K K K

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

snaking queue of thousands to caste their mark for freedom
from internet

Every South African looked into the sky as the horizon took a golden complexion when the starlit sky cavitated into the void left by day. As the north-westerly brought the dust of the Kalahari, rattling the tin roofs of the townships and littering the streets of the cities with the autumn leaves, there was a fragrance of hope in the air that would usually be permeated by the stench of the bola fires and paraffin stoves.  The screeching crickets monopolised the air as almost all activity ceased. The springbok, lion, protea, even the drying bushveld sway to the music that freedom is coming tomorrow. The day was 26 April 1994. Nothing could take away that moment as South Africans sat like expectant parents for their first born.  The sun set for the last time on a nation that will succumb to racial discrimination, oppression, freedom of expression and injustice of any kind.

The day 27 April 2012 - the sun stealthily peaked through my room curtain, giving life to my senses. I could hear the dogs bark behind a roaring vehicle as I alighted from the bed to draw the curtains. I awoke to a South Africa 18 years into democracy. And indeed, much has changed. We have been given the dignity of being South African, but fundamentally nothing has changed. Millions of our people still live below the breadline, are unemployed and have no access to sanitation, electricity and water. To date, South Africans still have no stake in the mineral resources of the land and many still squat like foreigners on land in their own country.

The Oxford dictionary defines freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants”.  The use of the word freedom liberally has to be questioned, as upon reflection we find that even within this freedom we are not entirely free.  We are governed by systems and protocols like democracy, the constitution, social norms and various other frameworks which are essential, mind you, for a society to be run in a civil and efficient way. This is evident in many of our scriptures as well. I am reminded of Einstein’s theory which states that “energy can neither be created nor destroyed but merely transformed from one state to another”. In much the same way, the racial discrimination, oppression and apartheid prior to 1994 has simply transformed into corruption, greed and a bourgeois society post 1994.

Lord Krishna’s birth in a prison cell is a clear indication that by our very birth we are imprisoned by the body, and we develop by the norms and prejudices of our community.  So freedom is not only physical, but must be evident in every aspect inclusive of thought, action, etc. Dr Nelson Mandela, the first President of the democratically elected South Africa said: “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison” - a profound quote which underpins the theory that ‘ballot box freedom’ is minuscule as compared to all the other freedoms that we still have to fight for.

The fight for liberation and democracy is a ‘walk in the park’, when we consider the oppressors we up against in the manifest world ruled by the K³ (cubed): Kali, Karmini and Kanchana.  Man will never be free from the shackles of time. I recall  often when I am so engrossed in the beautiful and divine talks by Swami Vimokshananda, He starts to look at the clock and round up, because of the time limit given to Him to deliver his message - and many will struggle a brutal defeat against lust and greed.

Time -the ruler of our lives(-from internet)

Take a moment to sit and analyse how even within the best democracies, its citizens are still colonised by the K³ empire.  From sadhana, pooja, time with children and family, rest, work to leisure are all governed by time. Every country is plagued by the symptoms of mal-administration, corruption, theft, fraud - all fuelled by greed. Families and societies have been rocked and destroyed by lust. 

Whenever I peak into the sky and see a flock of birds flying freely across the panorama of nature, I intuitively understand my true nature to be absolutely free. With English words like freedom not doing sufficient justice in describing this absolute freedom, I take from the Sanskrit language the word moksha (totally released from this cycle of birth and death impelled by karma).

Dear Lord, understanding my true nature to be absolutely free, I once again want to merge into and experience that ultimate state - free of time, heartache and suffering, lies and false promises, fraud, corruption, deceit, lust greed, limitations of the body and mind, restrictions of any sort, hatred, birth and death. My Lord, when the time on this earth comes for me to breathe my last breath, I vote for MOKSHA in all ballot papers.

On this Freedom Day here in South Africa, I pray and hope that one day, we all will have the ultimate taste of that absolute freedom (knowledge of the self). May we understand that without darkness, we could not understand light; without this manifest world we could never understand moksha.  This life in all its variety is a journey to the ultimate truth; appreciate every part of it as a stepping stone to your destination; waste not a minute in idleness; but work tirelessly for the moksha of humanity and your own.

In concluding, I quote Swami Vivekananda who said:

Many times I have been in the jaws of death, starving, footsore, and weary; for days and days I had no food, and often could walk no further; I would sink down under a tree, and life would seem to be ebbing away. I could not speak, I could scarcely think, but at last the mind reverted to the idea: "I have neither fear nor death; never was I born, never did I die; I never hunger or thirst. I am It! I am It! The whole of nature cannot crush me; it is my servant. Assert thy strength, thou Lord of Lords and God of Gods! Regain thy lost empire! Arise and walk and stop not!

With love and prayers always

Yogan

Ramakrishna-Vivekananda: A seamless bridge between the ages

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

Master and Student

The weekend did not seem complete as I had to miss satsangh on Saturday, upon advice from the therapist to treat my sore neck, which resulted from poor posture. I must admit that the chill in the air does not in any way contribute to the healing process. It makes me want to be a teen again as I recalled my cousin who I visited on Friday evening laying in a very awkward position playing video games for hours on end without a problem. Although his total obsession in the game whilst me visiting annoyed me, it actually provided inspiration for today’s blog.

The game involved him going through various stages using different weapons and special kits to rescue and save a trapped crew of a plane crash. However, having been killed various times he had to restart from a specific stage. He also made reference to the internet at certain times, for tricks from other users to make his way through the stages easily.

A devotee once asked Master (Sri Ramakrishna) about why we have to be born and undergo these trials and tribulations to which He replied that it was all a “play of the Divine Mother”. Much like the game, we have to go through different stages; die and be born again until the game is over.  Like the internet, there is also advice from saints, sages and scriptures to ensure that we have an advantage and can seamlessly pass the various stages without any surprises.

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that time I descend myself, age after age.

This is said by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavat Gita with certainty and knowledge that He will have to come age after age with a reviewed message to mankind. It tells us that the relevance of the message changes age after age as man progresses. Living in the silicon age, is it possible for us to renounce the world and live in the caves to find God? Herein lies the brilliance of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda contribution to mankind, bringing about a synthesis of Vedanta throughout the ages and making it practical and relevant to our age.

With many schools of thought denouncing western culture and the material world as an impediment to ones salvation, declaring  that the only way is the renouncing off all material possessions and seeking the Lord in solitude. It was Swamiji, who having personally experienced the lifestyles of the oriental and occidental, understood that a careful blend of both worlds is needed for mans’ progress.

Born in the modern world, Swamiji  thoroughly understood that in the world which was mad with material advancements and intellectual pursuits,  the life of a recluse found no position in this activity-mad world. Hence Swamiji’s view that God can be attained through action (work) coupled with devotion to God finds strength in Shree Krishna’s words:

He who worships me constantly through the performance of his duties, knowing my presence in all beings, soon attains steadfast devotion to me, and through this devotion comes to me.

These words of the Lord were wonderfully unpacked by Master when he proclaimed: “No, not kindness to living beings; but service to the Lord dwelling in them”. If one can attend to one’s work or activity to humanity with the attitude of service to the Lord, then the path of Karma Yoga gains unusual momentum towards liberation.  Taking the words of His Master as His compass, Swamiji founded the Ramakrishna Math twinned with the Mission, highlighting to the world and humanity that  rendering service to the sick, ignorant, distressed and diseased is verily worship of God.

Swamiji said: “We have to cover everything with the Lord himself, not by a false sort of optimism, not by blinding our eyes to the evil, but by really seeing God in everything”. So in everything in life and death; in happiness and in misery; He is equally present. The whole world is full of the Lord - open your eyes and see Him.

He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak and in the diseased really worships Shiva. And if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary. He who has served the poor, and helped him seeing Shiva in him without thinking of caste, race, creed or anything; with him Shiva is more pleased than one who sees Him only in temples.

Swamiji took to this form of worship so intensely that He was willing to give up His own salvation for the upliftment of masses; understanding that there can be no true liberation until the sum total of all souls are freed from the bondage of this world.

May I be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries, so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls - and above all; my God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship.

Satya Sai Baba himself performing Narayana Seva(serving the lord in humanity)

Our country South Africa, will celebrate Freedom Day on 27^th April 2012. A day we look back at with jubilation, when as a nation, we were all able to cast our ballot in the new free South Africa. This freedom, is however, very superficial as true freedom goes beyond the ballot box. Let us take direction from Swamiji’s message to understand that South Africa can only be free when the poor, weak, and illiterate are removed from their plight.

Let us work to make our freedom a living reality and example to the world by serving our country and her people like Lord Narayana Himself.

May we celebrate our Freedom Day with the idea that our freedom only comes with the freedom of all aspects of life is my sincere prayer.

With love and prayers always

Yogan

Faith and strength the soothing balm for the irritations of life

Swami Vivekananda

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

 For one who believes that God has a hand in everything in His creation, I was not surprised when I walked into the satsangh at Head Quarters (Ramakrishna Centre) after a few weeks to be greeted by the Hanuman Chalisa recital 11 times. More especially, since Sri Ramachandra and Sri Hanumanji have been loitering in the corridors of my thoughts for a couple of weeks now.

This continuous enforcement of strength from my daily readings of Swamiji (Vivekananda) and of recent, the thoughts of Hanumanji completed the puzzle when I lucidly recall the events of Friday evening.

It was a wonderful autumn evening - characterised by the early withdrawal of Surya from the skyline and a brisk chill - inspiration and motivation enough to convince a nice walk to the temple as compensation for skipping gym for a few weeks.

The parking lot was teeming with activity - the youth were gathering in preparation for their Shakha session (Hindu games); whilst others made their way floridly adorned, wearing optimistic smiles and joy for the New Year (Tamil) that awaited them. The campus warmly received the guests and devotees with ornate lamps producing an aura of festivity as they flickered to the tune of the frigid breeze that flowed past.

The bells in the sanctum opened the proceedings punctually with the mantras and divine incenses competing for your attention. The stage was set as it were for the traditional reading of the almanac - a tradition where the priest would spell out the predictions for the New Year. It was not long into the reading when from the angle I was seated, I could not avoid noticing how the optimism gradually waned on many faces as he started to describe the Naandana Varasham (5113). He spoke of floods, earth quakes, corruption and tsunamis to mention a few of the predictions. To many it was like the winds of disillusionment extinguishing their lamps of hope. At this point, how I wished they had read Swamiji’s writings - the inexhaustible flame of inspiration and strength.

Words of power from Swamiji

Was there ever a time on this earth where what was mentioned above did not take place? Is there any scripture that guarantees that gold or oil will never finish and we will never have global warming? Is this corruption unique and new to our times? I think the questions are quite rhetoric. Once again, it was by no means co-incidental that during my morning readings of the Gospel of Shri Ramakrishna, that yesterday I read the page where Master spoke of this parable.

A lady who sold fish in a village at last came to her friend’s house who was a flower hawker. It was late so her friend asked her to spend the night. She made her bed in the room which was overwhelmed with the fragrance of flowers. The host noted that the guest had much difficulty in sleeping as she tossed about incessantly. The concerned host asked of her troubles, to which she said she was not familiar with the surroundings, and asked for her fish basket to be placed next to her. With this familiar smell of the fish from the basket it was not long before the guest was sound asleep. 

Why are we so afraid to embrace and entertain change? Motivational speaker and leadership trainer Dale Carnegie said: “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade”. Change in the world is inevitable; we must learn how to transform any situation for our benefit. In the business world this is called entrepreneurship; to the ordinary world I think realism would be the term to describe it.

These natural disasters, crime, etc. have been present all the time. The Bhagavad Gita teaches us in a nutshell that the past is the history and we can do nothing about it; the future is yet to come and we don’t know how it will unfold; what we have is the present and the now and we must make the most of it.

This whole creation is the cause of the Divine Father. Can we go against His will? The only thing we can do is make maximum use of the now. In a letter to His disciple in Madras, Swami Vivekananda explains:

My whole ambition in life is to set in motion machinery which will bring noble ideas to the door of everybody, and let men and woman settle their own fate. Let them know what our forefathers and nations have thought on the most momentous question of life. Let them see what others are doing and then decide. We are to put the chemicals together; the crystallisation will be done by nature according to her laws. Work hard, be steady and have faith in the Lord. Set to work. Therefore my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want - strength, strength and every time strength. The Upanishads are the great mine of strength. Therein lies strength enough to invigorate the whole world. The whole world can be vivified, made strong, energised through them. They will call with trumpet voice upon the weak, miserable and the down trodden of all races, all creeds and all sects, to stand on their own feet and be free. Freedom - physical freedom, mental freedom and spiritual freedom are the watch words of the Upanishads.

Like how Eskom calls upon us daily to switch off nonessential equipment that puts undue stress on the electrical grid, let us not put trouble our minds with things that we have no control over. Utilise the now as Swamiji says by having firm conviction and faith in God to unearth the strength and divinity that is lying latent within us. Let’s awaken this power and harness it to create joy for ourselves and all around us with the attitude of service to the Lord Himself.

May we be victorious in this quest is my sincere prayer.

With love and prayers always

Yogan

Easter- Weekend of Devotion

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

When former president Nelson Mandela declared to the world in 1994 that South Africa is a “rainbow nation”, it made us extremely patriotic to know that we are able to live and co-exist in peace and harmony. However, I feel even more pride living in the KwaZulu kingdom which takes prized position in presenting the rainbow brand.

In what is essentially a Christian celebration throughout the world, takes on a different outlook in the kingdom of KwaZulu-Natal. For tourists and former expats of the province, the landscape turns into a colourful and dazzling mosaic of religion, culture and leisure. This melting pot of diversity truly gives meaning to the ideals of oneness.

Pure and powerful spiritual vibrations emanate from the churches, mountains, temples and festivals that contribute to the wellbeing of not just the province and country, but the world as a whole.

Divine Mother

The roosters must still be reeling from confusion as thousands started their Good Friday before daybreak, with their annual pilgrimages to the Ammen temples in Isipingo and Mount Edgecombe. With the popularity of this prayer increasing year-on-year, the smaller town temples also benefit from the support. The spiritual fervour gained extra momentum with Hanuman Jayanti celebrations co-inciding with the Ammen prayer. Our roads also took extra strain as devotees made their way to the Hare Krishna Ratha Yatra Festival of Chariots; churches; and temples on this morning. Despite traffic jams and hot weather, all frustration and irritation seemed to dissolve into the devotion for God.

It was heart warming to watch as families gathered at temples with trays of offerings, dressed in traditional wear and adorning smiles as they circumambulate the deity and queue to place their wishes and prayers before the Divine. At this hospital of divinity, no triage facility exists, and all problems and prayers are given the undivided attention of god.

The atmosphere was infused with a hearty dose of love, incense and joy - accompanied by sporadic bursts of bhajans and music through loud hailers - especially in Tongaat where the mood was being set for one of the biggest displays of devotion to Lord Muruga on the continent of Africa, where an estimated 500 kavadies and 20 000 spectators descend on the town to participate in this 103-year tradition.  This continues the following day with another estimated 10 000 people attending the Sunrise Kavady festival in Tongaat.

Mother Shabari serving Sri Ram

Back at the temple, whilst watching the families in queue with their beautifully packed and decorated trays of love offerings, I for some reason thought of Mother Shabari, most probably stemming from the week long Ramayan week celebrations, where during the discourses her name was bound to come up at least once.

As much as Hanuman can be declared as the most devout devotee of the Lord, there are many unsung devotees who‘s unalloyed sincere love and devotion is very dear to the Lord. We see how Mother Shabari waited daily with the same intensity and love for Sri Rama, beautifully decorating her home and yard for His reception. She ensured she picked the best fruit and berries for His meal. Although He didn’t arrive for a long time, her love and devotion made time dissolve out of existence.

When He did arrive, her behaviour requires some special attention. Upon making the party comfortable, she went on to provide them with meals. But before she fed Sri Rama His fruit, she took each fruit to taste ensuring that He got only the sweetest fruit worthy of a Lord. Although this infuriated Lutchmana, it was warmly and lovingly received by Sri Rama.

A prayer group sang a beautiful song at the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations that I attended on Friday. The song which I think was sung by the legendary TM Soundarajen was  - Anban Vaziye Yaar Nadanalam, Avanam Ramanan Woondru – meaning “He who walks the path of love and devotion; He and Rama are one.”

This idea underpins the thought that I projected last week and here today, that when one immerses oneself with intense devotion and love for God, they become one with their Lord. The identity of the self vanishes; and the Lord Himself acts through you.

Even in the life of Sri Ramakrishna, we find so much evidence where because of the pure and unalloyed devotion for the Divine Mother; He became one with Her or merged into Her universal consciousness.

As times become more challenging in every aspect, it is comforting to see so many people engaging in these pilgrimages and festivals over these auspicious days. But if we want to see radical change and improvements in our lives and our ability to meet the varied challenges that confront us; then we need to step up the pace by drawing inspiration from Hanumanji, Mother Shabari, Sri Ramakrishna and other saints and sages who showed through their life how pure bhakti transformed them.

May all our external practices transform into intense inner devotion for God, inspiring us and others to lead to a life of peace, love and prosperity. To all my Tamil brothers and sisters -Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal to you – all the best for the New Year.

May we part this week with the profound inspiring thoughts of Sri Adi Shankaracharya. Man is considered a born debtor. He has more debts to pay than the right to claim. Indeed he owes the world much more than the world owes him. For each morsel of his food millions of hands have to work, also for each piece of cloth he wears. Even tiny creatures render him great service, being ever engaged in cleaning the air, water and soil. Therefore as a householder perform the following five duties: 1. Worship God. 2. Cultivation of spiritual knowledge. 3. Preservation and development of ancestral lineage. 4. Service to humanity. 5. Service to other living creatures.

With love and prayers always

Yogan

Sri Hanumanji – An Island of bliss

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

Sri Hanuman

On this auspicious day I offer my praanams to Sri Ramachandra and invoke His blessings for the welfare of creation. Blessed are we to be given an opportunity in this birth to glorify and worship Him. It filled my heart with peace and indescribable joy to be immersed in a divine mood as we worshipped Sri Rama and unpacked the wisdom of eternal happiness locked in His life story, the Ramayana.

This blog takes root in last week’s edition when the discussion centered upon desire as being the central cause of our anxiety, sorrow and suffering. Our minds have become a container of desire and other vices which inevitably displaces the divinity, allowing our minds to become yodhya (place of despondency). Essentially the Lord cannot live side by side with these adharmic qualities. We ourselves have sent Rama to exile from within allowing Ravana or the asuric qualities to plot a successful coup of our mind.

By taking the Ramayana under review during this period I was quite intrigued about one character in this epic who seemed to be totally unaffected by the variables of unhappiness that plague us. He seems to be in a perpetual state of ananda from start to finish. This unusual phenomenon, if it may so be termed, summoned a deeper excavation into His life for better understanding.

Under the microscope of many thought circles, Sri Hanuman is presented as one of the central and important components of the Ramayana giving emphasis and meaning to Sri Ramakrishna’s idea that God can only be attained through sincere and one-pointed devotion. This inextricable relationship between Sri Rama and Hanuman holds a special place in the annals of Hindu Dharma exposing devotion (bhakti) as the soft spot of the divine.

What still picks at my curiosity though, in what seems to be an evolved society, is the relevance of having the ape army and especially Hanuman play such a pivotal role in Sri Rama’s life. There is no doubt purely from a literary point of view, the character of Hanuman is extremely lovable and especially draws attention to the younger ones, making this epic appeal to audiences across all spectrums.

We find that the defining factor between the animal kingdom and humanity is the faculty of discrimination or viveka.  The ability to differentiate between right and wrong elevates man to the top of the evolution table. Hence the greatest victory that man can celebrate is the gift of a human birth which provides a portal for self realisation. 

Unable to control our senses and apply this viveka, man has essentially lived like an animal which purely lives to eat and procreate. The inability of man to utilise his discrimination stems from the overwhelming control that desire and attachment through the senses has on his being. The thirst for instant gratification intensifies with his attachment to the material world, thus spinning a web of suffering and pain around him.

Sri Hanuman burns Ravans Kingdom

In drawing a parallel between ourselves as man and Sri Hanuman as a monkey - what is it that allowed Sri Hanuman never to be captured by this web? Even when the snares of maya tried to bind Him in the confines of materialism, He broke loose and destroyed it with the fire of knowledge that God alone is real. This is clearly illustrated by the incident when Ravana tries to tie Him up in his palace (representing materialism). He then broke loose; after which they lit fire to His tail which He used to burn down most of Lanka.

I recall one instance when Swami Vivekananda said He wished He could undo all the secular learning he undertook. This type of education has inflated our egos alone and does nothing to nourish our spirituality. It has become the fertiliser that feeds our desires.  Many make decisions using the ego instead of their viveka, landing them in unwanted territories.

Master Sri Ramakrishna said that when you clap your hands, birds that are perched on a tree fly away. In a similar manner when we joyously sing the name of God and clap our hands then the birds of desire and other vices fly away.

That was the secret of Sri Hanumanji! That is why whilst the rest, including Rama, lived on the main land of attachment resulting in pain and sorrow; He was always on the island of peace and joy. Despite being an ape which is normally devoid of discrimination, Sri Hanuman possessed immense strength, intellect and discrimination because every cell of His being was immersed in ‘Raam-Naam’, leaving no void for desire or any other negative tendency. That name - Sri Ram -  which enabled rocks to float, or Him to fly, resonated with thunderous proportions within Him. He was so immensely absorbed in Raam and becoming one with Raam. It was Raam Himself living as Hanuman.

That is what the character of Sri Hanuman teaches us: Irrespective of who you are - like how Valmiki the thief became a saint - when you immerse yourself completely and  surrender unconditionally to the Lord, then there is no distinction between you and the Lord; both become one. Then, all your thoughts, all your actions are that of the Lord Himself.

Sri Ramakrishna said: “If we can weep for God the way we weep for material possessions, then God shall and definitely manifest before us”. I can find no better practical example of unalloyed single-pointed devotion to God or His Master like that of Hanumanji to Sri Rama and Swamiji to Sri Ramakrishna. That is the only ingredient for success and joy.

May Sri Rama and Sri Hanumanji guide , protect and inspire us always is my sincere prayer.

With love and prayers always

Yogan