Tuesday, 30 March 2021

When Maya runs away....

A priest was once going to the village of a disciple of his. He had no servant with him. Seeing a cobbler on the the way, he addressed him, saying, "Halloa! good man, will you accompany me as a servant? You will be fed well and taken good care of if you come with me." 

The cobbler replied, 'Sir, I am of the lowest caste. How can I come as your servant?" 

The priest said, "Never mind. Do not tell anybody what you are. Do not also speak to anyone, or make anybody's acquaintance." The cobbler agreed. 

At twilight, while the priest was sitting at prayers in the house of his disciple, another Brahmana came and said to the priest's servant, "Go and bring my shoes from there." 
True to the behest of his master, he made no response. The Brahmana repeated his order a second time, but even then the servant remained silent. The Brahmana repeated again and again, but the cobbler did not move an inch. 
At last, 
getting annoyed, the Brahmana angrily said "Sirrah! how dare you disobey a Brahmana's command? 
What is your name? 
Are you indeed a cobbler?" 

The cobbler, hearing this, began to tremble with fear and looking piteously at the priest, said, "O venerable Sir! I am found out. I dare not stay here any longer. Let me flee." 
So saying, he took to his heels. 

Just so, as soon as Maya is recognised, she flies away.

๐Ÿ•‰ Wise Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna. 1109.

Monday, 29 March 2021

Chaitanya was an incarnation of bhakti (love and devotion)

" After attaining the Advaita jnana, comes spiritually awakened consciousness (Chaitanya). Then one sees that God alone exists in all things as Consciousness. After this realization comes Nityananda (bliss). Advaita, Chaitanya, and Nityananda. "

Chaitanya was an incarnation of bhakti (love and devotion). He came to teach love of God to mankind. Have love for God and everything else is done for you. 

Chaitanya experienced three states of mind. First, the conscious state, when his mind dwelt on the gross and the subtle. Second, the semi-conscious state, when his mind entered the causal body and was absorbed in the bliss of divine intoxication. Third, the inmost state, when his mind was merged in the Great Cause. This agrees very well with the five koshas, or 'sheaths', described in the Vedanta. The gross body corresponds to the annamayakosha and the pranamayakosha, the subtle body to the manomayakosha and the vijnanamayakosha, and the causal body to the anandamayakosha. The Mahakarana, the Great Cause, is beyond the five sheaths. When Chaitanya's mind merged in That, he would go into samadhi. This is called the nirvikalpa or jada samadhi. While conscious of the outer world, Chaitanya sang the name of God; while in the state of partial consciousness, he danced with the devotees; and while in the inmost state of consciousness, he remained absorbed in samadhi. 

To attract the wordly, Chaitanya and Nitai, after much deliberation, made an arrangement. They would say to such persons, ''Come, repeat the name of Hari, and you shall have a delicious soup of magur fish and the embrace of a young woman.'' Many people, attracted by the fish and the woman, would chant the name of God. After tasting a little of the nectar of God's hallowed name, they would soon realize that the 'fish soup' really meant the tears they shed for love of God, while the 'young woman’ signified the earth. The embrace of the woman meant rolling on the ground in the rapture of divine ecstasy.

Chaitanya said: "The name of God has very great sanctity. It may not produce an immediate result, but one day it must bear fruit. It is like a seed that has been left on the cornice of a building. After many days the house crumbles, and the seed falls on the earth, germinates, and at last bears fruit." 

Once a man said to Chaitanya: "You give the devotees so much instruction. Why don't they make much progress?" Chaitanya said: "They dissipate their powers in the company of women. That is why they cannot assimilate spiritual instruction. If one keeps water in a leaky jar, the water escapes little by little through the leak." 

Once Chaitanyadeva was passing through a village. Someone told him that the body of the drum used in the kirtan was made from the earth of that village, and at once he went into ecstasy. Chaitanya once said to Nityananda: 'Listen to me, brother. A man entangled in worldliness can never be free.' 

The fire of Chaitanya's renunciation was so great that when Sarvabhauma poured sugar on his tongue, instead of melting, it evaporated into air. He was always absorbed in samadhi. How great was his conquest of lust! To compare him with a man! 

Chaitanyadeva set out on a pilgrimage to southern India. One day he saw a man reading the Gita. Another man, seated at a distance, was listening and weeping. His eyes were swimming in tears. Chaitanyadeva asked him, "Do you understand all this?". The man said, "No, revered sir, I don't understand a word of the text." "Then why are you crying?" asked Chaitanya. The devotee said: "I see Arjuna's chariot before me. I see Lord Krishna and Arjuna seated In front of it, talking. I see this and I weep." 

Chaitanya used to shed tears of joy at the very mention of Krishna’s name....Chaitanya embraced all, including the outcastes.

Chaitanya was intoxicated with the love of God. Still, before taking to monastic life, for how many days did he try to persuade his mother to give him her permission to become a monk ! He said to her: 'Mother, don't worry. I shall visit you every now and then.' 

~ Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa

Sunday, 28 March 2021

๐ŸŒน เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เค†เคฏु เคช्เคฐเคฎाเคฃ ๐ŸŒน

๐ŸŒน เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เค†เคฏु เคช्เคฐเคฎाเคฃ ๐ŸŒน 

๐Ÿ‚เค‰เคชोเคธเคฅ เคธुเคค्เคค เคฎें เคญเค—เคตाเคจ เคฆ्เคตाเคฐा เคตเคฐ्เคฃिเคค เค•ुเค› เค…ंเคถ๐Ÿ‚ 

เค•्เคฐเคฎเคถ: ....“เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคœिเคคเคจा เคธเคฎเคฏ เคฎเคจुเคท्เคฏों เค•ा เคชเคšाเคธ เคตเคฐ्เคท เค•ा เคนोเคคा เคนै, เคตเคน เคšाเคคुเคฎ्เคฎเคนाเคฐाเคœिเค• เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคเค• เคฐाเคค-เคฆिเคจ เคนोเคคा เคนै। เค‰เคธ เคฐाเคค เคธे เคคीเคธ เคฐाเคคों เค•ा เคฎเคนीเคจा। เค‰เคธ เคฎเคนीเคจे เคธे เคฌाเคฐเคน เคฎเคนीเคจों เค•ा เคตเคฐ्เคท। เค‰เคธ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคธे เคชांเคš เคธौ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคšाเคคुเคฎ्เคฎเคนाเคฐाเคœिเค• เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ी เค†เคฏु เค•ी เคธीเคฎा। เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคธंเคญเคต เคนै เค•ि เค…เคท्เคŸांเค—िเค• เค‰เคชोเคธเคฅ เค•เคฐเคจे เคตाเคฒी เคธ्เคค्เคฐी เคฏा เคชुเคฐुเคท เคถเคฐीเคฐ เค›ूเคŸเคจे เคชเคฐ, เคฎเคฐเคจे เค•े เคฌाเคฆ เคšाเคคुเคฎ्เคฎเคนाเคฐाเคœिเค• เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคธเคนเคตाเคธी เคนो เคœाเคฏ। เคตिเคธाเค–े! เค‡เคธीเคฒिเค เคฏเคน เค•เคนा เค—เคฏा เค•ि เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคธुเค– เค•ी เคคुเคฒเคจा เคฎें เคฎाเคจुเคทी-เคฐाเคœ्เคฏ เคฌिเคšाเคฐे เค•ा เค•ुเค› เคฎूเคฒ्เคฏ เคจเคนीं। 

“เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคœिเคคเคจा เคธเคฎเคฏ เคฎเคจुเคท्เคฏों เค•ा เคธौ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคนोเคคा เคนै, เคตเคน เคคाเคตเคคिเคธ เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคเค• เคฐाเคค-เคฆिเคจ เคนोเคคा เคนै। เค‰เคธ เคฐाเคค เคธे เคคीเคธ เคฐाเคคों เค•ा เคฎเคนीเคจा। เค‰เคธ เคฎเคนीเคจे เคธे เคฌाเคฐเคน เคฎเคนीเคจों เค•ा เคตเคฐ्เคท! เค‰เคธ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคธे เคนเคœाเคฐ เคฆिเคต्เคฏ เคตเคฐ्เคท, เคคाเคตเคคिเคธ เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ी เค†เคฏु เค•ी เคธीเคฎा। เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคธंเคญเคต เคนै เค•ि เค…เคท्เคŸांเค—िเค• เค‰เคชोเคธเคฅ เค•เคฐเคจे เคตाเคฒी เคธ्เคค्เคฐी เคฏा เคชुเคฐुเคท เคถเคฐीเคฐ เค›ूเคŸเคจे เคชเคฐ, เคฎเคฐเคจे เค•े เคฌाเคฆ เคคांเคตเคคिเคธ เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคธเคนเคตाเคธी เคนो เคœाเคฏ। เคตिเคธाเค–े! เค‡เคธीเคฒिเค เคฏเคน เค•เคนा เค—เคฏा เค•ि เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคธुเค– เค•ी เคคुเคฒเคจा เคฎें เคฎाเคจुเคทी-เคฐाเคœ्เคฏ เคฌिเคšाเคฐे เค•ा เค•ुเค› เคฎूเคฒ्เคฏ เคจเคนीं। 

“เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคœिเคคเคจा เคธเคฎเคฏ เคฎเคจुเคท्เคฏों เค•ा เคฆो เคธौ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคนोเคคा เคนै, เคตเคน เคฏाเคฎ-เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคเค• เคฐाเคค-เคฆिเคจ เคนोเคคा เคนै। เค‰เคธ เคฐाเคค เคธे เคคीเคธ เคฐाเคคों เค•ा เคฎเคนीเคจा। เค‰เคธ เคฎเคนीเคจे เคธे เคฌाเคฐเคน เคฎเคนीเคจों เค•ा เคตเคฐ्เคท। เค‰เคธ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคธे เคฆो เคนเคœाเคฐ เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคตเคฐ्เคท, เคฏाเคฎ เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ी เค†เคฏु เค•ी เคธीเคฎा । เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคธंเคญเคต เคนै เค•ि เค…เคท्เคŸांเค—िเค• เค‰เคชोเคธเคฅ เค•เคฐเคจे เคตाเคฒी เคธ्เคค्เคฐी เคฏा เคชुเคฐुเคท เคถเคฐीเคฐ เค›ूเคŸเคจे เคชเคฐ, เคฎเคฐเคจे เค•े เคฌाเคฆ เคฏाเคฎ-เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคธเคนเคตाเคธी เคนो เคœाเคฏ। เคตिเคธाเค–े! เค‡เคธीเคฒिเค เคฏเคน เค•เคนा เค—เคฏा เคนै เค•ि เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคธुเค– เค•ी เคคुเคฒเคจा เคฎें เคฎाเคจुเคทी-เคฐाเคœ्เคฏ เคฌिเคšाเคฐे เค•ा เค•ुเค› เคฎूเคฒ्เคฏ เคจเคนीं। 

“เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคœिเคคเคจा เคธเคฎเคฏ เคฎเคจुเคท्เคฏों เค•ा เคšाเคฐ เคธौ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคนोเคคा เคนै, เคตเคน เคคुเคทिเคค เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคเค• เคฐाเคค-เคฆिเคจ เคนोเคคा เคนै। เค‰เคธ เคฐाเคค เคธे เคคीเคธ เคฐाเคคों เค•ा เคฎเคนीเคจा। เค‰เคธ เคฎเคนीเคจे เคธे เคฌाเคฐเคน เคฎเคนीเคจों เค•ा เคตเคฐ्เคท। เค‰เคธ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคธे เคšाเคฐ เคนเคœाเคฐ เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคตเคฐ्เคท, เคคुเคทिเคค-เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ी เค†เคฏु เค•ी เคธीเคฎा । เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคธंเคญเคต เคนै เค•ि เค…เคท्เคŸांเค—िเค• เค‰เคชोเคธเคฅ เค•เคฐเคจे เคตाเคฒी เคธ्เคค्เคฐी เคฏा เคชुเคฐुเคท เคถเคฐीเคฐ เค›ूเคŸเคจे เคชเคฐ, เคฎเคฐเคจे เค•े เคฌाเคฆ เคคुเคทिเคค-เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคธเคนเคตाเคธी เคนो เคœाเคฏ। เคตिเคธाเค–े! เค‡เคธीเคฒिเค เคฏเคน เค•เคนा เค—เคฏा เค•ि เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคธुเค– เค•ी เคคुเคฒเคจा เคฎें เคฎाเคจुเคทी-เคฐाเคœ्เคฏ เคฌिเคšाเคฐे เค•ा เค•ुเค› เคฎूเคฒ्เคฏ เคจเคนीं। 

“เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคœिเคคเคจा เคธเคฎเคฏ เคฎเคจुเคท्เคฏों เค•ा เค†เค  เคธौ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคนोเคคा เคนै, เคตเคน เคจिเคฎ्เคฎाเคจ-เคฐเคคि เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคเค• เคฐाเคค-เคฆिเคจ เคนोเคคा เคนै। เค‰เคธ เคฐाเคค เคธे เคคीเคธ เคฐाเคคों เค•ा เคฎเคนीเคจा। เค‰เคธ เคฎเคนीเคจे เคธे เคฌाเคฐเคน เคฎเคนीเคจों เค•ा เคตเคฐ्เคท। เค‰เคธ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคธे เค†เค  เคนเคœाเคฐ เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคตเคฐ्เคท, เคจिเคฎ्เคฎाเคจ-เคฐเคคि เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ी เค†เคฏु เค•ी เคธीเคฎा । เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคธंเคญเคต เคนै เค•ि เค…เคท्เคŸांเค—िเค• เค‰เคชोเคธเคฅ เค•เคฐเคจे เคตाเคฒी เคธ्เคค्เคฐी เคฏा เคชुเคฐुเคท เคถเคฐीเคฐ เค›ूเคŸเคจे เคชเคฐ, เคฎเคฐเคจे เค•े เคฌाเคฆ เคจिเคฎ्เคฎाเคจ-เคฐเคคि เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคธเคนเคตाเคธी เคนो เคœाเคฏ। เคตिเคธाเค–े! เค‡เคธीเคฒिเค เคฏเคน เค•เคนा เค—เคฏा เค•ि เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคธुเค– เค•ी เคคुเคฒเคจा เคฎें เคฎाเคจुเคทी-เคฐाเคœ्เคฏ เคฌिเคšाเคฐे เค•ा เค•ुเค› เคฎूเคฒ्เคฏ เคจเคนीं। 

“เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคœिเคคเคจा เคธเคฎเคฏ เคฎเคจुเคท्เคฏों เค•ा เคธोเคฒเคน เคธौ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคนोเคคा เคนै, เคตเคน เคชเคฐเคจिเคฎ्เคฎिเคคเคตเคธเคตเคค्เคคी เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคเค• เคฐाเคค-เคฆिเคจ เคนोเคคा เคนै। เค‰เคธ เคฐाเคค เคธे เคคीเคธ เคฐाเคคों เค•ा เคฎเคนीเคจा । เค‰เคธ เคฎเคนीเคจे เคธे เคฌाเคฐเคน เคฎเคนीเคจों เค•ा เคตเคฐ्เคท। เค‰เคธ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคธे เคธोเคฒเคน เคนเคœाเคฐ เคตเคฐ्เคท เคชเคฐเคจिเคฎ्เคฎिเคคเคตเคธเคตเคค्เคคी เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ी เค†เคฏु เค•ी เคธीเคฎा।  เคตिเคธाเค–े! เคธंเคญเคต เคนै เค•ि เค…เคท्เคŸांเค—िเค• เค‰เคชोเคธเคฅ เค•เคฐเคจे เคตाเคฒी เคธ्เคค्เคฐी เคฏा เคชुเคฐुเคท เคถเคฐीเคฐ เค›ूเคŸเคจे เคชเคฐ, เคฎเคฐเคจे เค•े เคฌाเคฆ, เคชเคฐเคจिเคฎ्เคฎिเคคเคตเคธเคตเคค्เคคी เคฆेเคตเคคाเค“ं เค•ा เคธเคนเคตाเคธी เคนो เคœाเคฏ । เคตिเคธाเค–े! เค‡เคธीเคฒिเค เคฏเคน เค•เคนा
เค—เคฏा เค•ि เคฆिเคต्เคฏ-เคธुเค– เค•ी เคคुเคฒเคจा เคฎें เคฎाเคจुเคทी-เคฐाเคœ्เคฏ เคฌिเคšाเคฐे เค•ा เค•ुเค› เคฎूเคฒ्เคฏ เคจเคนीं। 
เค•्เคฐเคฎเคถ:....

เคฎเคนाเคตเคฐ्เค— -> เคฆ्เคตिเคคीเคฏ เคชंเคšाเคถเคคเค•-> เคค्เคฐिเค• เคจिเคชाเคค-> เค…ंเค—ुเคค्เคคเคฐเคจिเค•ाเคฏ ।। 

เคญเคตเคคु เคธเคฌ्เคฌ เคฎเค—ंเคฒं !! 
๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™

Monday, 22 March 2021

How was photo of Sri Ramakrishna taken?

On the photo of Sri Ramakrishna often just called ‘the Shrine pose’.

This picture of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna (the greatest of Avatars according to Swami Vivekananda) was taken in front of the Krishna temple at Dakshineswar in 1884, when Sri Ramakrishna was 48 years old. 

According to Swami Nirvanananda, “Bavanath Chatterjee, the Master’s devotee from Baranagore, wanted to take a photograph of the Master. 

One day he requested him very strongly to give his consent, and on the afternoon of the next day brought a photographer along with him from Baranagore. 

He could not make the Master agree. 

The Master just went away near the Radhakanta [Krishna] temple.

“In the meantime Narendra arrived on the scene and heard everything; 

He said, ‘Wait a bit. I shall put everything straight.’ 

Saying this, he went to the veranda on the west of the Radhakanta temple where Sri Ramakrishna was sitting and started a religious conversation with him. 

The Master went into samadhi. Swamiji went and called the others and ordered them to get ready and quickly to take the picture.

“In the state of samadhi the Master’s body was bent on one side and therefore the cameraman went to make him sit erect by softly adjusting his chin. But as soon as he touched his chin the whole body of the Master came up like a piece of paper – so light it was!

“Swamiji then told him, ‘Oh, what are you doing? Be quick. Get the camera ready.’ 

The cameraman took the exposure as hurriedly as possible. 

The Master was completely unaware of this incident.

“After some days when Bavanath brought the printed copy of the photo, 

the Master remarked: ‘This represents a high yogic state. 

This form will be worshipped in every home as time goes on.’” (“Concerning the Photographs of Sri Ramakrishna” by Swami Vidyatmananda; Vedanta and the West, No. 172).

Swami Vishuddhananda stated that when Sri Ramakrishna saw the photo he went into ecstasy and touched the photo to his head several times, saying: “The photo is nicely taken. This mood is very high – fully merged in Him. Here the Lord is fully depicted in his own nature.”

The following is a quotation from Sri Sarada Devi: The Holy Mother, (p. 416) concerning one of the prints of this photograph:

“Disciple: Mother, that photograph of Sri Ramakrishna which you have with you is a very good one. One feels it when one sees the picture. Well, is that a good likeness of the Master?

“Mother: Yes, that picture is very, very good. It originally belonged to a brahmin cook. Several prints were made of his first photograph. The brahmin took one of them. The picture was at first very dark, just like the image of Kali. Therefore it was given to the Brahmin. When he left Dakshineswar for some place – I do not remember where – he gave it to me. I kept the photograph with the pictures of other gods and goddesses and worshipped it. At one time I lived on the ground floor of the nahabat. One day the Master came there, and at the sight of the picture he said, ‘Hello, what is all this?’ Lakshmi and I had been cooking under the staircase. Then I saw the Master take in his hand the bel leaves and flowers kept there for worship, and offer them to the photograph. This is the same picture. That brahmin never returned, so the picture remained with me.”

This picture which Sri Ramakrishna worshipped is now on the shrine at the Udbodhan Office in Calcutta, where it is worshipped daily. 

This fact was authenticated by Swami Madhavananda, Swami Vireswarananda, and Swami Nirvanananda. 

Swami Atmabodhananda, who was the head of Udbodhan for many years until his death in 1959, stated that the Udbodhan print was the same one that Sri Ramakrishna worshipped at the nahabat. (“Concerning the Photographs of Sri Ramakrishna” by Swami Vidyatmananda; Vedanta and the West, No. 172).

In 1982, Swami Chetanananda received a negative from the original picture of Sri Ramakrishna mentioned above. 

It was made by Braja Kishore Sinha, the Curator of Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta. 

Swami Chetanananda brought that negative to the United States and gave it to Mr. John Hench, Vice President for Creative Development of Disneyland, who worked on this picture for two years. 

Mr. Hench carefully removed the scratches, black dots, and other imperfections from this historical, one hundred-year-old photograph without disturbing its originality. ๐Ÿ•‰

Thursday, 18 March 2021

Ignorance, knowledge, and Supreme Wisdom

เคœ्เคžाเคจ เคเคตเคฎ् เคตिเคœ्เคžाเคจ। เคœ्เคžाเคจी เคเคตเคฎ् เคตिเคœ्เคžाเคจी เคธाเคงु।

Ignorance, knowledge, and Supreme Wisdom

"The jiva at first remains in a state of ignorance.  He is not conscious of God, but of the multiplicity.  He sees many things around him.  On attaining Knowledge he becomes conscious that God dwells in all beings.  Suppose a man has a thorn in the sole of his foot.  He gets another thorn and takes out the first one.  In other words, he removes the thorn of ajnฤna, ignorance, by means of the thorn of jnฤna, knowledge.  But on attaining vijnฤna, he discards both thorns, knowledge and ignorance.  Then he talks intimately with God day and night.  It is no mere vision of God.

"He who has merely heard of milk is 'ignorant'.  He  who has seen milk has 'knowledge'.  But he who has drunk milk and been strengthened by it has attained vijnฤna."

Thus the Master described his own state of mind to the devotees.  He was indeed a vijnฤni.
 
MASTER (to the devotees): "There is a difference between, a Sฤdhu endowed with jnฤna and one endowed with vijnฤna.  The Jnฤni Sฤdhu has a certain way of sitting.  He twirls his moustache and asks the visitor, 'Well, sir! Have you any question to ask?' But the man who always sees God and talks to Him intimately has an altogether different nature.  He is sometimes like an inert thing, sometimes like a ghoul, sometimes like a child, and sometimes like a madman.

"When he is in samฤdhi, he becomes unconscious of the outer world and appears inert.  He sees everything to be full of Brahman-Consciousness; therefore he behaves like a ghoul.  He is not conscious of the holy and the unholy.  He does not observe any formal purity.  To him everything is Brahman.  He is not aware of filth as such.  Even rice and other cooked food after a few days become like filth.

"Again, he is like a madman.  People notice his ways and actions and think of him as insane.  Or sometimes he is like a child-no bondage, no shame, no hatred, no hesitation, or the like.

"One reaches this state of mind after having the vision of God.  When a boat passes by a magnetic hill, its screws and nails become loose and drop out.  Lust, anger, and the other passions cannot exist after the vision of God.

"Once a thunderbolt struck the Kฤli temple.  I noticed that it flattened the points of the screws.

"It is no longer possible for the man who has seen God to beget children and perpetuate the creation.  When a grain of paddy is sown it grows into a plant; but a grain of boiled paddy does not germinate.

"He who has seen God retains his 'I' only in name.  No evil can be done by that 'I'.  It is a mere appearance, like the mark left on the coconut tree by its branch.  The branch has fallen off.  Only the mark remains."

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, 9 March 1884

Saturday, 13 March 2021

*A Visit with Sri Aurobindo*- By Rhoda le Cocq

*A Visit with Sri Aurobindo*
- By Rhoda le Cocq


...After the interview with Jung in Switzerland, and while studying Indology at the Sorbonne, it became more and more imperative to me to visit Sri Aurobindo. When, during that final summer session at the Academy of International Law at The Hague in Holland, I discovered that I could obtain passage to India and then across the Pacific for very little more than returning to America via the Atlantic, the decision was made.

Correspondence with the ฤล›ram in Pondicherry began. I discovered Sri Aurobindo now appeared in public only four times a year. The next scheduled Darshan (literally, “face-seeing”, but with the connotation of “blessing”) was to be November 24th. I was granted permission to attend.

First by a Dutch ship, the Oranje, I went through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean to Colombo, Ceylon, then by boat-train to India. In 1950, Pondicherry, on the south-eastern tip of India, was still a French colony.

I discovered other Americans had come: a woman physical education teacher from New York City, studying Hatha-yoga, and two men from Stanford. There were many more visitors from Europe as well as from India proper.

The visitors, including myself, were housed at Golconde, a delightful guesthouse built by a Japanese disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright. My room had an air of simplicity and peace that is hard to describe. The large louvered windows overlooked a garden; along the length of the windows was a raised platform upon which sat a cool water-jug. The bed was complete with mosquito netting; and the floor was of dark stone and cool to the feet during the return monsoon weather. Outside hibiscus bloomed; and in the pool in the courtyard, lotus made bright splashes of color while goldfish darted around and under their leaves.

A number of the permanent residents were from Pakistan [East Pakistan, now Bangladesh] and had followed Sri Aurobindo to Pondicherry upon the division of India, a division of which Sri Aurobindo did not approve. (He believed India should form one whole nation.) Some residents lived at Golconde, some in the main building with dining room two blocks away, and other married residents had separate small homes of their own.

In the month or so before Darshan, I found there was time to explore the countryside and small Indian villages by bicycle, to investigate the French restaurants in town, and to swim in the ocean two blocks from the guest house.

There were events at the ฤล›ram each day, but one attended or not, without obligation. Mornings, breakfast was served at the main dining hall; usually a banana, home-made grain bread, and cocoa or milk. At noon, if it was ordered in advance, a girl in a sari brought around the shiny, brass, hitched-together dishes with vegetable curries and other dishes. On the lower floor, on a breezeway, there was a place to eat lunch at Golconde. A young Hindu, Vishnu Patel, whose family all lived in Pondicherry, soon introduced us to Indian sweets and to a kind of vegetable-flour doughnut, dipped in a hot sauce, for which I am still often hungry. In Vishnu’s company, those of us from the United States and Europe were led to the bazaar, a dhobi who would wash and iron our clothes, and to the best place to buy sandals to wear in this heat.

Each morning, after breakfast, there was a meeting with Mirra Alfassa, called the Mother. There was a flower ceremony, in which visitors both offered and received flowers from her — each flower with its own esoteric meaning for spiritual development. In a small marble-floored room opening onto the central court, there was also a morning group meditation period with the Mother.

Day by day, more people arrived at the ฤล›ram at Pondicherry. There were now exhibitions and sports competitions among the younger members of the colony, a fact which highly displeased some of the older Indian visitors. Others were disturbed because there was no “set routine”. One visiting professor of philosophy from Bombay finally explained to me that Sri Aurobindo’s ฤล›ram was a revolutionary departure from the old style ฤล›ram. He suggested that before leaving India, I should also visit Ramdas, called “The Laughing Sage of India”, at his ฤล›ram on the Mangalore Coast. This I did for a week, later, and it gave me greater insight into just how unusual the establishment in Pondicherry was, by older standards. Although I also found Ramdas a charming man, the entire atmosphere differed. There, women and men were expected to sit in separate sections; all food was Indian; and there were none of the modern conveniences one took for granted at Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

In Pondicherry, I was soon told, of course, that Margaret Wilson, the daughter of President Wilson of the United States, had spent her last years here at the ฤล›ram and had died there. I also discovered that in 1947, the entire colony had been besieged by communists who had sought a French protectorate where communism was still legal. One ฤล›ramite had been killed.

At night, Pondicherry became a place out of some romantic novel with ships arriving at a free port, loaded with what one suspected were gold bars to be smuggled into India proper. Huge fires on the beach flamed into the night, as white turbanned figures moved here and there.

All of this, of course, was at the village pier, and few regular ฤล›ramites ventured out at night except to affairs in the central ฤล›ram hall. But those of us from America had to take in all the sights, while we were there.

Afternoons as a rule, I did research in the ฤล›ram library, taking notes on books, most of which are now available in America. Evenings, a group of us sometimes took in an outdoor movie in the village. On one such occasion, things became entirely too exciting. The movies were shown in a large tent, with a meager number of benches for Americans and Europeans; most of the villagers sat crosslegged on the sand. Suddenly, on this particular occasion, there was a scurry. A snake had been seen. From then onward, throughout the movie, my feet were under my body on top of the bench. On another occasion in the bazaar, a Hindu snake charmer, angry because I had refused to pay for his show, held a live cobra by the tail, writhing almost in my face. When he accidentally lost hold of the snake and several Hindu men had it slither near their feet, I discovered that Indian men could be extremely volatile and most amusingly fluid of language.

At last, it was the morning of November 24th. At Golconde, rumours flew. Although thousands had now arrived for this Darshan, it was said that Sri Aurobindo was ill and might find it impossible to appear. Then, at the last minute, we were told he was well enough. A long line led from the main building, around the block: people of every colour, every style of dress, government officials and high ranking professors, young and old from dozens of countries, wanted to see the philosopher-sage. Each of us finally climbed the stairs to the floor where at the end of a long narrow room Sri Aurobindo in white and the Mother in a gold sari, sat side by side upon a slightly raised platform.

As a Westerner, the idea of merely passing by these two with nothing being said had struck me as a bit ridiculous. I was still unfamiliar with the Hindu idea that such a silent meeting could afford an intensely spiritual impetus. I watched as I came up in line, and I noted that the procedure was to stand quietly before the two of them for a few silent moments, then to move on at a gesture from Sri Aurobindo. What happened next was completely unexpected.

As I stepped into a radius of about four feet, there was the sensation of moving into some kind of a force-field. Intuitively, I knew it was the force of Love, but not what ordinary humans usually mean by the term. These two were “geared straight up”; they were not paying attention to me as ordinary parents might have done; yet, this unattachment seemed just the thing that healed. Suddenly, I loved them both, as spiritual “parents”.

Then all thought ceased. I was perfectly aware of where I was; it was not “hypnotism” as one Stanford friend later suggested. It was simply that during those few minutes, my mind became utterly still. It seemed that I stood there a very long, an uncounted time, for there was no time. Only many years later did I describe this experience as my having experienced the Timeless in Time. When there at the Darshan, there was not the least doubt in my mind that I had met two people who had experienced what they claimed. They were Gnostic Beings. They had realized this new consciousness which Sri Aurobindo called the Supramental. Later, this same experience made me understand what Heidegger meant by “standing presence”.

The visit was not to end there, however. Several days later, an English doctor staying at Golconde warned me that the condition of Sri Aurobindo’s health was becoming worse. At 1.30 in the morning on December 5th, 1950, he passed away of a kidney infection. About 3.30 that same morning, this was announced to everyone in the ฤล›ram. With great sorrow, I realized I had been at the last Darshan at which both of them would appear together!

During the day of December 5th, I hovered about the ฤล›ram grounds, feeling desolate. Already it had been decided, despite the objections of the French colonial governor, that Sri Aurobindo would be buried in the courtyard of the main building beneath a huge spreading tree. The male ฤล›ramites, including the visiting doctor, began to build the tomb. I watched the doctor, who had confided to me that he expected Sri Aurobindo to “reveal himself as an avatar”, and he beat with his sledge-hammer on the concrete slab as if he would destroy death itself.

There was weeping, but no hysteria. By afternoon, men and women passed baskets of earth from hand to hand, as the digging continued beneath the tree. Then, there was a new announcement. For all of us there, there would now be a second Darshan. In lesser numbers, we filed through to view the body of the poet-philosopher lying upon his couch in the upper chamber.

Again, the following morning on December 6th, we all filed past. The “force-field” which I mentioned earlier seemed to remain about the body and throughout the room. Dressed in white, upon a white couch before the windows, Sri Aurobindo now lay in state. Bowls of flowers stood around the couch; and, at the bed’s head and foot, disciples of long standing sat quietly, heads bowed.

Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, there was another Darshan. Sri Aurobindo’s face still did not look deathlike. The skin was golden in colour, the white hair blowing on the pillow in a breeze from a fan. The aquiline profile continued to have a prophetic look. There was no odour of death and little incense was burning. To my astonishment, the repeated viewings of his body had a comforting effect. Previously I had always resented the idea of viewing dead bodies.

As I left this third time, I noted other things about the room: a collection of ivories in a carved cabinet, the tiger skins which padded an armchair and a side bench, a small Persian carved table very similar to one I had purchased at an auction in Seattle, years before; and a Japanese seascape on one wall.

By December 7th, everyone momentarily expected the funeral. This was, after all, a tropical climate. Bodies were usually burnt as quickly as possible in India. Even the planned burial in earth was a major departure from the usual Hindu custom. The grave had now been completed with large cement blocks lining the tomb. But instead of the burial, an announcement came from the Mother:

The funeral of Sri Aurobindo did not take place today. His body is charged with such a concentration of Supramental light that there is no sign of decomposition and the body will be kept lying on his bed so long as it remains intact.

From the French colony, already exploding with disapproval and its officials much disturbed by the burial plans, came the rumour that the body must have been “shot with formaldehyde” secretly, to preserve it. Moreover, said the officials, the ฤล›ram was not only breaking the law in burying anyone in the garden, it was worse to keep it so long unburied. (The legal regulation was that no body should be kept unburied longer than 48 hours.)

On the morning of December 7th, therefore, a French doctor representing the Government, a Dr. Barbet, arrived to inspect the body of Sri Aurobindo. At the end, he reported it was a “miracle”; there was no deterioration, no rigor mortis. It was an unheard of occurrence; the weather had continued to be hot during the entire time. After this official and scientific approval, nothing further could be done to prevent another Darshan. Visitors were flocking from all over India; and the Indian newspapers now proposed that Sri Aurobindo be suggested, posthumously, for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“This time, I suspected it might be the last time. Everyone and anyone was allowed into the ฤล›ram to pass by Sri Aurobindo’s body: curiosity seekers, villagers, ฤล›ramites and visitors.

By December 8th, silence was observed throughout the ฤล›ram grounds. Only late comers who had just arrived in Pondicherry were allowed to view the body. Tension grew among the ฤล›ramites, and incredible speculations became the order of the day. An Indian representative of Life magazine came around, wanting to talk to those of us from America. He told us that this phenomenon of bodily preservation after death had never taken place anywhere in India. Why, even yogis who specialized in “live” burial had never performed such a feat. No Indian “living saint” in history had preserved his body after death in this fashion. The Indian magazine representative wondered if Sri Aurobindo was not, after all, still alive and only in some kind of trance state or coma.

On December 9th, at noon, a notice was posted that there would be a final Darshan for those in the ฤล›ram at one o’clock. Later, the time was changed to 2.30 p.m. and visitors from outside were allowed in first. The night before, a plane chartered by nineteen people from Darjeeling had flown in. By now, in Golconde, everyone was sharing his or her room; bedrolls crowded the floors and halls of the guest house.

I had, of course, postponed my planned departure date. All of this, I realized, was a situation which would remain entirely unduplicated in my own life. I intended to remain until the end.

On the afternoon of December 9th, at 5.00 p.m., the burial service finally took place after another final Darshan. A feeling of force and energy remained in the atmosphere around Sri Aurobindo’s vicinity, but that force had now weakened. Afterwards, in absolute silence, everyone in the ฤล›ram sat in the courtyard. The gates were locked against further curiosity-seekers.

There was no orthodox religious service at the burial. The coffin, of rosewood with metal-gold rings, much like an old and beautiful sea chest, was borne from the ฤล›ram and lowered into the earth. French officials, all dressed in white, made a line to the left, their faces stern, a bit superior in expression and definitely disapproving of the entire affair. Over the coffin, concrete slabs were laid.

Then, everyone lined up and, one by one, we scattered earth from wicker baskets. It was dark under the spreading tree when each of us had made this last farewell.

On the morning of December 10th, when I visited the grave, it was already covered with flowers, incense sticks burning. It was announced that the Mother would carry on at the ฤล›ram and that a new International University would be opened.

Although the Mother had announced there would be two weeks of meditation during which she would see no one, she graciously granted me a farewell interview on December 15th, at 6.00 p.m.

At 5.30, I went into the meditation hall, still very much mentally and emotionally upset by everything that had occurred. She appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in white. When I smiled, she nodded and said: “Come on up.”

All the questions I had meant to ask seemed to vanish. I was intensely aware that the interview itself was an imposition, when she had so recently lost the companion of thirty years. “They say you wish to see me,” she said quietly.

Before I could think, I blurted out that I seemed to be full of fears, fears of new wars, fears of this or that in my personal life.

“One must not fear,” she said. “By fear, you bring about what you fear.” I nodded, then she added, and I had a feeling she spoke to the world, not just to me: “It’s ego! Ego!”

Several personal matters were discussed, and then of spiritual development, she said: “One must have a spirit of adventure about all this, you know.”

When our brief talk was over, she took a double French marigold from a bronze bowl, on the edge of a small dark table against which she had leaned an elbow while we talked. With a long look, she handed the flower to me.

Only much later, many years later, did I realize how fortunate I had been. Within the space of a year, far from my own shores, I had met three of the world’s greatest human beings: Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, who had said that man had outgrown his concept of God; and these two: Sri Aurobindo, and Mirra Alfassa or the Mother, who together, had attempted to give the world that new needed concept of God, as those of spiritual genius always do. Because of them, life continues to have hope and meaning.

Monday, 8 March 2021

เคฌुเคฆ्เคง เคจे 38 เคช्เคฐเค•ाเคฐ เค•े "เคฎंเค—เคฒ เค•เคฐ्เคฎ" เคฌเคคाเคฏे

☸เคคเคฅाเค—เคค เคฌुเคฆ्เคง เคจे 38 เคช्เคฐเค•ाเคฐ เค•े "เคฎंเค—เคฒ เค•เคฐ्เคฎ" เคฌเคคाเคฏे เคนै เคœो "เคฎเคนा เคฎंเค—เคฒเคธुเคค्เคค" เค•े เคจाเคฎ เคธे เคœाเคจा เคœाเคคा เคนै, เคœो เคจिเคฎ्เคจเคฒिเค–िเคค เคนै -

๐Ÿ”น1 เคฎूเคฐ्เค–ों เค•ी เคธंเค—เคคि เคจा เค•เคฐเคจा !
๐Ÿ”น2 เคฌुเคฆ्เคงिเคฎाเคจों เค•ी เคธंเค—เคคि เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น3 เคถीเคฒเคตाเคจो เค•ी เคธंเค—เคคि เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น4 เค…เคจुเค•ूเคฒ เคธ्เคฅाเคจों เคฎें เคจिเคตाเคธ เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น5 เค•ुเคถเคฒ เค•เคฐ्เคฎों เค•ा เคธंเคšเคฏ เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น6 เค•ुเคถเคฒ เค•เคฐ्เคฎों เคฎें เคฒเค— เคœाเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น7 เค…เคงिเค•เคคเคฎ เคœ्เคžाเคจ เค•ा เคธंเคšเคฏ เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น8 เคคเค•เคจीเค•ी เคตिเคฆ्เคฏा เค…เคฐ्เคฅाเคค เคถिเคฒ्เคช เคธीเค–เคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น9 เคต्เคฏเคตเคนाเคฐ เค•ुเคถเคฒ เคเคตं เคตिเคจเคฎ्เคฐ เคนोเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น10 เคตिเคตेเค•เคตाเคจ เคนोเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น11 เคธुंเคฆเคฐ เคตเค•्เคคा เคนोเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น12 เคฎाเคคा เคชिเคคा เค•ी เคธेเคตा เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น13 เคชुเคค्เคฐ-เคชुเคค्เคฐी-เคธ्เคค्เคฐी เค•ा เคชाเคฒเคจ เคชोเคทเคฃ เค•เคฐเคจा
๐Ÿ”น14 เค…เค•ुเคถเคฒ เค•เคฐ्เคฎों เค•ो เคจा เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น15 เคฌिเคจा เค•िเคธी เค…เคชेเค•्เคทाเค•े เคฆाเคจ เคฆेเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น16 เคงเคฎ्เคฎ เค•ा เค†เคšเคฐเคฃ เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น17 เคธเค—े เคธเคฎ्เคฌंเคงिเคฏों เค•ा เค†เคฆเคฐ เคธเคค्เค•ाเคฐ เค•เคฐเคจा
๐Ÿ”น18 เค•เคฒ्เคฏाเคฃเค•ाเคฐी เค•ाเคฐ्เคฏ เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น19 เคฎเคจ, เคถเคฐीเคฐ เคคเคฅा เคตเคšเคจ เคธे เคชเคฐเคชीเคก़เค• เค•ाเคฐ्เคฏ 
           เคจा เค•เคฐเคจा ।।
๐Ÿ”น20 เคจเคถीเคฒी เคชเคฆाเคฐ्เคฅों เค•ा เคธेเคตเคจ เคจा เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น21 เคงเคฎ्เคฎ เค•े เค•ाเคฐ्เคฏों เคฎें เคคเคค्เคชเคฐ เคฐเคนเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น22 เค—ौเคฐเคตเคถाเคฒी เคต्เคฏเค•्เคคिเคค्เคต เคฌเคจाเค เคฐเค–เคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น23 เคตिเคจเคฎ्เคฐเคคा เคฌเคจाเค เคฐเค–เคจा
๐Ÿ”น24 เคชूเคฐ्เคฃ เคฐूเคช เคธे เคธंเคคुเคท्เคŸ เคนोเคจा เค…เคฐ्เคฅाเคค เคคृเคช्เคค เคนोเคจा
๐Ÿ”น25 เค•ृเคคเคœ्เคžเคคा เค•ाเคฏเคฎ เคฐเค–เคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น26 เคธเคฎเคฏ เคธเคฎเคฏ เคชเคฐ เคงเคฎ्เคฎ เคšเคฐ्เคšा เค•เคฐเคจा ।।
๐Ÿ”น27 เค•्เคทเคฎाเคถीเคฒ เคนोเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น28 เค†เคœ्เคžाเค•ाเคฐी เคนोเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น29 เคญिเค•्เคทुเค“, เคถीเคฒเคตाเคจ เคฒोเค—ों เค•ा เคฆเคฐ्เคถเคจ เค•เคฐเคจा
๐Ÿ”น30 เคฎเคจ เค•ो เคเค•ाเค—्เคฐ เค•เคฐเคจा 
๐Ÿ”น31 เคฎเคจ เค•ो เคจिเคฐ्เคฎเคฒ เค•เคฐเคจा 
๐Ÿ”น32 เคธเคคเคค เคœाเค—เคฐूเค•เคคा เคฌเคจाเค เคฐเค–เคจा ।।
๐Ÿ”น33 เคชाँเคš เคถीเคฒों เค•ा เคชाเคฒเคจ เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น34 เคšाเคฐ เค†เคฐ्เคฏ เคธเคค्เคฏों เค•ा เคฆเคฐ्เคถเคจ เค•เคฐเคจा ।।
๐Ÿ”น35เค†เคฐ्เคฏ เค…เคท्เคŸांเค—िเค• เคฎाเคฐ्เค— เคชเคฐ เคšเคฒเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น36 เคจिเคฐ्เคตाเคฃ เค•ा เคธाเค•्เคทाเคค्เค•ाเคฐ เค•เคฐเคจा ॥
๐Ÿ”น37 เคฒोเค• เคงเคฎ्เคฎ เคฒाเคญ เคนाเคจि,เคฏเคถ เค…เคชเคฏเคถ,
      เคธुเค–-เคฆुเค–,เคœเคฏ-เคชเคฐाเคœเคฏ เคธे เคตिเคšเคฒिเคค เคจा เคนोเคจा 
๐Ÿ”น38 เคถोเค• เคฐเคนिเคค ,เคจिเคฐ्เคฎเคฒ เคเคตเคฎ เคจिเคฐ्เคญเคฏ เคนोเคจा ॥

...เค…เค—เคฐ เค•ोเคˆ เค‡เคจ 38 เคฎंเค—เคฒ เค•เคฐ्เคฎ เค•ा เคชाเคฒเคจ เค•เคฐเคจे เคฒเค— เคœाเคฏे เคคो เคธเคฎเคो เค‰เคธเค•े เคœिंเคฆเค—ी เคธे เคฆुःเค– เคเคตं เคชเคฐेเคถाเคจिเคฏां เคฆूเคฐ เคนो  เคœाเคฏेंเค—े।।।

!!เคญเคตเคคु เคธเคฌ्เคฌ เคฎंเค—เคฒं!!

!!เคธเคฌเค•ा เคฎंเค—เคฒ เคนो!!

Thursday, 4 March 2021

Swami Vivekananda and Jamsetji Tata

Here’s the fascinating story of an encounter between Swami Vivekananda and Jamsetji Tata that marks a little-known yet crucial moment in the history of India.
“Rooted in the past, full of pride in India’s prestige, Vivekananda was yet modern in his approach to life’s problems, and was a kind of bridge between the past of India and her present.” 
~ Jawaharlal Nehru

The year was 1893. On May 31, aboard a steamer that sailed from Yokohama to Vancouver, two great Indians met for the first time. One was an industrialist who would go on to become one of India’s greatest visionaries, Jamsetji Tata. The other was a monk who would take India’s spiritual tradition to the West more effectively than ever before, Swami Vivekananda.
In 1893, Jamsetji was on his way to an industrial exposition in Chicago. A frequent visitor to Japan (there’s an interesting story behind this, read it here), he was staying at the same hotel into which Vivekananda would check in a few days later.
Soon after, on a sunny afternoon in May, the illustrious duo embarked on a voyage from the Japanese port of Yokohama to the Canadian port of Vancouver aboard SS Empress of India, a 16,992 ton luxury steamship belonging to the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company
While the two had met earlier, Jamsteji and Vivekananda had not had the time to engage in lengthy conversations. They did now and when they met again on the promenade of the ship, they got talking.
Vivekananda narrated to Jamsetji the experiences he had gained during his travels throughout the length and breadth of India as a wandering monk in the quest of truth. He talked about the relentless oppression and repression of his fellow Indians he had seen at the hands of colonial authorities.
Furthermore, he spoke about how, during his visit to in Canton (Guangzhou) in China, he had come across many Sanskrit and Bengali manuscripts in Buddhist monasteries.
He also explained that taking his faith to the West and calling for unity between the world’s major religions was the mission of his visit to the World Parliament of Religions.
Considered to be the first global interfaith event in modern history, the World parliament of Religions was a gathering of more than 5,000 religious officials, scholars, and historians representing the major world faiths.
It was held between September 11 to 27, 1893, as part of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
They also discussed Japan’s phenomenal progress in technology and Jamsetji’s plan of laying the foundations of the steel industry to India. The founder of one of India’s largest conglomerates, Jamsetji also explained that he was in search of equipment and technology that would help make India a strong industrial nation.
Vivekananda endorsed the vision with enthusiasm, adding that the real hope of India lay in the prosperity and progress of its ordinary millions. He also added that instead of importing matches from Japan, Jamsetji should manufacture them in India and help provide a livelihood to the rural poor.
Impressed by Vivekananda’s views on science and deep-rooted patriotism, Jamsetji requested his guidance in his campaign in establishing a research Institute in India. The visionary monk smiled, gave his blessings and remarked,
“How wonderful it would be if we could combine the scientific and technological achievements of the West with the asceticism and humanism of India!”
Jamsetji and Vivekananda never met after that journey. But these words struck a chord in the industrialist’s heart and five years later, he wrote a letter to Vivekananda. Here is what it said:
Esplanade House, Bombay.
23rd Nov. 1898
Dear Swami Vivekananda,
I trust, you remember me as a fellow- traveller on your voyage from Japan to Chicago. I very much recall at this moment your views on the growth of the ascetic spirit in India, and the duty, not of destroying, but of diverting it into useful channels.
I recall these ideas in connection with my scheme of Research Institute of Science for India, of which you have doubtless heard or read. It seems to me that no better use can be made of the ascetic spirit than the establishment of monasteries or residential halls for men dominated by this spirit, where they should live with ordinary decency and devote their lives to the cultivation of sciences –natural and humanistic.
I am of opinion that if such a crusade in favour of an asceticism of this kind were undertaken by a competent leader, it would greatly help asceticism, science, and the good name of our common country; and I know not who would make a more fitting general of such a campaign than Vivekananda.
Do you think you would care to apply yourself to the mission of galvanizing into life our ancient traditions in this respect? Perhaps, you had better begin with a fiery pamphlet rousing our people in this matter. I would cheerfully defray all the expenses of publication.”
With kind regards,
I am, dear Swami,
Yours faithfully,
Jamsetji Tata
Busy setting up the Ramakrishna Mission, Vivekananda was unable accept the offer but he promptly sent his disciple, Sister Nivedita to meet met Jamsetji. Working together, they formulated a detailed plan for the research institute.
But it was promptly suppressed by the then-Viceroy, Lord Curzon.
However Jamsetji persevered and continued to work on these plans, convinced that the future progress of the country depended crucially on research in science and envisaged an institution that would encourage the same.
In 1898, he was on the lookout for a suitable place for such an institution when he met and discussed his idea with Sheshadri Iyer, the Diwan of Mysore. The two of them convinced the then-ruler of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, to donate roughly 372 acres of free land in the heart of Bangalore and provide other necessary facilities.
Interestingly, Jamsetji’s words also seem to have had an impact on Vivekananda. The book, ‘The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda‘, includes the following report from the Salem Evening News of August 29, 1893.
“According to Swami Veve Kyonda (Vivekananda), the need of the people of India is not more religion, or a better one, but as he expresses it, ‘practicality’. It is with the hope of interesting the American people in this great need of the suffering, starving millions that he has come to this country.
He said that missionaries had fine theories there and started with good ideas but had done nothing for the industrial condition of the people. He said, instead of sending missionaries, it would be better if Americans send someone who could give industrial education.”
Swami Vivekananda died in July 1902 and Jamsetji died two years later, unaware that their shared vision would be realised five years later. The Tata Institute of Science was born in 1909 and renamed the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in 1911.
Today, it is the pride of Indian and one of the premier research institutions in the world.
Subsequent ventures by the Tata Group also included the establishment of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (in 1930s) and of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (in 1940s).
A collector’s item, the set of Rs 100 and Rs 5 coins in silver depicting Jamsetji’s bust, has been fabricated by the Kolkata mint of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India have been released on his 175th anniversary of Jamsetji Tata in 2015. In the past, Jamsetji has been honoured by India Post through release of stamps — one in 1958 to mark the golden jubilee of the steel industry in India and another in 1965 in recognition of his contribution to the industrialisation of India.
So far, coins have only been minted in honour of the freedom struggle, freedom fighters, events, scientists, temples, institutions and organisations.
Here are pics of India’s two great leaders and commemorative coins of both these legends.
Copy of letter written written by Jamsetji to Swamiji and The Tata Institute of Science was born in 1909 and renamed the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in 1911in Bengaluru ( In the 1890s, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, a successful industrialist, decided to set up a world class university in India using his personal wealth. He strongly believed in the role of scientific research and higher education in social and economic transformation.)

เค…เคซเคœเคฒ เค–ां เค•ा เคตเคง

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