Beej No.

16 :: 2 / April 2017

Dharmavijay
Sister Nivedita who gave her all for India
From 28th October 2017 to 28th October 2018 in India people would be celebra ng the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita. She
was a Bri sh ci zen but came to India a er she accepted Swami Vivekananda as her Guru and gave her all for India. She fought for
India's freedom; she worked to awaken the na onal consciousness of India; she contributed in all walks of life in India Arts, science,
literature, educa on, journalism etc. Till October 2018 issues of Dharmabeej some important landmarks and the inspiring incidents
of her life would be narrated.

Young Margaret Noble with all curiosity shining in her deep blue eyes was looking at a person who had come as a guest to meet her father
Samuel Noble. Samuel Noble was a minister in a church in London and was very fond of his eldest daughter who had keen interest in knowing
what work her father was doing. She used to accompany her father to the mass in Church or for serving or preaching the poor. Even when some
of his friends would come to meet him, he would allow his little Margot to be present there.
Today's guest was not an ordinary guest he was working as a missionary in a far off land of India and he was narrating the strange missionary
stories about India. With wide-eyes, Margaret was listening and even asking questions in between. The Guest laughed and said, 'Samuel, I am
sure this daughter of yours would go to India one day to serve Indians'. Little did they realize then that she would go to India to serve Indian in
Hindu way and not as a Christian Missionary!

When Margaret was 10 years old, her father Samuel passed away. What is death? Why are we born? These questions raked young Margaret's
brain. She grew up aspiring to be a teacher and after completing her education started working as a teacher. In due course she decided to get
married to one young man she liked but even before the engagement was announced, he fell ill and died. This was her second encounter with
death. Death had snatched away from her the persons she loved most. She was a woman of strong character. The tragedy did not break her but
made her think deep about life and its purpose. If we are to die one day not known to us then why are we born? Are we just puppets in someone's
hand? What are we supposed to do in our such uncertain life? What is the ultimate Truth of this whole existence? Search for the eternal, absolute
truth became a driving force of her life. Could she realize the Truth? We shall see it in succeeding issues of Dharmabeej.

Vivek Vani (In Italics)

You are maker of your own Destiny

Do you remember the childhood stories? A prince goes in a forest for hunting and then he comes across a big castle. An old woman in the castle
tells him that this castle belongs to a Rakshasa but he has gone out so you can see the castle but do not the go to the room number 13. If you go a
great misery would fall on you. But, what happens? Where does the prince go? Yes, He goes to room no 13. Why is it so? Because man cannot be
kept away from knowledge. Though ignorance is bliss, we do not want to stay in ignorance. Swami Vivekananda says,
The goal of mankind is knowledge. Pleasure is not the goal of man. Pleasure and happiness come to an end. It is a mistake to
suppose that pleasure is the goal. After a time man nds that it is not happiness, but knowledge, towards which he is going,
and that both pleasure and pain are great teachers. As pleasure and pain pass before his soul they have upon it different
pictures, and the result of these combined impressions is what is called man's "character". If you take the character of any
man, it really is but the aggregate of tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his mind; you will nd that misery and happiness
are equal factors in the formation of that character. Good and evil have an equal share in moulding character, and in some
instances, misery is a greater teacher than happiness. In studying the great characters the world has produced, I dare say, in
the vast majority of cases, it would be found that it was misery that taught more than happiness, it was poverty that taught more
than wealth, it was blows that brought out their inner re more than praise.
Therefore, one should not crumble in misery or failures. Some students commit suicide if they fail. They have to face it courageously, that would
strengthen their character further. Now examinations and entrance-tests are going on and in couple of months the results would come. This is the
rst test that the students have to give. Face the misery, unhappiness and blows in life. Do not collapse. Whatever you believe in and are
 Beej No.16 :: 2 / April 2017
passionate about it, work hard for it and make your character. Just see these few persons for example. Life is not about what you could not do

His teachers called him slow

I was rejected in the I was rejected for the job in All I failed in 8th Standard and mentally handicapped. He
interview of pilot India Radio Because of my also didnt speak until he turned 4
-Abdul Kalam heavy voice -Sachin Tendulkar and didnt read until he was 7
-Amitabh Bacchan -Albert Einstein

but it is about what you can still do in spite of failures, how you take on miseries. It is these life experiences and blows which ultimately bring out
the knowledge which is within. Swami Vivekananda says,
Like re in a piece of int, knowledge exists in the mind; suggestion is the friction, which brings it out. So with all our feelings
and action our tears and our smiles, our joys and our griefs, our praises and our blames every one of these we may nd, if
we calmly study our own selves, to have been brought out from within ourselves by so many blows. The result is what we are.
All these blows taken together are called Karma work, action. Every mental and physical blow that is given to the soul, by
which, as it were, re is struck from it, and by which its own power and knowledge are discovered, is Karma, this word being
used in its widest sense. Thus we are all doing Karma all the time.

All the actions that we see in the world, all the movements in human society, all the works that we have around us, are simply
the display of thought, the manifestation of the will of man; and this will is caused by character, and character is manufactured
by Karma. As is Karma, so is the manifestation of the will. All this is determined by Karma, work. No one can get anything
unless he earns it. This is an eternal law. We may sometimes think it is not so, but in the long run we become convinced of it.
Our Karma determines what we deserve and what we can assimilate. We are responsible for what we are; and whatever we
wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it
certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.
With regard to Karma-Yoga, the Gita says that it is doing work with cleverness and as a science; by knowing how to work, one
can obtain the greatest results. You must remember that all work is simply to bring out the power of the mind, which is already
there, to wake up the soul.
It is not only success that one should strive for; but gradually we should be doing that work which is ought to be done. Karyam Karma. Why
should we study, because we are supposed to study. As we focus on gaining knowledge than just thinking of examinations, actually even our
performance in examination also would be taken care of. Secondly, Karma is to elevate us. Any work that we do if the motive is selsh it may not
really elevate us, free the inner power within us. But if the work is done unselshly it elevates man. Ultimately, name, fame, success, 'what others
would tell' etc. should not be our motives but thought and concern for good of others should be the motive. It is such work, which gives us ultimate
knowledge. Swami Vivekananda says,

Work for work's sake. There are some who really work for work's sake, who do not care for name, or fame, or even to go to
heaven. They work just because good will come of it. There are others who do good to the poor and help mankind because
they believe in doing good and love good. Unselshness is more paying, only people have not the patience to practice it. In the
rst place, a man who can work for ve days, or even for ve minutes, without any selsh motive whatever, without thinking of
future, of heaven, of punishment, or anything of the kind, has in him the capacity to become a powerful moral giant. It is hard to
do it, but in the heart of our hearts, we know its value, and the good it brings. It is the greatest manifestation of power.
The ideal man is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude, nds the intensest activity, and in the midst of the
intensest activity nds the silence and solitude of the desert. He has learnt the secret of restraint, he has controlled himself. He
goes through the streets of a big city with all its trafc, and his mind is as calm as if he were in a cave, where not a sound could
reach him; and he is intensely working all the time. That is the ideal of Karma-Yoga, and if you have attained to that you have
really learnt the secret of work. But we have to begin from the beginning, to take up the works as they come to us and slowly
make ourselves more unselsh every day. We must do the work and nd out the motive power that prompts us; and, almost
without exception, in the rst years, we shall nd that our motives are always selsh; but gradually this selshness will melt by
persistence, till at last will come the time when we shall be able to do really unselsh work. We may all hope that someday or
other, as we struggle through the paths of life, there will come a time when we shall become perfectly unselsh; and the
 Beej No.16 :: 2 / April 2017

Agnishikha
Jagadguru Sri Vidyaranya: A forgotten Hindu Empire Builder

Many wrong perceptions are deliberately spread since colonial period about Hindus in India. These are

I) For last 1000 years, Hindus have been slaves and they were always defeated by the outside invading forces. The fact is Hindus
faced the Arabic and other foreign Muslim invasions for almost 570 years before they could have foothold in India. Even after
that, they fought in various parts and freed large part. To give few examples - Vijaynagar Kingdom, Marathas, Bundelas,
Ahoms, Jats, Sikhs, Rajputs freed the land from invaders and established Swarajya.
ii) Hindus are otherworldly so they never achieved the worldly greatness or wealth. India was the richest land in the world till
British looted her and destroyed its traditional industries. In all walks of life, like science, Mathematics, textiles, agriculture,
arts, culture etc. India achieved great heights and contributed for the development of man.
iii) The various Acharyas, Peethadhipatis, Swamis hardly bothered about the situation of the country and are selsh. This is totally
wrong. Actually in India before great political power emerges and frees the land, the great spiritual giants awaken and
invigorate the society. Thus there are Samrtha Ramdas and Sant Tukaram before Sivaji, The Sikhs Gurus before Sikh rule or
Swami Vidyaranya before the great Vijaynagar Kingdom etc.

This time we shall see about Sri Vidyaranya Swami. Sri Vidyaranya SwamiHe was known as Madhavacharya before taking up sanyas. He was
born in 1268 CE to Mayannacharya and Srimatidevi as the eldest of four siblings, which included his two brothers Sayana and Bhoganatha along
with his sister Singaladevi. The three brothers completed their earlier education under Shankaranada and then moved to Kanchi to pursue further
education under Sri Vidyateertha. During this time began Madhavacharya's friendship with Venkatanatha commonly known as Sri Vedanta
Desika.

From his childhood, Madhava possessed the qualities of patriotism, rmness, practical sense, political awareness and righteousness. Hence,
Madhava during his education developed the idea of establishing a 'Dharma rajya' to protect the cultures and traditions of the nation from the
atrocities of Islamic invaders.
After the loot and destruction of Srirangam by Malik Kafur, the political conditions in the South turned oppressive. The people had become
spineless. The Hindus were so fear stricken that they were afraid of protest against injustice. The rulers were torturing the Hindus and plundering
their temples. But there was no united protest anywhere. There was need for a leader who could inspire the people to ght for Dharma.
It was at this juncture that Madhavacharya wished to lay a rm foundation for a stable empire. He wanted an empire to be founded on the
principles of Dharmashaastras so that the citizens could live in peace. He wanted to infuse a spirit of courage into the hearts of people who had
lost it, and who were unable to protest against adharma. He did not get any help or co-operation for this task from any King or administrator.
Therefore, he renounced his worldly ties of family and accepted Sanyasa from Sri Bharathitheertha of Sringeri. After this, he settled at
Pampakshetra (modern day Hampi) and performed penance for the fulllment of his aim.
During this time two brothers by the name Harihara and Bukka, who were the sons of Sangama raya of Kummatadurga, met Vidyaranya, and it
was by this meeting that the fate of Dakshin Bharat changed. The brothers who were taken as prisoners by Muhammad Bin Tughlaq after his
victory over Kummatadurga were forcibly converted to Islam and made to serve in his army. After few years of Islamic slavery, the two brothers
escaped from their captors and arrived at the feet of Sri Vidyaranya. Vidyaranya decided to make his dream of Dharma rajya into reality with the
help of these brothers. He reconverted them back to Hindu Dharma.
Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, Sultan of Delhi, had defeated Jambukeshwara Raya, King of Anegundi and had him imprisoned in
his own palace. He had appointed Mallik Nayab as his representative to rule over the State. Harihara and Bukka organised a
band of patriotic youths according to the advice of Vidyaranya. They entered the fort of Anegundi very cleverly and took Mallik
Nayab prisoner when he was fully drunk. Thus, they freed Anegundi without bloodshed from its enemies. They set free the
King and his family. The ag bearing the symbol of Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Varaha (Boar) was hoisted on the fort of
Anegundi.

By making use of the celebration of this victory, Vidyaranya selected a suitable place in Pampakshetra and laid the foundation for a new city
named Vijayanagara. The city was the capital of Vijayanagara empire which served as the protector of Dharma in Dakshin Bharat for about three
and a half centuries till its cruel destruction at the hands of Bahmani sultans after the Battle Of Talikota.

As desired by Vidyaranya, Harihara became the king of the new empire. Bukka ruled over it after the death of Harihara. Vidyaranya guided the
 Beej No.16 :: 2 / April 2017
Kings as both Prime Minister and Rajaguru. Hence, Vidyaranya is called as Karnataka simhasana prathishtapanacharya (the Founder-
Preceptor of Karnataka) by the people of Dakshin Bharat.

The life of Vidyaranya stands as a great example of the efforts of various gurus in Bharat trying to keep their traditions alive despite various
attacks, which has resulted in Bharat being the only country in the world to have withstood the attacks on it by monotheistic religions for about a
thousand years.(Source: http://www.hindupost.in/history/jagadguru-sri-vidyaranya forgotten-hindu-nationalist/)

Learn about our scriptures:

Samaveda-

The term "Veda means wisdom, knowledge or vision. The Samaveda is the Veda of Chants, or "storehouse of knowledge of chants". The
Samaveda Samhita consists of 1549 stanzas, taken almost entirely (except for 75 mantras) from the Rigveda. The Samaveda samhita has
two major parts. The rst part includes four melody collections (gna, ) and the second part three verse books (rcika, ). A melody
in the song books corresponds to a verse in the arcika books. The Gana collection is subdivided into Gramageya and Aranyageya, while the
Arcika portion is subdivided into Purvarcika and Uttararcika portions.

The Purvarcika portion of the text has 585 single stanza verses and is organized in order of deities, while Uttararcika text is ordered by rituals.
The Gramageya melodies are those for public recitations, while Aranyageya melodies are for personal meditative use such as in the solitude
of a forest. Typically, the Purvarcika collection were sung to melodies described in the Gramageya-Gnas index, and the rules of how the
verses mapped to verses is described in the Sanskrit texts such as the Puspasutra.

The Samaveda, like other Vedas, contains several layers of text, with Samhita being the oldest and the Upanishads the youngest layer. Just
as in the Rigveda, the early sections of Samaveda typically begin with hymns to Agni and Indra, but shift to the abstract. Their meters shift also
in a descending order. The songs in the later sections of the Samaveda have the least deviation from the hymns derived from the Rigveda.

Embedded inside the Samaveda is the widely studied Chandogya Upanishad and Kena Upanishad, considered as primary Upanishads and
as inuential on the six schools of Hindu philosophy, particularly the Vedanta school. The classical Indian music and dance tradition considers
the chants and melodies in Samaveda as one of its roots.

Our ancient scriptures are vast sources of knowledge. Even today, they inspire persons in various elds including science. We should be
proud of them. It is also our responsibility to study and follow them in our lives.

Winner for Quiz in Dharmbeej Jan 2017 Dharmabeej Quiz

1. What was the purpose of Swami Vivekananda's meditation on the mid-sea
rock in Kanyakumari?
2. What happens when we face the obstacles with intellect and calm mind?
3. According to Maharshi Valmiki, which are the four qualities necessary for
success of a task?
4. How many hymns, verses and Mandalas are there in the Rigveda?
5. What is the correct meaning of the statement Sarvam Khalvidam
NAME- PRIYAMBADA PRIYADARSINI Brahma?.
ADDRESS- QR. NO. E-102, E-COLONY, UNIT-8,
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BHUBANESWAR-751012, ODISHA

The answers of the quiz in Dharmbeej January 2017 are

1.Why is a period in the History of Europe considered as the 'Dark age'? Ans: Because science and education were not only not
encouraged but were frowned upon by Church. Some scientist were even burnt down, killed or imprisoned.
2.As per an estimate, approximately how many Native Americans were killed by the Europeans to grab their fertile lands and
gold?
Ans: Approximately 12 crores in 50 years.
3.According to Dr. David Frawley, which two great statements of Vedanta provide the summary of Hindu Dharma?
Ans: Aham Brahmasmi and Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma
4.Why was Bhagini Nivedita a strong supporter of providing 'true & national education' to the Indian people?
Ans: So that they could become true sons and daughters of Bharatvarsha and not 'poor copies of Europeans'.
5.Why did Bhagini Nivedita decline Shri Ravindranath Tagore's request to teach his younger daughter in English medium?
Ans: Because she believed that there was no good in imposing foreign ideals and standards on Indian women.