Guest guest Posted October 4, 1999 Report Share Posted October 4, 1999 Hari Om Advaitins: We are happy to inform you that the list is blessed with the new member, Swamini Sharadapriyananda "Amma" to all who know her, a senior monk of the Chinmaya Mission in Andhra Pradesh. On behalf of all of you, we want to express our Pranams to Swamini and also want to extend our greetings. Swamini is a Karma Yogi and spends her life in the service of the community for more than 35 years. A brief biography of her is enclosed herewith for everyone to appreciate how Vedantic understanding of life is essential for serving the world without selfishness. Ram Chandran Gummuluru Murthy List Moderators Swamini Sharadapriyananda: In the various sequences of her life, each episode seems to have brought her closer to the spiritual. Born in 1927 in Masulipatum, her father was a teacher, and her mother established the first Mahila Seva Madali in Andhra Pradesh. After studying law, she became an attorney and practiced for seven years. Having been weaned on service to others, she soon joined the Social Welfare Advisory Board and served for almost nine years in Hyderabad. Around this time, she started attending Swami Chinmaya's discourses, and in 1965 she joined his ashram. As she adjusted to ashram life, she began helping the Chinmaya Mission's worldwide goal of spreading the knowledge of Vedanta. Saradapriyananda received sannyasa diksha from Swami Chinmayananda. All over India she has conducted Gnana Yagnas (sacred knowledge gatherings) on the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and other spiritual texts for the past 20 years. She has written commentaries on the Upanishads and made the text easier to comprehend in her book Vedanta in Day to Day Life. The bhajans and poems composed by her, the songs she sings and the discourses she gives on the Upanishads all bring the listener a little closer to God. Amma has also ventured, with Swami Chinmayandanda's blessings, into starting two ashrams, Chinmayaranyam Ellayapalle and Chinmayaranyam Trikoota. It was in Ellayapalle that a barren tract was turned into a flourishing, liveable village in 1982. Earlier it was an arid land without water or electricity. With the aid of the Chinmaya Ashram it now has wells and improved agriculture. She remembered the transformation of the drought-stricken village: "We drilled borewells to a depth of 200 to 450 feet during these 13 years. We also helped the villagers in getting four government borewells. Becoming bold, the villagers came together to pool their resources and started drilling their own borewells. Now there are about 24 borewells in the village and most of the land has been brought under cultivation." The ashram inmates live in clean, modest mud huts and also conduct classes in this sanctuary. The bramcharis here go through a spiritual program which is also service-oriented. They are also given missionary training in both English and Telegu. Once they have finished, they are sent out to do Gnana Yagnas. There are also three temples where regular worship is done by the brahmacharis in training. Vedic chanting is taught. They also teach the Chinmayananda correspondence tuition course which has been translated into Telegu. Trikoota, the second of the swamini's two ashrams, is built on four acres of donated land in Guntur district. From the monastery the charming Lord Trikooteswara shrine on top of a short hill is viewed. At Trikoota the Swamini and inmates give Dharma Veer (heroic spirituality) training to guide the youth in righteous living. Clad in ochre robes, Swamini Saradapriyananda is dedicated to the life of the spirit but part of her missionary work is to also see to the needs of the less fortunate. Her day begins at 4am and by 5am the inmates of the ashram gather for an hour-long morning satsang. Her days are filled with spiritual matters and those pertaining to the ashram. There is Satyakama Mandir, an orphanage with 42 children who the Mission is committed to getting on their feet. Five girls have been married, and two boys were admitted to college. There are several schools including Harihar Vocational School where, besides training, poor village children get midday meals and evening dinner. The Mission has a library and a homeopathy clinic serving the neighborhood. Both the frail elderly and our ravaged environment need nurturing, and the Chinmaya Mission tends to both: Hari Seva feeds and clothes 125 aged destitute villagers. The Mission also has the "Save a Tree, Save a Man" program addressing environmental concerns. "We have been given 86 acres of hillock land by the Government to create a forest," enthuses Swamini. "Now 120 trees are growing there and in the coming rainy season we plan to plant 300-400 more." The Swamini has strong opinions on poverty which continues to mar the future of India's children: "There is enough in the world to serve the need of every one but not enough to serve the greed of any. Human beings, until they realize their true nature of Self, continue to be ignorant and greedy. The past greed gives the present suffering as poverty. The greedy man of the present day is exacting his bleak future life of suffering by his own actions." Currently Swamini Saradapriyananda is in USA, giving spiritual discourses. She believes the most important principle to guide people through life can be summed in four words: "Be true to yourselves." Contact Address in India: Swamini Saradapriyananda, Chinmayaranyam, Ellaytapalli Village, Obulavairpalle P.O., Cuddapah, A.P. 516 108 India. Source: Hinduism, May, 1995 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 1999 Report Share Posted October 5, 1999 Dear All: Hari Om! In deed, tt is a rare opportunity to have Swamini Amma available on Cyber Satsang. I think she is going to be available on this list e-mail for the coming 45 days. I feel very proud to say that I learned vedanta at the lotus feet of Swamini Amma. Ten years back, I stayed at one of her ashrams (Trikoota) for one year and studied a course called "Dharma Veer". This course is aimed at youth. Further, Swamini Amma answers the spiritual questions (i.e. any thing related to Hindu Dharma) which are sent to "Tapovan Prasad", a spiritual monthly magazine published by Chinmaya Mission. We could use this opportunity and ask her questions. Best Regards, Madhava > > Ram Chandran [sMTP:chandran] > Tuesday, October 05, 1999 7:02 AM > Advaitin List > Welcome to Swamini Sharadapriyananda > > Ram Chandran <chandran > > Hari Om Advaitins: > > We are happy to inform you that the list is blessed with the new member, > Swamini Sharadapriyananda "Amma" to all who know her, a senior monk of > the Chinmaya Mission in Andhra Pradesh. On behalf of all of you, we > want to express our Pranams to Swamini and also want to extend our > greetings. Swamini is a Karma Yogi and spends her life in the service > of the community for more than 35 years. A brief biography of her is > enclosed herewith for everyone to appreciate how Vedantic understanding > of life is essential for serving the world without selfishness. > > Ram Chandran > Gummuluru Murthy > List Moderators > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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