Maha Yajna of Life

|| Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

 

Aum Namo Narayanaya

 

The time: 22:30, the date: 26 October 2012, the place: Ramakrishna Ashram Durban. It was the eve of my birth - and I sat in my room embanked by the shrine housing the Holy Trio, the quarters of the two Swamijis and an ensemble of my thoughts that projected out of over 3 decades of experiences. The lives of these elevated souls forming the benchmark and basis of reference of a life lived; I am convinced that the impending anniversary arguably cannot substantiate any celebration. The hours, days and years that stack beneath - how have they been utilised? As much as half of it has been spent sleeping. I cannot really account for the waking hours being spent efficiently and productively expressing the potential divinity that I am. I want to take this opportunity to bow to and thank all those who called and expressed their messages of prayer, blessings, gifts and good wishes. I was overwhelmingly moved by the number of calls and messages that flooded my phone and computer. But I also seek forgiveness and bow to all those that I may have offended, hurt and failed to serve during the course of these years.  I stand repentant, but collected and focused not to repeat those mistakes again.

 

Master's party for me began before sunrise as I joined Swami Brahmaroopananda, Swami Vimokshananda and Brother Chandi for morning meditation, japa and mangal aarthi.  Blessed with the grace of Master, Mother, Swamiji and making morning pranaams to our revered Maharajs' set the bar for a perfect day, but more importantly reconstituted and repositioned me with the inspiration and impetus to live a life representative of my true nature.  Making and serving coffee to both Swamijis brought an immense amount of joy that would sustain all other activities for the day

 

It was however during breakfast that Master through the profoundly striking words of Swami Vimokshananda presented a gift that is priceless beyond all currencies. Sharing from His own cup a concoction of hot water and a pinch of neem powder, Maharaj said: ”Whilst everywhere sweets are given during a birthday, I give you this bitter drink." Partaking of the freshly sliced fruit, delicious curries and “thawa” rotis, my mind started to cognise on the depth of this string of words by Maharaj.

 

It was surprising to note that my birth month is shared with quite a few luminaries who have touched millions of people by their actions - the likes of Theodore Roosevelt and Oliver Reginald Tambo. But, significantly with 4 Presidents of the Ramakrishna order. Their lives portray an exemplary array of inspiration that motivates us to find our true purpose and try to achieve it. One such divine soul whose birth thithi was on the auspicious Mahalaya day this October was Revered Swami Akhandanandaji Maharaj who was affectionately known as “Baba Maharaj” for His compassion and affection shown to humanity as a  monk with a fatherly love.

 

Swami Vimokshananda in His discourse last night beautifully and eloquently painted for all the illustrious and selfless life of this great disciple of Sri Ramakrishna who is accredited to starting the Mission work of the order. What really intrigues me upon listening to the biographies of these saints is that they were able to undertake such great work with the minimal resources; yet in this resource endowed world we still struggle to bring relief to the hunger of another human being.

 

 

Being a renunciate monk, Swami Akhandanandaji without hesitation once fed almost an entire section of a village struck by famine with puffed rice with a mere four annas given to Him as pranami by a family. When will the hearts of those with excess reserves feel for those who go to bed without a meal?

 

It was 6.30 am before breakfast when Swami Brahmaroopananda, a few devotees and myself were seated around a hawan kund. We were about to start the scheduled Saturday yajna. I felt blessed to be incorporated into this special sacrifice as part of my birthday. Bowing our heads in invocation prayer and after the purificatory cleansing, the fire was lit. Each was given a container of hawan samagree (mixture of different herbs, roots and stems). After addressing the different deities, the mixture of samagree and butter ghee was inserted into the fire with the chorus recitation of swaha.  Fruit and sweatmeats  coated  with ghee were offered. The yajna concluded with peace chants and the singing of the Hanuman Chalisa.

 

The effect of the yajna pounced upon me as I walked to my room after breakfast. The words of Maharaj found correlation with the yajna. Each of us frozen within our own egos and self have become cold to our fellow humanity.  Like the mixture of samagree, we all don our own unique personalities and temperaments which impedes our ability to interact as a homogenous society. The lighted fire represents God and His infinite grace. When Swami Vivekananda developed the motto of the Ramakrishna Mission “Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha" - 'For one's own salvation and for the welfare of the world', He presented the twin goals in the journey of life. When we embrace God in our lives and surrender at His feet - by His mere touch He melts our egos and as we offer all the different ingredients, even the ghee coated offerings with the word swaha (meaning self), we must offer all our flaws and imperfections to the Lord, who by His mercy smoothes us to perfection. This is seen as within a few minutes of being offered, everything in the kund becomes a pure white ash.\

 

With this realisation that the result of all life and creation is perfection, and that essentially we are all constituted of the same divine energy, we must live by Swami Vivekananda's principle of: 'for the liberation of the self and the welfare of the world'. Swami Vimokshananda's bitter tonic is this ultimate reality. It is of no use living a life of sugar-coating with dreams and illusions, thinking that we are above all and happy. True and real bliss shall only come when we are purified with the touch of God.

 

It is only then when you have lived by that you need not worry about celebrating your birth anniversary - but the world will celebrate it for you! I offer my eternal salutations and pranaams to all these selfless luminaries and saints who lived amongst us to show the way.

 

May their lives give us inspiration and impetus to live a divine life is my sincere prayer.

 

With love and prayers always

Yogan 

Bhairavi to Bhavani

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

 

Mother Kali

Aum Namo Narayanaya

 

The heavens benevolently graced the earth with nourishing showers from the inception of the Navarathri festival in honour of the Mother Universal. It was encouraging to note that the weather did not deter the bhaktas from making their way to the worship halls to offer worship and dance in the spiritual mood of Ambe Ma. Although this festival has not enjoyed the same enthusiasm within the South African South Indian community, there is notable growth over the years, as people become more knowledgeable and embracive of the celebration.

 

It was on Thursday within the first 3 days dedicated to Mother Kali, that an insuppressible thought encroached me. My mind was drawn toward a dear friend who I had not spoken to in a long while. It was with much trepidation that I considered calling my friend, uncertain as to whether I will get through or whether the call will be cordially received and reciprocated with the sentiments of friendship that still possessed my heart.

 

At the end of the call, I was instilled with a sense of joy that touched the zenith of my emotions. It was like my blood in an instant was replaced with joy that travelled to every cell of my being. As this feeling lingered with me for a while, I questioned myself about this experience. If such an engagement with a long lost friend delivered such euphoria, how is it that majority of people cannot connect with and derive joy from the absolute bliss that is within each and every one of us?

 

Listening to my internal inquisition - Master, who has the ability to hear even the footfall of an ant, graciously responded when on two consecutive mornings whilst reading the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, I opened to the same page. 

 

The answer also came enforced on the third day when I read Swami Vimokshananda’s blog titled “Not I but Thou”:

 

“Once, when I was explaining God's actions to someone, God suddenly showed me the lake at Kamarpukur. I saw a man removing the green scum and drinking the water. The water was clear as crystal. God revealed to me that satchidananda is covered by the scum of maya. He who puts the green scum aside can drink the water.” The words of Master immediately struck a definitive chord when I read Swamiji's blog. ”Spiritual life is nothing but slowly effacing this ‘I’ and bringing an awareness of the Mother’s doing. When the feeling of “not I, but Thou’” comes in our core of our heart, we are, though living in the body yet liberated in this very life.”

 

It was Mother Jagadatri, Bhavadharani - the merciful and compassionate Mother Herself, who on the  last day of worship to Mother Kali revealed that the scum that obscures our enjoyment of the bliss within,  is our EGO. The iconography of Mother Kali, invokes mixed sentiments across the spectrum of society. She is a divine paradox defying comprehension. 

 

Garlanded with heads of slain demons, and wearing their appendages around her waist, mouth dripping with blood - She dances violently amongst corpses.  Terror is Her form; darkness is Her name. Swami Vivekananda in His poem on Mother Kali describes Her as follows:

 

For Terror is Thy name,

Death is in Thy breath.

And every shaking step

Destroys a world for e'er.

Thou 'Time', the All-destroyer!

Come, O Mother, come!

 

Yesterday after satsang at ashram, by Mothers grace I attended for a little while the Navarathri celebrations at Saptah Mandir. It was an incredible experience as I sat through the latter part of the proceedings and caught a bit of the discourse on Ma Kali. I am uncertain of the scripture that Pundit Jinabhai was reading from, but at one point he spoke of how Parahamsa Sri Ramakrishna  was able to see Mother Kali as Ananda Rupini (form of bliss) compared to how many see Her only as 'Kali the terrible'.

 

The symbolism of the iconography described above relates to the destruction of the ego. The garland of heads and appendages around Her waist refer to the body. By utilising these as ornaments and apparel, Mother directs us to get rid of the body consciousness. So long as we retain the “I ness” we shall have desires. The blood represents the quelling of desires - we must put an end to desires. Transcending the body and all the attachments to it, we can engage with the spirit within: the reservoir of incalculable bliss.

 

It is those that are egocentric that harbour strong attachment to the world and body; who live for the satisfaction of self - who shall have fear of Mother Kali. They shall see Her as the terrible goddess, simply because She is in contradiction to all that that they stand for.

 

For those who like Master, who have renounced all attachment to the body, world and are pure in every aspect of their being - will see Mother as an embodiment of bliss, compassion, love, and liberator of all souls. Master who has attained perfection through complete surrender and love for the Divine Mother, with the understanding that all is Her will alone, presents Her as Nityakalyani - the eternal bestower of mercy, compassion and beauty to Her children.

 

Mother Kali, as the purana describes, manifested from between the brow of Mother Durga. This symbolises the third eye of wisdom. Whilst we see the world through the conventional organs of sight; in order to view the ananda roopa and engage with the satchidananda within, we need to utilise the third eye (gateway to higher planes of consciousness) which only develop when man moves from being asuric to suric (negative to positive-pure).

 

Let us unite in prayer to the Divine Mother to help us eradicate our ego, selfishness, lust, greed, desires and make us pure like Master. Sri Ramakrishna attained such a high state of perfection and purity that anyone who merely mentions His name will start to transform, and is worthy of being made pranams to.

 

As our prayer and sadhanas intensify over the next few days towards Vijaya Dashami (day of victory), may the grace of the Divine Mother flow abundantly to all, is my sincere prayer.

 

With love and prayers always

Yogan 

Mother My Haven of Love and Safety

|| Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

 

Aum Namo Narayanaya

Lord adorned as Sri Laksmi Narashima

 

As the curtains came down on the austere and puritanical month of Purutassi, it was an emotional experience to see hundreds of devotees descend upon the Veeraboga Temple to celebrate this occasion with Lord Narayana - all bedecked in His finery of jewels and clothing. Pleasing all devotees with His dharshan, He returned to His throne in the sanctum-santorum after presiding over the prayers for a month.  I recall when I was little, my granny used to tell us that Lord Vishnu used to awaken at the beginning of Purutassi and go back to sleep (or go into yoga-nidra as Maharaj sometimes refers to it) at the end of Purutassi. As much as it is a myth, as the Lord never sleeps, I do feel pity for Him considering what He has to put up with in this age of Kali. So let us like compassionate children give Him a weeks rest as we join in the company of the Divine Mother.

Master seeking comfort from His MotherDivine

 

The very word mother oozes much comfort and tender love. Her every action is a safety net, lest we fall from the efforts of life. Sharing our pains and sorrows and celebrating our joys, she embraces a quality so unique that none can clone. From 16 October, for nine nights, people from all over the world shall immerse themselves in pooja and fasting to attain the grace of the Divine Mother.

 

The Festival known as Navarathri glorifies the Mother in her 3 aspects or attributes as: Brahma-Shakti (creative), Vishnu-Shakti (preserver) and Shiva-Shakti (dissolution).  As the famous hymn from the Devi Mahatmayam reads: Sristi Stiti  Vinashanam, Shakti Bhute Sanathaye: Oh Mother you are the power of creation, preservation and destruction. The programme for the nine days consists of strict fasting, fire sacrifices (havan), bhajans, discourses and special sessions of garbha dancing is observed at some centres.

 

The principle scripture which forms opinion of Devi worship is the Devi Mahatmayam. Some temples often read this scripture during a special havan ceremony. As much as temples and ashrams may differ in the way they observe this period, the central theme of intense devotion and surrender to the Mother is prevalent all over.

 

Mother worship, given special attention in Hindu Dharma, provides an avenue for immense comfort and solace to a devotee who lies stranded on the island of despair and anxiety. The loving embrace of a mother can subdue a child’s frantic cry even under the most trying circumstances. Instantaneously the child feels safe and fearless.

 

The compelling narrative on Sri Ramakrishna’s life unveils to the contemporary reader the ‘mother and son’ relationship that invokes a new level of bhakti in this dark age. The unconditional surrender of complete self at the feet of the Mother resulted in the Master’s vision of the Mother whilst occupying His mortal body. Intoxicated to the depths of His heart with love for her, She became His constant companion, good counsel and protector. There are many scenes that refer to the Master even dancing with Her.

 

A child who is in the company of his mother has no fear of hunger, shelter and clothing. In the same way, if devotees can reach the levels of bhakti practiced by Sri Ramakrishna, the doors of the spiritual heavens are open for you.

 

 

We all know that in order to develop bhakti or make spiritual progress, it takes a lot of discipline, hard work and perseverance. Swami Vivekananda’s clarion call of “Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached” speaks to our tendency to submerge ourselves into tamas (laziness, sleep and lethargy).

 

The Devi Mahatmayam tells how a demon called Mahishasura(half buffalo half man), having obtained a boon that no male shall be able to vanquish him, started to torment the heavens and the world. Unable to bear this torture, the devas approached the trio of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva for assistance. Taking cognisance of the boon granted to Mahishasura, they converged their powers - from which emerged Mother Durga.

 

Characterised by celestial beauty - adorning ten arms, armed with specialised weapons from all the Gods - She waged battle with the buffalo demon for nine nights. On the tenth day known as Vijaya Dashami, She vanquished him.

 

The buffalo is described as a very lazy animal which lies submerged in water for most of its day. It can eat up to 4 % of its weight a day reaching 2000 pounds on weight resulting in extreme lethargy.

 

We as well, unaware of our divine potential within and our life’s mission of God-realisation, have been caught up in the web of tamaguna.  The 10 arms of the Divine Mother  working in concert represent our 5 organs of action and 5 organs of sense - which if brought under control and working in union with the intellect for the sole purpose of spiritual elevation - can vanquish the laziness and lethargy that has set in.

 

Sri Aurobindo said: This is why Swami Vivekananda, noticing the deep tamas of India, used to say: "Rajas is needed, the country needs heroes of action, let the strong current of impulsion flow. Even if evil follows in its wake, it will be a thousand times better than this tamasic inertia".

 

Many people waste this life away in sleep and laziness. This body or form is a great gift from God. Utilise it for the welfare of God in humanity by unearthing fearlessness through worship of Mother Kali (first 3 days); wealth (vista of spiritual knowledge ingrained within) and prosperity by worshipping Mother Lakshmi (middle 3 days); and fine tuning our intellect by worship of Mother Saraswathi (last 3 days). The convergence of these 3 attributes will annihilate the tamas and awaken the divinity within.

 

May this period of spiritual sadhana on the Divine Mother bring you to action on your journey towards moksha is my sincere prayer.

 

Jay Ambe Ambe Mata ki Jay!!!!!.

My saluations and adorations at the feet of Holy Mother

With Love and Prayers Always
Yogan

Love For Loves Sake Alone

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

From the moment we arise from bed to the time we retire to bed, we interact with various experiences that create many impressions in our mind. A multitude of these experiences constitutes our life. Apart from the current direct interactions with the experiences of daily life, we have to also contend with our past experiences which indulge on us as samskaras. Hence, the human journey can become quite taxing at times. It leaves one confused, overwhelmed and despondent when life unfolds against their wishes and efforts with no apparent reason.

Swami Vivekananda explains the phenomenon of life as a continuous struggle between us and everything on the outside. Every moment we are actually fighting with external nature, and if we are defeated then our life has to go. Ask for nothing, want nothing in return. Give what you have to give, it will come back to you, but do not think of that now.

I generally don’t like to attend commercial conferences because from my past experiences it proves to be a very elaborate and exhausting ‘talk-shop’ which ultimately results in or amounts to nothing.  However my mind has failed to close its doors on the Hindu conference organised by the Sri Sarada Devi Ashram at the University of Kwazulu-Natal last week. The flood of well researched, awe inspiring papers and talks based on scriptures like the Ramayana and Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna has yet to subside as it continues to erode my  ignorance and misconceptions of life.

Swami Vimokshananda’s talk on Prayer in the Gospel was a vibrant, ingenious and candid expose of our ignorance and lack of understanding of the operations, laws and mechanisms within the universe, and our fragile and sketchy faith in the Master of the universe as the preceptor of our liberation.

Is there one who has not shed tears of anguish or questioned God as to why certain prayers were not fulfilled. You may have done pilgrimage to all the main temples in hope of certain rewards; you make have undertaken severe austerities and fasting and still not achieved what you wanted. On the other hand, you see people making no effort and achieving their wishes. Everything they touch or do turns to “gold”. It is at these junctions and moments of despair that we see faith shatter into a million pieces.

A very profound poem by Mary Stevenson comes to mind now, which brings some solace to the mind when you sit back and reflect on these incidents and try to simulate how your life actually would have turned out if your prayer was answered.

One night I dreamt I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from

anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

‘You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life

there were only one set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most, were you not there for me?’

The Lord replied,

‘The times when you saw only one set of footprints in the sand,

is when I carried you.’

A sense of gratitude conjures in your heart, bowing in prayer to the Lord for saving you from what would have been a total disaster. It is your needs that the Lord takes care of not your wants, expressed Swami Vimokshananda, whose countenance radiated with divine effulgence as He relayed these assuring words to a devoted audience.

Being exposed to the mind-purifying aura of revered Maharaj on that day, I was constantly subjected to a mental image of Lord Shiva for the entire week after the conference. It was only on Thursday night when I was doing some reading on Revered Swami Madhavanandaji Maharaj, the 9th President of the Ramakrishna Order (as His mahasamadhi day according to the Gregorian calendar fell on Saturday, 6 October) that I found resonance in this image.

Swami Madhavananda like Swami Vivekananda translated the Vairagya Satakam  - a poem by the illustrious Saint Bharthari  which contains 100 verses on renunciation. It is after reading this poem that the mind relinquishes any doubt that insatiable desires are the root cause of his troubles.

Mahadeva is regarded as the Lord of renunciation, who adorns nothing but a tiger skin smeared with ash seated in the cremation grounds, absorbed in deep meditation on the self. Even though the moon which is so far away can cause mental turbulence in man, how is it that He who adorns the crescent moon on His head radiates such bliss? It is this state that we should all aspire to achieve. A few verses below will give you an indication of how renunciation of desires will help elevate your levels of bliss instantaneously.

Hope is the name of this river, whose water is desire,

And thirst the waves thereof.

Passion is the crocodile living in that water,

Vain resolves are the birds that reside

In the tree of virtue on the shores and kill it.

But there are the whirlpools of delusion

And despondence, the high banks.

The great Yogis are blissful because they,

With their pure minds, never crossed this river.

Many of us, like Maharaj mentioned in His talk, engage in ‘petitionary prayers’ -  with the hope of fulfilling our desires in exchange for the worship rendered. Swami Vivekananda has cautioned us against such with His fiery words:  

Give up hope, says the Vedanta. Why should you hope? You have everything, nay, you are everything. What are you hoping for? If a King goes mad, and runs about trying to find the King of his country, he will never find him, because he is the King himself. He may go through every village and city in his own country, seeking in every house, weeping and wailing, but he will never find him, because he is the King himself. Knowing that we are God we become happy and contented. Give up all these mad pursuits. It is better to love God for love’s sake; and the prayer goes: O Lord, I do not want wealth nor children nor learning. If it be Thy will, I shall go from birth to birth. But grant me this, that I may love thee without the hope of reward - ’love’ unselfishly for love’s sake.

It is with this firm conviction and surrender to the feet of God alone, that you can rest assured that all your needs will surely be taken care of. This assurance is also given in the Bhagavat Gita itself by Sri Krishna: Those persons who worship Me, meditating on their identity with Me and ever devoted to Me—to them I carry what they lack and for them I preserve what they already have.

On this day as we remember Revered Swami Madhavananda and His contributions, may we strive to cultivate deep love for God alone; renouncing all wants for desires, and attain the perfect state of bliss and yoga like Lord Maheshwara, is my sincere prayer. Please follow the hyperlink below to read the complete Vairagya Satakam.

With love and prayers always

Yogan

Link for Vairagya Satakam: http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_9/writings_prose_and_poems/bhartriharis_verses.htm