Welcome to

C O N T E N T S September 2015

Jagadguru Speaks...

Spiritual Quote

Remove Ignorance and Reach God

Tips to avoid distraction of the mind while meditating

The legend around Tiruvarur temple

Astonishing talent of an autistic child

Two Types of Meditation

Enduring Autism through Vedanta

Gems of Sankara

Siva as Valmika-natha (Lord of Ants)

Sparks of Wisdom

Youth Vox A column addressing youth issues

Our Global Yoga Mission-Yoga for Life

Consistency, Root of Success

The Mahalakshmi Temple of DallasIt is celebrated as the Ekta Mandir in Southwest United States

A code of conduct for the sincere follower

Ten Commandments of Hinduism

Tickles

News and Events

Jagadgurus take up Chaturmasya Vrata

at Sringeri

The Wellness Sense

Holistic Culinary Art 61—Coffee

Home Remedies for Mouth Ulcers

Yoga Posture of the Month

Did You Know ?

Story with a Moral

Unrequited Love

Jai Ho Bharat:

Tulja Bhavani Temple

September 20154 September 20155

C O N T E N T S September 2015

Jagadguru Speaks...

Spiritual Quote

Remove Ignorance and Reach God

Tips to avoid distraction of the mind while meditating

The legend around Tiruvarur temple

Astonishing talent of an autistic child

Two Types of Meditation

Enduring Autism through Vedanta

Gems of Sankara

Siva as Valmika-natha (Lord of Ants)

Sparks of Wisdom

Youth Vox A column addressing youth issues

Our Global Yoga Mission-Yoga for Life

Consistency, Root of Success

The Mahalakshmi Temple of DallasIt is celebrated as the Ekta Mandir in Southwest United States

A code of conduct for the sincere follower

Ten Commandments of Hinduism

Tickles

News and Events

Jagadgurus take up Chaturmasya Vrata

at Sringeri

The Wellness Sense

Holistic Culinary Art 61—Coffee

Home Remedies for Mouth Ulcers

Yoga Posture of the Month

Did You Know ?

Story with a Moral

Unrequited Love

Jai Ho Bharat:

Tulja Bhavani Temple

September 20154 September 20155

July 20156

Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji

Remove Ignorance and Reach God

Man must always have faith in God, who alone removes our hardship.

Bhagavan himself has said in the Bhagavad Gita that he will never forsake

one who has trusted him. That bhakti should intensify with time, and not

diminish.

If we firmly understand that we are only reaping the fruits of our karma,

and keep doing our duty, dedicating the results to God, our faith will not go

down under any circumstances. That is why one should attend discourses

on the great epics, such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the

Bhagavatam, whenever possible by frequenting places wherever they are

conducted and God’s attributes highlighted. This will help to strengthen

the sadhaka’s devotion.

Our Sastras give maximum importance to devotion. Unshakeable faith in

God always gives sreyas and takes man to moksha itself.

Therefore, it may be said that man, by his one-pointed devotion, can attain

God in this birth itself by cutting ignorance with the sword of knowledge.

By listening to God’s exalted qualities, a seeker with his faith and

determination can free himself from bondage and cross the ocean of

samsara.

`ÌmoÎm_ðbmoHJþUmZþdmX: àñVÿ`Vo ¾må` HWm{dKmV: &

{Zfoì`_mUmo@Zþ{XZ§ _þ_þjmo_©{V§ gVs§ `ÀN{V dmgþXodo &&

Vñ_mÝZamo@g“gsg“OmV kmZm{gZoh¡d {ddwŠU_moh:

hqa§ VXshmHWZ lsVmä`m§ cãYñ_¥{V`m©Ë`{Vnma_RdZ: &&

September 20157September 20156

July 20156

Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji

Remove Ignorance and Reach God

Man must always have faith in God, who alone removes our hardship.

Bhagavan himself has said in the Bhagavad Gita that he will never forsake

one who has trusted him. That bhakti should intensify with time, and not

diminish.

If we firmly understand that we are only reaping the fruits of our karma,

and keep doing our duty, dedicating the results to God, our faith will not go

down under any circumstances. That is why one should attend discourses

on the great epics, such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the

Bhagavatam, whenever possible by frequenting places wherever they are

conducted and God’s attributes highlighted. This will help to strengthen

the sadhaka’s devotion.

Our Sastras give maximum importance to devotion. Unshakeable faith in

God always gives sreyas and takes man to moksha itself.

Therefore, it may be said that man, by his one-pointed devotion, can attain

God in this birth itself by cutting ignorance with the sword of knowledge.

By listening to God’s exalted qualities, a seeker with his faith and

determination can free himself from bondage and cross the ocean of

samsara.

`ÌmoÎm_ðbmoHJþUmZþdmX: àñVÿ`Vo ¾må` HWm{dKmV: &

{Zfoì`_mUmo@Zþ{XZ§ _þ_þjmo_©{V§ gVs§ `ÀN{V dmgþXodo &&

Vñ_mÝZamo@g“gsg“OmV kmZm{gZoh¡d {ddwŠU_moh:

hqa§ VXshmHWZ lsVmä`m§ cãYñ_¥{V`m©Ë`{Vnma_RdZ: &&

September 20157September 20156

10 Commandments of

Hinduism

Mi

nd

September 201547

redefined as avoidance of untruth or telling lies or falsehood.

The third discipline is asteyam (non-stealing). We are not talking here about theft or stealing at the gross level as understood in normal parlance, which fortunately is prevalent only amongst a few in the society.

What the scriptures expect is that we should not be a party to unfair transactions by which we derive illegitimate benefit (this is also considered stealing). Withholding payment rightfully due to others is also stealing (asteyam). In short, asteyam can be roughly described as avoidance of unfair or illegitimate transactions.

The fourth discipline is brahmacharyam, which, briefly stated, is a value inculcating an appropriate attitude by every man to a woman and vice-versa. As this is grouped under yamas, it has to be understood as giving up improper or inappropriate attitude to those of the opposite sex.

The fifth discipline under yamas is aparigraham, literally meaning non- possession. The message is that one should

follow a simple lifestyle and not seek to acquire possessions beyond essential needs. Thus, limiting possessions can be said to be aparigraham.

A further refinement of this value is that even with regard to limited possessions, I do not develop undue attachment or entertain an attitude of possessiveness. I should always be conscious of the fact that whatever I possess (property, people and objects) really belongs to the Lord and is given to me for temporary use and growth in my maturity. I should be ready to forego these possessions without resistance should the Lord decide to take them away.

The first niyama is saucham (purity or cleanliness). Initially, we are asked to keep our person, dress and everything around us clean, pure and in good order. At an advanced level, the scriptures prescribe purity at the mental level to ensure that we do not entertain negative or undesirable thoughts but keep the mind filled with positive and healthy thoughts.

The second positive value is santosham, which can be roughly translated as contentment or

The Niyamas

ur scriptures and acharyas in our tradition Oemphasise that a

spiritual seeker (mumukshu) needs to follow a life-style governed by a set of disciplines for a successful pursuit of Self-knowledge and liberation. These are broadly presented as Ten Commandments made up of five “do's”(things to be followed) and five “do not's”(things to be avoided). The former is called niyamas and the latter is known as yamas. The scriptures introduce yamas first followed by niyamas. These guidelines are valid for the entire humanity, but particularly for students of Vedanta.

Ahimsa (non-violence or avoidance of violence) is on top of the list of yamas. Himsa, violence, has different dimensions, the grossest being physical violence.

The Yamas

Physical violence (assaulting or in any way causing injury to others, or on one's own self, for example, by banging head or other organs) should be eradicated totally. After overcoming this, one needs to take care of violence at the verbal level (avoidance of hurtful, abusive or insulting language).

The subtlest form of violence is at the mental or thought level (entertaining violent thoughts or emotions leading to intent to cause violence) and has to be tackled carefully once one becomes successful in containing violence at the physical and verbal level.

The second discipline is satyam (truthfulness), primarily verbal discipline by which I maintain harmony between my intent, speech and action. As satyam is included under yamas, it has to be

September 201546

10 Commandments of

Hinduism

Mi

nd

September 201547

redefined as avoidance of untruth or telling lies or falsehood.

The third discipline is asteyam (non-stealing). We are not talking here about theft or stealing at the gross level as understood in normal parlance, which fortunately is prevalent only amongst a few in the society.

What the scriptures expect is that we should not be a party to unfair transactions by which we derive illegitimate benefit (this is also considered stealing). Withholding payment rightfully due to others is also stealing (asteyam). In short, asteyam can be roughly described as avoidance of unfair or illegitimate transactions.

The fourth discipline is brahmacharyam, which, briefly stated, is a value inculcating an appropriate attitude by every man to a woman and vice-versa. As this is grouped under yamas, it has to be understood as giving up improper or inappropriate attitude to those of the opposite sex.

The fifth discipline under yamas is aparigraham, literally meaning non- possession. The message is that one should

follow a simple lifestyle and not seek to acquire possessions beyond essential needs. Thus, limiting possessions can be said to be aparigraham.

A further refinement of this value is that even with regard to limited possessions, I do not develop undue attachment or entertain an attitude of possessiveness. I should always be conscious of the fact that whatever I possess (property, people and objects) really belongs to the Lord and is given to me for temporary use and growth in my maturity. I should be ready to forego these possessions without resistance should the Lord decide to take them away.

The first niyama is saucham (purity or cleanliness). Initially, we are asked to keep our person, dress and everything around us clean, pure and in good order. At an advanced level, the scriptures prescribe purity at the mental level to ensure that we do not entertain negative or undesirable thoughts but keep the mind filled with positive and healthy thoughts.

The second positive value is santosham, which can be roughly translated as contentment or

The Niyamas

ur scriptures and acharyas in our tradition Oemphasise that a

spiritual seeker (mumukshu) needs to follow a life-style governed by a set of disciplines for a successful pursuit of Self-knowledge and liberation. These are broadly presented as Ten Commandments made up of five “do's”(things to be followed) and five “do not's”(things to be avoided). The former is called niyamas and the latter is known as yamas. The scriptures introduce yamas first followed by niyamas. These guidelines are valid for the entire humanity, but particularly for students of Vedanta.

Ahimsa (non-violence or avoidance of violence) is on top of the list of yamas. Himsa, violence, has different dimensions, the grossest being physical violence.

The Yamas

Physical violence (assaulting or in any way causing injury to others, or on one's own self, for example, by banging head or other organs) should be eradicated totally. After overcoming this, one needs to take care of violence at the verbal level (avoidance of hurtful, abusive or insulting language).

The subtlest form of violence is at the mental or thought level (entertaining violent thoughts or emotions leading to intent to cause violence) and has to be tackled carefully once one becomes successful in containing violence at the physical and verbal level.

The second discipline is satyam (truthfulness), primarily verbal discipline by which I maintain harmony between my intent, speech and action. As satyam is included under yamas, it has to be

September 201546

September 201548 September 201549

R. B. Athreya

Mi

nd

satisfaction to be developed at two levels, earning and owning. The endeavour should initially be to earn more and own less, the intent being to consume less and contribute more, thus generating more wealth for the society.

This is at the karma yoga level. This has to be refined later when I learn to be content with regard to earning also (at the jnana yoga level). With this attitude of contentment, I learn to be happy with what I own and do not have any regret or yearning for what I do not own, thus developing a vision of inner abundance and richness, which alone can help me to be generous and compassionate towards the needy and the poor.

The third value, tapas or austerity, also has different dimensions. Lord Krishna talks in the Gita of tapas at the physical, verbal and mental levels. It can also include purely physical actions for maintenance of good health. At a higher level, tapas can be in the form of mental disciplines, such as meditation, scriptural study, enquiry and so on.

The fourth niyama is svadhyaya (scriptural study). In our tradition,

scriptural study was an integral part of the educational curriculum and a discipline to be followed throughout life as a form of rishi yajna or Brahma yajna, one of the pancha maha yajnas. One is expected to study at least the Gita and assimilate its teaching.

The fifth and final positive discipline is isvara pranidhanam (surrender to the Lord), an attitude of reverence and understanding that every life experience I go through is the manifestation of the Lord, as every experience is the result of my past actions and as the Lord who is the karma phala dhata manifests in all these situations.

Resistance, or even mere tolerance of events in life, will cause bitterness in the mind that eventually becomes responsible for all negative and unhealthy emotions, such as hatred, depression and violence. This attitude of surrender to the Lord will help us accept life experiences and keep our mind free of negative thoughts.

All these Ten Commandments are to be followed by everybody and particularly by spiritual seekers, as they are considered

Five-point Strategy

mahavratas and part of samanya dharma (general moral code), without which spiritual progress and pursuit of knowledge will not be meaningful.

To successfully cultivate, develop and maintain these values is a difficult task, but our acharyas have given a five-point strategy to achieve it.

The first is to have a clear resolve (sankalpa) to follow each of the values. Once resolve is made, we need to be alert (avadhanam) all the time to implement the resolve and prevent slips in the process of developing the value. Restraint (Atma samyamanam), in the form of prompt observance of precautions is another useful tool.

Introspection (simhavalokanam) is yet another step to keep reviewing the progress of implementation and carefully looking at violations to ensure against their recurrence. We should take violation seriously and not gloss over it as unavoidable or of little consequence. This will ensure a drastic fall in violation as time progresses.

The most important, and final step is study of the significance

of each of these commandments. We must be convinced of the importance of each value and keep dwelling on the need to develop them. Reaffirmation of the resolve based on such analysis (viveka or vichara) must be made at frequent intervals and preventive steps taken whenever a negative value (like, for instance, anger) arises in the mind by invoking the corresponding positive values (tolerance or patience, generally known as pratipaksha bhavana). Satsanga in the form of frequent exchange of experiences in implementation of the resolve to gain the values between co-seekers will also be useful.

Above all, a consistent and committed prayerful attitude is essential, by which we invoke the grace of the Lord and the Guru throughout our endeavours. Progress will be gradual and take time and effort. The best strategy is to devote particular attention to one value a month so that in the space of one year we will achieve significant advancement in respect of all the values H

athreyaanna@gmail.com

September 201548 September 201549

R. B. Athreya

Mi

nd

satisfaction to be developed at two levels, earning and owning. The endeavour should initially be to earn more and own less, the intent being to consume less and contribute more, thus generating more wealth for the society.

This is at the karma yoga level. This has to be refined later when I learn to be content with regard to earning also (at the jnana yoga level). With this attitude of contentment, I learn to be happy with what I own and do not have any regret or yearning for what I do not own, thus developing a vision of inner abundance and richness, which alone can help me to be generous and compassionate towards the needy and the poor.

The third value, tapas or austerity, also has different dimensions. Lord Krishna talks in the Gita of tapas at the physical, verbal and mental levels. It can also include purely physical actions for maintenance of good health. At a higher level, tapas can be in the form of mental disciplines, such as meditation, scriptural study, enquiry and so on.

The fourth niyama is svadhyaya (scriptural study). In our tradition,

scriptural study was an integral part of the educational curriculum and a discipline to be followed throughout life as a form of rishi yajna or Brahma yajna, one of the pancha maha yajnas. One is expected to study at least the Gita and assimilate its teaching.

The fifth and final positive discipline is isvara pranidhanam (surrender to the Lord), an attitude of reverence and understanding that every life experience I go through is the manifestation of the Lord, as every experience is the result of my past actions and as the Lord who is the karma phala dhata manifests in all these situations.

Resistance, or even mere tolerance of events in life, will cause bitterness in the mind that eventually becomes responsible for all negative and unhealthy emotions, such as hatred, depression and violence. This attitude of surrender to the Lord will help us accept life experiences and keep our mind free of negative thoughts.

All these Ten Commandments are to be followed by everybody and particularly by spiritual seekers, as they are considered

Five-point Strategy

mahavratas and part of samanya dharma (general moral code), without which spiritual progress and pursuit of knowledge will not be meaningful.

To successfully cultivate, develop and maintain these values is a difficult task, but our acharyas have given a five-point strategy to achieve it.

The first is to have a clear resolve (sankalpa) to follow each of the values. Once resolve is made, we need to be alert (avadhanam) all the time to implement the resolve and prevent slips in the process of developing the value. Restraint (Atma samyamanam), in the form of prompt observance of precautions is another useful tool.

Introspection (simhavalokanam) is yet another step to keep reviewing the progress of implementation and carefully looking at violations to ensure against their recurrence. We should take violation seriously and not gloss over it as unavoidable or of little consequence. This will ensure a drastic fall in violation as time progresses.

The most important, and final step is study of the significance

of each of these commandments. We must be convinced of the importance of each value and keep dwelling on the need to develop them. Reaffirmation of the resolve based on such analysis (viveka or vichara) must be made at frequent intervals and preventive steps taken whenever a negative value (like, for instance, anger) arises in the mind by invoking the corresponding positive values (tolerance or patience, generally known as pratipaksha bhavana). Satsanga in the form of frequent exchange of experiences in implementation of the resolve to gain the values between co-seekers will also be useful.

Above all, a consistent and committed prayerful attitude is essential, by which we invoke the grace of the Lord and the Guru throughout our endeavours. Progress will be gradual and take time and effort. The best strategy is to devote particular attention to one value a month so that in the space of one year we will achieve significant advancement in respect of all the values H

athreyaanna@gmail.com