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Dec 1, 2005 12:02 PM[Chidananda] Divya Jivan Newsletter - December 2005Chidananda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 2005

 

 

Divya Jivan Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gita Jayanti ( Dec 11, 2005)

 

 

 

" The Gita is the most

beautiful and the only truly philosophical song. It contains sublime

lessons on wisdom and philosophy. It is the "Song Celestial". It is the

universal gospel. It contains the message of life that appeals to all,

irrespective of race, creed, age or religion. "

" The voice of the Gita is the call of the Supreme. It is the

divine sound explained. The primal source of all existence, all power,

is the manifested sound, Om. This is the Divine Word. It is Nada

Brahman, whose unceasing call is: "Be ye all ever merged in the

eternal, unbroken, continuous consciousness of the Supreme Truth." This

is the sublime message that the great Gita elaborates and

presents in all comprehensiveness and in a universally acceptable form.

It is verily this message of the Bhagavad Gita that I wish to

recall and reproclaim with emphasis to you. " - Swami Sivananda <<MORE>

 

 

Gita Guidance -

by Swami Chinmayananda

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching of Lord Sri.

Dattatreya on Sri. Dattatreya Jayanti (Dece 15, 2005)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord

Dattatreya -Master par Excellence - By Swami Krishnanada

 

Lord Dattatreya is regarded as the visible

incarnation of the Supreme Being himself in his aspects as Creator,

Preserver and Destroyer, which we know as Brahma, Vishnu and Siva,

respectively. The creative, the preservative and the disintegrating

powers of God are supposed to be manifest in the personality of Lord

Dattatreya. The name or word 'Dattatreya' is constituted of

two terms, 'Datta' and 'Atreya'. In Sanskrit, 'Datta' means one who is bestowed as a gift, and

'Atreya' is an honorific which is derived from the name of a great sage

called Atri. The son of Atri is Atreya. A descendent of Atri also is

Atreya. One who is bestowed as a divine child on the great sage Atri,

by the Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Siva themselves, is Dattatreya.

Tradition holds that he was the divine child of sage Atri born to his

famous consort Anasuya. He is also, therefore, known as Anasuyanandana,

the darling of the great queen of chastity, Anasuya Devi. The

Name of Dattatreya, the great sage, is a by-word in all religious

circles in India. In certain parts of Gujarat and in Maharashtra, the

worship of Dattatreya is pre-eminent. It is believed by the followers

of the tradition that Dattatreya is in flesh and blood even today. <<

More>>

 

A

Special Page on Lord Dattatreya is uploaded on the occasion of

Dattatreya Jayanti

 

 

 

 

 

Early

Morning Meditation talks from Ponder These Truth By Swami Chicdananda

 

 

 

 

 

" You Are Unique in the Eyes of God "

 

" Each one is distinct and unique in the eyes

of the Creator; there is none like that particular being, there is no

second. So each one is precious and specially valuable to the Creator.

In the eyes of God, therefore, each one is something special. This

should always be remembered. No one can replace you in the role that

you fulfil in God's creation at any given place and at any given point

in time. You are most necessary and indispensable for that particular

set-up, in that particular time-space context. And therefore rejoice

and be grateful to the Lord that He has given you a role to perform. " <<MORE>>

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoga

Teachers Training Course ( Dec 11, 2005 - Dec 30, 2005)

 

 

 

 

 

Yoga Teachers Training Course at Sivananda Ashram,

Ahmedabad is organized under the guidance and leadership of Yogacharya

H.H .Swami Adhyatmanandaji, who is teaching Yoga over thirty years and

has conducted

over 650 Yoga Camps to his credits. He has been a monk for over thirty

years and

sharing the teaching of Holy Master Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj. The YTTC

will

provide you a wonderful opportunity to further develop your skill in

the

science of Yoga and expand your abilities to teach yoga to others.You

will be

learning from a Master. Ashram's serene atmosphere is ideal for

enhancing your

spiritual growth as well as the skill in the field of Yoga Science. <<More>>

 

 

 

 

 

News

& Activity Report for the Month of November 2005

 

 

 

 

'Ladli' - Female Feticide Seminar(

November 8, 2005)

Sri Sri

Ravishankerji of "Art

of Living" organized a one day National Seminar called "Ladli" on Nov

8,

2005 at New Delhi under auspices of United Nations Population Fund Act

(UNPFA).

In the present context in India, the issue of Female Feticide needs

utmost

attention. In the above Seminar the issue was discussed at length. The

Seminar

was attended by number of NGO representatives, Hindu Saints, Jain

Munis, Muslim

Immams, Bhudh Bhikhus and Social activists from all over India.

In the above

National Seminar

called 'Ladli' H. H. Swami Shri Adhyatmanandji of Sivanand Ashram,

Ahmedabad

also delivered a memorable lecture. His lecture was very thought

provoking and

greatly appreciated by the audience. His emphasized to treat a baby

boy

and a baby girl equally at par. He criticized the doctors for their

illegal

practice by aborting the female fetus. He made an humble request to one

and all

present there to bring social awareness about this issue and to educate

people

at large.

All the saints, Mahatmas and

representatives of different organization present there in the Seminar

signed

collectively on a special circular and decided to do something for this

social

crime of female feticide by bringing awareness in the society. -

reported by Harish Dwivedi <<More>>

 

 

 

 

 

May

I Answer That? - Swami Sivananda

 

 

 

 

Q & A on Spiritual Life and Sadhana from

"May I Answer That?"- by Holy Master Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj.

 

God is all-pervading formless Being. How can He be confined to an idol?

What is the use of idol worship?

The divinity of the all-pervading God is vibrant

in every atom of

creation. There is not a speck of space where He is not. Why do you

then say that

He is not the idols? The idol is a support for the neophyte. It is a

prop of his spiritual childhood. A form or image is necessary for

worship in the beginning.

It is not possible for all to fix the mind on the Absolute or the

Infinite. A concrete form is necessary for the vast majority for

practicing concentration. Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors,

but shining channels

through which the heart of the devotee flows towards God. Though the

image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it

and pours

out his devotion unto it. The idol remains an idol, but the worship

goes to

the Lord. To a devotee, the image is a mass of Chaitanya or

consciousness. He

draws inspiration from the image. The image guides him. It talks to

him. It assumes human form to help him in a variety of ways. The image

of Lord

Siva in the temple at Madurai in South India helped the fuel-cutter and

the

old woman. The image in the temple at Tirupati assumed human form and

gave witness in the court to help His devotees. There are marvels and

mysteries. Only the devotees understand these. Idol worship is not

peculiar to Hinduism. The Christians worship the

Cross. They have the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans

keep the image of the Kaaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The

mental

image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one in kind, but

only one

of degree.

 

All worshippers, however intellectual they may

be, generate a form in

the mind and make the mind dwell on that image. Everyone is an idol

worshipper. Pictures and drawings are only a form of Pratima. A gross

mind needs a concrete symbol as a prop or Alambana; a subtle mind

requires an

abstract symbol. Even a Vedantin has the symbol OM for fixing the

wandering

mind. It is not only pictures or images in stone and wood that are

idols.

Dialectics and leaders also become idols. So, why condemn idolatry?

 

 

 

 

Incidence

from Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj's Life

 

 

 

 

One day an enthusiastic Brahmachari devotee

was distributing Prasad. He was upset to find ants infecting and

relishing Prasad of pleasant sweets. He was found trying to spread the

Prasad and get away with ants. At this Swamiji instantly intervened

saying why deprive the ants from being blessed with Prasad. Swamiji

advised him to leave the Prasad in 'as is where is' condition and bring

some new Prasad for distributing to the devotees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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