Diabetic Diaspora!!!!

image-Google Images

||Aum Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

||Aum Namo Narayanaya||



After satsang, it was indeed a blessed opportunity to travel with Swami Vimokshananda to Rudi's home. What a wonderful reception awaited us as there, where about 40-plus friends and relatives teeming with abounding joy and love, garlanded Maharaj and His entourage with their divine and humble glances.  It was not unusual that the gathered devotees sat entranced by the charming words of Maharaj which have the skill to tame the restless mind and place it in the realms of God intoxication. Being sent to this realm once again, I showed much appreciation for the great heritage and culture that is bequeathed unto us. Listening to the narratives and wonderful incidents in the lives of the great Saints and Sages and also the leela’s played by the divine in rewarding devotion of the bhaktas... underpinned the rich and noble guidelines given by our scriptures in engineering a just and moral society.



As Hindus, we used to proudly proclaim that for the 12 months of the year there are 13 festivals. The aim of these activities is to ensure that we are never found wanting in respect of orienting our mind towards the divine. We find that this idea has spilled over into our organisations as well as being used as an instrument to create awareness and educate society of major ills. On this last day of November, I recall how throughout the month we were bombarded through the various media platforms about the effects of diabetes. A recent study announced that 382 million people in the world suffer from diabetes. It is a disease that results in high blood-sugar levels and is categorised into type 1 when the body does not produce insulin to reduce the levels or type 2 when there is not enough insulin produced or the cells of the body do not react to the insulin. For some afflicted with the disease, they are lucky that it is lifestyle-related and with a few adjustments to diet and habits... it can be easily controlled. Unfortunately for others, the disease has managed to map itself into their genetic blueprint and therefore have to chronically intervene to maintain healthy blood-sugar levels.



It has become necessary today to deploy many resources in creating awareness about child and women abuse (we are currently observing the 16 Days of Activism of no violence against Women and Children Campaign) and many other such ills in society simply because these adharmic tendencies have become a norm and have progressed exponentially. The city of Durban is still gripped by the repugnant abuse of a 2 year child who was laid to rest this week. These are only a few cases that make it to the public eye; yet there are thousands of unreported cases of abuse, rape and molestation that fester at the base of society. The sad statistic is the amount of Indian families that are now by case-loads at the various intervention centres that deal with abuse, family violence and molestation. You may immediately respond by asking why I am alarmed that Indians are part of the statistics. Well my discomfort purely stems from the deviation of the diaspora.... a civilisation that was once couched within the highest values and moral framework today suffers from type 1 adharmic diabetes.



The rising levels of immorality, lust, greed and diabolic tendencies has rendered the insulin of goodness and nobility useless against a mind and nervous system fraught with need to instantly gratify the senses against the inner voice of reason and discrimination. This lifestyle disease contracted through contact with western ideals and a lack of character development from an early age has led our society to the point we are at now.  The golden question is: where to from here? The diagnosis being made is only creates awareness... an intervention is required to manage and resolve the situation. It seems to be a human habit or tendency to react at the very last moment when the situation is beyond a form of repair rather than being proactive and ensuring that normalcy is restored earlier.



If our own mind and intelligence is not in a position to neutralise the rising levels of adharma within us... that like the medical diabetes the insulin has to be introduced from the outside. Swami Vishwatmananda the new President of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa during our tea satsang two weeks ago made a very interesting statement. Maharaj said... in this age you must have 'sadhu sangh'... even we need sadhu sangh. If we take this literally then it would mean that we must be in the holy company of a monk at all times so that our mind becomes disciplined in to the dharmic path. However that cannot be the cogent analysis as it would imply that if there is no monk or Swami it would be difficult to follow the right path.



I unpacked the meaning of the word sadhu to mean good, excellent and right - all collective words used to also refer to a person who has renounced and dedicated his life to dharma. Hence for me sadhu sangh means to keep the company of right and good which does not necessarily refer to a person. It can be a scripture, a system of values, an inspirational role model etc. We must vaccinate our minds and intellect with man-making ideas and throw away all that weakens us is the clarion call from Swami Vivekananda. What we need in these trying times is strength and strength alone to crush and make these ignoble waves recede to oblivion.



The moment we accept that the state of our society is due to our neglect... and place before every impressionable mind the knowledge of his potential divinity and true nature; we would have started a rejuvenation and healing process of the mind afflicted by the disease of weakness for so long.

Swami Vivekananda always reminded us that: "strength is life; weakness is death". Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal; weakness is constant strain and misery: weakness is death.

It is weakness, says the Vedanta, which is the cause of all misery in this world. Weakness is the one cause of suffering. We become miserable because we are weak. We lie, steal, kill and commit other crimes... because we are weak. We die because we are weak. Where there is nothing to weaken us, there is no death nor sorrow. We are miserable through delusion. Give up the delusion and the whole thing vanishes.

Like how diabetes in the worst case can be managed or in other cases be reversed with lifestyle changes, so too can the diabetes of adharma be managed and reversed.  Everything lies in your hands.



May we grow and develop into a just, moral and spiritual society and world... is my sincere prayer.

Affectionately yours
Yogan
www.sudarshanavidya.blogspot.com

GPS (God Postioning System) where are we?????

early Indians in cane field
image- google images

|| Aum Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

||Aum Namo Narayanaya||

In the very last public function in Tongaat by Swami Vimokshananda at the Shree Veeraboga Emperumal Temple, Maharaj addressed the gathering on the importance of respecting our forefathers and ancestors for their immense sacrifices for the benefit of society. On this day 154 years ago we remember and salute those pioneers who ventured into a foreign land on the promised hope of prosperity and a better life. At that time in British India, the population suffered a similar fate of the indigenous peoples of South Africa. It was the refusal of the African people in South Africa to provide labour under slave conditions to enrich the colonial masters that led the British government to seek assistance from their other colonies. Living under severe oppression, it was easy to lure the Indians under false pretences of gold and prosperity to the shores of Africa only to suffer under similar circumstances of bondage and oppression.


However, it was their absolute faith in God and the communal support structure within which they lived that allowed them to persevere and develop conditions for their expansion and growth. Their understanding that by sharing they will grow led the way for educational, cultural and spiritual centres of excellence to be developed through the collection of resources amongst themselves despite their meagre earnings. Today, as thousands of people graduate and benefit from these institutes... we cannot but be in reverence of these great souls who had a profound vision to invest in a better future. By total coincidence, a few of us gathered yesterday for breakfast after a meeting and were discussing the days of yore when so much of love and affection was prevalent within our community. There was a practice that anybody who visited a home was not allowed to leave without partaking of a meal even if the host had not prepared enough for themselves. That was the incredibly rich culture that we stemmed from. Completely out of phase of that custom... today we find a society fractured and disintegrating at an alarming pace. Family feuds, abandoned parents and animosity amongst neighbours have all seemed to displace the sense of harmony and unity that once blanketed our community. For those of us who have experienced a bit of the yesteryears, it plagues our mind as to what went wrong.


Its seems that Revered Swami Vishwatmananda Maharaj - the new president of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa upon His arrival itself has grasped an understanding of the situation. A beautiful introduction was given last week when Swami Vimokshananda narrated an in depth bio-data of the new President in His blog (www.vimokshananda.com).


Last night, I was blessed to have an intimate tea satsang with both Swamijis.  In a few words, President Maharaj was able to answer many doubts and concerns regarding the state of our society. Maharaj said today we have a situation where wealth, education and the standards of living are growing exponentially but sadly there is also a conversely proportional deterioration of values, morals and ethics.  The malaise that we find ourselves in is due to the neglect of complementing man- making, character-building education with our secular education system. Swami Vivekananda after His careful analysis of the western world was able to deduce that this critical component was integral in fundamentally developing an ideal society.


The science of navigation was utilised by our  Vedic scholars since ancient times. They utilised the constellations and the heavens as a basis to plot their way. As time progressed, the science got more and more advanced. Our forefathers who came to our shores probably used a compass to direct them. Today navigation has evolved to such as extent that we now utilise a system of satellites to collectively give us GPS (global positioning system). Every point on the globe is addressed by a longitude and latitude co-ordinate or in simpler terms a horizontal and vertical position. By merely keying in these two positions into a GPS navigator, one will be directed to that point with little effort.


Swami Vishwatmananda seemed very vocal about man’s obsession with material advancement at the expense of spiritual development. In a very pragmatic tone, Maharaj disclosed that both must be done concurrently. The horizontal expansion (which is material progress) must take place together with the vertical expansion(spiritual progress).Imagine if you were to only key in the horizontal co-ordinates into a GPS system...  you will definitely be going nowhere slowly. That is the situation that humanity is in currently.  In the spiritual path, the GPS is the GOD positioning system.  Mankind must now start to lock onto finding the vertical position. Where the horizontal and vertical lines meet in perfect balance and harmony, we would have found the God position. When Swami Vivekananda speaks of the potential divinity of man, He speaks of the fact that in theory we know that we are divine, but we have not found the experience. It’s like we know there's a country called Finland, but until we plot the co-ordinates on a map, we will only know of it but will never experience it.


Maharaj in a sinuous way brought the discussion to completion by elaborating on ways to develop the vertical through the practice of selfless service, devotion to God, regular spiritual practices and by studying the scriptures. If we can approach these paths with sincerity then we will genuinely experience the divinity within... and once we have achieved this, then the process of transforming our society would have started involuntarily.


Today, as we remember with fondness our forefathers who crossed the treacherous seas and toiled for our success, let us commit to make their legacy proud by finding the God position and live the ideal way in a society they would have wanted... full of peace, love, compassion and empathy.


Jai Shree Guru Maharaj ki Jai!!!!!


With love and prayers always


Yogan
www.sudarshanavidya.blogspot.com

Blessed Birthday

||Aum Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

|| Aum Namo Narayanaya||

Master Sri Ramakrishna - Glen Anil Ashram altar
Pic Courtesy: Swami Vimokshananda Google+

We say that 'age is but a number'... it is a technique that we have devised to psychologically convince ourselves that we have not aged. To a certain extent, it can be argued that you are as young as you feel but there is no denying that every second that passes brings with it a confirmation that the manifested body is another second closer to its end. I am not a sadist but this thought dawned upon me whilst I spent some solitude hours at the Ramakrishna Ashram on the eve of my birthday. I started a little tradition a few years back... to usher in my birthday in the holy company of Swami Vimokshananda within the divine precincts of the Ashram. Last year, Swamiji's (Vimokshananda) post-operative recovery did not facilitate a sleep-over but Maharaj -so full of compassion and love- allowed me to visit Him on my birthday, just a week and a half of being released from hospital. 

My sincere prayers to Master were answered this year when I wrote to Swamiji making an impassionate plea to celebrate this special birthday with Swamiji. It was not special in the fact of it being my birthday but for the reason that it would be the last birthday that I would spend in the company of revered Maharaj as He would be going to Singapore in a few weeks. Every birthday was like an Upanishad. At the feet of the Master, a spark of wisdom would emerge that would burn asunder the overgrowth of ignorance and other characteristics that thwarted the spiritual revolution within. It was a delight... and this year was no different. We often read with awe and with a tinge of envy of how some devotees in the era of great saints were able to be in their presence and offer service to them. Our Swamis have told us that in these contemporary times where we are not in the physical presence of our Gurus, following their spiritual instructions is in itself service to them. I have understood that quite profoundly but my mind still hankered upon the idea to serve the Guru in a more palpable manner.

Although my Gurudev is some 7000 kilometers away in Kolkata, India... Sri Ramakrishna understanding my desire allowed this to be fulfilled through Swami Vimokshananda. The two days prior to my birthday Maharaj graciously allowed me to be His sarathi (charioteer). On Saturday we left Ashram by 06:00am itself to be at the Brake Village Soobramanier Alayam in Tongaat to witness the abhishegam of Lord Murugan during the auspicious period of Skanda Sashti. Here Maharaj spoke on the glory of Lord Muruga. The next day after the final Kurral class, all the devotees gathered at Uncle Preggie's house for a special satsang and lunch. To date, some devotees are still bathing in the divine energy that flowed in the company of Swamiji.

It was after lunch that an ordinary birthday became extra-ordinary. The devotees had arranged surprise birthday cake. I was overwhelmed with joy but became emotional when Maharaj Himself became the director of programmes. It was the first birthday celebrated in a spiritual way.  That evening after an hour or so of rest, we proceeded to Nirisksha's home for a little prayer service. After some spiritual discussions, the family members sang the most melodious bhajans in praise of the divine. The air was divinely charged with the purity and sincerity that emanated from the entire family. It was such an auspicious way to end the eve of my birthday.

Reclining on my bed in the late hours of the night, the day passed by in reflection and left a sweet taste in my mind. But that was soon displaced by some serious contemplation when a little broader introspection involved the past 38 years of life. In as much as we cannot even be compared to the dust of Swami Vivekananda’s feet, I began to appreciate the magnanimous contributions that He made to the whole of humanity in just the 39 years that He lived upon the earth. Although Swamiji endowed with such intellect could easily have used His qualifications to pursue a comfortable material existence, He sacrificed all comforts and dedicated His life to the worship of His Lord who He saw manifest in the suffering masses of Hiscountry.  He suffered the pangs of hunger and pains of the body through His travels of India, and even in the comfort of America... His heart and eyes welled with tears for His suffering brethren. Such empathy is unparallelled... and yet to seen.

It troubles me to think how so many young people well endowed with resources and education cannot think of anything but themselves... leave alone extending financial assistance in charitable projects;  they cannot even give a few hours of their time in raising the living conditions of their fellow mankind. So having reached this milestone age of 39, I am deeply inspired by the life of Swami Vivekananda. It is humanly impossible to come close to even to a tenth of Swami Vivekananda’s achievements but if I can at least help another understand their potential divinity... I would have set in motion a machinery that will exponentially deliver goodness to the world. 

Speaking at the Brake Village Temple, Maharaj expounded Lord Muruga as 'guha' which means the 'one who dwells in the cave of the heart'... allowing me to be His charioteer Maharaj implied that the Lord dwells in my heart and is the charioteer of my destiny. Victory will come if I expose and express this divinity and let it do its job.

I also take this opportunity to thank everybody for their love, prayers and good wishes in making my birthday a memorable one. May Master, Mother and Swamiji bless you always.

With love and prayers

Yogan