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MY VISION

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Quarterly newsletter

www.chinmayaorlando.org

Blessed Self,

Hari OM and Pranaam!

Welcome to a new year of ChinmayaBalavihar and adult spiritual studyclasses. This is a special year onaccount of our Poojya GurudevShree Swami Chinmayanandaji’sbirth centenary celebration and ob-servance. Many lives worth of

are required for one to comeunder the guidance of such a SatGuru Mahatma. All of us are blessedto have come under the guiding lightof Poojya Shree Gurudev.

Our Guruji Swami Tejomayananda jihas lighted the lamp, Chinmaya Jyo-ti, symbolizing Shree Gurudev's lightof knowledge that has spreadthroughout the world. We have alsolighted our lamp of knowledge sym-bolically in our altar, and inthe altars of our hearts.

May that light shine forever.

With love, in His service,

Acharya Shailaja NadkarniPresident, Chinmaya Mission Orlando

e, the members of Chinmaya Mission, demand only the chance to do our dutiestowards our nation, our society and our home. Duties generate rights, but our eyesare upon our duties and our entire attention is focused on the qualities of our actionsin fulfilling our duties. We strive ever to improve the texture of our actions, thesignificance of our work, the contents of our efforts. We demand that our life musthave on the whole a heroic meaning and a triumphant purpose.

To live thus serving all is in itself the essence of . The glorify it;the grew hoarse repeating it; all our teachers have constantly pointed it out tous all through these thousands of years of our history, as an unbroken spiritualculture. And in thus living our essential national life, of which we are convinced byour study and contemplations, no force can challenge us, no obstacles can stop us,no threat shall halt us. We shall march along, silently and heroically doing our dutiesto all - demanding no rights or rewards. All our mission members have to be suchmighty-hearted self-sacrificing faith-clad soldiers of the Lord, the heroes of Bharat.

Our service to the nation, society and home, our cheerful sacrifices and joyousfriendliness to hearten, to raise, to help and revive others around us - all these are ourspiritual .

We serve the Lord through the service of the people around us.Every act in life is an act of worship of the ever-presenteverywhere.

In this vision, we shall not limit our field to the Hindus only, noris it only for India. Our vision shall comprehend all mankind, allnations, societies and communities. Man is the theme of ourdevotion, and he is our main field of worship. We expect nothingto happen, desire nothing to gain, hope nothing to accomplish,more than our own inner spiritual unfoldment through oursteady and faithful love for all beings and sincere activities in aspirit of dedication to the Lord. We believe that our religion is the‘religion of ’ and we implicitly accept the ‘cult of creativegoodness’. The members of Chinmaya Mission are the servantsof the Lord, serving his plans here among mankind.

In this grand new vision, the Hindu culture will revive, grow andflourish not only among a few devotees, but throughout theworld. We must strive for it. This Aryan culture must soak intothe hearts of all everywhere, and it must beam out, spreading itsglory, in all our behavior and actions, in all our emotions andthoughts, in all our intentions and purposes. To serve the entiremankind with all that we have with us is the of service. Sucha disciplined, inspired, dedicated team of workers are to be theChinmaya Mission members. We follow this path as our mainway of life. This special tone, color and light are to be added toour spiritual life by our of study, devotion and dailymeditation.

Without such a team of bright, educated men and women con-stantly working for the welfare of all, no country can discoverand cultivate a full and rich sense of nationalism. An area wherea population subsists is called a ‘country’. And a country is not anation. Only a geographical area where people live in creativeendeavors is called a ‘nation’. So to transform a ‘country’ into a‘nation’, we must remold the population into a people withcommon living cultural consciousness.

Population is constituted of individuals - we count them as somany heads. When these individuals are fused in mutual love, arewrapped in mutual respect, with a high common purpose and adivine goal, together they become a well-knit organic whole,which is called a ‘people’. To forge and evolve out of our popu-lation a healthy, vibrant, creative people is the work of theMission. This transformation in society will be slow; it can nevercome about suddenly. We shall work for it quietly, and nosacrifice shall be too much for us in striving for this great, grantgoal

The days of the self-sufficient, self-contented life of independentvillages of a couple of centuries back are no longer with us today.We have now entered into an era of mutual cooperation andmutual dependence. This is an age of organization and manage-ment. As such, when we, under the influence of our greatBharatiya culture, strive to gather the ‘population’ to become a‘people’, it is but natural that a new glory must evidently splashover everywhere and light up all our national efforts and ulti-mately bring about a fresh dynamism into the entire national life.

It shall then cleanse the politics and give it a new fiery directionand purpose. It will chasten art and literature. It will bring newmeaning to our economics, a new vision to our science, a newadjustment both in our social and domestic life. The alone isphilosophy justified. It will then discover its own vitality to throbwith life and purpose. Our culture will be resurrected. Ourcountry will be reawakened. Our people will discover their self-respect, their heritage, their inherent dignity of life.

This is the great vision of our Mission. All these will be added onto us if only we will, with faith and understanding, functiontogether in perfect discipline. Chinmaya Mission must thusinaugurate the birth of the nation and its early education.

Let us hope. Let us pray. I hope that the last ten years of intenselabor will now express itself in a great burst of triumphal energy.The nation expects it of you all - shall we disappoint Bharat?

In order to promote full transparency, in each newsletter, we will be giving you a financial update for theprevious quarter. Please feel free to contact Kiran Patel or Harmohan Suri if you would like any additionaldetails about our financials.

Beginning bank balance (March 31, 2015) $ 189,353Donations (including building donations, bookstore sales,sponsorships, Balavihar registrations) $ 135,360

Mortgage payment $ 24,313Building expenses (supplies and final builder payment) $ 50,078All other expenses (Insurance, priests, utilities, supplies,groceries etc) $ 86,628

Ending bank balance (August 31, 2015) $ 163,694Approximate outstanding loan $ 620,723

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From Friday, November 13th through Sunday, November15th, Swamini Radhikananda will conduct a JnanaYagna on Srimad Bhagavatam at our ashram. Swamini ji is from the Chinmaya Mission Center in St. Augus-tine.

We offer plenty of opportunities for adults to further their own spiritual pursuits. Here aresome of the lectures/activities that all adults are invited to participate in.

Our Acharya Dr. Shailaja Nadkarni is currently conducting discourses onon Sundays from 9:30 to 10:30 AM. This lecture series actually began last year but it is nevertoo late to join in.

Acharya Shailaja ji conducts a Bhagavad Geeta class every Sunday morning from 8 AM to 9AM. This class commenced from Chapter 1 a couple of years ago and is currently in Chapter5 of the Geeta.

In a study group, participants study and reflect upon verses from the Geeta and then shareand discuss their thoughts and interpretations thereof. Note that it is not mandatory to speakand many people are content just to listen to others.

Join Acharya Shailaja ji as she guides you on meditation techniques and learn chanting ofvarious Sanskrit hymns/slokas using the correct pronunciation. This session happens onSundays from 7:30 to 8 AM, just before the aforementioned Geeta class.

Shri Nitin Kapur teaches Praanayama techniques and simple on Sunday morningsfrom 7 to 7:30 AM.

For more information about any of the above, please contact our office.

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Have you been

to our

bookstore

lately?

Our renovated bookstore has hundreds oftitles to choose from. We have books to suitevery interest, from serious commentaries onancient scriptures to practical advise on selfimprovement. New titles come in frequently,so please stop by if you have not visitedrecently.

In , Swami Chinmayananda, one of the greatest expo-nents of Vedanta in modern times, takes us through the thought processnecessary to gain control of our inner world. He first shows us the logic behindmeditation and then teaches us the specific techniques for applying meditativepractice to our daily lives. When meditation becomes a natural part of our day,we find our lives transformed and our minds at peace.

Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda's early life is featured in through his own writings, his letters to his mother and sister, and

through the recollections of his friends and family. Hitherto unpublishednotes in his own handwriting give us a glimpse of his student days with SwamiTapovan Maharaj. The detailed family tree of Pujya Gurudev's premonas-tic life is another very interesting presentation here.

Guruji’s wisdom

n modern life we see that there is muchmaterial progress and comfort. However,this progress and comfort is accompaniedby stress and strain, which provides nocomfort at all. Stress and strain is gener-ally experienced in all aspects of daily liv-ing. In business we have cutthroatcompetition. There may be strain withinthe family or in social relationships. With-in ourselves we may find disintegration.

This stress and strain is experienced by usas anxiety, worry, fear, or frustration.

A certain kind of stress is normal, physical and objective. There-fore I will call it . Such a stress is experiencedwhen we face a challenging situation — a lot of work has to beaccomplished within a short period of time. If we have a tightschedule of engagements, even though we may be efficient, wefeel stressed out because the time is limited. In such circumstanc-es we must “keep cool” and not get overexcited, and figure outhow our work can be accomplished in a short time. This is calledthe science of time management. For example, if I have to writeten letters in a short time, I should write only a few lines in eachletter. Thus, we can see how the maximum work can be accom-plished quickly.

One method of overcoming stress in the objective field is to be-come more disciplined and organized. The discipline of gettingup earlier can make our lives smoother. When we hurry we try todo things quickly and often make mistakes, but with planning anddiscipline we can act with greater efficiency and less strain.

Another kind of stress is . In the physical worldthere are only situations; there is no stress, no tension. The strainthat we feel, which is so exhausting, is not because of the outersituation but because of our inner reaction to the situation.

When does the outer situation become a problem or a threat?Worry and anxiety arise from our inability to face a particular sit-uation and to deal with it effectively. This is the kind of stress thatwe feel in many forms and we try to find relief in many ways. Forinstance, we become anxious when we are unprepared. If a stu-

dent has studied well, the examination is not a problem for himbecause he is well prepared!

If the student who has studied well goes to the examination and isstill anxious, there may be other reasons, such as personal ambi-tions or higher expectations from his parents which make himthink, “I must do really well. I must get an A.” The stress andanxiety he experiences comes from an insistence upon a particu-lar fruit of action, “This and this alone should happen.” Thus,expectation, ambition, or desire, instead of being a motivatingforce, can become a dissipating factor. Stress can be created byexpectation. Desire and ambition should inspire us to work, but iftoo strong, they cause only perspiration, not inspiration!

When there is insecurity in the job or emotional insecurity, astrained relationship within the family, or any other type of inse-curity then there is always stress. At every moment there is fear.The only certain thing about the world is that everything is uncer-tain. Accepting the fact that nothing is certain, that all is unstable,itself relieves tensions and stress.

The most effective method of avoiding subjective stress is to havefaith — call it faith, devotion, or surrender. Faith is the clear un-derstanding that the one Lord is taking care of us. Is He not run-ning everything? And still we are worried?

When we travel by plane, the plane flies, we only eat and sleep.We know that the pilot is taking care of us; we have faith in him.When we are seasoned travelers, we are not afraid of anything.We are relaxed.

We should have the same attitude in the voyage of life, remem-bering Lord Krishna’s promise: “Rest assured. Remember Me. Iwill take care of you. Those who remember Me with single –pointed attention I take care of; I take care of their entire life.”

Overcoming Stress

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May 8th, 2016 marks the 100th birth anniversary of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda. As a lead up tothat day, Chinmaya Mission centers worldwide are conducting various events to mark his birth centennial.Here in Orlando, we have already held various events and more will be coming up in the next few months.Here is a brief description of things that we did recently and events that are coming up in the near future.

This year’s Geeta chanting competition was based on Chap-ter 15, Although we have this competi-tion every year, this one was unique because it was part ofthe centenary celebrations! The response that we receivedfrom our members was overwhelming, with around 130 reg-istrations - around 3 to 4 times higher than a regular year.What a treat it was to hear the ‘divine song of life’ beingchanted by children as small as 3 years old! The top perform-ers in each eligible age group will be heading to Chicago inSeptember to participate in the national chanting competi-tion.

Earlier this year, our Acharya Dr. Shailaja Nadkarni pledged to conduct 108Paduka Pujas and Geeta Jnana Yagnas at the homes of devotees. Gurudev’s

, that normally stay in the altar in our hall, are ceremonially taken tothe devotees house where Acharya Shailaja ji leads the devotees in performing thePaduka Puja. This is followed be a short discourse on Bhagavad Geeta. As of thiswriting, close to 50 of these events have already been conducted!

Apart from the above, Acharya Shailaja ji is also planning to conduct a series of 3-day mini Gyana Yagnason Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad Geeta. These events will be held at our ashram and will typically consist ofseveral discourses over a weekend. The first such Yagna was held over the weekend of May 8th, 2015 andothers will follow in the near future. Please stay tuned for further announcements in this regard.

We will be inviting Swamis from other Chinmaya Mission centers to come and give discourses on varioustopics through the upcoming year. These events will typically last 3 to 4 days and the details will be an-nounced as and when they are finalized.

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Chinmaya Mission Orlando held a 2 week summer camp from July 13-24 for Balavihar children. In commemo-ration of Pujya Gurudev’s birth centennial year, the theme of this year’s camp was .

About 65 children participated in the camp. They were organized in three groups based on their age. In Level 1there were 20 children ranging in age from 3 to 5 years. Level 2 had 25 children in the 6-8 year age group. InLevel 3 there were 18 children from 9-13 years old.

Children were introduced to the concept of Guru and Sat guru as the one who removes the darkness ofignorance, teaches us good values, and brings us closer to God.Three main values were emphasized – (1) Satyam or honesty inspeech and action; (2) Non–violence or the ability to stay calm andnot hurt anyone in speech, thought and action and (3) Kshanti orbeing patient, forgiving, and tolerant. Apart from learning aboutthese values, the children understood how these values, when fol-lowed, will help make them disciplined and dynamic persons as theygrow up to become young adults.

Children also learned about the lives, teachings, and work of ourGurus – Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Shivananda, Swami Tapo-van Maharaj, and Swami Tejomayananda. They were told storiesabout how our Gurus meditated in the Himalayas; how they reflect-

ed on truth that is God; the selfless service they did to help the poor, sick, and needy; and the schools,orphanages, nursing homes, and hospitals they opened. Chil-dren learned the story of Mother Ganga descending fromheaven to Earth, the , and the story ofthe Bhagawad Geeta.

These values were taught to them through stories, discussions,chanting, prayers, yoga, arts, crafts, music, dance, and shortdocumentary movies.

The Level 3 children were also taught by a couple of highschool Balavihar students and college going students throughartwork about what tree represents. They drew and colored their own version of the treeon paper.

On the last day of camp the children presented a short cultural program for their parents showcasing the bhajans,and dances they had learned during camp.

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For those of us who are living away from our mother-land, Chinmaya Mission delivers an invaluable serviceby immersing our children in our cultural values,scriptures, languages etc. But did you know that Chin-maya Mission Orlando (CMO) is also active in thecommunity? Pujya Gurudev’s vision, outlined in hisarticle at the beginning of this newsletter, was foreveryone to wholeheartedly give back to society. Inaccordance with that, we offer opportunities for ourmembers to contribute to charitable causes in theiradopted countries as well as back home. Various suchactivities happen throughout the year, but below weare highlighting a couple of major ones.

CORD is the service wing of Chinmaya Mission tofacilitate participatory and integrated sustainable de-velopment for the poor and to enable them to trans-form their lives through programs driven bythemselves. The holistic programs of CORD for therural and impoverished of India have crossed count-less social, economic and political boundaries, touch-ing millions of villagers directly. The programs andactivities of CORD include, but are not limited to,

for empowering women, for encouraging self-confidence in young

girls, for nurturing children, teaching sus-tainable income generation activities (dairy, weaving,sowing, bamboo crafts etc.), fighting social injustices,creating awareness about natural resource manage-ment etc. Please visit their website at www.cord.org.infor more information.

For the past year and a half, CMO has offered sewinglessons for women and girls, with the proceeds goingentirely to CORD. Until now, this has been a relatively

low key and low volume activity but still managed toraise around US$ 1000 for CORD. That’s a substan-tial amount in India, even more so because donationsfrom here are matched by certain governmental agen-cies. For the upcoming birth centennial year of PujyaGurudev, we are hoping to ramp up our activities forCORD and hope to deliver an even more significantcontribution. Please watch out for more announce-ments in this regard, or contact the office if you wishto help in any other way.

HOPE is a local charitable organization whose mis-sion is to prevent and reduce homelessness in CentralFlorida by equipping individuals and families to be-come self-sufficient through Housing, Outreach,Prevention and Education. For the past few years,CMO has been contributing to their food pantrywhich provides food to the needy at no charge. Weexpect to continue this food collection drive duringthe coming year. Please consider donating non-per-ishable, vegetarian food items for this purpose andcontact the office if you need any more information.

- Swami Chinmayananda

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3. Mother of the Pandavas5. This monkey king waskilled by Lord Rama7. He lay on a bed of ar-rows9. Father of the Pandavas10. Wind god

1. He wrote the story ofRama2. Another name for moth-er Sita3. Our main hall is calledthis4. We pray to him to re-move obstacles6. Eighth avatara of LordVishnu8. He tried to eat the sun!

Crossword Puzzle

Fill in the answers using theclues to the left

Why do we say “shanti, shanti, shanti” three times?Shanti, meaning peace, is a natural state of being. Disturbances are created by us or others. It is said that these disturbances originate from three sources:

● Unseen divine forces over which we have no direct control such as earthquakes, hurricanes etc.

● Known factors in the immediate vicinity such as wildlife, human contact, crime etc.● Problems of our own bodies and minds such as disease, anger, agitations etc.

The threefold repetition of shanti is our prayer to the Lord that disturbances from the above three sourcesshould not trouble us. It is chanted loudly the first time, addressing the unseen forces. It is chanted softerthe second time directed to our immediate surroundings and softest the last time as it is directed at the self.

Why do we…?

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