Digest Number 1381

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Dear friends, I had got this photograph of Venkatachalapathy(Balaji)'s, which is said to be very rare.I dont know about its Truthfulness. Anyway It appears to be the same & whether it is the True-picture or not, it is the picture of Balaji. So I hope you all will like it. With Love, Chandra Sekaran USA Ramakrishna wrote: Sri Ramakrishnaye NamahVivekananda Centre Londonhttp://www.vivekananda.co.uk------There'>http://www.vivekananda.co.uk------There are 7 messages in this issue.Topics in this digest:1. Re: Superstition or science????Ashish Gupta 2. AUMBhattathity M P 3. RE: Superstition or science????Jagannath Chatterjee 4. (unknown)milena kiriakova 5. Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna & Swami Vivekananda in Bulgarian"TP BAGCHI" 6. Re: Superstition or science????Shivaram 7. (unknown)milena kiriakova __________Message: 1Tue, 11 Feb 2003 17:34:29 -0800 (PST)Ashish Gupta Re: Superstition or science????> What's Swami Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekandhaa'soutlook about Astrology and prophecy? Interestingly I asked somewhat similar questions toSwami Medhasanadaji (who is currently the president ofthe Ramakrishna Mission in Japan).Here is part of what he said.There is enough evidence in the literature of Thakur(Sri Ramakrishna) and Ma (Sri Sarada Devi) to showthat they both relied on astrological conventions,predictions.Thakur, like other great saints before him, came notto destroy but to strengthen, awaken. So, he followedthe prevalent social customs as long as they were notharmful to spiritual progress.No doubt astrological calculations can sometimespredict the future events, but our mind should mainlybe focussed on spiritual disciplines (Love of Godetc.)There is a story about Mahapurush Maharaj (SwamiShivananda). There were two disciples staying withhim. They were very good friends and very fond of eachother. One of them was a sevak of Maharaj and theother had come to stay for some days. Soon the timefor the departure of the friend came. The sevak wanted his friend to stay on for a few moredays and entreated his friend to stay some more. Butthe friend had to go and so decided to go on theappointed day.By chance the appointed day of departure fell on aweek day which was considered inauspicious forstarting on journeys [i am sorry i have forgottenwhich day it was -- maybe thursday]. The sevak thoughtof a plan. He went to Mahapurush Maharaj and said,"Maharaj, even Thakur would not travel on such aninauspicious day, and this my friend is travelling onthis day. Please ask him not to start on this day."To his joy, Mahapurush Maharaj acceeded to his requestand asked him to call his friend. And to the friend,Maharaj said, "Please do not go on this inauspiciousday."The friend had some work and so wanted to proceedaccording to plan. So, he said - "Maharaj, if I takethe name of Thakur and then proceed, can anything badhappen to me ?" Maharaj said - "No, nothing bad canhappen to you.So," said the friend, "can I proceedon this day after taking Thakur's name and yourblessings ?". Maharaj said "Sure you can go".This example shows the thinking of these great peopleregarding astrology. They do not deny it. And theydo not depend too much on it.He told me another story regarding Ma.Once, to one of the Ramakrishna Maths came a famousastrologer. By seeing a horoscope, he could predict afew things. On being shown an absent sannyasin'shoroscope, he became very angry. He said - "Why areyou showing me the horoscope of a person who hasalready died ?" The sannyasin whose horoscope wasbeing studied was not present in the Math. The otherpresent sannyasins tried to convince the astrologerthat the sannyasin was very much alive, he was notdead. But the astrologer would not agree. He saidthat according to the horoscope, the person shouldhave died on this particular date.Later on when this was disclosed to the sannyasin, itset him thinking. And he remembered an incident whichhad occured a few days before the date mentioned ashis death date by the astrologer. He had been staying with the Holy Mother. At thattime, he had not had sannyasa. All of a sudden, oneday she told him to go immediately to Belur Math andget his sannyasa. He was not too keen to leave theMother and go. But she insisted. And so he went andhad his sannyasa.Swami Medhasanandaji says that Ma had forseen thataccording to the astrological calculations, he wouldhave to give up the body. But before that event, shemade him take sannyasa. Thus nullifying thepre-ordained events.So, again we see that astrology can predict events. But once we have the grace of the great saints, weneed not worry.If according to astrological predictions (according toyour past actions), it is predicted that your leg willbe cut off ; then if you depend on the grace of theLord / if you take the name of the Lord faithfully,you will get bye by having a thorn prick your leg.You want to study and follow astrology, do it. Butremember that this is neither the goal nor animportant element of the path.Send Flowers for Valentine's Day__________Message: 2Wed, 12 Feb 2003 04:07:52 +0530Bhattathity M P AUMDEAR GURUJITHANK YOU VERY MUCH[This message contained attachments]__________Message: 3Tue, 11 Feb 2003 21:36:27 -0800 (PST)Jagannath Chatterjee RE: Superstition or science????Dear Friends,I fully agree with the view put forward that spiritualseekers should shy away from astrology. Spiritual aspects apart, the ancient hindu treatiseson vedic astrology clearly state that study of planetsand their relationship to humans/nations can createtrouble for the astrologer (i.e. the one who isstudying them). Subtle mathematical calculations onthe position of the planets is also expresslyforbidden. This is quite in tandem with the scientific studies onthe subatomic particles where the enquiry can affectthe subject and also the object. As the microcosm isthe same as the macrocosm, the rule holds good for theexternal universe as well.RegardsJagannathSend Flowers for Valentine's Day__________Message: 4Wed, 12 Feb 2003 07:32:33 -0800 (PST)milena kiriakova (unknown)Dear Shivaram Das,Thank you for your email and for good wishes.I have already visited this link and have printed most of the lectures of Vivekananda from "Complete works of Swami Vivekananda". I have begun to read them intensely (and to learn English).Regards,MilenaSend Flowers for Valentine's Day[This message contained attachments]__________Message: 5Thu, 13 Feb 2003 08:04:44 -0000"TP BAGCHI" Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna & Swami Vivekananda in BulgarianDear Ms. Kiriakova:It is very heartening to know that you are learning English and studying Swami Vivekananda literature. Both the endeavors are difficult and extremely rewarding at the same time. Let me wish you a grand success in your journey. Please don't put excessive stress on your English language. English is not our mother tongue (at least for many of us) anyway; still we venture to communicate in our "pidgin" English and try to exchange our views freely and ffectively (even my own English is atrocious, let me admit it !). So, please don't hesitate to share your otherwise valuable thoughts about Swamiji (as we usually address Swami Vivekananda) and his great Master Sri Ramakrishna. We are all eager to know, how the Bulgarians look at both of them at this moment. Let me also request you to consider the possibility of translating some of their teachings in your mother-tongue so that your other fellow-Bulgarians (who may not be at home in English) may get in touch with their teachings. May God bless you.RegardsTP Bagchi- milena kiriakova Ramakrishna Saturday, February 08, 2003 9:27 PM[sri Ramakrishna] (unknown)Hallo! I'm very glad that you have approved my request for entering in your group. I think at first I'll read your notices and mails more often than I'll write to you. One of the reasons is that I learn English at the moment and it's a little bit difficult for me to express myself.I think I'll never read greater and trulier words than these, written by Swami VIvekananda. I have downlouded the most of the lectures of Vivekananda from your website. There are only two books translated in my own language - Bulgarian.Milena Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now Sri Ramakrishnaye NamahVivekananda Centre Londonhttp://www.vivekananda.co.uk