Monthly eMagazine of Vedanta Mission

Vedanta Sandesh Jan 2020

Year - 25 Issue-7
 Cover Page

The cover page of the Jan 2020 issue of Vedanta Sandesh is yet
another beautiful bird of Indian sub-continent - the Painted Stork (Mycteria
leucocephala). Painted Stork is a large wading bird in the stork family. It is
found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in
South Asia and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial
(flight) feathers of the wing are pink giving them their name. They forage
in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half
open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey
of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the
water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often
along with other waterbirds.
This beautiful cover page pic was clicked by Poojya Guruji Swami
Atmanandaji at a Lake on the outskirts of Bhavnagar (Gujarat). This city is
unique, because these Storks roost in the middle of city on huge trees, and the
people obviously take them as part of their lives. Om Namah Shivaya.

Om Tat Sat

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 CONTENTS Vedanta Sandesh
Jan 2020

1. Shloka 5

2. Message of P. Guruji 7-8

3. Sadhana Panchakam 9-13

4. Letter 14-15

5. Gita Reflections 16-21

6. The Art of Man Making 22-26

7. Jivanmukta 27-30

8. Story Section 31-33

9. Mission / Ashram News 34-52

10. Forthcoming Progs 53

11. Links 54
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 Monthly eMagazine of Vedanta Mission
Jan 2020 : Year 25 / Issue 7

Published by
Vedanta Mission
Vedanta Ashram, E/2948, Sudama Nagar,
Indore-452009 (M.P.) India
http://www.vmission.org.in / vmission@gmail.com

Editor:

Swamini
Samatananda
Saraswati
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 ;n~n`"V~ok ukija n`';a
;n~HkwRok u iquHkZo%A
;TKkRok ukija Ks;a
rn~czãsR;o/kkj;sr~AA
Know that to be Brahman - seeing which there is no fur-
ther desire to see anything else; having become that there is
no further wish to become anything else; and knowing which
there is nothing more to know.

Atma Bodha - 55
 Message
from
Poojya Guruji

Importance of Good Sleep

Ultimately everyone has to wake up - fully. Gita says that a man of
knowledge is awake to that in which the samsaris are still unaware. Waking
up to the truth of life and ourself is the real goal of human life, everything
else is just a means. This waking up is basically realizition, a direct awak-
ening to our own truth. This is what knowledge is all about.
The crux of the sampradaya of self-knowledge is to facilitate people
to wake up to their truth. This is a slow process, and both the teachers and
the students have to be very patient. All knowledge is in the mind and by
the mind. No knowledge is given to an empty mind. Everyone already has
so much knowledge - valid or unvalid, and this knowledge keeps driving us
to things we value. All desires represent that which we value. So the mind
is busy. Not only busy more often we are stressed, disappointed & deject-
ed. Obviously something is wrong somewhere, either we do not know what
we are seeking or do not know the right means to achieve what we wish
V edanta Sandes h

to achieve. However we seem to know the end and the means. The mind
which already knows that it knows is not an open mind to something new.

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 This is called a conditioned mind. Our conditionings make us very reactive,
and our energies are wasted in these reactions of joys & sorrow. All joys &
sorrows are ego-centric and thus do not lead us to anything substantial &
permanent. The wise call such a mind as an impure mind. It is not ready
for the knowledge. What is required is a mind which is not only inquisitive,
but also quiet, thoughtful & sensitive to everything. An open & alert mind
alone is on the highway to learn something new. So the first stage of knowl-
edge is not study or meditation, but somehow making the mind open and
knowledge-friendly. This is the toughest part of the journey. We have a
mind which is worked up, and tired. Unfortunately a conditioned & stressed
mind can neither remain fully awake, nor can it have a nice sleep. Good
sleep has become dear to so many. Many people have come to such a
pass that they can’t sleep properly. All intoxicants are means to somehow
relax it, even though momentarily. This is the truth of life today. Drinks and
drugs have become an acceptable & necessary needs of society - all just
because people want a relaxed mind.
The objective of sleep is just to relax & refresh the mind. Sleep is a
blessing given by God to de-stress the mind and recharge it to work our
way to the portals of awakening. Sleep is important and the first step is to
assure that you have a nice sleep. Real nice sleep - a sleep in which there
are no dreams and we literally transcend time & space. There is no better
refresher like sleep. Take sleep seriously and learn to sleep properly. If you
dive into deep sleep then you dont need long sleep. Whenever someone
wishes to sleep for longer time, then know for certain that the person is
revelling in some dreams. Dreams are also fine, but obviously dream-sleep
is not deep sleep. Aim for dreamless sleep, where the mind is truly quiet.
Those who have a good sleep wake up to an alert state, in which they can
learn & experience things in a much better way. If you wish for an alert &
wakeful day then first learn to take sleep seriously.
Sarve bhavantu sukhinah! Sarve santu niramayah ! Sarve bhadrani
V edanta Sandes h

pashyantu. Ma kaschit dukhbhak bhavet!

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 Sadhana
Panchakam

- : 5: -
V edanta Sandes h

Swamini Samatananda
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 Sadhana Panchakam
T he first sloka of the very interesting Sadha-
na Panchakam begins with some fundamental tips towards the
journey of Self-knowledge. Just as we take up any kind of jour-
ney with a decent amount of preparation so that the journey is
smooth and also culminates in the fulfillment of the goal so also
self-knowledge requires a preparation of the mind, which the
scriptures call as a sattvik mind or a purified mind. If the mind is
not pure and free from various conditionings, likes and dislikes,
if the mind has not been sharpened then no amount of vedantic
knowledge will ever benefit the student. Even if a person avails
the knowledge, it will only end up being an intellectual infor-
mation rather than a subjective realization. Therefore not only
a preparation is very important but even the awareness of the
journey of preparation is important. A pure and integrated mind
enters the portals of knowledge like duck takes to water. So in the
first sloka the Acharya speaks of various preparatory sadhanas
like chanting the Vedic mantras, getting aquainted with the Vedas,
making all actions an offering to the Lord etc. Now in this sixth
step the Acharya says Bhava sukhe doshonusandheeyataam... Re-
flect upon the inherent limitations of worldly pleasures.

Hkolq[ks nks"kks·uqlU/kh;rke~%
Reflect upon the inherent limitations of worldly
pleasures..
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 Sadhana Panchakam
Our spiritual goal as shown in the scriptures is liberation,
wherein Liberation does not mean freeing one’self physically
from the objects of the world, our relationships and our various
requirements, but liberation is desired from the bondages of a
sense of limitation and eternal seeking. This liberation is a case
of realization. Realization of the limitations of worldly objects
and it’s so called pleasures. The entire case study of bondage
reveals Jiva’s ignorance and wrong notion of being limited and
thus seeking fulfillment from outside. Whereas the entire gamut
of worldly objects and all its experiences are as momentary as a
bubble, putting us on a merry go round of seeking. Thus crack-
ing this misconception that the objective world can give us fulfill-
ment and discovering the blissful nature of the Self is liberation.
The Acharya guides us in taking the first step into the discovery
of the truth of the world as he says-See the limitations of world-
ly pleasures.

The whole idea behind seeing the limitations of the world

is because we are so empowered by the pleasurable side of the
world that we refuse to see its limitations and the fact that it is
not leading us anywhere. We are so attached to the world that it
has become the be all and end all for almost everyone. It is the
rare ones who question the entire play of the world. Rest all are
blind followers. Such is our attachment to external pleasures that
there is hardly any scope of service, devotion and knowledge.
Even our relationship with God is based on worldly transac-
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 Sadhana Panchakam
tions. The world by itself is a beautiful manifestation of Ishvara.
There is no doubt that one can get some divine experiences but
the scriptures and the Acharyas are revealing the truth that the
entire world is like a beautiful dream, Its beautiful but it can never
give us true satisfaction. We need not run away from the world
but what is meant here in this sloka is that one needs to stand
apart, and analyse the objective world and all its experiences very
objectively. One needs to see the reality of the world and at the
same time question one’s sense of attachment to everything. One
needs to be available for reflection on the truth of everything.

The scriptures speak of a technique called ‘Pratipaksha

Bhavana’, which means that when there is a strong attachment
to something then to overcome the attachment one should see its
limitations and when there is an extreme dislike for something
then one should work to see the positive side of it. The Acharya
here is inspiring us to see the limitations of worldly attachments
to neutralize it. Every object has the aspect of Brahma which is
the substratum and every object has the aspect of Maya which
appears to be there but its like a dream which can never give us
fulfillment. Therefore one has to do the viveka between the Real
and the Unreal. Come to see that there is a limitation in worldly
pleasures. We experience joy of something directly in proportion
to the amount of importance we have given to it. When ever out
of ignorance we impose a sense of happiness on external objects
and it’s experiences we will desire it, we will think of it, dream
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 Sadhana Panchakam
of it and work for it. If money is important to me money will
give me pleasure but money is neither important for everyone
nor does it give pleasure to one and all. It is a very relative thing.
Constant attachment and seeking only results in ego satisfaction.
Therefore discover the reality of the world by seeing things very
objectively and by questioning ones own understanding of the
world.Do not follow the world blindly, thus say the Mahatmas.
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 Mail from
Poojya Guruji

Happy New Year

Hari om.

Thanks a lot for the kind & loving new year greetings with your
‘Happy New Year’ wishes. It is so good & overwhelming to see peo-
ple having such a caring & loving heart which prays for the well-bing
of their near & dear ones and the world at large. Yes, the wheel of
time rotates and we come to the doorsteps of yet another year -
2020. We always pray for the well-bing of all with our prayers and
- Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, May all be happy always.

Many a time it seems that we have become ritualistic to wish some-

thing on occasions. Do we wonder whether my last year’s sincere
wishes had any effect or not. Good wishes are good for exuding
the lovely fragrance of love & well-being but we need to wonder
whether we need to add something more to our prayers to make
them give better results. Otherwise it is all so mechanical and also
useless. Let us pause for a while and think as to what really makes
a person happy. Are our prayers enough and rest is all in the hands
of fate, situations and wishes of God?

When we go into the intricacies of happiness then we realize that

the happiness is something very subjective. That which makes one
person happy does not bring any joy to another person. It is like
dishes on th dining table. Everyone is happy by their own likes and
not necessarily by any one particular dish. First we all have our own
unique likes & dislikes and then depending on our likes & dislikes
V edanta Sandes h

and their intensities we get our pieces of cakes. Only the stupid

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 and arrogant superimpose their fancies on others and think that
others will also become happy. Further joys brought about by sa-
tiating our likes and dislikes are all so momentary that even after
satisfying our likes once, our cup never becomes truly full. The
journey keeps on & on. This is obviously not the way to true happi-
ness. So we cant even pray that - May God fulfill all your Wishes.
We have been fulfilling our wishes from childhood yet the seeking
is going on & on. So merely wishing that the others fulfill their
desires amounts to saying that May you keep on seeking endlessly.
So what do we do?

The secret of happiness needs to be explored more seriously. The

moments of joys are moments when we are with ourselves. All du-
alities of seeker & sought temporarily end when we are just with
ourselves. Every moment of joy is the joy of being in the state of
non-duality. It is the moment of Atma-Ananda. It is all about wak-
ing up to our truth, ending all process of becoming and just being.
Do we see this fact clearly. Do we see it so clearly that we see the
need to re-edit our felicitations. May you all be happy is fine, and
something more needs to be added - May you wake up to the truth
of yourself. That is why in our traditional prayers we say: Sarve
Bhavantu Sukhinah, and this is followed by another statement that
- Sarve Bhadrani Pashyantu, meaning May we realize the auspicious
truth. So I also pray that May you all finally awake in this ultimate
truth in this coming year.

Lots of love & om,

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 Gita Reflections

cgquka tUeukeUrs
KkuokUeka izi|rsA
oklqnso% loZfefr
l egkRek lqnqyZHk%AA
V edanta Sandes h

(Gita 7/19)
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 Vaasudeva is all that exists
(cgwuka tUeukeUrs------)
Swamini Samatananda

After many births of spiritual practice, one who is endowed with knowledge
surrenders unto me, knowing me to be all that is. Such a great soul is indeed
very rare.

(Gita : Ch-7 / Sh-19)

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 Gita Reflections
T he seventh chapter of the Bhagwad Geeta
has in it a very interesting topic wherein Bhagwan Sri Krishna
speaks of the four kinds of Bhaktas namely the Arta bhakta, the
Artharthi, Jigyasu and the Gyani bhakta. Having explained the
nature of all the four types of devotees Bhagwan praises all the
devotees by saying the first three kinds of devotees are exalted,
they are dear to me, but Sri Krishna distinguishes the Gyani Bhak-
ta from the first three by saying ‘Gyani tu atma eva me matam’ i.e.
the Gyani Bhakta is ‘My very own Self ’, He is not seperate from
me. This statement of the Lord does not mean that Bhagwan is
partial to the Gyani Bhakta but it reveals the fact that a Gyani
Bhakta has awakened to the state of oneness with Paramatma
which is the nature of Bhagwan Krishna and all beings. When Sri
Krishna says , Gyani is my atma he does not mean Sri Krishna in
the avatar form but it implies the Paramatma which is the atma
of all beings. What distinguishes the Gyani Bhakta is that he
has discovered this oneness with the Lord. For him Ishvara is
not a seperate entity who is mightier than him and who can ful-
fill all his worldly deisres. He has become one with Ishvara and
has awakened in a state of total fulfillment unlike the other three
bhaktas who still live at the level of seeking various blessings
from the Lord. Thus Bhagwan praises the Gyani Bhakta by show-
ing the oneness with him. With this backgound we can uderstand
the present sloka too.
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 Gita Reflections
In this sloka Lord Sri Krishna once again reveals the glory of a
Gyani Bhakta. Bhagwan says that at the end of many births the
knowledgable one seeks me, surrenders unto me and comes to
discover his oneness with me. He comes to discover that I alone
am, rest all is a play of Maya. When Bhagwan says, that at the
end of many births, it does not mean that if I begin my spiritual
journey in this birth I will be a wise person after many births.
It implies that the knowledge I seek, acquire and awaken into in
this birth is a blessing of all the punya karmas, the merits that I
have earned by my good actions in my previous births. Gaining
Knowledge is not just a matter of intellectual information which
I may acquire in this birth but it is a state of realization and con-
viction which is brought about by a purified mind, an integrated
body, mind and intellect. Having a purified mind is by itself a pu-
nya. The purification and maturity of the mind accompanied by
the desire to seek knowledge is a journey which passes through a
number of births. Thus Bhagwan says that desire for knowledge
and knowledge is a blessing attained at the end of many births.
This is the reason why the scriptures and all the Rishis and Ma-
hatmas sing the glories of a human birth and further if a person
is a devotee and seeker of knowledge.

Vasudevaha sarvam iti sa Mahatma sudurlabhaha:

As one gains the knowledge he discovers the oneness between
Jiva and Ishvara. As long as one is only a devotee of Ishvara
there is still a state of duality that I am a bhakta and Ishvara is
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 Gita Reflections
the divine existence seperate from me. But a Gyaanavaan, a man
of wisdom has awakened into the state of Aham Brahmasmi. For
him Brahma alone is the truth of himself and everything else. He
sees the existence of the entire jagat as a play of Maya, a dream
which has no real existence, which is mithya. Yet as he lives in the
manifestation of this body his vision is divine as he sees -Vaas-
udeva sarvam iti. Everything that exists living and non-living is
Vaasudeva-Siyaram maya sab jag jaani. He lives as a jivan mukta
with universal love and compassion, with the spirit of sarve bha-
vantu sukhinaha. May all live in peace.

Bhagwan culminates the statement by saying such a man of wis-

dom is a Mahatma-one who has discovered his glorious nature as
Sachidananda Paramatma the limitless state of pure existence,
self effulgece and blissfulness. Such a Mahatma is extremely hard
to come by.
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 - 22-
The Art Of Man Making
Blessings of Self-Control

P.P. Gurudev
Swami Chinmayanandaji
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 The Art of Man Making
B y lack of self-control we can unwit-
tingly slip and fall psychologically away from our own merits
and efficiencies. Naturally, a young man brimming with ambi-
tions of success, preparing for life’s march to win achievements
does not want his pottentialities snatched away from him.

But how exactly is self-control helpful? What really are the

benefits of a life of self-control? On the surface it is foolish
not to do exactly as you feel. To curb the urges of the mind, to
deny the free thinking of the intellect; to abide by any law, to
conform to any norms of life- all are indeed painful strains, un-
welcome curbs, meaningless onslaughts upon individual free-
dom. See the animals of the jungle; they do what they feel; why
not we also?

This is a valid doubt in the boisterous mind of a loose-thinking,

wild-feeling, fast acting teenager. He is so full of the awareness
of all his political freedom, social privilges, communal rights
and individual daring that to him to think is to act and fulfill.
He would challenge the Law and justify himself in the name
of Revolution. He feels that rules are laid down by intellectual
Rishis and prophets, who were themselves men of restraint-and
had perhaps grown sour in their own disappointments!

Krishna here gives a set of scientific arguments, logical and

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 The Art of Man Making
reasonable, and explains how through self-control we bless
ourselves, and grow in our inner personality vitality. A person
becomes a more matured thinker, more balanced in his emo-
tions, putting out better performances in his field of activity,
be he a research scholar or a rickshaw puller, a politician, or a
priest, a mill worker or an agricultural labourer.

On the other had, a man of self-control moves freely among the

objects, with his senses under control and ever free from both
‘attraction’ and ‘aversion’. He gains in himself a deep sense of
tranquility.

One of the questions of Arjuna was, “How does a Man of Per-

fection move”(vrajeta kim)?. How can a man of God freely
move among the objects of pleasure in this world, and yet es-
cape temptations? Here is the answer.

One who has self-control can easily move among the tempting
sense-objects, when his senses are perfectly under his own con-
trol. But how?

Let us take an example. A drunkard and a teetotaller walking

along the same road, see a full whisky bottle lying on the side-
walk. The teetotaller is unaffected and passes by. The drunkard
immediately stoops down, snatches it, and embracing it to his
bosom runs home. Now the bottle remaining the same, both of
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 The Art of Man Making
them reacted differently; the teetotaller was repelled, while the
drunkard was attracted towards the bottle. Why? In the men-
tal make-up of the drunkard there was something-the Vasana
to drink-and so his senses ran out to hug it.

One in whom Vasanas are trained and purified, in him the sens-
es will be controlled. To restrain the senses does not mean
physical violence against the sense-organs. A re-education of
the mind brings about the necessary sense-control-noble and
enduring, rewarding and creative.

When Vasanas are with us there will be in us an attraction (raa-

ga) for conducive objects, and a repulsion (dvesha) for uncon-
ducive one. Thus let us say a father, mother and child go to an
exhibition sales. In the saree shop, the mother is attracted but
father and child remain unmoved. in the doll department the
child gets anxious, but father and mother remain balanced, and
in the gents-wear stall the father is restless, while mother and
child are both unaffected. Indeed, attraction and repulsion (raa-
ga-dvesha) can be in us only when we have powerful Vasanas.

A Man of Perfection moves in the world of objects as unaffect-

ed as the mother in the doll house and among gents-wear, or as
unattached as father in the doll house and among the saree, or
as careless as the child among the sarees and suits.
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 The Art of Man Making
When one comes to live freely, moving in this world among
its objects, with sense organs perfectly under control and free
from both attraction and repulsion (raaga and dvesha), what
does one gain? One’s life may be an empty joyless monotony; a
bothersome burden, a wasteland of boredom. This can be our
doubt. Krishna clearly says how such an individual alone dis-
covers a deep sense of peace , a tremulous calm and a restful
tranquility (prasad).

In tranquility, all sorrows are destroyed. Indeed a tranquil

mind alone can keep the intellect steady in application. Sor-
row, subjectively, is nothing but mental oscillation. greater the
agitations of the mind, greater the sorrow. When the mind is
peaceful, there is joy always. When the bosom is tranquil, all
sorrows end.

When the mind is agitated the intellect has no steady wis-

dom-its discrimination power gets reduced and it is rendered
incapable of rightly comprehending the problem and coming
to correct judgements. In short, buddhi gets lost. When the
mind is disturbed a man’s intellectual efficiency gets lost.

Glorifying this tranquility that arises from self-control, Krishna

exclaims, In the uncontrolled, and therefore the unsteady, there
is no consistent intellect. To the inconsistent intellect there is
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 The Art of Man Making
no Vision (bhavana). He who has no vision has no peace. And
he who knows no peace, how can he ever have happiness? What
had been already asserted is now explained in a negative dialects
of happiness. Krishna directs the student’s attention to what
has been already indicated: “To the uncontrolled, and therefore
unsteady (ayuktasya), there is no consistent intellect” (naasti
buddhi). “To such an uncontrolled personality” (ayuktah), there
is no “Vision” (bhavna). Our intellect perceives a great ideal, a
mighty possibility, and keeping it steadily before us to lift our
thoughts and actions towards its higher perfections is called
“Vision” (bhavna). To one who has no such “Vision” there is no
peace. For such an individual will have no pole-star to guide
the flow of his life’s energies, and without any inspiring pur-
pose, thoughts run amuck and the mind aimlessly wanders
from object to object. They can remain but in a constant state
of restlessness and agitations. There is no peace of creative
self-application known to the uncontrolled (ayuktah). “And to
the restless (ashantasya) where is happiness (kutah sukham)?”
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 Jivanmukta
Wandering In
Himalayas

83
Trilokeenath

Excerpts from the Travel Memoirs of

Param Poojya
V edanta Sandes h

Swami Tapovanji
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 Jivanmukta
M y host’s regard for Hindu sadhus, in
spite of his being a Moslem, filled me with agreeable surprise.
Of course, there is no rule granting the monopoly of virtues like
devoutness, humaneness and generosity to the followers of one
particular religion or to one particular individual, while denying
it to others.
After my meal I started again. Lo! there flows the sacred Jumna
in front of me. I ran to her banks as eagerly as a child that runs
to the lap of its mother from whom it had parted a long while
ago. The July sun was blazing like fire. I threw myself down at
the feet of mother Jumna, the spouse of Vasudeva. At places she
appeared as a slender, deep blue, stream, just a foot deep and quite
narrow, zigzagging her way between heaps of rocky boulders.
As I stood watching her winding gently along in her course, my
heart danced with joy and my mind filled with elevated ideas. The
broad and beautiful sand banks formed in the river at Vrindavan,
Mathura, Indra Prastha and Prayag, are world famous. But the
Jumna, is not always so gentle nor does she leave enough space for
one to sit on as she makes her way down the Himalayas, through
narrow clefts in the rocks and through tunnels bored through
hills of earth. At the very sight of the holy river my mind was
raised to a higher plane. I make no attempt here to describe that
state of mind, even briefly. First, I eagerly drank her water until
V edanta Sandes h

my belly was full. Then I seated myself on a rock in the shade of

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 Jivanmukta
a tree growing on her bank. At a short distance, the children of
mountain cowherds were sporting in the waters of the river.
Lost in my love for the beautiful Jumna I sat there entranced
for a long time, unaware of my surroundings. Indeed, even the
austerest sanyasins are susceptible to the beauty of creation.

At 3 o’clock I resumed my solitary journey along the bank of

the Jumna and reached a village called Vatukotta, six or seven
miles away. There were at that time certain Government offi-
cials camping at the village. I too rested there during the night.

Next day I walked to Gangani, a spot three miles up the river.

I was, of course, familiar with the place and with other places
on the way from there to Uttarkasi. It is from there that people
bound for Jamnotri begin their climb. The source of the Jumna
(Jamnotri) is only thirty miles away. From Vatukotta we could
get a glimpse of the magnificent snow-mountains of Jamnotri.
Gangani is the site of the famous sage, Jamadagni’s hermitage.
At Gangani I had my bath and a meal prepared by a Brahmin
acquaintance. After a day’s rest and the usual morning bath 1
set out for Uttarkasi, the very next day. Now my destination
was only 18 miles away. But I passed one or two days at a her-
mitage on the bank of the Ganga in the company of a mahat-
ma, who was a dear, old friend of mine. I re-entered Uttarkasi,
the tranquil abode of Sri Viswanath and the residence of many
sadhus enjoying supreme peace, three or four days before the
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 Jivanmukta
Ashadha Purnima. It had taken twcnty-five days in all for me to
cover a distance of 195 miles, from Kullu to Uttarkashi. Hav-
ing brought my rambles in the Western Himalayas to a happy
conclusion, I started on the observance of Chaturmasa. It may
be mentioned here that it was during this Chaturmasa that I
composed the Sree Saumya Kasheesha Stotram and dedicated it
to Sri Viswanath.
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 STORY
Section
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 Nageshwara
L ocated on the route between Dwarka city
and Beyt Dwarka Island on the coast of Saurashtra in Gujarat
is this important Lord Shiva Temple. It is enshrined by one of
the 12 swayambhu (self-existent) jyotirlingas in the world, in
an underground sanctum. A 25 m. tall statue of a sitting Lord
Shiva and a large garden with a pond are major attractions of
this rather serene place. Some archaeological excavations claim
five earlier cities at the site.

Nageshwar was believed to be known as ‘Darukavana’, which is

an ancient epic name of a forest in India. Below are two well-
known legends attached to this mystical temple:

According to the first legend, ‘Balakhilyas’, a group of dwarf

sages worshipped Lord Shiva in Darukavana for a long time.
To test their devotion and patience, Shiva came to them as a
nude ascetic wearing only nagas [serpants] on his body. Wives
of sages got attracted to the saint and went after him, leaving
their husbands behind. Sages got very disturbed and outraged
by this.They lost their patience and cursed the ascetic to loose
his linga [one of the limited meanings is Phallus, but it has
has a deeper theistic symbolism]. Shiva linga fell on the earth
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 Nageshwara
and the whole world trembled. Lord Brahma and Lord Vish-
nu came to Lord Shiva, requesting him to save the earth from
destruction and take back his linga. Shiva consoled them and
took back his linga. Lord Shiva promised his divine presence in
Darukavana as ‘jyotirlinga’ for ever.

Another story goes hundreds of years ago in the Shiv Purana,

about a demon couple named Daruka and Daruki, after whom
was named Daruka Van (forest), later known as Dwarka. Da-
ruki was a devotee of Parvati and was blessed by her. He mis-
used her blessings and tryranized the local folks. One day he
captured a Shiva devotee called Supriya who was one of the pil-
grims on a boat. The demon imprisoned her along with several
others at his capital Darukavana. Supriya advised all prisoners
to recite the Shiva mantra ‘Aum Namaha Shivayay’ to protect
them. When Daruka came to know about this he ran to kill Su-
priya. Instantly Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a jyotirlin-
ga from the earth. He could not kill the demon who was blessed
by his own wife, Parvati, but he assured Supriya that he would
protect him in the form of a linga. The linga here thus came to
be revered.
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 Mission & Ashram News

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 Mission News
Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai

by Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji

Gita Chapter-2 / Mandukya Karika Ch-3

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22nd-28th Dec2019
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 Mission News
Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai

by Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji

at Vivekananda Auditorium, RK Math, Khar

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Inauguration: 22nd Dec 2019

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 Mission News
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Sankhya Yoga (2nd Chapter)

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22-28 Dec 2019

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 Mission News
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Sharanagati to Sthitha Pragnya

Ramakrishna Math Campus

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22-28 Dec 2019

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 Mission News
Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai

Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji

Chanting: Swamini Samatanandaji

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22-28th Dec 2019

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 Mission News
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6th Dec 2019

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 Mission News
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6th Dec 2019

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 Mission News
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Pravachan by Poojya Swaminiji

Symbolism of Arjuna Rath

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6th Dec 2019

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Gita Jayanti Celebrations

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7th Dec 2019

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 Mission News
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7th Dec 2019

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 Mission News
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 Mission News
Hanuman Chalisa Satsang-Samapan

Bhajans & HC Paath

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15th Dec 2019

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Hanuman Chalisa Satsang-Samapan

Offering reverance on the samapan divas

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15th Dec 2019

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Poojya Guruji’s Birthday Celebrations

Shodash upachaar Pooja & Abhishek

Gangeshwar Mahadev temple at Ashram

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15th Dec 2019

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Poojya Guruji’s Birthday Celebrations

Ashram Mahatmas offer their reverances

Devotees also take blessings

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15th Dec 2019

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 Mission News
Anand-Lahari 2019

Balgandharwa Rang Mandir, Bandra

Classical Dance & Music Program

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29th Dec 2019

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 Mission News
Anand-Lahari 2019

Dance by Samyukta Wagh

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29th Dec 2019

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 Mission News
Anand-Lahari 2019

by Indian Cultural Foundation

Blessings by Poojya Guruji

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29th Dec 2019

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 Visit us online :
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Check out earlier issues of :

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Published by:
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Editor:
Swamini Samatananda Saraswati
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