गीता प्रेस गोरखपुर - Gita Press Gorakhpur

जन्म जयंती 17 सितम्बर पर विशेष

जिसने घर-घर तक गीता पहुँचाया, धर्म की सेवा ‘घाटे का सौदा’ नहीं है ये सीख दी, उनकी जयंती पर नमन🙏

बंगाली बड़ी तेज़ी से हिन्दू से ईसाई बनते जा रहे थे। कारण था - कलकत्ता ईसाई मिशनरी। यहाँ बाइबिल के अलावा ईसाईयों की अन्य किताबें (जिनमें हिन्दू धार्मिक परम्पराओं के अनादर से लेकर झूठ तक भरा होता था, ) सहज उपलब्ध थीं। तभी युवा हनुमान प्रसाद पोद्दार ने...

गीता प्रेस गोरखपुर आज किसी परिचय की मोहताज नहीं है- धर्मशास्त्रों के मुद्रण (छपाई) और वितरण में अग्रणी इस प्रकाशक की माली हालत भले ऊपर-नीचे चलती रहती हो, जो किसी भी व्यवसायिक संस्थान के साथ होता ही रहता है, लेकिन हिन्दू समाज में इसके जितना सम्मान शायद ही किसी संस्थान का हो। और गीता प्रेस को इस मुकाम तक पहुँचाने में जिनका योगदान सबसे अधिक रहा, उनमें से एक हैं #हनुमान_प्रसाद_पोद्दार- गीताप्रेस की मासिक पत्रिका ‘कल्याण’ के संस्थापक सम्पादक, और इसे अखिल-भारतीय विस्तार देने वाले स्वप्नदृष्टा, जिन्होंने यह मिथक तोड़ा कि धर्म के प्रचार-प्रसार के काम में आर्थिक हानि ही होती है, या इसमें पैसे का निवेश घाटे का सौदा ही होता है।

अंग्रेजों ने मोड़ा राष्ट्रवाद की ओर

17 सितंबर, 1892 को जन्मे हनुमान प्रसाद पोद्दार की राष्ट्रवादी और राजनीतिक गतिविधियों में भागीदारी जीवन के शुरुआती दौर में न के बराबर थी। जैसा कि उनके मारवाड़ी समुदाय में उस समय का प्रचलन था, उन्होंने कम उम्र में ही शादी की, पत्नी को माँ-बाप की सेवा में बिठाया और काम-धंधा सीखने कलकत्ते निकल पड़े। लेकिन उन दिनों का कलकत्ता राष्ट्रवादी क्रांतिकारी आन्दोलन का गढ़ था। युवा पोद्दार के हॉस्टल के भी कुछ युवक क्रांतिकारी निकले, और अंग्रेज़ पुलिस ने लगभग पूरे हॉस्टल के नौजवानों को बिना चार्ज जेल में ठूँस दिया- अंडरट्रायल के नाम पर सड़ने के लिए। इस अन्याय, और जेल में क्रांतिकारियों-राष्ट्रवादियों की संगति, ने पोद्दार को बदल दिया- वे जेल से छूटने के बाद शुरू में तो व्यापार के सिलसिले में बम्बई चले गए, लेकिन उनकी रुचि धीरे-धीरे अर्थ से अधिक धर्म और राष्ट्र की तरफ झुकने लगी थी।

बाइबिल के बराबर गीता का प्रसार करने के लिए शुरू की प्रेस

अलीपुर जेल में श्री ऑरोबिंदो (उस समय बाबू ऑरोबिंदो घोष) के साथ बंद रहे पोद्दार ने जेल में ही गीता का अध्ययन शुरू कर दिया था। वहाँ से छूटने के बाद उन्होंने ध्यान दिया कि कैसे कलकत्ता ईसाई मिशनरी गतिविधियों का केंद्र बना हुआ था, जहाँ बाइबिल के अलावा ईसाईयों की अन्य किताबें भी, जिनमें हिन्दुओं की धार्मिक परम्पराओं के लिए अनादर से लेकर झूठ तक भरा होता था, सहज उपलब्ध थीं। लेकिन गीता- जो हिन्दुओं का सर्वाधिक जाना-माना ग्रन्थ था, उसकी तक ढंग की प्रतियाँ उपलब्ध नहीं थीं। इसीलिए बंगाली तेज़ी से हिन्दू से ईसाई बनते जा रहे थे।

मारवाड़ी अधिवेशन में पड़ी कल्याण की नींव

1926 में हुए मारवाड़ी अग्रवाल महासभा के दिल्ली अधिवेशन में पोद्दार की मुलाकात सेठ घनश्यामदास बिड़ला से हुई, जिन्होंने आध्यात्म में पहले ही गहरी रुचि रखने वाले पोद्दार को सलाह दी कि जन-सामान्य तक आध्यात्मिक विचारों और धर्म के मर्म को पहुँचाने के लिए आम भाषा (आज हिंदी, उस समय की ‘हिन्दुस्तानी’) में एक सम्पूर्ण पत्रिका प्रकाशित होनी चाहिए। पोद्दार ने उनके इस विचार की चर्चा जयदयाल गोयनका से की, जो उस समय तक गोबिंद भवन कार्यालय के अंतर्गत गीता प्रेस नामक प्रकाशन का रजिस्ट्रेशन करा चुके थे। गोयनका ने पोद्दार को अपनी प्रेस से यह पत्रिका निकालने की ज़िम्मेदारी दे दी, और इस तरह ‘कल्याण’ पत्रिका का उद्भव हुआ, जो तेज़ी से हिन्दू घरों में प्रचारित-प्रसारित होने लगी। आज कल्याण के मासिक अंक लगभग हर प्रचलित भारतीय भाषा और इंग्लिश में आने के अलावा पत्रिका का एक वार्षिक अंक भी प्रकाशित होता है, जो अमूमन किसी-न-किसी एक पुराण या अन्य धर्मशास्त्र पर आधारित होता है।

गीता प्रेस की स्थापना के पीछे का दर्शन स्पष्ट था- प्रकाशन और सामग्री/जानकारी की गुणवत्ता के साथ समझौता किए बिना न्यूनतम मूल्य और सरलतम भाषा में धर्मशास्त्रों को जन-जन की पहुँच तक ले जाना। हालाँकि गीता प्रेस की स्थापना गैर-लाभकारी संस्था के रूप में हुई, लेकिन गोयनका-पोद्दार ने इसके लिए चंदा लेने से भी इंकार कर दिया, और न्यूनतम लाभ के सिद्धांत पर ही इसे चलाने का निर्णय न केवल लिया, बल्कि उसे सही भी साबित करके दिखाया। 5 साल के भीतर गीताप्रेस देश भर में फ़ैल चुकी थी, और विभिन्न धर्मग्रंथों का अनुवाद और प्रकाशन कर रही थी। गरुड़पुराण, कूर्मपुराण, विष्णुपुराण जैसे महत्वपूर्ण ग्रंथों का प्रकाशन ही नहीं, पहला शुद्ध और सही अनुवाद भी गीता प्रेस ने ही किया।

बम्बई से आई गोरखपुर, गोरखधाम बना संरक्षक

गीता प्रेस ने श्रीमद्भागवत गीता और रामचरितमानस की करोड़ों प्रतियाँ प्रकाशित और वितरित की हैं। इसका पहला अंक वेंकटेश्वर प्रेस बम्बई से प्रकाशित हुआ, और एक साल बाद इसे गोरखपुर से ही प्रकाशित किया जाने लगा। उसी समय गोरखधाम मन्दिर के प्रमुख और नाथ सम्प्रदाय के सिरमौर की पदवी को प्रेस का मानद संरक्षक भी नामित किया गया- यानी आज उत्तर प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री और नाथ सम्प्रदाय के मुखिया योगी आदित्यनाथ गीता प्रेस के संरक्षक हैं।

गीता प्रेस की सबसे खास बात है कि इतने वर्षों में कभी भी उस पर न ही सामग्री (‘content’) की गुणवत्ता के साथ समझौते का इलज़ाम लगा, न ही प्रकाशन के पहलुओं के साथ- वह भी तब जब 60 करोड़ से अधिक प्रतियाँ प्रेस से प्रकाशित हो चुकीं हैं। 96 वर्षों से अधिक समय से इसका प्रकाशन उच्च गुणवत्ता के कागज़ पर ही होता है, छपाई साफ़ और स्पष्ट, अनुवाद या मुद्रण (printing) में शायद ही कभी कोई त्रुटि रही हो, और subscription लिए हुए ग्राहकों को यह अमूमन समय पर पहुँच ही जाती है- और यह सब तब, जबकि पोद्दार ने इसे न्यूनतम ज़रूरी मुनाफे के सिद्धांत पर चलाया, और यही सिद्धांत आज तक वर्तमान में 200 कर्मचारियों के साथ काम कर रही गीता प्रेस गोरखपुर में पालित होता है। न ही गीता प्रेस पाठकों से बहुत अधिक मुनाफ़ा लेती है, न ही चंदा- और उसके बावजूद गुणवत्ता में कोई कमी नहीं।

‘भाई जी’ कहलाने वाले पोद्दार ने ऐसा सिस्टम बना और चला कर यह मिथक तोड़ दिया कि धर्म का काम करने में या तो धन की हानि होती है (क्योंकि मुनाफ़ा कमाया जा नहीं सकता), या फिर गुणवत्ता की (क्योंकि बिना ‘पैसा पीटे’ उच्च गुणवत्ता वाला काम होता नहीं है)। उन्होंने मुनाफ़ाखोरी और फकीरी के दोनों चरम छोरों पर जाने से गीता प्रेस को रोककर, ethical business और धर्म-आधारित entrepreneurship का उदाहरण प्रस्तुत किया।

ठुकराया राय बहादुर और भारत रत्न, आज भी जारी अखंड रामचरित मानस पाठ

हनुमान प्रसाद पोद्दार उन चुनिन्दा सार्वजनिक हस्तियों में रहे, जिन्होंने अंग्रेजों का राय बहादुर और आज़ादी के बाद भारत सरकार का भारत रत्न दोनों ही मना कर दिए। 22 मार्च, 1971 को उनकी मृत्यु हो जाने के बाद प्रेस के जिस कमरे में, जिस डेस्क पर बैठकर वह प्रेस के संचालन और ‘कल्याण’ के सम्पादन के साथ-साथ ‘शिव’ के छद्म नाम से पत्रिका में लेखन भी करते थे, वह डेस्क और कमरा आज भी अक्षुण्ण रखे गए हैं। उनके कमरे में आज भी अखंड रामचरित मानस पाठ बदस्तूर चलता रहता है, जिसके लिए लोग पालियों में भागीदारी करते हैं।

ऐसे अमर धर्मवीर हनुमान प्रसाद जी की जन्म जयंती पर कोटि कोटि नमन!

RAMAKRISHNA TEMPLE, BELUR MATH

RAMAKRISHNA TEMPLE, BELUR MATH

This is the central shrine of the Ramakrishna Order headquartered at Belur Math, India. From here has issued a spiritual current that is inundating the world with the glorious message of the divinity of man, the harmony of faiths and the synthesis of all the diverse disciplines of knowledge in the light of the Vedanta as practised and espoused by Sri Ramakrishna who is the central figure and inspiration of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement. The marble statue of Sri Ramakrishna seated on the lotus pedestal here is not a material object or a mere work of art but is a living Presence pulsating with the rhythms of eternal life. 

Long back Sri Ramakrishna had promised that he would stay for a long long time wherever his beloved disciple Narendra (the future Vivekananda) would take his remains after his physical death, be it under a tree or in a hut. In keeping with that promise the Master is believed to be ever-resident in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ramakrishna Temple in Belur Math where his earthly remains have been preserved in a copper urn called 'Atmaramer Kouta'. And it is not merely a belief but it is an experiential truth for many sages and saints that have donned the ochre of the Ramakrishna Order right from the first generation of the Master's direct disciples. Sri Ramakrishna is a palpable Presence in the Belur Math, especially in the Ramakrishna Temple, and to this even lay devotees of the Master like Durga Charan Nag, popularly called Nag Mahashay, have testified. The blessed devotee was veritably in a transport when he visited Belur Math and was on record saying that having visited Dakshineshwar to see the Master in the subtle form---for the Master had already given up his mortal coil by then---he was disappointed only to be relieved to find him occupying the precincts of Belur Math.

In 1898, however, the 'Atmaramer Kouta' was preserved and worshipped in the Old Ramakrishna Shrine in Belur Math and it was only subsequent to the construction of the new temple in 1938 that it was shifted location to where it today is in the sanctum sanctorum of the Main Temple. Swami Vivekananda had during his lifetime studied Eastern and Western art, architecture and sculpture during his extensive travels through the globe. Out of this study emerged in his mind the design of the Ramakrishna Temple, a unique blend of different architectural traditions which symbolized the essential idea of universal harmony and the underlying oneness beneath the manifoldness of the world that Swamiji wanted to portray through the temple and so uphold the same before the wide world. He had entrusted Swami Vijnanananda, by academic training a civil engineer, to build the temple as and when funds would be available. Swamiji had a foreboding of his death and knew in his heart of hearts that he would not physically live to see the temple of his dreams, his tribute to his divine Master. But he assured his beloved Pesan (Swami Vijnanananda) that he would witness the consecration of the temple from above.

On the scheduled day, that hallowed morn when finally the Ramakrishna Temple was consecrated with the formal worship of Sri Ramakrishna, a young lad by name Satyakrishna was present at Belur Math. He was only eighteen years of age but had already been blessed with spiritual initiation by the then President Maharaj, Swami Vijnanananda. After the formal ceremonies were over, a few monks had gathered in the room of the President Maharaj which included a middle-aged monk by the name Bharat. Young Satyakrishna somehow overheard the following conversation.

Bharat Maharaj (addressing Swami Vijnanananda) : Maharaj, Swamiji had told you that on this day he would be present to witness the consectration of the temple. Did he come to see the proceedings today?

Vijnananandaji: Oh yes, he did come and so did Raja Maharaj, Baburam Maharaj and the rest of the Master's departed disciples. When the temple consecration was going on, I once looked up towards the ceiling of the temple to discover them lined up in space witnessing the event. Swamiji was right up there in fulfilment of his promise made to me.

Many years have rolled by since. 1938 is a distant date today living only in the memory of old-timers like the boy Satyakrishna. But he is no more a boy now. He is our nonagenarian venerable President Maharaj, Srimat Swami Atmasthanandaji who is ailing now for over a year but continues to be the leading inspiration of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement from his hospital bed in Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan where even Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi has visited him. Sri Ramakrishna continues to adorn the Belur Math filling it up with his ethereal vibrations. Who knows how long he will stay there? Swamiji had once said that the spiritual wave that had hit the banks of the Belur Math would inundate the world for the next 1500 years with the mighty current of universal harmony and oneness. We are barely into the second century of that glorious chapter of human history and already the world is aglow with the radiance of the Ramakrishna Sun. He is the life of this movement, its very pulsation. Unto him alone belongs the future of the movement for he is the Way, his is the Will and he is the Goal towards which we, who are his children, are rushing along. May Thakur guide us on towards his realm of enlightenment! May he who is the light of the world take us into his leading and lead us from non-existence unto Existence, from darkness unto Light, from mortality unto Immortality! May he bestow Peace unto all!

Jai Shree Guru Maharajji ki jai! Jai Mahamayee ki jai! Jai Swamiji Maharajji ki jai! Jai Gangamayee ki jai!      

Written by Sugata Bose

Swami Akhandanand

Happy Swami Akhandananda Jayanti

SWAMI AKHANDANANDA

Swami Akhandananda, or Gangadhar Ghatak, as he was called in his pre-monastic life, came of a respectable Brahmin family of Baghbazar, Calcutta. Even from his boyhood he was of a deeply religious turn of mind, and had extremely orthodox habits. He bathed several times a day, cooked his one daily meal himself, read the Gita and other scriptures, and regularly practised meditation. This was his mode of life when he first came in contact with Sri Ramakrishna. Their meeting was in 1884, at Dakshineswar, which he visited in the company of his friend Harinath, the future Swami Turiyananda. Sri Ramakrishna, as was customary with him, received him cordially, and asked him if he had seen him before. The boy answered that he had: when he had been very young, at the house of Dinanath Bose, a devotee who lived at Baghbazar. The Master made him stay overnight, and when he was taking leave the next morning, Sri Ramakrishna asked the boy, in his characteristic way, to come again. Then began that close association between the Master and the disciple which afterwards ripened into a strong urge for renunciation of the world on the part of Gangadhar, and his dedication to the service of God in man.

Every time he visited Dakshineswar he was charmed to see some new phase of Sri Ramakrishna's God-intoxicated life. He felt the silent transforming influence of his love and received practical instructions from him on spirituality. Under this tutelage, Ganga-dhar gradually dropped his over-orthodox observances, which the Master described as “oldish,” saying: “Look at Naren (Swami Vivekananda). He has such prominent eyes! He chews a hundred betel-leaves a day, and eats whatever he gets. But his mind is deeply introspective. He goes along the streets of Calcutta seeing houses and chattels, horses and carriages, and everything as full of God! Go and see him one day. He lives at Simla (a district of Calcutta).” The next day Gangadhar saw Narendra Nath and at once understood the truth of Sri Ramakrishna's remarks. He reported his impressions to the Master, who wondered how the boy could learn so much in a single interview. Gangadhar said: “On reaching there, I noticed those prominent eyes of his and found him reading a voluminous English work. The room was full of dirt, but he scarcely noticed anything. His mind seemed to be away beyond this world.” Sri Ramakrishna advised him to visit Narendra Nath often. This was the foundation of his abiding devotion and allegiance to Swami Vivekananda, the hero of his life.

Gangadhar went often to Dakshineswar and lost no opportunity of serving the Master. This attained its climax during the prolonged illness of the Master (cancer of the throat) which necessitated his removal to the villa at Cossipore, where he finally entered into Mahasamadhi in August, 1886. In the course of those last few months, Sri Ramakrishna succeeded in binding his pure and selfless band of young disciples together in indissoluble fraternal ties, and placed them under the care of Narendra Nath as leader. Shortly after the Baranagore monastery had been started, Gangadhar joined the all-renouncing group of monks and led an ascetic life with them, determined to realise the highest truth as taught by Sri Ramakrishna, or die in the attempt. From now on Gangadhar became Swami Akhanda-nanda ("one who has his bliss in the indivisible Brahman"). No amount of privation could deflect them, even by a hair's breadth, from their life of absorption in God. It was the traditional ideal of monasticism venerated in India from time immemorial.

Gangadhar, not coming to be confined to one place, and fired with the ideal of leading the unfettered life of a wandering monk, started early in 1887 on a long pilgrimage to the Himalayas; and after visiting sacred Kedamath and Badri-narayan he crossed over to Tibet, where he lived at Lhassa and elsewhere for three years, returning to India in 1890. After his return, he was full of the grandeur of the Himalayas and Tibet, had frequent correspondence with Swami Viveka-nanda, then at Gazipur, and succeeded in inducing the latter to visit those regions in his company. Accordingly, Swami Akhandananda came to the Baranagore monastery, and after spending a few happy months with his brother-disciples, sharing his experience with them, he set out in July, 1890, with Swami Vivekananda on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas. Visiting important places on the way they reached Almora, whence they proceeded to Karnaprayag on the route to Badrinath. But illness of the one or the other prevented their proceeding farther, and they returned after some weeks, via Tehri, to Dehra Dun, whence Swami Akhandananda went to Meerut for treatment. Soon after this he was again joined by Swami Vivekananda, who had been taken seriously ill while practising austerities at Rishikesh, the great resort of monks at the foot of the Himalayas. He brought with him some of the other brother-disciples, including Swami Brahmananda. When, after five delightful months of association of the brothers, Swami Vivekananda, impelled by an inner hankering to remain alone, left them to make a tour of the country as a wandering monk, Swami Akhandananda, unable to bear his separation, followed him from province to province, determined to find him. But at every place he visited he got the disconcerting news that Swami Vivekananda had left it a few days ago. He persisted in his search with unflagging resolve, till at last he discovered the object of his search at a port called Cutch Mandvi in distant Cutch. He, however, yielded to the leader's earnest desire to be left alone, and each continued his pilgrimage separately.

Shortly after Swami Vivekananda’s departure for America in May, 1893, Swami Akhandananda learnt from his brother-disciples, Swamis Brahmananda and Turiyananda, at Mt. Abu that the real motive of the leader’s journey to the West was to find bread for the hungry masses of India. For the sight of their crushing poverty and misery was too much for him, and he considered it absurd to preach religion to them without first improving their material condition. This communication made little impression upon Swami Akhandananda at the time. Then he fell ill and went for a change to Khetri, where, after six months’ rest and treatment, he regained his health. But those months gave him ample opportunity to come in close touch with all sections of people, high and low, rich and poor, and it was then that he realised the truth of Swami Viveka-nanda's words. Now himself also burning with the desire to serve the poor and helpless masses, he wrote to the Swami in America asking for his permission. The encouraging reply he received pushed him on, and in 1894 he began his campaign against poverty. He found that at the root of it all was the appalling ignorance of the masses. Hence education became his first objective. He moved from door to door impressing upon the residents of Khetri the need of educating their children, and succeeded by strenuous efforts in raising the strength of the local High School from 80 to 257, as well as in improving the teaching staff. He next visited the villages around Khetri and started five Primary Schools for the village boys. Seeing all this the Maharaja of Khetri afterwards made an annual grant of Rs. 5,000/- for the spread of education in his territory. At the instance of the Swami, the Sanskrit School at Khetri was converted into a Vedic School, and as the students were too poor to purchase books, the Swami raised subscriptions, purchased books and had them distributed free to the boys by the Political Agent. He also induced the Maharaja to lift the ban against the admittance of his poorer subjects from seeing him on Durbar days.

Next year the Swami happened to visit Udaipur, where he was much pained to see the condition of the Bhils, the aboriginal inhabitants of the place. With the help of a friend he had them sumptuously fed one day. He also took great pains to start a Middle English School at Natha-dwara, and founded at Alwar and other places of Rajputana a number of Societies which regularly discussed useful social, religious and educational topics. Finally he left Rajputana and returned early in 1895 to the monastery, which was then at Alambazar.

Here also he was not idle. Whenever a cholera case was reported in the neighbourhood, he would run to the spot and try his utmost to nurse the patient to recovery without any regard for personal safety. A few months later, he started northwards on foot along the Ganges till he came to a village some twenty miles from Berhampore, in the district of Murshidabad, where he met a poor Mohammedan girl weeping. On inquiry he learnt that she had broken her pitcher, the only one in the family, and there was no means to replace it. The Swami had only four annas with him. He bought a pitcher from a shop for the girl and gave her half an anna worth of popped rice to eat. While he was resting there, a dozen emaciated old women in rags surrounded him for food. He immediately spent his little balance in purchasing some food for them. Shortly after this he came to learn that a famished old woman was lying sick and helpless in that village. He at once went there and did what he could to help her.

This was his first contact with famine. The farther he proceeded, the more frightful spectacles he met, till at Mahula he cried halt. He resolved not to move from the place until he had relieved the famine-stricken people, and so wrote to the Alambazar Math asking for help. Swami Viveka-nanda, who had returned to India about three months before, after his four years of epoch-making work in the West, was staying there at the time. He despatched two of the monks with some money to the scene. And so on May 15, 1897, the first famine relief work of the Rama-krishna Mission was inaugurated with Mahula and Panchgaon as centres, and it lasted for about a year. In the course of it Swami Akhandananda had to take charge of two orphans, and the idea of founding an orphanage first entered his mind. With encouragement from the district officers, the Swami, after taking temporary care of a number of orphans, founded in May, 1898, at Mahula, the orphanage entitled the Ramakrishna Ashrama, which was removed shortly after to a rented house at Sargachhi. After continuing there for thirteen years the Ashrama was moved to its own premises in , the same village, which it has been occupying since March, 1913.

The Swami, from the foundation of this institution to the last day of his life, bestowed his best attention on its improvement, and it has saved a good number of orphan boys from starvation, illiteracy and degradation. Many of these have been put in a position to earn an honest living. Under the Swami's supervision, the Ashrama has all these years been conducting a day and a night school for the village boys and adults and an outdoor dispensary, which has afterwards developed considerably and treats thousands of sick people every year. From 1900 to 1910 the Ashrama ran a full-fledged industrial school, teaching weaving, sewing and carpentry, as also for part of the period sericulture, which was the pride of the locality. The handicrafts turned out by its boys won first prizes for several successive years at the Banjetia Industrial Exhibition organised by Maharaja Manindra Chandra Nandi of Cossim-bazar, who, by the way, was a staunch patron of the institution. Unfortunately, for want of accommodation the industrial school had to be discontinued.

The Swami not only attended to the general education of the Ashrama boys, but also paid due regard to their spiritual training, the chanting of prayers morning and evening being compulsory for them. Select passages from the sacred books like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were read and explained to them. Orphans were admitted into the Ashrama without any distinction of caste or creed. Thus a few Mohammedan boys were also maintained at the Ashrama for several years, and trained so that they might develop faith in their own religion.

The training given at the Ashrama had enough scope for the culture of the heart as well. Through example as well as precept Swami Akhanda-nanda encouraged his boys to do noble acts of service whenever there was any outbreak of pestilence or any other calamity in the neighbouring villages. Thus hundreds of cholera patients were nursed by them and saved from untimely death, while prophylactic measures were adopted in many villages with satisfactory results.

Even after the opening of the orphanage, Swami Akhandananda could not help taking succour to the distressed in distant places. During the heavy flood at Ghogha, in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar, he forthwith started a relief work in which fifty villages were helped for ten weeks, and himself nursed a latge number of cholera patients on the occasion. Again, during the terrible earthquake in Bihar in 1934, he, old as he was, personally inspected the scenes of the ravage at Monghyr and Bhagalpur and gave impetus to the Mission's relief work in those areas. These are only a few of the hundreds of instances of his overflowing sympathy for the poor and helpless. His whole life was full of such disinterested acts. To him all human beings in distress were veritable divinities, and he found intense joy in serving them to the best of his might. In this he literally carried out Swami Vivekananda’s behest: “The poor, the illiterate, the ignorant, the afflicted—let these be your God. Know that the service of these alone is the highest religion.’’

He loved to work silently and unobserved among the dumb masses and this is why, in spite of his indifferent health, he stuck to the village work at Sargachhi. He was made the Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Mission in 1925, and President in March, 1934, on the passing away of Swami Shivananda, the second President. The duties of the latter post required his presence at the Belur Math, but he preferred the solitude of Sargachhi, and was quite happy with his orphan boys, supervising the agricultural work and taking care of the valuable collection of trees and plants in the orchard. Routine work was distasteful to him. Throughout his life, however, he was a lover of books and gathered a great store of knowledge on diverse subjects. He had a prodigious memory, which, coupled with his strong power of observation and dramatic sense, made him a first-rate conversationalist. His adventurous life as a penniless itinerant monk throughout Northern and Western India, particularly his experiences in Tibet, furnished him with inexhaustible materials for conversation, and he would keep his audience spellbound with narrations of the privations and dangers he had gone through, and the rare experiences he had gained in exchange for them. He was an authority on Tibet, having visited that little-known country long before the late Rai Bahadur Sarat

Chandra Das, and he had had great opportunities of studying the people at close quarters on account of his knowledge of the language. He had a special aptitude for learning languages: while in Rajputana he mastered the intricacies of Hindi grammar in the course of only four days. He knew Sanskrit as well as English, and his particular interest was in the Vedas. Not only could he recite and explain choice passages from the Samhitas, but he was at one time keen about founding institutions in Bengal for the study and propagation of Vedic culture, for which purpose he visited scholars and persons of distinction. He was a forceful writer in his mother tongue and occasionally contributed serial articles to magazines, such as the unfinished “Three Years in Tibet,” in the Udbodhan, the Bengali organ of the Ramakrishna Order, and his Reminiscences in the monthly Vasumali, left, alas, incomplete by his sudden passing away. Sometimes also he diverted himself by writing under a pseudonym in the daily Vasumati. He was an extempore speaker too, though he was extremely reluctant to appear before the public in that role. His impromptu speech at the memorial meeting in honour of the late Nafar Chandra Kundu, who gave his life to save two sweeper boys from a man-hole in Calcutta, was much appreciated.

Above all, like many a great saint, he loved fun. In fact, the boyish element was uppermost in him, so much so that even in the midst of a serious conversation he could make his audience laugh with some droll anecdote. His brother-disciples, knowing this lighter side of his nature, would tickle him by creating humorous situations, which he too relished. One such incident has been narrated in the chapter on the life of Swami Brahmananda, who was a past-master in this game.

The love which the children of Sri Rama-krishna bore towards one another was ethereal. It is indescribable. Swami Akhandananda, being almost the youngest of the batch, was the favourite of all. Swami Vivekananda loved him particularly, and affectionately addressed him as "Ganges” (the English equivalent for "Ganga”); but he did not on that account spare the young Swami when it came to indulging in practical jokes. The Master himself was a great lover of fun and used it as an effective means of imparting spirituality and all his disciples shared this attitude towards life. Even if the joke was at one another’s expense, it endeared them all the more to one another.

After his assumption of the Presidential office, Swami Akhandananda was called upon to initiate disciples. Though he showed reluctance at first, perhaps out of humility, he soon overcame the scruple, and during the last three years blessed a good many earnest seekers of both sexes. He insisted on their observing a high standard of purity and moral excellence in their eveiyday life.

About a year before his death he had a premonition of the approaching end, and told some of his disciples about it. With this in view the arranged the recital of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in his presence. Near the end he expressed his desire to celebrate the Vasanti Puja, the vernal worship of the Divine Mother Durga, at the Ashrama. But knowing that both his predecessors had had that desire and passed away without seeing the ceremony performed, he had misgivings about his own case too and expressed himself to that effect. He had a shed erected for this purpose and said to the Ashrama workers: “If I do not live to see the worship, at least I have the satisfaction of raising this Mandapa for the Mother. You will do the rest." Like the independent man that he was, he often pooh-poohed the idea of suffering long on his deathbed. Chafing under the infirmities of old age and at having to accept through sheer necessity the loving services of his attendants, he would occasionally declare that he sometimes had a mind to break away from these ties and wander alone, away from the haunts of men. He loved Sar-gachhi dearly and never liked to be away from it for long if he could help. But it was a cherished desire of his to give up the body, not there but at the Belur Math, the place that was sanctified with a thousand and one memories of his beloved brother-disciples from the great Swami Viveka-nanda downwards. This wish of his was providentially fulfilled, since he was taken to Calcutta for better medical treatment.

A month before his passing away, Swami Akhandananda wrote to the Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, asking for the wording of a Sanskrit couplet that had appeared in the April number of the Prabuddha Bharata in 1927, in an article entitled “Neo-Hinduism.”

“ I do not covet earthly kingdom, or heaven, or even salvation. The only thing I desire is the removal of the miseries of the afflicted.” The idea expressed in the couplet was so much after the Swami’s heart that even after the lapse of ten years, on the eve of his departure from this world he wanted to know its precise reading. Could there be a more touching evidence of his burning love and sympathy for the suffering and the miserable ? Swami Akhandananda passed away at the age of 71, at the Belur Math on February 7. 1937

HONORARY MASTERS OF MEDICINE DEGREE FOR A ILLITERATE MAN

HONORARY MASTERS OF MEDICINE DEGREE FOR A  ILLITERATE MAN. 

Cape Town's uneducated surgeon Mr. Hamilton, who was awarded the honorary degree of Master of Medicine could neither read  or  write. 

Cape Town Medical University has a leading position in the medical world.

The world’s first heart transplant  happened here as well. 

 

Master of Medicine honorary degree was awarded to this man  who has never seen the face of school in his life. He could not read a  word  of English, leave alone write  anything in English. 

 

But one morning in 2003, world-renowned surgeon Professor David Dent announced in the university auditorium: "Today we are awarding an honorary degree in medicine to the man who produced the most surgeons in the world. Who is an extraordinary teacher and a amazing surgeon. But

a man  who  has never studied medical sciences”.

Professor David Dent then announced it was none other than Hamilton. 

The entire auditorium stood up 

and applauded. It was the biggest reception in the history of this university.

 

Hamilton was born in Sanitani, a remote village in Cape Town. His parents were shepherds. He wore goat skin and  walked  the mountains barefoot all day as a child. His father  fell  ill when he was a teenager and he had to attend to the family. , He left his village and  went to Cape Town looking for a job. Construction was then underway at the University of Cape Town.  He was employed as a labourer at the university. He would send home all the money  he earned. After  a hard day's work, he  would sleep in the open ground.  He worked as a laborer for many years. The construction soon ended

 

He  then got the job of mowing the tennis courts at the University. 

He  would arrive at the tennis court early in the morning and start his mowing. He did this for three years. 

Then came a strange turn in his life. 

It was a warm morning. Professor Robert Joyce was researching  on the anatomy of the giraffe’s neck.  They  had laid a  unconscious giraffe on the operating table. But as soon as the operation started, the giraffe  started to move its head. So they needed a strong man to keep the giraffe's neck tight during the operation.

 

The professor came out of the theatre   and Hamilton was  there mowing the lawn in front. The professor saw that he was a healthy young man of strong stature.  He beckoned him and ordered him to grab the giraffe's neck.

 

The operation lasted eight hours. During this time, the doctor continued to take tea and coffee breaks. However Hamilton  just stood  there holding the giraffe's neck. When the operation was over, he quietly went out and started mowing the lawn.

 

The next day the professor called him again.  He came and held the the giraffe's  through the entire dissection. He worked double for many months. 

 He  never asked for  additional  payment  for this duty.  And nor did he complain.

 

Professor Robert Joyce was impressed by his perseverance and sincerity and  promoted Hamilton from mowing the tennis court to  a lab assistant. He  was now  given the responsibility  to help the surgeons in the operating theatre’s.  He excelled in this and continued working there for many years. 

 

In 1958 came another turning point in his life. That year, Dr.  Christian Bernard came to the university and started heart transplant operations.

 

Hamilton became his  personal assistant, during these operations. Soon he  was promoted from  a Assistant Surgeon to  a  Additional Surgeon.

 

As a Additional Surgeon, he was now  given the task of stitching. He excelled in his stitching. While working in the operating theatre, he began to understand the human body more than surgeons . So the senior doctors gave him the responsibility of teaching the junior doctors.

 

He  then started teaching surgical techniques to junior doctors. He gradually became the most important figure in the operating theatre. He was unfamiliar with the terms of medical sciences. But he was the best if  surgeons the world has seen.  Much of Professor Christian Bernard’s achievement would not have been possible without the steadying hands of Hamilton. 

 

The third turning point in his life came in 1970 when research on liver  transplant started in Cape Town University.  He did extensive dissections on the liver and he identified a  very important artery ..... which made liver transplantation easier and successful. 

 

His  achievements astonished the great minds of medical science.

 

Today, when a person undergoes a successful  liver transplant operation, much of the credit should go  to Hamilton. 

 

Hamilton achieved this position with sincerity and perseverance. He was associated with the University of Cape Town for 50 years. In  those 50 years, he never took a vacation. He would leave home at 3 o’clock in the morning and walk 14 miles to the university.  He would enter the theatre at exactly six o'clock. People used to  adjust their watches with his time.

 

He received an honour that no one else outside the medical sciences  has ever received.

 

He was the first illiterate teacher of Surgery.  He was the first illiterate surgeon to train 30,000 surgeons in his lifetime.

He died in 2005 and was buried at the University.  It  has become  a ritual  for every graduating doctor to pose for a photograph at his tomb before walking out of the University to face the challenges  of the outside world. 

 

And  you know how he got this exalted position. 

 

Only one yes.

 

The day he was called to the operating theatre to grab the giraffe's neck  and if he had refused that day.  If he had said that day, I am a Grounds Maintenance Worker and it is not my job  to hold the giraffe's neck

 

It was a yes and an extra eight hours of hard work that opened the door to success for him. 

 

Every job in the world has one criteria and  the job is available only to those who meet the criteria. If you want to work, you can start any work anywhere in the world  straight away and no power in the world will be able to stop you.

 

Hamilton had found the secret, he gave importance to work rather than the job. This changed  his life and his history.

Excerpts from "Autobiography of Swami Sivananda"

Autobiography of Swami Sivananda (An abridged version)

I was born to Srimati Parvati Ammal and P.S. Vengu Iyer, as their third son, on Thursday the 8th September, 1887, at the time of sunrise, when the Star Bharani was in ascendance. My father Sri P.S. Vengu Iyer of Pattamadai, was descended from Sri Appaya Dikshitar.  I passed the Madurai Tamil Sangam examination creditably. I chose the medical career and ran a Medical Journal, Ambrosia, at Trichinopoly, for three years. I was very ambitious and enthusiastic. 

I was planning to go to Malaya (Malaysia). I left Madras by S.S. “Tara.”. I served in the Estate Hospital near Seremban as a doctor for nearly seven years, after which I joined the Johore Medical Office, Ltd. I served in Johore for three years. There was not a single available English medical book at that time that I had not read and digested. In addition to all this I would help my assistants too and train them for sometime daily, and then send them to other hospitals with a recommendation letter, providing from my pocket their railway fare as well as some emergency money. Soon I became well-known in Seremban and Johore Bahru.

Is there not a higher mission in life than the daily round of official duties, eating and drinking? Is there not any higher form of eternal happiness than these transitory and illusory pleasures? How uncertain is life here? How insecure is existence on this earth-plane, with various kinds of diseases, anxieties, worries, fear and disappointments! In 1923, I renounced the life of ease and money-making and took to the life of a mendicant, a true seeker after Truth.

From Singapore, I reached Banaras and had Darshan of Lord Siva. Then I proceeded to Nasik, Poona and other important religious centres. From Poona I walked to Pandarpore, a distance of seventy miles. On my way I stayed for a couple of days in the Ashram of Yogi Narayan Maharaj at Khedgaon. Then I spent some four months in Dhalaj on the banks of Chandrabhaga. During my incessant travels, I learnt how to adjust and adapt myself to various types of people.

I came to Rishikesh in June 1924 and found it my destination. My Guru Swami Viswananda Saraswati Maharaj gave me initiation and enough spiritual strength and blessings. I found Rishikesh an ideal place for intense and undisturbed spiritual practices true for all seekers after Truth. A deep study of the ways of Mahatmas living in Rishikesh opened my eyes and gave me strength to stick to rigorous Sadhana in the right direction. I felt the Grace of the Lord. I derived strength and guidance from within. I found ways for an all-round development. I had the goal of my life as Self-realisation and determined to spend every bit of my energy and time in study, service and Sadhana.

For maintaining a high standard of health, I practised Asanas, Pranayamas, Mudras and Bandhas. I used to go out for long brisk walks in the evenings. I combined physical exercises such as Dand and Bhaitak also. I paid special attention to simple living, high thinking, light food, deep study, silent meditation and regular prayers. I loved seclusion and observed Mauna. I did not like company and futile talk. From the Ram Ashram Library in Muni-ki-reti I used to get some books for my study and devoted some time to study every day. With a view to devoting more time to prayer and meditation, I moved to the Swargashram. I lived in a small Kutir, 8 feet by 10 feet, with a small verandah in front, and depended on the Kali Kambliwala Kshetra for my food.

I visited Kedarnath and Badrinath, Tunganath and Triyuginath. Swami Balananda, Swami Vidyasagar accompanied me. I had a dip in the hot-water springs at Badri Narayan. Throughout my travel I sang Kirtan and Bhajan and did mental Japa. By a steam-boat at Calcutta, I reached Ganga Sagar—the confluence of Ganga with Bay of Bengal. Srimati Maharani Surat Kumari Devi also was with me. There is a small temple of Kapila Muni at the sacred Ganga Sagar. I had a bath in the sea. There was a Mela (fair). I helped the pilgrims in getting up the ladder. In the early years of my Sadhana at Rishikesh, I decided to see Kailas. Mount Kailas is in Western Tibet. On the 12th June, 1931, I started on a pilgrimage to that sacred place. There is no place on all this fair earth which can be compared with Kailas for the marvellous beauty of the everlasting snows. Of all Yatras, the Kailas trip is the most difficult. It is called Mount Meru—the axis of Mountains

Systematically to carry on the Divine Mission on a large scale, I established the DIVINE LIFE TRUST SOCIETY in 1936 and registered the Trust Deed at Ambala. In 1936 when I was returning from Lahore after presiding over a Kirtan Conference, I just thought of a Trust Society and alighted at Ambala and consulted an Advocate and prepared the Trust deed. Then the Divine Life Society was established for the dissemination of spiritual knowledge throughout the world and subsequently about 300 Branches were opened in all important cities. Thousands of students received initiation from me into the order of Sannyasa. So long as they undergo training they stay with me and work. Advanced students start their own Mission in big cities or have their own Sadhana in the Himalayan caves.

On the 9th September, 1950, I started on a dynamic Mission of Dissemination of Knowledge, undertaking an extensive tour all over India and Ceylon for a period of two months. I returned to Rishikesh on the 7th November, 1950. I visited all the important cities, towns and villages all over India. I addressed public meetings and conducted Kirtans. I delivered speeches in many Schools, Colleges and Universities on ethical culture and Real Education and addressed numerous public meetings on general spiritual topics. Several thousands of rupees worth of valuable books were distributed free of cost to the public during this historic event—the All-India-Ceylon Tour.

Many foreigners come to the Ashram and spend some weeks or months and admire the wonderful work turned out at the Ashram. The inhabitants of Shivanandanagar, young and old, men and women, enjoy the peace and bliss of this Holy Centre and help the world in a variety of ways. They all receive my careful, personal attention. I provide them with all comforts and conveniences and help them in their evolution. The Sivananda Hospital is a blessing to the Mahatmas, Yogins, pilgrims and the poor people of the neighbouring villages. Experienced doctors in different systems of medicine attend to the Hospital work. The General Hospital is equipped with modern apparatus like X-Ray, Diathermy and a High Frequency Apparatus for E.N.T. and eye cases.

Young aspirants, because of old habit, used to sleep in the winter cold till sunrise or till 6 or 7 in the morning. They must not waste their precious life in sleeping in the Brahmamuhurta, between 4 and 6 in the early morning. That period is highly favourable for deep meditation. The atmosphere also is charged with Sattvic vibrations. Without much effort one can have wonderful concentration at this period.

From my Kutir, I used to chant aloud several times the Mantras: “OM OM OM, SHYAM SHYAM SHYAM, RADHESHYAM RADHESHYAM RADHESHYAM” and thus made my students get up early for prayers and meditation. This had no effect on the Tamasic type of aspirants. I arranged their night meals before sunset. That enabled some to get up early morning. It is only those who load the stomach heavily at night that find it difficult to get up early in the morning.

In the beginning stages of Sadhana, even if people meditate alone in a room, they get up in the morning only to see that they were overpowered by sleep, and sleep the whole period in a sitting posture. This gave me an idea of a common prayer and meditation during Brahmamuhurta. One student would ring the bell in front of every Kutir and collect the aspirants in a common place for the collective Sadhana. I joined the group daily for some months and years.

I love seclusion. I have to hide myself at times. I do not crave for name and fame. I did not spend much time in a deep study of all the scriptures and religions of the world, for preparing thrilling lectures. I never liked to spend time in writing fine essays for publication through books or newspapers. I was not pleased when people called me: “Mahatma, Guru Maharaj.” I never planned for any Institution to perpetuate my name. But the Divine Will was different. The whole world came to me with all divine glory and splendour. That may be due to the intense prayers of thousands of sincere seekers after Truth coupled with my own inborn tendencies to share with others what I have and to serve the world on a large scale on the right lines, for the attainment of Light, Peace, Knowledge and Power.

I was induced to start the Divine Life Society when I found some facility and useful hands to carry on the work. I carried the Message of the Sages and Saints and taught the world the way for Peace and Bliss. Because of the popularity of the Divine Life Society, many learned and pious souls from far off lands have come to see me and, sharing with me the love for selfless service, are doing valuable work in spreading right knowledge, which alone can confer lasting peace and happiness. Many foreign Branches of the Divine Life Society are reprinting parts of my writings and distributing them free in their respective regions.

The Yoga Vedanta Forest University came into existence when regular classes began to be conducted on all Branches of Yoga. To help the students all over the world, the University Press was established for printing necessary works on the practical side and half a dozen periodicals, with a number of machines to do the work automatically. Now the Ashram, a very big Spiritual Colony, looks like a huge factory with the wonderful, indescribable Peace of the Himalayas. 

No doubt it is difficult for young women to get on in the Sannyasa line. They do not have the same liberty and freedom as men. Men can live and move about in any way and sleep anywhere. They can go from door to door for alms and maintain themselves. But women are greatly at a disadvantage and suffer thereby. It is a pity that there are not many ideal institutions in India exclusively for women where they can live peacefully, serve the world and evolve. Ideal institutions with all comforts and conveniences for women, who are spiritually-inclined, are a great need of the hour. For ages, this important work has been neglected.

I never thought of starting an Ashram. When the great rush of students and devotees came to me for spiritual guidance, with a view to render help to them and to make them useful to the world, I created some fields of activities for their evolution and for public good, encouraged them much in their studies and their Sadhana, and arranged necessary comforts and conveniences for their boarding and lodging, using the donations I received from some admirers for my personal use. Thus, in course of time, I found around me a huge Ashram and an Ideal Institution with congenial environment—a big Spiritual Colony—SHIVANANDA NAGAR. I did not work with big plans or schemes. I did not approach any great person or Maharajah for getting money. The world appreciated the service done here on right lines. A little help came from the divine source and I carefully utilised every cent of it for bringing maximum spiritual good to the world. 

I am not restrictive about my publications. Any good matter must be shared with the readers at once for their prompt spiritual benefit. I do not want my readers to wait until a new publication is ready. Hence, if any new ideas crop up, I at once add them in the latest work under print even though they may not have a direct connection with the subject-matter of the book. Nor do I wish that valuable time should be wasted in carefully scrutinising every word.

No attachment to copyright. I do not expect any royalty from publishers. For dynamic work, I ask all the publishers to bring out several editions of my books in different languages. I do not demand anything from publishers as remuneration to the author. Let them give the royalty or not, I permit any number of publishers to come forward to print my books for wide circulation throughout the world.

Way to Success:

Whenever I take up any work, 

I finish it at any cost. 

Whenever I start writing a book, 

I complete it somehow or other. 

Whenever I take up a book for study, 

I complete it before taking up another work. 

I never leave anything half done. 

I concentrate on the subject and 

Think intensely without distraction. 

I am firm, steadfast and steady. 

I have intense application to work. 

I have tenacity and intensity of purpose.

My view of Goondas:

Good people are already virtuous 

I will have to correct and mould Goondas only. 

This is my special work. 

Goonda is a negatively virtuous man. 

He exists to glorify the virtuous. 

Goonda also is Lord Krishna. 

Lord Krishna says in the Gita: 

‘Dyutam chhalayatamasmi— 

I am the gambling of the cheat.’ 

Rudri says: ‘Taskaranam pataye namah— 

Prostrations the Lord of thieves,’ 

I keep in the Ashram all sorts of students. 

The world calls me a Guru for thieves and rogues. 

Glory to the Divine Mission. 

The spiritual vibrations of this Holy Centre 

Convert them as Divine Beings, Yogis and Saints!

Ideal Teacher:

I am ever a thirsting student 

I am not a teacher 

But God has made me a teacher 

The students have made me a teacher. 

I make my students soon as teachers 

I am such a teacher. 

I treat them in respectable terms as 

‘Maharaj’, ‘Swamiji’, ‘Bhagawan’, ‘Narayan’, 

I treat them as my equals 

I give them equal seats 

I am such a teacher. 

I allow them to learn from my own life 

I make them Mahants and servants of humanity 

Presidents, lecturers, writers, Swamis and Yogis 

Founders of spiritual institutions, poets, journalists, 

Propagandists, divine scavengers, health and Yoga Culturists, 

Typists, Yoga-kings, Atma-Samrats, 

Karma Yogi Veeras, Bhakti Bhushans, Sadhana Ratnas 

I am such a teacher to all Seekers after Truth.

Come, Come, My Friends:

My Call is irresistible, 

It has transformed countless lives. 

Do not waste this precious life 

In playing cards and idle gossiping 

Give up hot debates and arguing 

Destroy all pleasure centres 

Abandon the desire for comfort 

Set fire to the fuel of lust. 

Destroy the fortress of egoism 

Be quick, Be quick, friends! 

Sing the Lord’s Name day and night 

Now take a plunge in the Ocean of Bliss 

And enter the illimitable domain of the Atma within. 

Come, come, my friends, take the plunge, be quick 

Tarry not, delay not—enjoy the Wisdom Bliss. 

Fear dominates in this era of nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Hatred rules the policies of vast sections of the so-called enlightened and civilised mankind. This age of advancement has been exposed to be in reality an age of degeneracy in the views and values, the ideals and morals of the greater masses of mankind. At this juncture, cultured men and women all over the world look to the sacred land, India, for light and knowledge. It is your noble task to spread this light of spiritual knowledge and spiritual Idealism to all corners of the globe.

Let the clarion call of the Upanishads ring through every village, town and city. Let the glorious chant of divine Name fill all quarters. Let virtue be implanted in every heart and Dharma and the good life be seen in every walk of life. Divine Life must be practical. Ideals of Divine Life must shoot up into practical realisation. Divine Life must be made vigorously manifest in the lives of the people. This is important. Be sincere. Work with concord. Be adaptable. Adjust, adapt and accommodate. Remember always that work is the important thing, not personal views and individual opinions. Therefore dissolve all differences and work together for the cause of a pure life and spiritual perfection.

I AM THAT I AM :

Timeless and spaceless is this goal 

Painless and sorrowless is this seat 

Blissful and peaceful is this Abode 

Changeless and boundless is this Dhama 

I know that “I am He” 

I have neither body, mind nor senses 

I have neither change, nor growth nor death 

I am the Immortal, All-pervading Brahman. 

Neither virtue nor sin can touch me 

Neither pleasure nor pain can affect me 

Neither likes and dislikes can taint me 

I am Existence-Absolute, Knowledge-Absolute and Bliss-Absolute. 

I have neither friends nor enemies 

I have neither parents nor relatives 

I have neither home nor country 

I am that I am. I am that I am. 

I am never born, I never die 

I always exist, I am everywhere, 

I have neither fear of death nor fear of public criticism 

I am Siva, full of Bliss and Knowledge 

Chidananda-rupah Sivoham, Sivoham.

~ H H Sri Swami Sivananda

 Excerpts from "Autobiography of Swami Sivananda"