Naada’. As the Naada evolves, differentiates and expands from the subtle to the gross, it gives rise to articulate sounds- ‘Varnas’, ‘Srutis’ and ‘Swaras’ – and moves on to create ‘Ragas’, capturing the ‘Bhavas’ (moods) of the mind. From Varnas arise by permutations and combinations, the world of ‘forms’.

Today scientific substantiation of these concepts has been forthcoming through the experimental demonstration that different geometrical figures can be produced by manipulating sound! That means it is possible to reduce all ‘physical forms’ to ‘sound forms’ and vice-versa. In other words, form is sound made manifest. According to the Tantras there are 50 basic sounds out of which the world of forms has come into being.

Classification of Sabda or Sound

Nowhere in the world has the science of Sound and Music been studied so deeply and exhaustively as in ancient India. Panini, Patanjali, Bhartruhari, Nandikeswara, Anjaneya and Bharata are outstanding among those who have contributed to the unravelling of the mystery of sound, music and creation. The ‘Sabda’ itself is classified into Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari.

1.The grossest of these four is Vaikhari, the dense audible sound.

2. Madhyama is the stage where thought takes the form of sound or word.

3. Pashyanti is the preceding stage where ‘thought’ assumes a ‘form’ where sound vibration becomes ‘visible’ in the mind. At that stage, there is no impress of language on the form. That is, here the barrier of language has no meaning.

4. Beyond it lies the subtlest, highest and most transcendental stage of Para where neither thought, nor names nor forms find a place, as there are neither waves nor wavelengths there. It is the ultimate unifying substratum – the undifferentiated, yet potential sound of Sabdabrahman. This is the stage of Godhead – sans thought, sound or form, the goal of deep meditation.

No wonder that such a concept and understanding of music developed into a form of worship (Nadopasana) and has carried many on its wings to self-unfoldment and merger with the Ultimate Truth or Parabrahman. From the unmanifest to the manifest, from the manifest to the unmanifest, thus goes the cycle of Naada (sound), stretching from Eternity to Eternity – linking everything without any distinction of desa-kala-nama-roopa (place, time, name, form). Only in the land of Nataraja (cosmic dancer; Shiva), Saraswati (goddess of learning), the Veena (stringed musical instrument), Murali (flute), could such a sublime concept have been conceived, creating a vibrant life, science and tradition in music.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa had beautiful visions bearing on this principle. He used to see a long white thread proceeding out of himself.

‘This mass would open and within it he would see the Mother with a Veena. Then, she would begin to play and as she played he would see the music turning into birds and animals and worlds and arrange themselves. Then she would stop playing and they would all disappear. The light would grow less and less distinct till it was just a luminous mass, the string would grow shorter and shorter and the whole world would be absorbed into himself again.’

What an incomparable vision! A condensed drop of the entire philosophy of sound and music.

From where and how did Indian music originate?

Our ancient seers living in communion with Nature must have ‘seen’ and heard the music in myriad ways and forms. In the rising sun, in the light of the stars, in the heights of the snow-clad Himalayas, in the thick forests, in the thundering clouds, in the gurgling Ganges – in the cries of birds and animals, in the blooming of flowers, dropping of petals, ripening and sweetening of fruit, in birth, growth and decay of created beings, anywhere and everywhere, they would have felt the resonance of the one Naada. Capturing this music in Nature, they must have felt their souls ringing in harmony with them and instinctively realised the same Naada vibrating within them. With joy and thrill, they must have picked up the basic notes and built around them their grand repertoire:

SA -from the cry of the peacock with its two sounds of lower and higher pitches

RE -from the cry of the bull

GA-from that of a goat

MA-from the cry of the Krauncha bird

PA-from the voice of the Koel in spring

DHA- from the neighing of the horse, and

NE-from the cry of the elephant.

It is said that Lord Shiva in his cosmic dance produced from his Damaru various types of sounds and the great saint, Patanjali, grasped them in his Maheshwara Sutras and explained the formation of the universe. According to this view, the origin of the 7 basic notes can be traced back to Shiva.

According to some others, the 7 keynotes, which form the units of music all over the world, personify 7 levels of human consciousness. Out of this consciousness springs forth the stream of life, essentially consisting of one’s aspirations to reach that sanctum of happiness, bliss and fulfilment within. In a particular direction, it is called music, in another, dance, in a third, painting, in a fourth, poetry. But among all the fine arts, the finest is indeed music. One, who has understood Naada as the very basis of music, realises it as the subtlest of vibrations, which forms the life-current in each and every cell in his body. It is this omnipresent Naada, which, following particular rhythms, curves and waves, flows through our life, enriching us with experiences. If one tries to discover it within and manifest it without, it becomes the fittest musical instrument in the hands of the Supreme and his life itself turns into a music with a rare melody of tune and rhythm.

Sound used in Spiritual Practice or Upasana

The study of Indian music has its own practical lessons to impart to our every day life. To learn music is a discipline in itself, controlling one’s body, breath, voice, one’s very nature itself. In childhood, learning music helps one to develop a rhythm and order in his daily activities. Through Upasana of naada, he catches glimpses of the unity in diversity. In the second stage, by enriching the Bhavana (feeling) in the music, one can control and sublimate the emotions of the mind. As the evening of life approaches, music turns into a source of peace and joy. Equanimity and tranquillity of mind come as by-products of an advanced musical mind. If one is a true Upasaka (earnest student), before long, from the outer music he will turn towards the inner and start enjoying the subtlest of music – the Anahata Naada, the soundless sound – in the innermost chamber of one’s heart. Thus, music can truly form the vehicle to take man from the gross to the subtle, from the finite to the infinite. As his life’s vibrations become attuned to the divine, his soul’s music reveals to him the music in the creation and of the creation. He finds the entire universe resounding with the Eternal notes – Soham Soham.

The chords of life can be tuned properly as in a musical instrument with self-effort. If one masters this art of tuning, and brings out the best of Swaras without any Apaswaras, then his life becomes attuned to the Supreme Music and he would sing the soul-stirring music of love, compassion and understanding.

Veenaavaadana tatwajnaha;

swarajnaana vishaaradah;

Talajnachaaprayatnena;

param brahmaadhigacchati

“One who plays the Veena with full knowledge of the basic principles of sound, the science of tune evolution and the beat of music could attain Parabrahman without much effort.”

There is no aspect of life where music cannot play its role. The soothing of the nerves and the calming of the mind that music brings about are marvellous. Just as a mother can sing her child to sleep through her lullabies, at every context in life, whether in the farms or factories, in games or studies, music can bring in a sense of unity and harmony. In India, we have established long long back, that through proper combinations of Swaras we can create Ragas, which have the capacity to call forth forces of Nature such as the rain, fire, etc. Stones can be melted, glass can be broken, and lamps can be lighted. Trees and plants can respond to the music of one who has attuned himself to the Eternal vibrations.

The Glory of Indian Music

Today, Indian music has caught the attention of musicologists, scientists and other learned men. With more and more research in the field of Indian musicology, more and more hidden treasures are surfacing. In spite of all the ups and downs it has gone through the several centuries of its growth, Indian music has retained its highly aesthetic and elevating spirit and its unique individuality.

Rightly has Shakespeare said of music:

“The man that has no music in himself, nor is moved with sweet concord of sweet sound, is fit for treason, stratagems and spoils.”

Nearer home, we have the Lord Himself proclaiming:

Naaham vasaami Vaikunthe,

Na yogi hriday gaavati

Madbhakta yatra gaayanti

Tatra tishthami Naarada

“I dwell not in Vaikunth (heaven), nor in the hearts of Yogins, nor in the sun; but where my devotees sing, there, O Narada, do I reside.”

That is the uniqueness of Indian music. May that all-pervading Nadbrahman, remove all the Apaswaras (discordant tunes) from our lives and fill it with pleasing, unifying and harmonising Swaras so that the music of our lives may flow melodiously, taking us from untruth to Truth, from darkness to Light, from death to Immortality.

Preamble

Purely material philosophies that flooded the world in the wake of western colonialism have kept humankind for centuries under the spell of what is increasingly perceived as the Eurocentric approach to life . In the millennium that has drawn to a close, the world has undergone changes in mind and body that has made every idea which once looked unalterable and most satisfying, eventually redundant and even harmful. Need is felt acutely for values based on Eternal Truth to stabilize and protect the humanity caught in the whirlwind of change , without which the present paradigms cannot lead to harmonious evolution of humankind nor bring hope and fulfilment to life at individual and collective levels.