Chinmaya Jyothi

The ‪#‎Chinmaya‬ Jyoti along its yatra came to Kodungallur. 'Yagnatarium' a portable planetarium accompanying the #Chinmaya Sandesh Vahini screened couple of shows at Ananda Dham. The insight, 'God is One, in many forms, and many paths to reach the One'. The animated audio-video experience was welcomed by all present.

Guruji's Paduka's were received with the poorna kumbha and thalapoli. Paduka Puja was also performed at Ananda Dham.

Spreading the message silently

3RD AND 4TH JULY: M.Ed. students of Dr. Palpu Memorial College came to visit Vivekananda Kendra as a part of their project work which they were required to complete on a local institution. They found Vivekananda Kendra an ideal place where different man-making  and nation – building activities are going on. Man. Lakshmi Didi  was interviewed  on all the aspects of Vivekananda Kendra's, its origin,  and its expansion of activities and its impact on the society  lastly, the present status of the organisation.  

All of them were guided to visit Vishwa Bhanu; the Mural Exhibition on Swami Vivekananda and were he given the glimpses of Swamijis life and message. All of them were impressed by the paintings and they got all the information they needed for their project work through discussions with the inmates and literature available in our library. 

Upliftment of Indian womanhood – need of the hour

Dr. M. Lakshmikumari

To transcend the multifarious problems and confusions that riddle the human mind resulting from the feeling of dualism, it is necessary that the mind be exposed to the advaitic Truth - awareness of ONENESS. Advaita is the crest jewel of human thought, which our great country has upheld from time immemorial. Unless and until we in India fully comprehend the significance of advaitic thought and its special relevance for the survival of our multicultural nation, we may also, like many a nation of the bygone eras, soon slip into oblivion.

Matrudevo bhava’ is a mahamantra which contains within it a highly relevant, potent and practical message for universal peace and survival of mankind. For that very reason it is imperative that the strength and sanctity of motherhood be fully understood and made to manifest.

Is ‘advaita’ something ‘dry’ and ‘out of this world’ of day-to-day living? How can advaita be brought to inundate the multidimensional human feelings, emotions and transactions? If advaita is relevant as the Supreme Ultimate Truth, having nothing to do with human life, dry indeed it would be. But if it is allowed to descend from being mere knowledge in the brain, to cascade through and light up various human feelings and emotions, then something wonderful happens. Just as a seed soaked in water sprouts up putting up new leaves, just as a dry arid land touched by rain immediately gets covered with a green mantle of grass, just as a drying tree sprouts up all over again when watered so does the human mind gets enriched and enlivened, when the One Truth in the ‘advaita’ gets transformed into the ‘many’ in the human mind. Firmly rooted in Oneness, the human mind blossoms in the beauty of the diversity. In the treasure chest of the human mind there are any number of devices – emotions and feelings through which this wonderful transformation can be achieved. Like a musical instrument with many strings, mind can create an infinite variety of notes, unmake them and re-make them to create a harmonious orchestra of life if it so wills or vice versa. It is the awareness of advaitic truths that leads to harmony and peace. If this basic note is lacking only discordant notes emerge and such a life becomes filled with contradictions.

Standing on this pinnacle of advaita, how can this awareness of oneness be made part of the three main life-streams, Jnana Bhakti and Karma, making life extraordinarily rich and fulfilling! To understand this miracle God seems to have provided us with the glorious ideal of motherhood. In how many ways our Bharateeya culture has captured and expanded this ideal of motherhood! The Divine mother and her manifold bhavas as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga, Parvathy and other forms - each in essence indicating the rich potentialities and possibilities of the human mind, Mother Ganges, Veda Mata, Gita Mata, mother earth, this wonderful mother land of ours and so on - each one reveals the immense spiritual potential power and sanctity that lie hidden in motherhood. One can raise oneself to cosmic proportion meditating on this mystery of motherhood and its unfolding in infinite ways in this universe. To help us enter into the portals of such a meditation we have in front of us one’s own dear mother in whose milk we had the first taste of Life Universal.

 

Motherhood represents the principle of inter-relatedness, inter-connectedness and inter-dependence that hold together everything in the universe. The first unit of this phenomenon is our family. The ever fresh fountain of love that gives meaning and preserves family, as a unit is none other than the uncrowned queen of the house, the Mother. That is why we address Divine mother as Sri Maharajni, the empress of the Universe. Just as proton, neutron and electrons are held together by indefinable and invisible magnetic forces in an atom so do the various units of a home held in place without creating any disharmony by the magnetic power of love that the mother embodies. The power of that magnet lies in its extraordinary capacity to evolve ‘Oneness’ through love, sacrifice and service. These form the true nourishments for the children more than anything else. In its absence children wither away and their personality gets distorted. Unhappy homes are the breeding grounds for creating imbalanced men and women who in turn disturb the peace and harmony in the society.

When we explore the very origin of maternal instinct and the mysterious spiritual power behind, it will naturally take us to that ultimate primary cause of the universe, the Divine Mother Herself. SHE is the source and cause of all creation - the primeval energy - the primary cause, the Ultimate Truth. So is She the original source of motherliness - cause and effect relationship that we notice everywhere in the universe. Therefore when ‘Matruchetana’ is awakened in any one of us man or woman, there is a spark of the original transmutation of the ONE Truth into many. If one cares to meditate on this original instinct of motherhood and expand that ‘bindu’ into an all embracing feeling of love - awareness of inter relatedness - one can raise oneself to Universal Motherhood, to the status of Sri Mata. One need not be a mother in the worldly sense to achieve this, as motherliness is a spiritual awakening and elevation. In her gets embodied all that is best in creation - beauty (Lakshmi), knowledge (Saraswati) and action (Durga). All Godly powers are at her service. Such a mother is not only an adornment to her family but also a blessing to the society and the nation. She belongs to all. Diversities get merged in that ONENESS of motherhood and so do all problems based on duality wither away in her divine presence.

Such an expansive feeling of motherhood is very much needed in our society to rectify the mistakes that we are perpetrating in the name of caste, creed, religion, race and so on. All fanaticism, violence, terrorism etc. have their roots in the misguided notions of dividedness. To replace them with love, kindness and tolerance, the easiest way is the way of the mother. Manmade barriers can be broken down, sanity restored and peace created when true motherliness is made to manifest (be it in a woman or a man).

Unfortunately, majority of today’s women have lost this capacity for spiritual expansion. Materialistic hankerings distort her personality; disturb her innate qualities as mother, making her selfish, greedy, vengeful and blind. When children are exposed to this unnatural motherliness they fail to develop sustaining qualities in themselves. When the mothers at home spread unhappiness and bitterness slowly the whole society reflects that and peace and happiness disappear. On the other hand when true motherliness blossoms in a mother there is an expansion of personality and all petty feelings disappear.

Is it really possible for an ordinary woman to achieve such heights of perfection? Answer is yes. Our Puranas are full of stories of such exemplary mothers. In recent history we have the wonderful example of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, inspired by whom Swami Vivekananda emphasised again and again the need to revive this Indian ideal of Motherhood for restoring the glory of our nation and to bring all round peace and well being.

Ramayana Month Celebration

17th and 18th July: marked the 1st and 2nd day of Ramayana month coinciding with the 1st and 2nd days of the month of Karkatakam. This year there was an extensive programme of two days in which well-known Ramayana devotees - Shri Chakrapani Warrier and Smt Suma, read through the whole of Ramayana. Sessions started from 8.30 in the morning and went on up to 6.30 in the evening, with short tea-lunch breaks. A number of local well-wishers took part in the parayanam session. It was a noble experience for some who had never had an opportunity to read the Ramayana fully. At the concluding programme Sri Chakrapani Warrier and Smt Suma were honoured by Sri R.M. Pavitran a close well wisher of Kendra.

As usual Kumari Bindu and her group have started visiting different houses for Ramayana Satsanga. This programme will continute for the entire month. In each house, the team read portions of Ramayana and involve the family members to take part in the puja and rituals. 

One Day Spiritual Retreat

Vivekananda Kendra offered bhiksha to Revered Swami Adhyatmanandaji of Sambodh Foundation, Thiruvananthapuram. He came with 45 students for whom he was conducting a spiritual study course for 51 days at a place called Moozhikolam, 39 km from Kodungallur. After the initial introduction, Swamiji addressed the gathering which included our local well-wishers also, on the importance of sadhana of formless truth as also the need for worshipping God in various forms. He used two stanzas from Bhagavad Gita chapters 7 and 9 to clarify points.

Following Swamiji’s talk Mananeeya Lakshmi Didi spoke on Swami Vivekananda’s message to the individual, to the Nation and to humanity at large. She used three imageries to emphasize the points, that of light man, of a sculpture and lastly how he released the world religions from the cages in which they were kept and allowed them to fly to the infinite freedom of truth.

All the participants were taken to Vishwa Bhanu Exhibition, wherein they were introduced to Swamis life and his visit to Kodungallur. Later on they all participated in Bhajan session.

GURUPOORNIMA CELEBRATION

On the auspicious occasion of Gurupoornima, a day long programme was arranged at Aandadham. Ganapathi Homam and Sri Chakra Puja were conducted in the Dakshina auditorium of Anandadham in the early morning. At 10 a.m. there was a get together of all the yoga varga members around eighteen of them, some of whom are working as yoga teachers in different schools in and around of Kodungallur. Mananeeya Lakshmi Didi explained about the significance of ‘Guru Parampara down the ages namely, Narayana, Padmabhuva, Vasistha, Saktrimaharshi, Parashara, Vyasa and Sukha and how during Vyasa’s time all the divine knowledge which the previous seers had passed on to their respective disciples orally, were codified into texts called vedas and later on puranas. It was on this day that the great sage Vyasa was said to have been born, hence this day is celebrated as Vyasa’s jayanthi all over India as a mark of respect for the great saint who is addressed as ‘Vishala buddhe’ in the Bhagavat Geeta. Chanting of the Guru Sloka and pushparchana were part of this two hour programme.

In the evening Adv. T.R.Ramanathan of Paravur, an advocate by profession and well-known for his profound knowledge and great oratory, spoke on ‘Guha Gurun Subrahmanya Swami’(Kartikeyan) and kept the audience spellbound. Nearly a hundred people attended.the programme.

    

Research & Publications:

The Foundation would institute facilities for research and dissemination of Vedic knowledge, so that the essence of Vedanta could be studied in depth, debated upon and worked out as practical principles in day to day life.The one and only enquiry which can benefit the whole of humanity has already been carried out by our super scientists, the rishis, and the result is the evolution of a super fine technology capable of transferring the awareness of Oneness of Eternal Truth into life principles, that can take man onward on the path of evolution. Swamiji says “all science is a search for oneness of Truth” and India had been a pioneer invalidating this truth.The Foundation’s major area of research is therefore centred on fine tuning the efforts as to how fractured and embittered human minds can be made Whole by generating in them right thoughts, words, and actions including faith in the Cosmic Almighty. Presently the emphasis is therefore more on creating life models which would help man manifest the divinity within him

Publications:

1. Message of Vedas (English) Sri K. N. Krishnan Namboodiri
2. “Those who go through this book would get a simple answer to the question what is the contribution of Vedas to the world” - Sri SukumarAzikode, (one of the foremost authors of Kerala)
3. AgnimelePurohitam (Malayalam) Sri K. N. Krishnan Namboodiri
4. Commentary on first nine riks of Rigveda
5. AnushtanaPrakashika (Malayalam) DR. K. Vijayan, Gurupadam. A simple instructions for daily practice
6. Surya Namaskar (Malayalam)instruction booklet of Suryanamaskar
7. Sadhana Panchamritam (Malayalam) – spiritual diary for daily reading containing messages from Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda
8. Jnanadayini Sarada Devi ( Malayalam) Dr. V.S. Sharma
9. Way to attain bliss in old age ( Malayalam translation) Swami Ranganathananda by Anandeswar.

Besides a number of small booklets containing specific messages for improving family relationships, Matru Chetana, Pancamahayajnas and so on are also being published from time to time.

Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah

Creating confidence in the minds of people in the all pervading cosmic principle of dharma, i.e if one surrenders to the cosmic love and has the welfare of whole universe in his mind the very elements of universe would help and protect him/her at every step.

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1. Activities are planned to enhance the conceptual awareness of the totality of life and one’s inalienable part in it and thus emphasize the need to be good and do good
2. Spiritual Counseling to improve the inter human relationships within homes and communities thus restoring the unity and harmony.

Satyam Vada and Dharmam Chara

1. Preservation of Vedas and Vedic traditions through study and practice

2. Study of Sanskrit to help understand the scriptures like Upanishads, Gita, Puranas, etc.

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a. Educational programmes to implant the value of Truth in young minds

b. Sandeepani Sishuvihar, where little children receive doses of satya, Dharma and Yajna through the all powerful medium of love, care and triaining.

c. Sandeepani gurukulam where discipline. study and positive interactions transform the ideals into life principles.

Satyameva Jayate (Truth In Action)

Vedic Vision can be resolved into Satya, Dharma and Yajna and all activities are geared to enshrine these ideals in human life.

To Uphold The Value of Yajna – Sacrifice

The cosmic implications of yajna in real life are totally lost among people and there is great need to restore it for glorifying our lives.. Satya and dharma get integrated into karma or action through Yajna so that all karma’s bondages are removed. This elevates karma to the level of knowledge and Self realisation. Yajna opens up human minds to the immense blessings inherent in the simple acts of renunciation and service.

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Yajna has three windows through which humans can tune up to Truth in daily life.

Deva Puja : Regular observance of Panchmaha yajnas, temple worship, variety of other individual and community rituals like homas, pujas, matrupooja etc when carried out with the awareness of the Truth both within and without.

Sangateekarana : The unity and integrity of an organization or home can be maintained by cultivating uniform ideals and thoughts through harmonious words and deeds as emphasized by the vedic injunctions (sangachadwam, samvadadwam, etc). For this daily chantings of Vedic mantras, Sahasranamas, sandhya pujas, reading of Puranas etc., for individual and group enlightenment are carried out.

Children’s camps for various age groups leading to personality development of children through a variety of programs

The multitude of celebrations like Sri Krishna Jayanthi, Guru Poornima, Ramayana Day, National festivals, Universal Brotherhood day Navaratri Festival, Children’s day, Vivekananda Jayanthi, Sadhana Divas, Annual day of Sandeepani Sishuvihar are all occasions for enrichment of values in the minds of participants creating all round understanding of Oneness and create all round benefits.

Dana is a magnificent all comprehensive Vedic vision in which every individual learns to look at his or her life as an act of oblation to the Almighty. This is in tune with the vedic injunctions Idam Na mama. Swami Vivekananda’s two great ideals Serve man serve God and atmano mokshartham jagadhitaya ca provide wonderful guidelines to actualize this great vision where individual development and social upliftment go hand in hand. Dana is encouraged in the form of money, respect, knowledge, service, etc with emphasis on nishkama karma bhava. People are encouraged to donate for specific causes like education, medical care, distribution of food, and through in many other big and small sponsorships.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

Family welfare is the foundation of individual and social well being through natural expansion of human mind and intellect which in turn helps to conceive of the whole universe as one family – vasudhaiva kutumbakam – to bring harmony and peace in the society.

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• · Satsanghs, propagation of the ideals through talks and appropriate religious literature
• · Sharing with the community the joy of festivals through distributing food and other necessary materials
• · Providing educational support for the poor and the needy.
• · Free Ayurvedic consultation, counseling and treatment

Reinforcement Of The Awareness Of Truth In Human Life

Thousands of years ago, the super scientists of India, the Rishis, were engaged in the difficult task of uncovering the Ultimate Reality, Satya, beyond the ever changing phenomena experienced through our senses. Negating the world of impermanent plurality they delved into the core of their inner being and realised the Ultimate Truth as the Self within. There also dawned the realisation that Truth is One, in which everything in the universe remains interconnected, interrelated and interdependent. This is the greatest discovery ever made by man. This Truth of Self-realisation and its Oneness is the best of blessings that the rishis have bestowed on humanity. For us in India, this discovery ushered in the dawn of enlightenment and introduced us to the immaculate concept of Life Eternal. Since then this Ganga of adwaitic vision has been cascading over our country without a break enriching every field of human activity creating a rich, multifaceted, unique and spiritually oriented civilization and culture.

Actualization of Truth as concrete practical life sustaining ideas and ideals enlightening humans and goading them on the path of evolution forms the crux of Vedic Vision. Transformation of a unifying principle into the multitude of thoughts, words and actions, to make each and every one of them shine with the lustre of Truth of Oneness is indeed a most difficult task. Achieving this awareness of Oneness through self effort is the challenge and goal before every human being. Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, life experiments of great seers and avatars are all illustrations of their great efforts and their attainment. Among these Swami Vivekananda towers high as the link between the old and the new. To preserve this great immaculate heritage and transmit this knowledge and awareness to as many humans as possible form the most important aim and activity of the Foundation. Without comprehending the significance of Truth, no vision or study or work can stand the test of time.